Control

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Control with the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 covers three resolutions and four quality presets. All measurements reflect average frame rates, as the database does not report minimum or maximum values for this combination.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a tight band of performance across all presets. Low settings produce 160 FPS average, Medium moves to 142.3 FPS, High comes in at 137.4 FPS, and Ultra closes at 130 FPS. The spread from lowest to highest preset is 30 FPS, which indicates that even the most demanding settings leave substantial headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the pattern remains similar but with slightly lower overall figures. Low settings yield 150.1 FPS, Medium reaches 132 FPS, High drops to 124 FPS, and Ultra sits at 114.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 35.9 FPS, a modest increase over the 1080p spread, which suggests the GPU is still far from being the limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve steepens considerably. Low settings still deliver a strong 127.8 FPS, but Medium falls to 97.5 FPS, High drops to 90.3 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 74.4 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 53.4 FPS, nearly double the spread seen at 1080p. This is the resolution where the RTX 4090 finally starts to feel the load from Control's rendering demands, though even the heaviest preset remains comfortably above 60 FPS.

The min and max FPS fields are not populated in the database for any resolution or preset, so this analysis relies entirely on average frame rates. Those averages are consistent across repeated measurements, which supports the reliability of the recorded data.

Best Settings per Resolution

The playable threshold in the database is 60 FPS. Every tested preset at every resolution clears that bar, so the best settings are defined by the highest quality preset that remains playable.

At 1920x1080, Ultra is the best choice. The average frame rate at Ultra is 130 FPS, which is more than double the playable threshold. There is no reason to reduce quality at this resolution, as even the most demanding preset leaves enormous headroom.

At 2560x1440, Ultra again takes the top spot. The recorded average is 114.2 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold. The gap between Ultra and High at this resolution is 9.8 FPS, so dropping to High would buy only a modest frame rate increase while sacrificing visual fidelity. Ultra remains the sensible pick.

At 3840x2160, Ultra is still the best setting, with an average of 74.4 FPS. This is the only resolution where the margin above the playable threshold narrows to a meaningful degree, but 14.4 FPS of headroom is enough to keep the experience smooth in typical scenes. Users who prefer maximum frame rate stability could step down to High at 90.3 FPS, but the data does not indicate any need to do so.

In all three resolutions, the verdict list includes every preset as playable. The best settings column confirms Ultra at each resolution, with the corresponding average FPS values of 130, 114.2, and 74.4.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake architecture, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its benchmark profile places it at the 47th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 2254. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, by contrast, sits at the 88th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60347. That percentile gap is the first clue about which component dominates this pairing.

The scaling patterns across resolutions reinforce this. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra is 30 FPS. At 2560x1440, that difference grows to 35.9 FPS. At 3840x2160, it expands to 53.4 FPS. If the CPU were the primary constraint, the spread between presets would remain roughly constant as resolution increases, because the CPU workload would stay similar while the GPU work scales with pixel count. Instead, the spread widens substantially at 4K, which indicates the GPU is becoming more influential as resolution rises.

The absolute frame rates tell the same story in reverse. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 160 FPS. At 4K Low, it still manages 127.8 FPS. The drop of 32.2 FPS from 1080p Low to 4K Low is relatively small in percentage terms, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU well enough at lower resolutions. At Ultra settings, the drop from 1080p to 4K is 55.6 FPS, a much larger absolute decline. This is consistent with a system where the GPU workload grows faster than the CPU workload as both resolution and quality increase.

The CPU's single-thread performance is modest compared to the GPU's raw power, but it does not bottleneck the RTX 4090 in this title at these tested settings. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would be most likely to limit frame rates, the combo still produces 160 FPS. A significant CPU bottleneck would typically cap frame rates well below that level. The RTX 4090's enormous compute resources, including 16,384 shading units and 512 texture mapping units, appear to be the dominant factor in determining performance at higher resolutions and presets.

At 1080p, the CPU is doing more relative work, but the frame rates remain high enough that the distinction is academic. At 1440p, the balance shifts slightly toward the GPU. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the primary driver of performance, with the CPU still providing enough throughput to avoid severe limitations. The recorded data does not include frame time measurements or per-core utilization, so a deeper breakdown of CPU versus GPU involvement is not possible from the database alone.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-9400 in the database are four processors with average benchmark scores very close to its own. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, which is 0.2 percent lower than the i5-9400's 2254. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, which is 0.3 percent higher than the i5-9400. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, which is 0.4 percent higher. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, which is 0.4 percent lower. These deltas are tiny, all within one percentage point, so any of these processors would behave nearly identically to the i5-9400 when paired with the RTX 4090 in Control.

The nearest rivals for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 show a similar pattern, though the comparison set is less obvious at first glance. The Intel Arc Pro A60 scores 60326, which is effectively identical with a 0 percent delta. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60140, which is 0.3 percent higher than the RTX 4090's 60347 average. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61896, which is 2.5 percent lower than the RTX 4090. The AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58657, which is 2.9 percent higher. These are workstation and prosumer cards in many cases, but the benchmark scores place them in the same performance band as the RTX 4090 in the database's aggregate metrics.

For a user considering an upgrade or a different build, the practical implication is that swapping the i5-9400 for any of its listed rivals would produce nearly indistinguishable frame rates in Control, since the CPU is not the limiting factor in most tested scenarios. Swapping the RTX 4090 for one of its nearest rivals would also yield comparable performance, though the Pro W6600M and PRO V710 sit slightly further away in score, so their real-world behavior could differ by a few frames. The data does not include direct game benchmarks for these alternative components, so the comparison rests on aggregate benchmark scores rather than Control-specific measurements.

FAQ

Q: Can this combination run Control at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 74.4 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate in the database is 160 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra?

A: The 1080p Ultra average is 130 FPS, while the 4K Ultra average is 74.4 FPS. That is a drop of 55.6 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 bottlenecked by the i5-9400 in this game?

A: The data does not indicate a severe bottleneck. Even at 1080p Low, where CPU limitations would appear most clearly, the combo reaches 160 FPS. At 4K Ultra, it still maintains 74.4 FPS.

Q: Which preset should be used at 1440p?

A: Ultra is the best setting at 2560x1440, with an average of 114.2 FPS. All presets are playable, but Ultra offers the highest quality without dropping below the 60 FPS threshold.

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

A: The combo ranks 523rd out of 3720 tested combinations in the database for Control, placing it in the top 14 percent of all recorded pairings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 holds the 523rd position out of 3,720 tested combos in the database for Control. That places it in the upper tier of all recorded pairings, roughly in the 86th percentile of tested systems.

The ranking is notable because the CPU is not a particularly high performer in aggregate terms. The i5-9400 sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals are all within half a percentage point, which means the processor is squarely mid-pack. The RTX 4090, on the other hand, ranks at the 88th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60347. The GPU is carrying the combo in the rankings, and the measured frame rates confirm that the graphics card is delivering most of the playable performance.

The 523rd rank out of 3,720 is a strong result, but it is not at the very top of the list. That makes sense given the CPU's mid-pack standing. Systems equipped with faster processors would likely rank higher in this game, especially at lower resolutions where the CPU has more influence on frame rates. At 4K, the CPU's weaker standing matters less, since the GPU becomes the dominant factor.

The measured frame rates at each resolution and preset all exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold, which is the database's criterion for a positive verdict. The best settings at every resolution are Ultra, with the lowest recorded average being 74.4 FPS at 4K Ultra. This means the combo does not just barely clear the playable bar; it clears it with substantial margin at every tested configuration.

The database does not include minimum or maximum frame rates, so the ranking and the verdict are based solely on average performance. Stutter and frame pacing issues would not be captured in these averages, but the consistent pattern across twelve measured configurations suggests a stable experience. The rank of 523 out of 3,720 reflects a system that is clearly capable of running Control at high quality across all common resolutions, with the RTX 4090 providing the bulk of the headroom and the i5-9400 contributing enough CPU throughput to avoid major bottlenecks.