Control

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 presents a specific performance profile for running Control, a 2019 Action Adventure title. Benchmark data indicates this combination delivers a wide range of frame rates depending on resolution and graphics preset, from a highly playable 121.4 FPS at 1080p Low to a sub-60 FPS experience at 4K Ultra. The following analysis breaks down the measured performance, compares nearby hardware alternatives, and provides practical guidance on the best settings for each resolution.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Control at 1080p with the highest settings?*

A: Yes. At 1920x1080 with the Ultra preset, the measured average FPS is 69.2, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. All four tested presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) at this resolution clear 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: The Medium preset is the highest playable option, delivering an average of 64.6 FPS. The High preset averages 57.9 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold, while Low and Medium are the only settings that remain playable.

*Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware for Control?*

A: No. At 3840x2160, none of the tested presets reach 60 FPS. The Low preset comes closest with an average of 59.6 FPS, but it still misses the playable threshold. High, Medium, and Ultra presets all average below 42 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48618, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its closest competitor is the AMD EPYC 4345P, which scores 48470, a delta of 0.3% behind. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX scores 48287, putting it 0.7% behind.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all other graphics cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 sits in the 57th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15171. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, scores 15199, which is 0.2% higher. The AMD Radeon 680M is 0.7% behind with a score of 15270.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo across all tests?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 121.4, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. The next best is 90.3 FPS at 2560x1440 Low, followed by 88 FPS at 1080p Medium.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearestRivals data provides context for what other hardware would deliver similar compute performance. On the CPU side, the Intel Core i5-14600K's average benchmark score of 48618 is closely matched by several processors. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48698, a negligible 0.2% difference, meaning it would behave almost identically in CPU-bound scenarios. The AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48470 (0.3% lower), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX scores 48287 (0.7% lower), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995 (0.8% higher). Any of these would offer a near-identical CPU performance envelope for Control.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 7600's average score of 15171 is bracketed by a varied set of rivals. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, just 0.2% higher, making it the closest match in raw compute. The AMD Radeon 680M (an integrated solution) scores 15270, which is 0.7% higher, and the AMD Radeon Pro 560X scores 15082 (0.6% lower). The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti scores 15063, a 0.7% deficit. In practice, substituting any of these GPUs would yield frame rates within roughly 1% of the RX 7600 in Control, though driver-specific optimizations and VRAM capacity could cause minor deviations not captured in the average score.

Best Settings per Resolution

The measured FPS data allows for a clear determination of the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS. At each resolution, the goal is to maximize visual quality while staying at or above the playable threshold.

1920x1080: The Ultra preset is the best choice, with an average of 69.2 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available and it clears the 60 FPS bar with a 9.2 FPS margin. For context, the High preset runs at 77.1 FPS, Medium at 88 FPS, and Low at 121.4 FPS, but Ultra provides the full visual experience without sacrificing smoothness.

2560x1440: The Medium preset is the optimal pick, averaging 64.6 FPS. This is the only high-quality option that stays playable; the High preset drops to 57.9 FPS, which is below the threshold. Low runs at 90.3 FPS for those prioritizing frame rate over visuals, but Medium offers the best balance of fidelity and performance.

3840x2160: No preset achieves 60 FPS. The Low preset comes nearest at 59.6 FPS, but it still misses the threshold. Since the verdictByResolution data lists no playable settings at this resolution, there is no recommended preset. Players targeting 4K would need to accept frame rates below 60 FPS or reduce resolution.

The Verdict

The data indicates that this PC configuration can run Control successfully at 1080p and 1440p, but not at 4K. At 1920x1080, all four tested presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable, with the Ultra preset delivering an average of 69.2 FPS. This makes 1080p the sweet spot, as it allows for maximum visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the system remains playable but with more restrictions. The verdictByResolution data lists Low and Medium as the only playable settings, with Medium being the best at 64.6 FPS. The High preset's 57.9 FPS average means it falls just short of playability, so users must choose between Medium settings or a lower frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the verdict is clear: this combo cannot run Control at a playable level. The best result is 59.6 FPS on Low, which is technically below the 60 FPS threshold. All other presets are significantly lower, with Ultra averaging just 35.4 FPS. For 4K gaming, a more powerful GPU would be necessary.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals how the CPU and GPU each contribute to performance in Control. At 1920x1080, the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The frame rate drops from 121.4 FPS on Low to 69.2 FPS on Ultra, a 43% reduction, as the graphics load increases. The CPU, with its strong single-core performance (2064 in Cinebench R23 single-core), has ample headroom to feed the GPU at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the GPU's load increases further, but the pattern remains similar. The frame rate scales from 90.3 FPS on Low to 48.9 FPS on Ultra, a 45% drop. The CPU still keeps pace, as evidenced by the fact that Low and Medium presets both exceed 60 FPS. The shift from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by roughly 25-30% across presets (e.g., High drops from 77.1 to 57.9 FPS), indicating that the GPU's pixel throughput is becoming more critical.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmingly the limiting factor. Even the Low preset, which minimizes shading work, only reaches 59.6 FPS. The gap between 1440p Low (90.3 FPS) and 4K Low (59.6 FPS) is a 34% reduction, while the GPU's raw pixel rate (169.9 GPixel/s) and 8 GB VRAM capacity are strained by the 4K framebuffer. The CPU's role is diminished here; no amount of CPU headroom (it ranks in the 90th percentile) can compensate for the GPU's inability to fill 8.3 million pixels per frame at high quality. The data shows that as resolution increases, the GPU's importance grows, and the CPU's influence on average FPS becomes negligible.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 2469 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the 66th percentile of all configurations, meaning roughly two-thirds of tested systems perform better and one-third perform worse. The rank reflects the balance between the i5-14600K's strong CPU performance (90th percentile) and the RX 7600's mid-range GPU performance (57th percentile).

The combo's ranking is more heavily influenced by the GPU than the CPU. The CPU's high percentile suggests it is not the limiting factor, while the GPU's 57th percentile aligns more closely with the overall rank. This is consistent with the performance data: the system excels at lower resolutions where CPU headroom matters, but falls behind at higher resolutions where GPU throughput dominates. For a game like Control, which was released in 2019 and has moderate system requirements, this rank indicates a capable mid-range setup that handles 1080p and 1440p well, but is not suited for 4K. The 3720 total combos provide a broad comparison, and this pairing's position suggests it offers solid performance for its class, particularly for gamers targeting 1080p with high-ultra settings or 1440p with medium settings.