Control

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination is a high-end pairing that delivers exceptional performance in Control, a 2019 Action Adventure title. The data indicates that this system not only meets but far exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold across all tested resolutions and settings, making it a top-tier choice for playing this game at maximum fidelity. The RTX 4090, with its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, and the 10-core i5-14400F create a balanced platform for this title, though the GPU clearly carries the heavier load at higher resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The benchmark database places the Intel Core i5-14400F in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32279. Its nearest rivals in terms of overall CPU performance are remarkably close, with score deltas of less than one percent. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U scores 32233, a negligible 0.1% difference from the i5-14400F, while the Intel Core i9-11900 scores 32226, a 0.2% difference. On the other side, the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS scores 32354, which is 0.2% higher, and the Intel Core i7-12800H scores 32121, a 0.5% difference. For gaming, these differences are imperceptible, meaning a system with any of these processors would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Control when paired with the same GPU.

On the graphics side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 60347. Its closest competitor is the Intel Arc Pro A60, which scores 60326, showing a 0% delta. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60140, a 0.3% difference, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61896, which is 2.5% higher. The AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58657, a 2.9% delta. These rival cards are professional or workstation-focused models, indicating that in the consumer gaming space, the RTX 4090 has a significant performance cushion. In practice, any of these GPUs would provide a similar baseline of raw compute performance, though the RTX 4090’s specific feature set and driver optimizations for games like Control may still give it an edge.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU and GPU combination ranks 142nd out of 3720 tested combos in the database for Control. This puts it in the top 4% of all possible system configurations tested, reflecting its status as a high-end pairing. The combination of a mid-to-high-range CPU with the flagship RTX 4090 GPU proves to be exceptionally effective for this title. The high rank is primarily driven by the GPU, which is the dominant factor in this game’s performance, especially at higher resolutions where the rendering load on the graphics card increases significantly. A lower-ranked CPU might bottleneck the RTX 4090 in other titles, but the data shows that for Control, this pairing avoids any significant CPU limitation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system is massively overkill for Control. With Low settings, the average FPS hits 248. Medium settings yield an average of 194 FPS, with minimums of 165 and maximums of 223 FPS. High settings produce an average of 172 FPS, and even Ultra settings maintain an average of 149 FPS. These numbers indicate that the system is completely GPU-bound at this resolution, with the CPU having no trouble feeding frames.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains incredibly high. The Low preset delivers an average of 206 FPS. Medium settings see an average of 146 FPS, with a minimum of 124 and a maximum of 168 FPS. High settings average 130 FPS, while Ultra settings still manage a solid 113 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent, with a roughly 20-25% performance drop across all presets, which is expected as the pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, which is 4K resolution, the system still delivers excellent playable performance. Low settings average 139 FPS, while Medium settings drop to 99 FPS, with a minimum of 84 and a maximum of 114 FPS. High settings average 88 FPS, and Ultra settings hold at 76 FPS. The performance drop from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced, showing the increased strain on the RTX 4090’s memory bandwidth and compute units. However, even at the most demanding 4K Ultra preset, the average FPS is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

The Verdict

The verdict is clear: this PC can run Control flawlessly. The verdictByResolution data confirms that at 3840x2160, the system is considered playable at all four settings presets: High, Low, Medium, and Ultra. The best settings are Ultra, which still achieves an average of 76 FPS. At 2560x1440, all presets are also playable, with Ultra settings reaching an average of 113 FPS. At 1920x1080, the system is playable on all presets, with Ultra settings delivering a commanding 149 FPS average.

In practical terms, this means a user can enable every graphical feature Control has to offer at 4K resolution and still experience smooth, fluid gameplay. The 76 FPS average at 4K Ultra is significantly above the 60 FPS threshold, providing headroom for any slight dips in complex scenes. There is no scenario in the tested data where this combination fails to deliver a playable experience. The system is future-proof for this title, as it could likely handle any additional mods or higher internal rendering scales without dropping below the playable threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear division of labor between the CPU and GPU in Control. At 1920x1080, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as evidenced by the high frame rates and the relatively small performance gap between Low (248 FPS) and Ultra (149 FPS). The i5-14400F is more than capable of keeping up with the RTX 4090 at this resolution. The scaling between settings is large, indicating that the GPU’s shading units and texture units are the limiting factor.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440 and then to 3840x2160, the GPU’s role becomes even more dominant. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is significant, with Ultra settings falling from 149 FPS to 76 FPS. This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario, where the increased pixel count directly translates to more work for the graphics card. The CPU’s workload remains relatively constant across resolutions, as it is responsible for physics, game logic, and draw calls, which do not scale with resolution.

The specific frame time data for Medium settings illustrates this point. At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 165. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 124 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it falls to 84 FPS. This consistent degradation with resolution confirms that the RTX 4090’s performance, specifically its 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth and 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, is the determining factor for final frame rates. The i5-14400F, with its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 4.70 GHz boost clock, provides a solid foundation, but it is not the component that limits performance in this game.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, the data shows it is playable at all settings at 3840x2160. The best settings are Ultra, which achieves an average of 76 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combination?

A: At every resolution tested (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160), the Ultra preset is listed as the best settings, with average FPS of 149, 113, and 76 respectively.

Q: How does the i5-14400F compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-14400F has an average score of 32279. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, scores 32233, a 0.1% difference, while the Intel Core i9-11900 scores 32226, a 0.2% difference. Performance is effectively identical.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the average FPS is 130.

Q: Does the RTX 4090 significantly outperform its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The RTX 4090 scores 60347. The closest is the Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60326 (0% delta), but the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is 2.5% higher at 61896, showing the RTX 4090 is not universally faster than all workstation cards.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 4K Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings is 84 FPS, with a maximum of 114 FPS and an average of 99 FPS.