Control

The data for this Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination in Control shows a system that is highly dependent on resolution and preset selection. The recorded measurements reveal a clear performance hierarchy, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides ample headroom at lower settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark results for Control are recorded across three resolutions and four quality presets, providing a full picture of performance scaling.

At 1920x1080, the system performs comfortably across the board. Low settings produce an average of 130.8 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure for this combo. Medium settings follow at 93.8 FPS, High at 82.4 FPS, and Ultra at 70.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 60.4 FPS, indicating that the preset choice has a significant impact on frame rates at this resolution. All presets remain well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are noticeable but the system still delivers playable results for most presets. Low settings average 100 FPS, which is a 30.8 FPS reduction compared to 1080p Low. Medium settings produce 67.6 FPS, a 26.2 FPS drop from the 1080p Medium result. High settings land exactly at 60 FPS, which is the playable threshold, marking a 22.4 FPS decrease from 1080p High. Ultra settings fall below the threshold at 51.5 FPS, a 18.9 FPS drop from 1080p Ultra. The scaling here shows that each step down in resolution from 1440p to 1080p provides roughly a 25-30% performance uplift depending on the preset.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2070 SUPER begins to struggle with the higher demand. Low settings average 69 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold, but this is the only playable preset at 4K. Medium settings drop to 44.9 FPS, High to 41.6 FPS, and Ultra to 35.8 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 33.2 FPS, showing that the GPU is heavily taxed at this resolution. The transition from 1440p to 4K is steep: Low settings lose 31 FPS, Medium loses 22.7 FPS, High loses 18.4 FPS, and Ultra loses 15.7 FPS.

The data shows no recorded minimum or maximum FPS values, so the analysis relies solely on average frame rates. The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: the gap between Low and Medium is smaller than the gap between High and Ultra, suggesting that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are disproportionately expensive for the GPU.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 1920x1080 with maximum settings?

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 produces an average of 70.4 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by 10.4 FPS. This is the most demanding preset tested at this resolution and it remains fully playable.

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

A: The High preset is the most demanding option that stays at or above 60 FPS at 1440p, with an average of exactly 60 FPS. The Medium preset also works at 67.6 FPS, but High is the highest quality choice that maintains playability.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this combination?

A: Only with the Low preset. At 3840x2160, Low settings average 69 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra presets all fall below 45 FPS, making them not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The reduction varies by preset. Low settings lose 30.8 FPS, Medium loses 26.2 FPS, High loses 22.4 FPS, and Ultra loses 18.9 FPS. The percentage loss is larger at lower presets, indicating that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor as resolution increases.

Q: Which component is more important for Control at 1080p?

A: The CPU has more influence at 1080p, as the GPU is less likely to be saturated. The Intel Core i5-14600K with 14 cores and 20 threads provides strong single-thread performance, which benefits the game's logic and physics. The GPU still matters, but the high frame rates at Low and Medium presets suggest the system is not GPU-bound at this resolution.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a worthwhile performance trade-off at 1440p?

A: No. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 51.5 FPS, which is 8.5 FPS below the playable threshold. The High preset at 60 FPS is the better choice, as it maintains smoothness while still offering high-quality visuals.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2264 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the lower half of the database, but the percentile is not provided for the combo itself.

The CPU alone performs much better in general benchmarks. The Core i5-14600K sits in the 90th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48618. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H with an average score of 48698 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 with 48995 (0.8% higher), and the AMD EPYC 4345P with 48470 (0.3% lower). This is a high-end processor that is not the limiting factor in most gaming scenarios.

The GPU, however, is a different story. The RTX 2070 SUPER is in the 65th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20282. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M at 20480 (1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534 (1.2% higher), the Intel Arc B570 at 20556 (1.3% higher), and the Intel Arc A750 at 20582 (1.5% higher). These are all very close in performance, meaning the RTX 2070 SUPER is positioned in a tight cluster of mid-range GPUs.

The combination rank of 2264 out of 3720 suggests that while the CPU is strong, the GPU drags the overall gaming performance down. In Control specifically, the game's demands on the GPU are significant, especially at higher resolutions. The data indicates that this combo is better suited for 1080p gaming, where the CPU can push the GPU to its limits, rather than for 1440p or 4K gaming.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for both components provides context for what else might behave similarly in Control.

On the GPU side, the RTX 2070 SUPER is closely matched with the Intel Arc A750, which has an average benchmark score 1.5% higher. The Intel Arc B570 is 1.3% higher, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is 1.2% higher, and the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M is 1% higher. These deltas are all within a narrow band, so any of these GPUs paired with a similar CPU would likely produce nearly identical frame rates in Control. The RTX 3070 Mobile is particularly interesting, as it is a laptop part that manages to keep pace with the desktop RTX 2070 SUPER.

On the CPU side, the Core i5-14600K is flanked by the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H at 0.2% higher, the AMD EPYC 4345P at 0.3% lower, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX at 0.7% higher, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 at 0.8% lower. These are all server or workstation-class processors, which highlights that the Core i5-14600K is overqualified for gaming in terms of raw compute power. Swapping the CPU to any of these rivals would change the overall combo score by less than 1%, meaning the gaming performance in Control would be virtually unchanged.

For a user looking at the RTX 2070 SUPER, the Intel Arc A750 is the closest alternative in aggregate GPU performance. However, the driver maturity and feature set differ, which is not captured in the benchmark scores. The RTX 3070 Mobile is also a viable alternative for a laptop build, offering similar performance in a mobile form factor.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Intel Core i5-14600K and the RTX 2070 SUPER becomes clear when analyzing the scaling across resolutions and presets.

At 1920x1080, the system is largely CPU-limited or at least balanced. The Low preset delivers 130.8 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that requires strong single-thread performance from the CPU. The Core i5-14600K has a boost clock of 5.30 GHz and scores 2064 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which is sufficient to feed the GPU at these frame rates. The GPU, with 2560 shading units and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, handles the graphics load without becoming the primary constraint.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take over as the limiting factor. The average FPS drops by roughly 25-30% across all presets compared to 1080p, which is consistent with the increased pixel count. The CPU still has headroom, as evidenced by the fact that Low settings still reach 100 FPS. The High preset at exactly 60 FPS suggests that the GPU is now working near its capacity.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The Low preset averages 69 FPS, but Medium drops to 44.9 FPS and Ultra to 35.8 FPS. This steep decline with preset changes indicates that the GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated by the higher resolution and more demanding effects. The CPU, which is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, is not the issue here.

The data implies that for this game, the RTX 2070 SUPER is the component to upgrade first if higher resolutions are desired. The CPU is more than capable of supporting the GPU's maximum output, and even a weaker CPU would likely produce similar results at 4K where the GPU is fully utilized.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is clear from the measured data.

At 1920x1080, this PC runs Control with no reservations. All four presets, Low at 130.8 FPS, Medium at 93.8 FPS, High at 82.4 FPS, and Ultra at 70.4 FPS, clear the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best settings for this resolution are Ultra, which provides the highest quality while maintaining an average of 70.4 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the system is still playable but with limitations. The playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the most demanding at exactly 60 FPS. Ultra falls short at 51.5 FPS, so it is not recommended. The best settings at 1440p are High, which delivers the maximum visual quality while staying at the threshold.

At 3840x2160, the system can only handle the Low preset, which averages 69 FPS. Medium at 44.9 FPS, High at 41.6 FPS, and Ultra at 35.8 FPS are all below the 60 FPS threshold. The best settings at 4K are Low, which is the only preset that maintains playability.

Overall, this PC is a capable 1080p machine for Control, a decent 1440p machine with reduced settings, and a marginal 4K machine with minimal settings. The GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides more than enough performance for the game's logic and physics.

Best Settings per Resolution

The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at each resolution is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice. It produces an average of 70.4 FPS, which is 10.4 FPS above the playable threshold. This allows for the full visual experience of Control at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the best option. It averages exactly 60 FPS, which meets the threshold but leaves no headroom for demanding scenes. The Medium preset at 67.6 FPS offers more safety margin but at lower visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only playable option, with an average of 69 FPS. While this provides a playable experience, it requires significant visual compromises to achieve smooth frame rates at 4K.

The data suggests that users should prioritize resolution over preset quality when using this combination. A 1440p High preset looks better than a 4K Low preset and provides identical frame rates, while a 1080p Ultra preset offers the best balance of quality and performance.