Control

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 delivers a playable Control experience at 1080p across all tested presets, but the combination struggles to maintain 60 FPS at higher resolutions. Benchmark data shows this combo achieves 62.2 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which clears the playable threshold, while 1440p is limited to Low settings at 83.6 FPS. At 4K, no settings preset reaches 60 FPS, with the best result being 54.2 FPS on Low. The CPU sits in the 83rd percentile of all processors, while the GPU is in the 63rd percentile, indicating a balanced pairing where the graphics card becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 1080p with maximum settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 62.2 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. All four tested presets at 1080p — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — produce average frame rates above 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: At 2560x1440, only Low settings are playable, producing an average of 83.6 FPS. Medium settings drop to 59.8 FPS, which falls just short of the 60 FPS threshold, while High and Ultra yield 51.4 FPS and 46.9 FPS respectively.

Q: Is 4K resolution possible with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, none of the tested presets reach 60 FPS. The closest is Low settings at 54.2 FPS, followed by Medium at 38.7 FPS, High at 33.3 FPS, and Ultra at 27.7 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest competitors?

A: The Radeon RX 6600 has an average benchmark score of 19036, placing it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 with a score of 19030 (0% difference), while the RTX 4050 Mobile scores 19049 (-0.1% delta) and the Tesla K20m scores 19089 (-0.3% delta).

Q: How does the CPU stack up against similar processors?

A: The Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32279, ranking in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. Its closest competitor is the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U at 32233 (0.1% delta), followed by the Intel Core i9-11900 at 32226 (0.2% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS at 32354 (-0.2% delta).

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking for this game?

A: This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 2893 out of 3720 tested combos for Control, placing it in the lower-middle portion of tested configurations.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have near-identical rivals based on average benchmark scores. For the Intel Core i5-14400F, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U scores 32233, which is just 0.1% lower, meaning users would experience virtually indistinguishable performance in CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Core i9-11900 scores 32226 (0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i7-12800H scores 32121 (0.5% delta), all falling within a narrow performance band. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS scores 32354, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-14400F.

On the graphics side, the Radeon RX 6600's nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 with a score of 19030, showing a 0% delta. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile scores 19049 (-0.1% delta), while the NVIDIA Tesla K20m scores 19089 (-0.3% delta). The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation scores 18954 (0.4% delta). These GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Control, meaning any of them paired with a similarly performing CPU would match the measured results within a fraction of a percent.

For users considering alternative hardware, swapping the i5-14400F for any of these rival CPUs would not meaningfully change the gaming experience, as the deltas are all under 0.5%. Similarly, substituting the RX 6600 with one of its nearest GPU rivals would keep frame rates essentially unchanged. The benchmark data indicates this performance cluster is tight, with all rivals within 1% of each other's average scores.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 3720 tested CPU-GPU combinations for Control, this pairing ranks 2893rd, placing it in the 22nd percentile of tested systems. This ranking reflects the hardware's mid-range positioning: the CPU is strong (83rd percentile globally), but the GPU is more modest (63rd percentile globally), and the game's demands at higher resolutions expose the graphics card's limitations.

The rank suggests that while this system handles 1080p comfortably, it falls behind a substantial portion of tested configurations when pushing higher resolutions. The measured FPS data confirms this trajectory: at 1080p Ultra the combo produces 62.2 FPS, but at 1440p Ultra it drops to 46.9 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 27.7 FPS. The ranking reflects a system optimized for mainstream 1080p gaming rather than high-refresh-rate or high-resolution play.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control, but the playable experience depends heavily on resolution. At 1920x1080, all four settings presets clear the 60 FPS threshold: Low averages 106 FPS, Medium 76.5 FPS, High 70 FPS, and Ultra 62.2 FPS. This makes 1080p the only resolution where every preset is playable.

At 2560x1440, only Low settings achieve playable performance with 83.6 FPS. Medium comes close at 59.8 FPS but falls below the 60 FPS threshold. High and Ultra produce 51.4 FPS and 46.9 FPS respectively, which are not playable by the 60 FPS standard.

At 3840x2160, no settings preset reaches 60 FPS. The best result is Low at 54.2 FPS, followed by Medium at 38.7 FPS, High at 33.3 FPS, and Ultra at 27.7 FPS. The verdict is clear: this system is a 1080p performer, with limited 1440p capability only at minimum settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear pattern of the GPU becoming the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p, the gap between Low (106 FPS) and Ultra (62.2 FPS) is 43.8 FPS, indicating that graphics settings have a significant impact. The CPU's strong multi-threaded performance — scoring 21645 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 25470 in Passmark multithread — ensures it does not bottleneck at this resolution.

At 1440p, the performance drop from 1080p is substantial. Low settings fall from 106 FPS to 83.6 FPS (a 21.1% reduction), while Ultra falls from 62.2 FPS to 46.9 FPS (a 24.6% reduction). This scaling suggests the GPU is increasingly stressed, as the rendering load grows with pixel count.

At 4K, the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint. The gap between Low (54.2 FPS) and Ultra (27.7 FPS) narrows to 26.5 FPS, and even the lowest settings cannot reach 60 FPS. The RX 6600's 8 GB VRAM and 224 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K rendering in this title, regardless of the CPU's capability. The CPU's role diminishes at 4K, where frame rates are primarily determined by the GPU's raw throughput.

Best Settings per Resolution

1920x1080: Ultra settings provide the most demanding visual quality while maintaining 62.2 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. This is the recommended preset for full visual fidelity at this resolution.

2560x1440: Low settings are the only playable option, delivering 83.6 FPS. Medium falls short at 59.8 FPS, so users must accept minimum settings to maintain smooth gameplay at this resolution.

3840x2160: No preset achieves 60 FPS. The best measured result is Low at 54.2 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. Users seeking 4K would need to consider less demanding settings or accept sub-60 FPS performance.