Control

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 811th out of 3720 tested combos in the database for Control. This places the combination in the top 22% of all tested systems, a strong position for a game released in 2019. The ranking reflects the substantial graphics horsepower of the RTX 4070 SUPER, which sits at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, while the i5-9400 is more modestly positioned at the 47th percentile among all CPUs. The data indicates that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting in this pairing, with the CPU providing adequate support without becoming a major limiting factor at most settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

Benchmark results for this combo show a clear pattern: the RTX 4070 SUPER dominates performance scaling across resolutions, while the i5-9400 becomes more relevant as resolution drops. At 4K (3840x2160), the average FPS ranges from 63.1 at Ultra to 106.5 at Low, a spread of 43.4 FPS. At 1440p, the range widens: 91.1 at Ultra up to 149.2 at Low, a 58.1 FPS spread. At 1080p, the spread grows further: 115.3 at Ultra to 160.5 at Low, a 45.2 FPS spread, but the ceiling is clearly capped by CPU limits.

The scaling between resolutions reveals the GPU-bound nature of the system at higher settings. Moving from 1080p Ultra (115.3 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (91.1 FPS) is a 21% drop, and from 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra (63.1 FPS) is another 31% drop. These are consistent with GPU-bound rendering where pixel count drives performance. However, at Low settings, the scaling is less steep: 1080p Low (160.5 FPS) to 1440p Low (149.2 FPS) is only a 7% drop, and 1440p Low to 4K Low (106.5 FPS) is a 29% drop. The relatively small difference between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings suggests the CPU begins to limit frame rates at lower resolutions and lower graphical loads. The i5-9400, with its six cores and six threads, cannot push beyond approximately 160 FPS in this title regardless of how light the GPU load becomes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers consistently high frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 160.5 FPS, Medium 139.8 FPS, High 134.5 FPS, and Ultra 115.3 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 45.2 FPS, indicating that graphical settings have a meaningful but not overwhelming impact at this resolution. The system comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold at every preset.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong. Low settings average 149.2 FPS, Medium 115.4 FPS, High 105 FPS, and Ultra 91.1 FPS. The step from Medium to High is a 10.4 FPS drop, while High to Ultra is a 13.9 FPS drop. Even at Ultra, the average remains well above 90 FPS, leaving substantial headroom for demanding scenes or future driver optimizations.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show its limits at the highest preset. Ultra averages 63.1 FPS, just above the 60 FPS threshold. High averages 71.3 FPS, Medium 78.2 FPS, and Low 106.5 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 6.9 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 8.2 FPS. The data shows that 4K Ultra is playable but with little margin; any particularly demanding in-game sequence could push average frame rates below the threshold.

The recorded data does not include minimum or maximum FPS values, so the analysis relies on average frame rates. The absence of min/max data means frame time consistency cannot be assessed directly, but the high averages across all resolutions suggest smooth gameplay in most scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K with all settings maxed out?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo averages 63.1 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the most demanding configuration in the measured data, and it remains playable, though with only a 3.1 FPS margin.

Q: How much performance does the system lose when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 115.3 at 1080p to 91.1 at 1440p, a 21% reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 134.5 to 105, a 22% reduction. The scaling is consistent across presets, indicating the GPU is the primary performance driver at these settings.

Q: Is the CPU holding back the GPU at lower resolutions?

A: The data suggests some CPU limitation at 1080p Low settings, where the average is 160.5 FPS. This is only 11.3 FPS higher than 1440p Low (149.2 FPS), a much smaller improvement than the resolution change would suggest if the GPU were fully utilized. The i5-9400's six threads appear to cap frame rates around this level.

Q: What is the best setting to use at 1440p for maximum visual quality while maintaining high FPS?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 average 91.1 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. This is the highest quality preset available and it remains comfortably playable, making it the recommended choice.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other systems tested for Control?

A: The combo ranks 811th out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the top 22% of all systems. This is a strong result, driven primarily by the RTX 4070 SUPER's 83rd percentile GPU ranking.

Q: Is there any resolution where the combo fails to reach 60 FPS?

A: No. At every resolution and preset combination in the measured data, the average FPS exceeds 60. The lowest recorded average is 63.1 FPS at 4K Ultra, which remains above the playable threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The RTX 4070 SUPER's nearest rivals in the database, based on average benchmark scores, are the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (0.1% lower score), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (0.1% lower), the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (0.2% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (1% lower). These GPUs would deliver near-identical performance in Control when paired with a comparable CPU. The Quadro M6000 variants are professional cards with different driver optimizations, but raw benchmark scores suggest similar gaming performance. The RTX 5050 Mobile and RTX 4090 Mobile are laptop parts that may be thermally constrained in practice, but their compute capability matches closely.

On the CPU side, the i5-9400's nearest rivals are the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (0.2% lower average score), the Intel Core i7-10710U (0.3% higher), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (0.4% higher), and the Intel Core i3-10305 (0.4% lower). These processors would behave similarly in Control, with the caveat that the i7-1068NG7 and i7-10710U are mobile chips that may exhibit different sustained performance in laptops. The Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 and i3-10305 are desktop parts and would likely produce nearly identical frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios.

For users considering alternative hardware, the data indicates that any of these CPU or GPU substitutions would result in performance within 1% of the tested combo, making them functionally interchangeable for Control. The choice between them would depend on other factors such as platform compatibility and power requirements, which are not assessed in this benchmark data.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 115.3 FPS. This provides the highest visual quality with more than double the playable threshold, leaving ample headroom for any in-game fluctuations.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings are also the best choice, averaging 91.1 FPS. This is 31.1 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold, offering both maximum quality and a comfortable performance buffer.

At 3840x2160, Ultra remains playable at 63.1 FPS average, but the margin is slim. For users who prioritize consistent frame rates over maximum visual fidelity, High settings at 71.3 FPS average provide a safer 11.3 FPS buffer above the threshold. The data shows that Ultra at 4K is technically playable, but High is recommended for sustained performance in demanding sequences.

The verdict data confirms all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at every resolution, with no configuration falling below 60 FPS average. The best settings per resolution are therefore the highest quality preset available: Ultra at all three resolutions, with the caveat that 4K Ultra operates close to the threshold and users may prefer High for additional safety margin.