Control

This analysis is based on measured benchmark data for the Intel Core i5-13400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination running Control. The data covers four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160). The playable threshold is set at 60 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i5-13400F sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 25292. Its nearest rivals in the database are extremely close in aggregate performance. The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS matches it exactly with a delta of 0% and a score of 25284. The Intel Core 5 120 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D are both 0.3% behind, scoring 25362 and 25365 respectively. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800H trails by a negligible margin at 0.4% behind, with a score of 25201. For a game like Control, which relies on both single-thread and multi-thread performance, any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame pacing. The i5-13400F’s 10 cores and 16 threads provide sufficient headroom for the game’s physics and AI workloads.

For the GPU side, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks at the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23877. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, which scores 1.2% higher at 24170. The AMD Radeon RX 6800S is 0.8% behind at 24063. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z scores 0.6% higher at 23736, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile trails by 1.1% at 23628. These rival GPUs would produce similar frame rates in Control, though architectural differences in RDNA 4.0 may affect specific rendering paths. The RX 9070’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth provide ample resources for the game’s texture streaming at higher resolutions.

When paired, this CPU and GPU combination ranks 1134 out of 3720 tested combos for Control, placing it in the upper third of all tested configurations. The system is well balanced: the CPU’s benchmark scores are strong enough not to bottleneck the GPU in most scenarios, and the GPU’s rasterization performance dominates the frame rate output.

CPU and GPU Roles

Benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance in Control. At 1920x1080, the frame rate scales dramatically with graphics settings, ranging from 182 FPS on Low to 100 FPS on Ultra. This 82 FPS gap demonstrates that rendering workload is the main constraint. The CPU’s 3DMark scores remain constant regardless of resolution or preset, and its single-thread score of 960 suggests ample headroom for game logic.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, frame rates drop by roughly 25-33% across settings. At 3840x2160, the drop is steeper, with Ultra falling to 51 FPS and High to 59 FPS. This pattern confirms that the RX 9070’s pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors. The GPU’s pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s become saturated at 4K Ultra.

The CPU’s influence is more visible at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 182 FPS, which approaches the CPU’s ability to feed frames. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 and max-thread score of 7307 indicate that multi-core performance is sufficient for Control’s physics and particle systems. However, the single-thread score of 960 in 3DMark paints a different picture — the game’s main thread may become a minor bottleneck at very high frame rates. This is typical for older games like Control, which was released in 2019 and does not fully utilize many-core CPUs.

The scaling between resolutions is more dramatic than between presets at the same resolution. For instance, moving from 1080p High to 1440p High drops from 115 to 87 FPS, while moving from 1080p High to 1080p Ultra drops from 115 to 100 FPS. This suggests that GPU memory bandwidth is a critical resource at higher resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the system can run Ultra settings with an average of 100 FPS. This is well above the playable threshold of 60 FPS. The Ultra preset delivers the highest visual quality without compromising frame rate. The High preset runs at 115 FPS, but the Ultra preset still provides an adequate margin.

For 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves an average of 75 FPS, clearing the 60 FPS threshold with a comfortable margin. This is the best settings choice for this resolution, as it offers the full visual experience while maintaining responsive gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The High preset falls to 59 FPS on average — just below the playable threshold. The Medium preset runs at 66 FPS, which clears the threshold. The best settings at 4K are Medium, as it is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. The Low preset runs at 93 FPS, but Medium offers better visual quality while still maintaining playability.

The verdict data confirms these choices: for 3840x2160, playable settings are Low and Medium, with Medium being the best; for 2560x1440 and 1920x1080, all four settings are playable with Ultra being the best.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-13400F + AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination playable for Control at 3840x2160?

A: Yes, but only on Low or Medium settings. The Medium preset runs at an average of 66 FPS, while High drops to 59 FPS and Ultra falls to 51 FPS. Low runs at 93 FPS.

Q: What is the average frame rate at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 produces an average of 75 FPS, with no minimum or maximum FPS reported in the data. This is a fully playable experience.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core i5-13400F scores 25292 on average benchmarks. The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS scores 25284 (0% delta), the Intel Core 5 120 scores 25383 (-0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D scores 25365 (-0.3% delta). These are effectively identical performers.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1920x1080?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 182 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 100 FPS. This represents a 82 FPS drop for increased visual fidelity.

Q: Are there any settings at 3840x2160 that do not meet the 60 FPS threshold?

A: Yes, the High preset averages 57 FPS and the Ultra preset averages 51 FPS at 3840x2160. Both fall below the playable threshold of 60 FPS.

Q: What is the system’s overall rank among tested combinations?

A: This combination ranks 1134 out of 3720 tested combinations for Control, placing it in the top third of all tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the system delivers the following average frame rates: Low preset at 93 FPS, Medium preset at 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS and maximum of 76 FPS, High preset at 57 FPS, and Ultra preset at 51 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one above the 60 FPS threshold that also provides reasonable visual quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance improves significantly. The Low preset reaches 137 FPS, Medium hits 98 FPS with a minimum of 83 FPS and maximum of 112 FPS, High averages 87 FPS, and Ultra averages 75 FPS. All settings at this resolution clear the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1920x1080, the system scales even higher: Low preset runs at 182 FPS, Medium at 129 FPS with a minimum of 110 FPS and maximum of 148 FPS, High at 115 FPS, and Ultra at 100 FPS. This resolution shows the system’s ability to produce very high frame rates, with even Ultra exceeding 100 FPS.

The data shows that the Medium preset consistently provides the widest FPS range, indicating more variance in frame pacing. For example, at 3840x2160 Medium, the range is 56 to 76 FPS, a spread of 20 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the range is 83 to 112 FPS, a spread of 29 FPS. At 1920x1080 Medium, the range is 110 to 148 FPS, a spread of 38 FPS. This suggests that the Medium preset triggers more complex scenes that cause frame rate fluctuations.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F + AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination ranks 1134 out of 3720 tested combinations for Control. This places it in the 69.5th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms roughly 70% of tested systems. Given that the CPU ranks in the 77th percentile of all CPUs and the GPU in the 69th, the combo’s ranking reflects a slight imbalance.

The CPU’s higher relative performance (77th percentile) compared to the GPU (69th percentile) means the system is slightly GPU-limited. This is confirmed by the measured FPS data, where GPU-bound resolutions (4K) show a more dramatic performance drop than CPU-bound scenarios (1080p Low). The combo rank of 1134 out of 3720 indicates that the system delivers strong performance but is not at the very top of the hierarchy — other combinations with faster GPUs or more balanced pairings outperform it in Control.

The rank is in the upper third but not the top tenth, meaning the system will handle all but the most demanding scenes at playable frame rates. For a game like Control, which is not particularly CPU-intensive but demands GPU throughput, the RX 9070’s 36.13 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the main driver of this ranking.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control. At 1920x1080, the system delivers playable frame rates on all four presets: Low at 182 FPS, Medium at 129 FPS, High at 115 FPS, and Ultra at 100 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p is fully playable with high margin.

At 2560x1440, all presets also clear the 60 FPS threshold: Low at 137 FPS, Medium at 98 FPS, High at 87 FPS, and Ultra at 75 FPS. The Ultra preset provides the best experience at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system is only partially playable. The Low preset averages 93 FPS and Medium averages 66 FPS, both above the threshold. However, High drops to 57 FPS and Ultra falls to 51 FPS, both below the 60 FPS threshold. For 4K, the Medium preset is the best choice, providing acceptable visual quality with a stable frame rate.

The data shows that this combination is a solid for Control at 1080p and 1440p, with the ability to run the game at maximum settings at both resolutions. For 4K gaming, the user must compromise to Medium settings to maintain playability. The Intel Core i5-13400F’s strong multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core of 22604) ensures that the CPU does not bottleneck the RX 9070 in most scenarios, but at 4K Ultra, the GPU’s limits become the primary constraint.