Control

Control is an action-adventure title that stresses both the CPU and GPU depending on the resolution and preset, and the Intel Core i5-9400 with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination delivers a split verdict: fully playable at 1080p across all settings, playable at 1440p only on Low, and not playable at 4K on any preset. The measured data shows a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU holds up adequately at 1080p. Below is the detailed analysis of how this combo behaves, where it stands among other tested hardware, and what settings you should choose for a smooth experience.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-9400 sits in the 47th percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals are extremely close in aggregate performance, with deltas under 1%. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, which is 0.2% higher, making it statistically indistinguishable in multi-threaded workloads. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher, while the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, just 0.4% lower. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, 0.3% lower. In practice, any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Control when paired with the same GPU, since the game's CPU demands are modest at 1080p and the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15290. Its nearest rivals are equally tightly clustered. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 scores 15283, a 0% delta, meaning the RTX 2060 is effectively tied with a much older card in raw compute benchmarks, though the RTX 2060 brings modern features like ray tracing and DLSS that the GTX 580 lacks. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, 0.1% lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, 0.6% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171, 0.8% lower. These four cards would all produce similar frame rates in Control under the same CPU and settings, given their aggregate scores are within a single percentage point of each other.

The practical implication is that if you own a system with any of these rival CPUs or GPUs, you can expect nearly the same measured FPS numbers shown in this analysis. The CPU's 6 cores and 6 threads at a 2.90 GHz base clock and 4.10 GHz boost clock are sufficient for this game, while the GPU's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth provides the bandwidth needed for the game's texture-heavy environments.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the GPU is the primary constraint, but the CPU is still capable enough to keep frame rates high. The jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 46.9 FPS drop (from 108.3 to 61.4), which is a 43.3% reduction. This indicates that the GPU's shading units and texture units are being saturated as settings increase, while the CPU, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, has enough headroom to feed the GPU without becoming a bottleneck.

At 2560x1440, the GPU's load increases significantly, and the CPU's role diminishes further. The Low preset at 1440p produces 84 FPS, while Ultra drops to 43.4 FPS, a 40.6 FPS or 48.3% reduction. The CPU's contribution is less noticeable here because the GPU is working harder to fill more pixels. The 6 cores and 6 threads are not the limiting factor; the RTX 2060's 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs are.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmingly the bottleneck. The best case is Low at 57.1 FPS, which is still below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium drops to 39.2 FPS, High to 37.7 FPS, and Ultra to 32.3 FPS. The CPU, even at its 4.10 GHz boost clock, cannot compensate for the GPU's inability to maintain 60 FPS at 4K. The data shows that the CPU's role is to maintain a baseline of performance, and at 4K, the RTX 2060 simply lacks the fill rate and memory bandwidth to keep up, regardless of what the CPU does.

The scaling between resolutions at the same preset is telling. For Low settings, 1080p yields 108.3 FPS, 1440p yields 84 FPS, and 4K yields 57.1 FPS. That is a 24.3 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p and another 26.9 FPS drop to 4K. For Ultra, the progression is 61.4, 43.4, and 32.3 FPS. The percentage drops are steeper at Ultra, confirming that the GPU's memory subsystem and compute units are the limiting factor at high settings, while the CPU maintains a consistent level of performance across all resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded measurements provide a full matrix of average FPS across three resolutions and four settings. Min and max FPS values were not recorded in the database, so all analysis relies on the average FPS figures.

1920x1080: The best performance is on Low settings at 108.3 FPS. Medium settings deliver 79.2 FPS, which is a 29.1 FPS reduction from Low. High settings drop further to 65.5 FPS, a 13.7 FPS reduction from Medium. Ultra settings produce 61.4 FPS, which is only 4.1 FPS lower than High. This is the only resolution where every preset clears the 60 FPS playable threshold, and Ultra still maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

2560x1440: Low settings are the only playable option, producing 84 FPS. Medium settings drop to 58.6 FPS, just 1.4 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold, so this preset is borderline but not fully playable. High settings produce 51 FPS, and Ultra produces 43.4 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 25.4 FPS, which is a significant penalty for moving up one preset level, and the drop from Medium to High is 7.6 FPS, with another 7.6 FPS drop to Ultra.

3840x2160: No preset is playable at 4K. Low settings produce 57.1 FPS, which is 2.9 FPS short of the 60 FPS threshold. Medium produces 39.2 FPS, High produces 37.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 32.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 17.9 FPS, showing that the GPU struggles severely as soon as settings are raised beyond the minimum. High and Medium are only 1.5 FPS apart, indicating that the GPU is saturated and additional settings have diminishing returns on frame rate.

The data shows that the RTX 2060 has a performance ceiling around 108.3 FPS at 1080p Low, and this ceiling drops sharply as resolution increases. The 6 GB VRAM is sufficient for all presets at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s is insufficient to maintain smooth performance.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Control, this specific CPU and GPU pairing ranks 2863 out of 3720 total combos. That places it in the lower 23% of all tested systems, which is a surprising result given that the individual components are mid-range. The rank reflects that many other combinations, likely with higher-end GPUs or CPUs, achieve better frame rates, especially at 1440p and 4K where this system struggles.

The rank of 2863 out of 3720 is driven primarily by the GPU's performance at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the combo performs well, with Ultra settings at 61.4 FPS, but the database includes many systems that can push 4K Ultra, which skews the overall ranking. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking is not the issue; the GPU's 58th percentile is also not terrible, but the combination of a 6-core CPU with a 6 GB GPU is not optimized for high-resolution gaming in this particular title.

For context, the CPU's nearest rivals all score within 0.4% of each other, so swapping the i5-9400 for an i7-1068NG7 or i3-10305 would not meaningfully change the combo's rank. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals are within 0.8%, so swapping the RTX 2060 for a GTX 580 or RX 7600 would also produce similar rankings. The rank is thus more a function of the game's demands at higher resolutions than any specific weakness in this hardware pairing.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 1080p with the highest settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 61.4 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. High settings give 65.5 FPS, Medium gives 79.2 FPS, and Low gives 108.3 FPS.

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

A: Low settings are the only playable preset at 1440p, producing 84 FPS. Medium settings fall just short at 58.6 FPS, which is 1.4 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this hardware?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 57.1 FPS on Low settings, which is 2.9 FPS below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra produce 39.2, 37.7, and 32.3 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, with the nearest rival being the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 at 2259 (0.2% higher). The Intel Core i3-10305 is 0.4% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 is 0.4% lower.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 scoring 15283 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon 680M scoring 15270 (0.1% lower), and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 scoring 15171 (0.8% lower).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The difference is 46.9 FPS. Low settings produce 108.3 FPS, while Ultra produces 61.4 FPS, a 43.3% reduction in performance.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which produces an average of 61.4 FPS. This gives a small margin of 1.4 FPS above the threshold, so it is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. High settings at 65.5 FPS provide a safer margin if you prefer stability over maximum visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, which produces an average of 84 FPS. This is a comfortable margin of 24 FPS above the threshold. Medium settings at 58.6 FPS are very close to playable but do not meet the 60 FPS requirement.

At 3840x2160, there is no preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. The best option is Low at 57.1 FPS, which is 2.9 FPS short. The database's verdict confirms that no playable settings exist at this resolution.

The Verdict

This combination can run Control, but only under specific conditions. At 1920x1080, the system is fully playable across all presets, with Ultra at 61.4 FPS being the highest quality option that clears the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, the system is playable only on Low settings, which produce 84 FPS; Medium and above fall below 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, the system is not playable on any preset, with the best case being Low at 57.1 FPS.

The data indicates that the RTX 2060 is the limiting factor at 1440p and 4K, while the i5-9400 provides sufficient CPU performance even at 1080p Ultra. For the best experience, this system should be used at 1080p with High or Ultra settings, where it delivers smooth frame rates without requiring any compromises. If you need to play at 1440p, dropping to Low settings is the only way to maintain 60 FPS, and 4K is not a viable option with this hardware. The combo ranks 2863 out of 3720 tested systems, which is below average, but for 1080p gaming, it performs admirably.