Control

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a strong performance profile in Control, with benchmark results showing that the combination is capable of handling the game’s demanding visuals across multiple resolutions. The measured data, based on average FPS across four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), indicates a system that scales predictably with both resolution and graphical fidelity. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves an average of 184 FPS on Low settings, dropping to 104.7 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages range from 143.2 FPS (Low) down to 77 FPS (Ultra). At 3840x2160, the performance tightens considerably, with a Low-setting average of 96.6 FPS and an Ultra-setting average of 52.7 FPS. These figures place the combo in the 1050th position out of 3720 tested combinations, a solid mid-to-upper tier ranking that reflects its ability to maintain high frame rates in most scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The FPS data for this CPU-GPU pairing in Control is presented as average frame rates, with no minimum or maximum values recorded for any resolution or settings combination. At 1920x1080, the lowest preset (Low) yields an average of 184 FPS, while Medium produces 132 FPS, High delivers 118.4 FPS, and Ultra settles at 104.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial, a 79.3 FPS difference, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a significant additional load on the hardware. At 2560x1440, the scaling follows a similar pattern: Low averages 143.2 FPS, Medium 99.2 FPS, High 88.6 FPS, and Ultra 77 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra here is 66.2 FPS, showing that resolution scaling affects the higher presets more severely. At 3840x2160, the averages compress into a narrower band: Low runs at 96.6 FPS, Medium at 65.8 FPS, High at 60.9 FPS, and Ultra falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold at 52.7 FPS. Notably, the difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 8.2 FPS, while the jump from Low to Medium costs 30.8 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset at this resolution is the only setting that fails to maintain a playable frame rate.

CPU and GPU Roles

Analyzing the scaling between resolutions reveals how the workload shifts between the CPU and GPU in Control. At 1920x1080, the system is likely more CPU-bound, as the frame rates are high enough that the RTX 3080’s rendering pipeline is not fully saturated. The evidence lies in the 184 FPS Low result versus 104.7 FPS Ultra: a 79.3 FPS swing that points to the GPU becoming the limiting factor as settings increase, but at lower settings the CPU’s 14 cores and 20 threads can push frames rapidly. Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU begins to assert dominance. The Low preset drops to 143.2 FPS, a 40.8 FPS decline from 1080p, while Ultra falls to 77 FPS, a 27.7 FPS decline. This asymmetric drop indicates that the GPU’s pixel throughput becomes more critical at higher resolutions, but the CPU still has headroom to support the frame rates. At 3840x2160, the GPU is firmly the bottleneck. The Low preset drops to 96.6 FPS, a 46.6 FPS decline from 1440p, and Ultra plunges to 52.7 FPS, a 24.3 FPS decline. The fact that even Low settings cannot reach 100 FPS at 4K confirms that the RTX 3080’s 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are the primary constraints, not the CPU’s processing power. The i5-14600KF, with its 3.50 GHz base and 5.30 GHz boost clock, provides ample single-thread performance for the game’s logic, but at 4K the GPU’s 8704 shading units are working at full capacity.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this pairing achieves a rank of 1050 out of 3720 total combos, placing it in the 28th percentile of all systems tested. This ranking is driven by the CPU’s strong synthetic benchmark scores—the i5-14600KF posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and a single-core score of 4594, alongside a Geekbench multi-core score of 17085—and the GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 25086. The GPU’s percentile versus all GPUs is 68, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of all graphics cards tested, while the CPU’s percentile versus all CPUs is 90, indicating it is in the top 10% of processors. The combo’s in-game rank of 1050 is lower than the individual component percentiles might suggest, which is attributable to Control’s specific engine demands and the RTX 3080’s 10 GB VRAM capacity being a limiting factor at higher resolutions and presets. Relative to the CPU’s nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores within 0.3% of the i5-14600KF’s average benchmark score, while the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 is 0.8% ahead. On the GPU side, the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 0.3% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 6600M is 0.4% lower, indicating that the RTX 3080 sits in a tight performance band with these alternatives.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Control? The benchmark data shows a clear yes for most settings and resolutions, with a single exception. At 1920x1080, all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—average above the 60 FPS playable threshold, with Ultra achieving 104.7 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same holds true: Low (143.2 FPS), Medium (99.2 FPS), High (88.6 FPS), and Ultra (77 FPS) all clear the bar. At 3840x2160, the situation becomes nuanced. The Low preset averages 96.6 FPS, Medium averages 65.8 FPS, and High averages 60.9 FPS, all of which are playable. However, the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 52.7 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. Therefore, the verdict is that the PC runs Control at playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p with any settings, and at 4K with High settings or lower. For 4K Ultra, the system cannot maintain 60 FPS, so users must either lower the preset or accept a sub-60 FPS experience.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For users considering hardware that would behave similarly to this combo, the nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide useful reference points. The Intel Core i5-14600KF’s closest competitor is the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which has an average benchmark score 0.3% higher, meaning the two CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Control when paired with the same GPU. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G is 0.4% higher, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is 0.8% higher, while the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 is 0.8% lower. On the GPU side, the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 0.3% higher than the RTX 3080, so a system with that card would perform within a fraction of a percent. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 also scores 0.3% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 6600M is 0.4% lower, while the AMD Radeon R9 M290X is 0.4% lower. In practice, swapping the i5-14600KF for a Ryzen 9 7900 or the RTX 3080 for a P106-100 would result in almost identical gameplay metrics, with differences of less than 1% in average FPS across all measured resolutions and settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest settings preset that maintains 60 FPS at 3840x2160?

A: The High preset achieves an average of 60.9 FPS at 4K, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset drops to 52.7 FPS, so High is the maximum playable setting at this resolution.

Q: Does the combo run Ultra settings at 2560x1440?

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 77 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold. All other presets—Low, Medium, and High—also exceed 60 FPS, with averages ranging from 88.6 to 143.2 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 118.4. At 1440p High, the average drops to 88.6, a reduction of 29.8 FPS, or approximately 25% lower performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1920x1080?

A: At 1080p, the data suggests the system is less GPU-bound than at higher resolutions. The Low preset reaches 184 FPS, while Ultra drops to 104.7 FPS, indicating that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as settings increase, but the CPU’s high single-core performance (4594 in Cinebench R23) supports very high frame rates at lower settings.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The combination ranks 1050th out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all systems benchmarked in Control.

Q: Are there any settings at 3840x2160 that fall below 60 FPS?

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 52.7 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. All other 4K presets—Low, Medium, and High—stay above 60 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, which delivers an average of 60.9 FPS. The Low and Medium presets also achieve playable frame rates (96.6 and 65.8 FPS, respectively), but High offers the best visual quality while still clearing the threshold. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is the best choice, averaging 77 FPS, which provides the highest fidelity without sacrificing playability. At 1920x1080, Ultra is also the recommended setting, with an average of 104.7 FPS, leaving ample headroom above the 60 FPS minimum. For users prioritizing maximum visual quality over raw frame rates, these settings represent the optimal balance of performance and graphical fidelity for each resolution, based on the measured data. The 4K High result is particularly noteworthy, as it sits just 0.9 FPS above the playable threshold, indicating that any slight variation in scene complexity could push it below 60 FPS, but the benchmark average confirms it as the best playable option.