Control

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 lands at rank 3433 out of 3720 tested combinations for Control. This places the combo in the lower 8% of all tested systems, indicating that this pairing struggles significantly with this particular title. The recorded data shows a system that can handle the game only at its most modest settings and lowest resolution, and even then it barely crosses the 60 FPS threshold.

The CPU itself is a strong performer in general benchmarks, sitting at the 90th percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 49394 places it nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which scores 49228, a difference of only 0.3%. The GPU, however, is the limiting factor here. The Radeon RX 580 sits at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs with an average score of 12928, which is effectively on par with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940, 0.1% faster) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986, 0.4% faster). This is a mid-range GPU from a previous generation, and Control's demands push it to its limits.

The overall combo ranking reflects this imbalance. A very capable CPU cannot compensate for a GPU that struggles to maintain playable frame rates at most settings. The data shows that the system is only playable at 1080p with Low settings, achieving an average of 62.9 FPS. Every other resolution and preset combination falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. This makes the combo rank of 3433 out of 3720 entirely consistent with the measured performance: this is a system built for lighter workloads, not for Control at high fidelity.

CPU and GPU Roles

For this specific pairing in Control, the GPU is overwhelmingly the dominant factor in determining performance. The measured frame rates show very little variation that could be attributed to CPU limitations, as the Core i5-14600KF provides ample headroom. Instead, the frame rates scale almost entirely with GPU load and resolution.

Looking at the scaling between resolutions, the data shows a clear pattern. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 62.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops the average to 48.1 FPS, a reduction of roughly 23%. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 29.8 FPS, which is about 53% lower than the 1080p figure. This steep decline with increasing resolution is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. The pixel throughput requirements at higher resolutions overwhelm the RX 580's capabilities.

The same pattern holds across presets. At 1080p, the frame rates decline steadily as settings increase: Low produces 62.9 FPS, Medium drops to 42.9 FPS, High falls to 37.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 32.8 FPS. At 1440p, the same progression is visible but at lower absolute values: Low at 48.1 FPS, Medium at 33.7 FPS, High at 29.6 FPS, and Ultra at 24.5 FPS. At 4K, the situation becomes dire: Low at 29.8 FPS, Medium at 25.7 FPS, High at 18.4 FPS, and Ultra at 21.1 FPS.

The CPU's role is minimal in this context. The Core i5-14600KF has 14 cores and 20 threads, with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and a single-core score of 4594, indicate it is more than capable of feeding the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The bottleneck is entirely on the rendering side. Had the CPU been the limiting factor, we would expect to see frame rates that remain relatively flat across resolutions, or that drop more dramatically when CPU-heavy settings are increased. Instead, the consistent decline with resolution confirms that the RX 580's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for Control's demands at higher resolutions.

In practical terms, the CPU is not the reason this system struggles. The data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield significant improvements, while upgrading the CPU would produce negligible gains for this game.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 1080p with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings. The measured average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Low settings is 62.9 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. Every other preset at 1080p falls below 60 FPS: Medium averages 42.9 FPS, High averages 37.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 32.8 FPS.

Q: What are the best settings for 1440p and 4K?

A: There are no playable settings at either 2560x1440 or 3840x2160. At 1440p, the highest average frame rate is 48.1 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K, the best result is 29.8 FPS on Low settings, also below the threshold. The verdict data shows no playable settings for these resolutions.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 12928. Its closest competitors are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile at 12940 (0.1% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER at 12986 (0.4% faster), the AMD Radeon 740M at 12870 (0.5% slower), and the AMD FirePro W5100 at 12847 (0.6% slower). These differences are negligible, meaning any of these GPUs would perform nearly identically in Control.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game with this combo?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Core i5-14600KF is a high-end processor with a 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the RX 580 sits at the 53rd percentile among GPUs. The frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases, which indicates GPU-bound performance. Upgrading the GPU would have a much larger impact than upgrading the CPU.

Q: What is the highest frame rate this system can achieve in Control?

A: The highest recorded average frame rate is 62.9 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. No other configuration comes close to this figure. The next best result is 48.1 FPS at 2560x1440 with Low settings.

Q: Does the CPU's strong benchmark performance help in this game?

A: Not measurably. The Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, placing it near the top of the database. However, the measured frame rates in Control are limited by the GPU at every resolution and preset. The CPU's power is irrelevant when the GPU cannot render frames fast enough.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide a clear picture of what other hardware would behave similarly in this system.

For the Intel Core i5-14600KF, the closest alternatives are all within 1% of its average benchmark score. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49228, a 0.3% difference. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G scores 49196, a 0.4% difference. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995, a 0.8% difference. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 scores 49796, which is 0.8% higher. Any of these CPUs would deliver virtually identical performance in Control when paired with the same GPU, as the processor is not the limiting factor.

For the AMD Radeon RX 580, the nearest rivals are equally close. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is 0.1% faster with a score of 12940. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is 0.4% faster with a score of 12986. The AMD Radeon 740M is 0.5% slower at 12870. The AMD FirePro W5100 is 0.6% slower at 12847. These GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Control, meaning the same limitations would apply: playable only at 1080p Low, with everything else falling short of 60 FPS.

A system with any of these CPU alternatives paired with any of these GPU alternatives would land in the same performance tier. The combination ranking of 3433 out of 3720 would remain largely unchanged. Users seeking better performance in Control would need to step up to a significantly faster GPU, as the current tier of GPUs represented by the RX 580 and its rivals cannot handle higher settings or resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

The measured data identifies a single playable configuration for this system, where playable is defined as maintaining an average frame rate at or above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The best result is Low settings at 29.8 FPS. Medium produces 25.7 FPS, High produces 18.4 FPS, and Ultra produces 21.1 FPS. None of these are close to the threshold, so there is no recommended setting for 4K.

At 2560x1440, the situation is similar. Low settings produce 48.1 FPS, which is the highest average at this resolution. Medium averages 33.7 FPS, High averages 29.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 24.5 FPS. All fall below 60 FPS, so no preset is recommended for 1440p.

At 1920x1080, there is exactly one playable preset. Low settings produce an average of 62.9 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings drop to 42.9 FPS, High drops to 37.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 32.8 FPS. The recommendation for 1080p is therefore Low settings, which is the only configuration that delivers a playable experience.

The best settings per resolution are: 1080p Low at 62.9 FPS, with no playable settings at 1440p or 4K.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control, but only under the most constrained conditions. The verdict data is unambiguous: at 3840x2160, there are no playable settings. At 2560x1440, there are no playable settings. At 1920x1080, the only playable setting is Low, which achieves an average frame rate of 62.9 FPS.

The system clears the 60 FPS threshold at exactly one resolution and preset combination. For anyone wanting to play Control at 1080p with Low settings, this system will deliver a playable experience, albeit with reduced visual fidelity. The frame rate of 62.9 FPS is above the threshold, but the margin is slim, and there is no headroom for demanding scenes or background processes.

At 1440p and 4K, the system simply cannot keep up. The RX 580's performance falls off sharply as resolution increases, and no preset at these resolutions reaches even 50 FPS. The highest 1440p result is 48.1 FPS on Low, and the highest 4K result is 29.8 FPS on Low. These are not playable by the 60 FPS standard used in this database.

The overall ranking of 3433 out of 3720 reflects this reality. This is a combination that is outclassed by the vast majority of tested systems for Control. The CPU is not the issue, the GPU is. Users with this setup should stick to 1080p Low settings if they want to play this game, or consider a GPU upgrade to unlock higher resolutions and presets. As it stands, the system meets the minimum bar for playability, but just barely.