Control

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 delivers a playable experience in Control, but the headroom varies sharply by resolution. At 1920x1080, the combo clears the 60 FPS threshold with ease at every preset, peaking at 120.8 FPS on Low. Moving to 2560x1440, the system remains fluid on Medium and below, but High and Ultra presets dip below the playable line. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset manages to stay above 60 FPS, with an average of 61.1 FPS; every higher setting falls short. The data shows a GPU-bound scenario where the RX 7600’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the 14-core i5-14600KF with a 5.30 GHz boost clock provides ample processing headroom.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination covers three resolutions and four settings tiers, all reporting average frame rates. No minimum or maximum frame time data is available in the dataset, so the analysis relies solely on averages. At 1920x1080, the spread from Low to Ultra is substantial. Low settings produce an average of 120.8 FPS, which is nearly double the 64.5 FPS seen at Ultra. Medium sits at 87.5 FPS, and High lands at 76.6 FPS. The scaling between presets is consistent, with each step up in quality costing roughly 10-20% performance. This indicates that the RX 7600’s 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs are well-suited for 1080p rasterization, even under Control’s demanding physics and particle effects.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. Low settings still deliver a comfortable 88 FPS average, and Medium maintains 64.1 FPS. However, High drops to 56.4 FPS, and Ultra falls further to 47.6 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 7.7 FPS, while the drop from High to Ultra is 8.8 FPS. This suggests that the higher presets introduce effects that stress the GPU’s memory subsystem more heavily. The RX 7600’s 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB VRAM capacity are adequate for 1440p at medium quality, but the transition to High and Ultra exposes the bandwidth limitation. The CPU’s role here is minimal; the i5-14600KF’s PassMark multithread score of 38697 and single-thread score of 4273 indicate it is not a bottleneck in this title.

At 3840x2160, the results are stark. Low settings average 61.1 FPS, just above the playable threshold. Medium drops to 44.4 FPS, High to 39.9 FPS, and Ultra to 35.8 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium is 16.7 FPS, which is the largest single-step drop across all resolutions. This aligns with the GPU’s fillrate limits: the RX 7600’s pixel rate is 169.9 GPixel/s, which is insufficient for sustained high-quality 4K rendering in a game like Control with its dense volumetric effects. The data shows that 4K is only viable with significant visual compromises, and even then, the 61.1 FPS average leaves minimal margin for frame time spikes.

Best Settings per Resolution

The playable threshold is set at 60 FPS, and the verdict by resolution identifies the highest preset that maintains this average. At 3840x2160, the only playable option is Low, which averages 61.1 FPS. This is the best settings choice for 4K, as the next step up, Medium, drops to 44.4 FPS—a 27% reduction that clearly breaks fluidity. For users prioritizing resolution over detail, Low at 4K is the recommended configuration.

At 2560x1440, Medium is the best playable preset, delivering 64.1 FPS. Low is also playable at 88 FPS, but Medium offers a better visual balance while staying 4.1 FPS above the threshold. High and Ultra are not viable, with averages of 56.4 and 47.6 FPS respectively. The data suggests that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, providing a stable frame rate without the visual artifacts of Low or the performance penalty of High.

At 1920x1080, the story is different. Ultra is the best settings choice, averaging 64.5 FPS. This is 4.5 FPS above the playable threshold, meaning the system can run the game at maximum detail without dipping below 60 FPS on average. High is also playable at 76.6 FPS, but Ultra is the recommended preset since it remains fluid. Medium and Low are both faster—87.5 and 120.8 FPS respectively—but they sacrifice visual fidelity unnecessarily. The verdict data confirms that 1080p Ultra is the intended target for this hardware, offering the full Control experience at a playable frame rate.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Control at 4K with high settings?*

A: No. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 39.9, which is 20.1 FPS below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Only Low settings at 4K achieve playable performance, averaging 61.1 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 provide the best balance, averaging 64.1 FPS. This is the highest preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, as High drops to 56.4 FPS and Ultra to 47.6 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 7600 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7600 has an average benchmark score of 15171, which is 0.2% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15199), 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 560X (15082), and 0.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti (15063). It sits at the 57th percentile among all GPUs.

*Q: Is the i5-14600KF a bottleneck for the RX 7600 in Control?*

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The i5-14600KF scores 32544 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4594 in single-core, placing it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs. The FPS scaling across resolutions follows GPU limits, suggesting the RX 7600 is the primary constraint.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 64.5, which is 4.5 FPS above the playable threshold. This is the recommended preset for 1080p, as it maintains fluidity while delivering maximum visual quality.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 2499 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the lower-middle tier, reflecting its 1080p focus and limitations at higher resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the RX 7600 provide context for its performance tier. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, just 0.2% higher than the RX 7600’s 15171. In practice, these two cards would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Control, meaning the RTX 3050 OEM would also struggle at 4K beyond Low settings and would be limited to Medium at 1440p. The AMD Radeon 680M, an integrated GPU, scores 15270, which is 0.7% higher, but its performance characteristics in a discrete card context are irrelevant for this comparison. The AMD Radeon Pro 560X (15082) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti (15063) are 0.6% and 0.7% lower respectively, indicating they would perform slightly worse, likely pushing 1080p Ultra below the 60 FPS threshold.

For the CPU, the i5-14600KF’s nearest rivals are closely matched. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49228, just 0.3% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G scores 49196, 0.4% lower. These processors would behave identically in Control, as the game is GPU-bound at the tested settings. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is 0.8% lower, and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 is 0.8% higher. None of these deltas would produce a measurable FPS difference in this title. The CPU’s 90th percentile ranking confirms it is not a limiting factor, so swapping to any of these rivals would not alter the measured FPS results.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control, but the experience is heavily resolution-dependent. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold at all four presets, with Ultra averaging 64.5 FPS. This is the definitive target for this combo, offering the full game experience at a playable frame rate. High settings also work well at 76.6 FPS, and Low reaches 120.8 FPS for high-refresh-rate displays. At 2560x1440, the system remains playable only on Low (88 FPS) and Medium (64.1 FPS). High and Ultra fall below 60 FPS, so users must accept reduced detail for 1440p gaming. At 3840x2160, the verdict is clear: only Low settings achieve playable performance, averaging 61.1 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra are all below 45 FPS, making 4K gaming impractical except with minimal visual quality.

The bottleneck is the GPU. The RX 7600’s 8 GB VRAM and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p medium, but they cannot sustain the higher preset workloads at 4K. The i5-14600KF, with its 20 threads and 24 MB L3 cache, provides more than enough compute headroom. The data shows that this is a balanced 1080p gaming rig with some 1440p capability, but it is not a 4K solution for Control. The playable settings per resolution are: 1080p Ultra, 1440p Medium, and 4K Low.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested combinations in the database, this pairing ranks 2499 out of 3720, placing it in the 33rd percentile. This is a below-median ranking, which aligns with the RX 7600’s 57th percentile GPU position and the i5-14600KF’s 90th percentile CPU position. The rank reflects the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions. While the CPU is top-tier, the GPU holds the combo back in demanding scenarios like 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 35.8. The rank also indicates that many other tested combos deliver better 1440p and 4K performance, even if they cannot match the i5-14600KF’s raw CPU power. For Control specifically, this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it ranks among the viable configurations. The gap between this rank and the top tier is driven almost entirely by GPU performance, as evidenced by the FPS scaling across resolutions. Users seeking higher ranks would need a more powerful GPU, as the CPU is already well above the median for tested systems.