Control

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Control with the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT spans three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the combination delivers a Low preset average of 148 FPS, a Medium preset average of 105 FPS with a minimum of 90 FPS and a maximum of 121 FPS, a High preset average of 94 FPS, and an Ultra preset average of 81 FPS. The 1080p results show a clear progression where each step up in settings reduces the average by roughly 10 to 15 FPS, with the gap between Low and Medium being the steepest at 43 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the measured averages are 112 FPS on Low, 80 FPS on Medium with a minimum of 68 FPS and a maximum of 92 FPS, 71 FPS on High, and 62 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p scaling is consistent: the drop from Low to Medium is 32 FPS, from Medium to High is 9 FPS, and from High to Ultra is another 9 FPS. The minimum and maximum values recorded at Medium preset show a 24 FPS spread, indicating some frame time variance but still well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the averages fall to 76 FPS on Low, 54 FPS on Medium with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 62 FPS, 48 FPS on High, and 42 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra preset is the only configuration in the entire dataset that drops below 45 FPS on average. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 46 FPS, which dips below the playable threshold, while the maximum of 62 FPS barely clears it. This indicates that at 4K, even the Medium preset has moments of noticeable slowdown.

Across all resolutions, the Low preset is always the fastest, and the Ultra preset is always the slowest. The relative scaling between presets remains consistent: Medium is always closer to High than it is to Low in terms of average FPS, and Ultra always trails High by a similar margin. The data shows no anomalies where a lower preset outperforms a higher one at any resolution.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the dominant factor for this game at all tested resolutions, but the CPU still plays a measurable role at lower settings. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average of 148 FPS suggests that the i5-9400 can feed the RX 6750 XT enough data to reach high frame rates, but the CPU's six cores and six threads likely cap the maximum achievable frame rate. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 43 FPS, which is a larger absolute drop than the 32 FPS drop seen at 1440p and the 22 FPS drop at 4K for the same preset change.

Comparing resolution scaling, the 1440p Low result of 112 FPS is 24% lower than the 1080p Low result of 148 FPS, while the 4K Low result of 76 FPS is 32% lower than the 1440p Low result. This pattern shows that the GPU becomes progressively more stressed as pixel count increases, which is typical for a game like Control that relies heavily on rendering effects. At higher presets, the scaling between resolutions becomes more pronounced: 1440p Ultra at 62 FPS is 23% lower than 1080p Ultra at 81 FPS, and 4K Ultra at 42 FPS is 32% lower than 1440p Ultra.

The CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where the frame rate of 148 FPS is high enough that the processor's single-thread performance could become a limiting factor. The i5-9400 has a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, and its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935 places it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as the difference between Low and Ultra presets at that resolution is 34 FPS, a larger gap than the 67 FPS difference at 1080p but with a much lower absolute ceiling.

The recorded data suggests that at 1440p and 4K, the RX 6750 XT is the primary determinant of performance, since the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and preset changes. At 1080p, the CPU has more headroom to work with, but the i5-9400's six cores without hyper-threading may prevent the GPU from reaching its full potential in less demanding scenes.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 81 FPS. This is the clear choice for 1080p gaming, as it provides the highest visual quality while still maintaining a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 94 FPS and Medium at 105 FPS are also viable, but Ultra offers the best balance of image quality and performance.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 62 FPS, which just clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. This makes Ultra the recommended setting for 1440p, though the margin is slim. The High preset at 71 FPS provides more headroom, and the Medium preset at 80 FPS offers even more stability with a minimum of 68 FPS. For players who prioritize consistent frame times over maximum visual fidelity, High or Medium may be preferable, but the data confirms that Ultra is technically playable at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the only preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, which averages 76 FPS. The Medium preset averages 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 FPS, which fails the 60 FPS requirement. The High preset at 48 FPS and Ultra at 42 FPS are both well below the threshold. Therefore, 4K gaming with this combination requires Low settings to maintain playable frame rates.

The verdict by resolution confirms these findings: 1080p and 1440p list all four presets as playable, while 4K lists only Low as playable. The best settings per resolution are Ultra at 1080p with 81 FPS, Ultra at 1440p with 62 FPS, and Low at 4K with 76 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-9400, the CPU benchmarks show an average score of 2254. The closest competitor is the Intel Core i3-10305 with an average score of 2264, which is 0.4% higher. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, just 0.2% above the i5-9400, and the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% lower. These four CPUs would all behave nearly identically in Control, as their average benchmark scores differ by less than 1% from the i5-9400.

For the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT, the GPU average benchmark score is 26011. The nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile with a score of 25740, which is 1.1% lower. The AMD Radeon R9 M395X scores 25891, 0.5% lower, the AMD FirePro W7100 scores 25856, 0.6% lower, and the AMD FirePro D700 scores 25842, 0.7% lower. These GPUs would deliver frame rates within a small margin of the RX 6750 XT in Control, meaning the same settings and resolution recommendations would apply.

When considering the full combination, swapping the i5-9400 for any of its nearest rivals would result in essentially the same measured FPS, since the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at most settings. Similarly, swapping the RX 6750 XT for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile or the R9 M395X would produce slightly lower but comparable frame rates, with the largest difference being 1.1% in average benchmark score.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT combination ranks 1712 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 54th percentile of all configurations in the database. This means that roughly 46% of tested combos perform worse, and 54% perform better. The ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's modest 47th percentile ranking and the GPU's stronger 71st percentile ranking.

The combined performance is higher than the CPU's individual percentile suggests, because the RX 6750 XT carries most of the workload in this game. The rank of 1712 out of 3720 indicates that this combo is above average but not exceptional, which aligns with the measured FPS results: strong 1080p performance, solid 1440p performance, and limited 4K capability. The GPU's 71st percentile ranking is the primary driver of the combo's overall position, while the CPU's lower ranking prevents it from reaching the top quartile.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 81 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best preset for 2560x1440?

A: The Ultra preset averages 62 FPS, making it the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. High averages 71 FPS and Medium averages 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this combination?

A: Only with Low settings, which average 76 FPS. The Medium preset averages 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 FPS, falling below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. The i3-10305 scores 2264 (0.4% higher), the i7-1068NG7 scores 2259 (0.2% higher), the i7-10710U scores 2248 (0.3% lower), and the Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 (0.4% lower).

Q: What GPU is most similar to the RX 6750 XT?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the closest rival with a score of 25740, 1.1% lower than the RX 6750 XT's 26011. The Radeon R9 M395X is 0.5% lower, and the FirePro W7100 is 0.6% lower.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 1440p Medium is 68 FPS, with a maximum of 92 FPS and an average of 80 FPS.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 with all presets playable, and at 3840x2160 only with Low settings. The verdict by resolution confirms that 1080p Ultra averages 81 FPS, 1440p Ultra averages 62 FPS, and 4K Low averages 76 FPS. The 4K Medium preset fails the 60 FPS requirement with an average of 54 FPS.

For 1080p gaming, this combination provides excellent performance with headroom at every preset. For 1440p gaming, Ultra is playable but tight, and players who prefer consistent frame rates should consider High or Medium. For 4K gaming, only Low settings meet the 60 FPS target, and the Medium preset's minimum of 46 FPS means noticeable stutter in demanding scenes.

The data indicates that the RX 6750 XT is the stronger component in this pairing, with a 71st percentile GPU ranking versus a 47th percentile CPU ranking. The overall combo rank of 1712 out of 3720 places it in the upper half of tested configurations. Control is a demanding title, but this hardware handles it well at mainstream resolutions, with 1440p Ultra being the practical ceiling for this combination.