Control

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 pairing delivers a strong Control experience, with the data showing 60+ FPS at 1080p and 1440p across all tested presets, while 4K requires dropping to Medium or Low settings to stay above the playable threshold. The CPU sits in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 68th percentile, indicating a balanced combo where the processor has ample headroom. The measured FPS at 1920x1080 Ultra (103.5 avg) and 2560x1440 Ultra (76.4 avg) shows this system is well-suited for high-refresh monitors, but 4K Ultra (55.2 avg) falls just short of the 60 FPS target.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU benchmarks place the Intel Core i5-14400F in close company with several processors that would produce nearly identical frame pacing in Control. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U scores 32,233 in average benchmark, a mere 0.1% difference from the i5-14400F's 32,279. The Intel Core i9-11900 trails by 0.2% at 32,226, while the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS is 0.2% ahead at 32,354. The Intel Core i7-12800H completes the nearest rival group at 32,121, which is 0.5% behind. In practice, these deltas are within run-to-run variance, so a system using any of these CPUs would feel indistinguishable in Control's CPU-bound scenes.

On the GPU side, the RTX 3080's nearest rivals from the benchmark database show some surprising neighbors. The NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23,249, which is 0.3% below the RTX 3080's 23,172 average. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 matches at 23,250, also 0.3% behind. The AMD Radeon RX 6600M sits 0.4% lower at 23,273, and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X is at 23,276, another 0.4% gap. These benchmark averages suggest that while the RTX 3080 has more raw compute resources, the 3DMark and PassMark results used for this database place it in a similar performance band to these alternatives. However, the RTX 3080's 10 GB GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth would likely give it an edge in texture-heavy scenes at 4K, which is not fully captured in the aggregate scores.

When building a comparable system, the data indicates that swapping the i5-14400F for any of its nearest CPU rivals would not change Control's outcome. Similarly, the GPU alternatives listed would produce near-identical average FPS, though driver-specific optimizations could shift results by a few frames. The practical takeaway is that this combination is not uniquely positioned; several other pairings would land within a 1% performance envelope.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 4K?

A: Yes, but only up to Medium settings. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 is 65.1 on Medium and 92 on Low, both above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings drop to 58.5 avg, and Ultra falls to 55.2 avg, both below the playable threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 1440p?

A: Ultra is the best playable setting at 2560x1440, delivering 76.4 average FPS. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) clear the 60 FPS bar, so you can max out the game without sacrificing smoothness.

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

A: The i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32,279, placing it 0.1% above the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and Intel Core i9-11900, 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12800H, and 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS. These differences are negligible for gaming.

Q: Is the RTX 3080's performance close to any other GPUs?

A: The nearest rivals by average benchmark score are the NVIDIA P106-100 (23,249), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (23,250), AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23,273), and AMD Radeon R9 M290X (23,276), all within 0.4% of the RTX 3080's 23,172.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 115.7 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. This leaves plenty of headroom for a 144Hz monitor, and even Ultra settings maintain 103.5 FPS.

Q: Does lowering settings from High to Low double the frame rate?

A: At 1080p, the jump from High (115.7 avg) to Low (185.8 avg) is a 60.6% increase. At 1440p, High (88.3 avg) to Low (139 avg) is a 57.4% increase. At 4K, High (58.5 avg) to Low (92 avg) is a 57.3% increase. The scaling is consistent across resolutions.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals how the CPU and GPU split responsibilities across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the GPU is the primary driver of frame rate, but the CPU's single-thread performance still matters. The i5-14400F's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3,055 and Geekbench single-core of 2,058 indicate strong per-thread capability, which prevents bottlenecks in Control's physics-heavy combat sequences. The FPS scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 185.8 to 103.5 average, a 44.3% drop, which is entirely GPU-driven as settings increase.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU load increases, but the CPU remains sufficient. The FPS range from Low (139 avg) to Ultra (76.4 avg) shows a 45.1% reduction. The i5-14400F's multi-threaded score of 21,645 in Cinebench R23 and PassMark multithread of 25,470 ensure that background tasks and game logic don't starve the render thread. At this resolution, the RTX 3080's 10 GB memory buffer and 320-bit bus become more relevant, as texture data exceeds 1080p requirements.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The FPS drops to 92 on Low and 58.5 on High, showing that even the RTX 3080's 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 compute is strained. The CPU's role diminishes; the i5-14400F's 83rd percentile ranking means it has ample headroom, and the data shows no sudden FPS cliffs that would indicate CPU stalls. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K (92 to 55.2 avg) is a 40% reduction, slightly less steep than at lower resolutions, suggesting the GPU's memory bandwidth (760.3 GB/s) becomes the limiting factor rather than raw shader throughput.

The preset scaling pattern indicates that Control is GPU-bound at all three resolutions. The i5-14400F's 10 cores and 16 threads provide enough parallel throughput for the game's rendering and physics threads, but the RTX 3080's architecture determines the absolute FPS ceiling. At 4K, even Low settings (92 avg) do not reach the 1440p Ultra (76.4 avg) performance, confirming that resolution is the dominant variable.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control with playable performance at all three tested resolutions, but with different settings ceilings. At 1920x1080, every preset from Low to Ultra clears the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra averaging 103.5 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same is true, with Ultra averaging 76.4 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low (92 avg) and Medium (65.1 avg) are playable; High (58.5 avg) and Ultra (55.2 avg) fall below the 60 FPS target. The verdict by resolution is clear: 1080p and 1440p can be maxed out, while 4K requires Medium settings for a stable experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the i5-14400F and RTX 3080 produce the following average FPS: Low settings hit 185.8, Medium reaches 132.2, High delivers 115.7, and Ultra maintains 103.5. All values exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold by a wide margin, with even the lowest preset (Ultra) providing 72.5% more headroom than needed.

At 2560x1440, the results are still strong: Low averages 139, Medium hits 100.3, High reaches 88.3, and Ultra delivers 76.4. The gap between Low and Ultra is 62.6 FPS, showing that the GPU scales predictably with settings. Every preset remains above 60 FPS, making 1440p a sweet spot for high-refresh gaming.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes: Low averages 92, Medium hits 65.1, High drops to 58.5, and Ultra falls to 55.2. The Medium preset is just 5.1 FPS above the threshold, while High and Ultra are 1.5 and 4.8 FPS below, respectively. The data shows that 4K is playable but requires accepting Medium settings, and even then, headroom is minimal.

Across all resolutions, the scaling from Low to Ultra is consistent: 1080p loses 44.3% of performance, 1440p loses 45.1%, and 4K loses 40%. This suggests the RTX 3080's memory subsystem is more stressed at 4K, reducing the relative cost of higher presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination ranks 1,067 out of 3,720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 28.7% of all configurations. This rank reflects the GPU's 68th percentile standing and the CPU's 83rd percentile, with the combo performing better than the GPU's percentile alone would suggest. The data indicates that Control benefits from the i5-14400F's strong single-thread performance, which prevents CPU bottlenecks that might otherwise hold back the RTX 3080.

In practical terms, this rank means the combo outpaces roughly 71% of other tested systems for Control. The remaining 2,653 combos above it likely include higher-tier GPUs like the RTX 3080's successors or dual-GPU setups, though the data does not specify. For a single-GPU, mid-range CPU pairing, this rank is respectable, and the measured FPS confirms that it delivers smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p.

The rank also suggests that users with this combo should not expect top-tier 4K performance, as the 55.2 FPS at 4K Ultra places it well below the top performers. However, the fact that it clears 60 FPS at 4K Medium (65.1 avg) means it retains playability at the highest resolution, which is more than many lower-ranked combos can claim. The combination is a solid mid-to-high-end choice for Control, with the CPU providing enough headroom for future game updates or more demanding scenes.