Control

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i5-9400 sits near the middle of the database's CPU performance distribution, with a percentile rank of 47 among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 2254 places it in close company with several other processors. The nearest rival is the Intel Core i3-10305, which scores 2264, a mere 0.4% higher. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 comes next with a score of 2259, just 0.2% above the i5-9400. On the other side, the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, which is 0.3% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% lower. In practical terms, any of these processors would deliver nearly identical frame pacing in CPU-bound scenarios, and the differences are well within run-to-run variance.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a far more dominant component. It holds an 87th percentile rank among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 56083. Its closest competitor is the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE, which scores 57367, a 2.2% advantage. The AMD Radeon 8060S trails by 0.6% with a score of 55757, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 0.7% behind at 55698. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, which is 2.3% lower. The delta between the fastest and slowest of these five GPUs is under five percentage points, so a user moving between any of these cards should expect broadly similar performance in Control.

For this specific combination, the database ranks the pairing at 593 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 16% of all tested configurations. The GPU is the clear performance anchor, while the CPU is a mid-pack part that will not meaningfully hold back the graphics card at most settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded data shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 5080 is doing the heavy lifting, and the i5-9400 is not the limiting factor in most scenarios. The evidence lies in the scaling between resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 162.6 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops the average to 145 FPS, a 10.8% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 130.8 FPS, another 9.8% drop. This steady decline as resolution increases points to a GPU-bound workload across the board.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution reinforces this. At 1920x1080, Low runs at 162.6 FPS while Ultra runs at 128.8 FPS, a 26% penalty for maxing out the settings. At 2560x1440, the spread is from 145 FPS at Low to 107 FPS at Ultra, a 35.5% penalty. At 3840x2160, Low produces 130.8 FPS while Ultra drops to 75.7 FPS, a 72.8% penalty. The widening gap at higher resolutions is typical of a GPU that is increasingly stressed by pixel count and shading complexity.

The CPU's role becomes clearer when examining the 1080p numbers. At 1920x1080, even the most demanding preset, Ultra, holds 128.8 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold, and the frame rate does not collapse at lower settings, which would indicate a CPU bottleneck. The i5-9400's six cores and six threads, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost of 4.10 GHz, are sufficient to keep the RTX 5080 fed. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and single-core score of 935 are modest by modern standards, but Control does not appear to demand more.

The data suggests that at 3840x2160, the GPU is the dominant constraint. The RTX 5080's 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 960.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth are being taxed heavily by the 4K resolution, particularly at Ultra settings where the average drops to 75.7 FPS. At lower resolutions, the headroom in the GPU is large enough that the CPU could theoretically become relevant, but the measured averages show no sign of a hard CPU ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database contains measured average frame rates for all four settings presets at three resolutions. Minimum and maximum frame rates were not recorded, so the analysis relies on averages.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 162.6 FPS. Medium rises slightly to 141.3 FPS, which is counterintuitive but reflects the measured data. High comes in at 136.3 FPS, and Ultra at 128.8 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 33.8 FPS, and every preset clears the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin.

At 2560x1440, Low produces 145 FPS. Medium drops to 129.9 FPS, High to 126.8 FPS, and Ultra to 107 FPS. The step from High to Ultra is the largest single drop at this resolution, 19.8 FPS, while the step from Medium to High is only 3.1 FPS. All presets remain far above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes. Low runs at 130.8 FPS, Medium at 95.1 FPS, High at 81.8 FPS, and Ultra at 75.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 35.7 FPS, the largest single preset step anywhere in the data. The gap between High and Ultra is a relatively modest 6.1 FPS. Even at 4K Ultra, the average remains above 60 FPS, though the margin shrinks to 15.7 FPS.

The scaling behavior is notable. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is only 33.8 FPS, or 20.8% of the Low value. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 55.1 FPS, or 42.1% of the Low value. This indicates that the GPU has plenty of spare capacity at 1080p, but is progressively more loaded as resolution increases.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control at every resolution and preset combination recorded in the database. The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: at 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080, all four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are marked as playable, meaning they all clear the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1920x1080, the weakest recorded result is Ultra at 128.8 FPS, which is more than double the playable threshold. At 2560x1440, Ultra runs at 107 FPS, still well above 60. At 3840x2160, Ultra runs at 75.7 FPS, which is above 60 but with less headroom. Users targeting a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K have no need to compromise; even the most demanding settings stay above the line.

The combination of the i5-9400 and RTX 5080 is ranked 593 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 16% of configurations. The GPU's 87th percentile rank and the CPU's 47th percentile rank combine to produce a system that is GPU-dominant in this title. The weakest point in the entire dataset is 4K Ultra at 75.7 FPS, and that is still comfortably playable.

For users with a 60 Hz display at any of the three resolutions, this system will not dip below the playable threshold. For users with high refresh rate displays, the 1080p and 1440p results offer substantial headroom, with the best cases reaching 162.6 FPS at 1080p Low and 145 FPS at 1440p Low.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which runs at an average of 128.8 FPS. Since every preset clears the threshold, there is no reason to drop below Ultra at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, with an average of 107 FPS. The margin above 60 FPS is 47 FPS, so users have room to spare. Even if frame rate fluctuations occur, the average is far enough above the threshold that dips to 60 are unlikely based on the recorded data.

At 3840x2160, Ultra remains the best settings choice, running at 75.7 FPS. This is the only resolution where the margin narrows noticeably; the difference between Ultra and High is only 6.1 FPS, so users who want extra safety margin could drop to High at 81.8 FPS, but the data does not require it. The verdict marks all four presets as playable at 4K, and Ultra clears 60 FPS by 15.7 FPS.

In summary, the database recommends Ultra at every resolution. The RTX 5080 has enough performance headroom in Control that the highest settings preset remains playable even at 3840x2160.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 60 FPS on Ultra settings at 1920x1080?

A: Yes. The measured average at 1080p Ultra is 128.8 FPS, well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at 2560x1440?

A: Ultra is the best choice at 1440p, with an average of 107 FPS. All four presets at this resolution clear 60 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 5080 or the i5-9400 the limiting factor at 3840x2160?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary constraint at 4K. The frame rate drops from 130.8 FPS at Low to 75.7 FPS at Ultra, a 42.1% reduction, which reflects increasing GPU load. The CPU does not appear to bottleneck at any resolution, given that even 1080p Ultra holds 128.8 FPS.

Q: How does this system compare to other tested combos in Control?

A: It ranks 593 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the top 16% of all configurations in the database.

Q: What happens to performance when moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at Ultra settings?

A: The average drops from 107 FPS at 1440p Ultra to 75.7 FPS at 4K Ultra, a reduction of 31.3 FPS or 29.2%.

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

A: No. Every recorded preset at every resolution, from 1080p Low at 162.6 FPS to 4K Ultra at 75.7 FPS, clears the 60 FPS playable threshold.