Control

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the only preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold is Low, which averages 60.5 FPS. That is a marginal pass, with essentially no headroom above the playability mark. Medium drops to 45.4 FPS, High falls to 39.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 32.9 FPS. For a stable 4K experience, Low is the sole viable option.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, averaging 62.3 FPS. This provides a small buffer above the threshold. Low runs at 88.6 FPS, High dips to 56.6 FPS, and Ultra sits at 47.6 FPS. The data shows that High and Ultra are not playable at this resolution, while Medium offers the best visual quality that remains within the playable range.

At 1920x1080, every preset clears 60 FPS. The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 65.8 FPS. High runs at 72.7 FPS, Medium at 83.6 FPS, and Low reaches 120.9 FPS. This is the only resolution where the full settings range is usable, and Ultra provides a comfortable margin above the threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2584 out of 3720 tested combos in the database for Control. That places it in roughly the 31st percentile of all tested systems, meaning about 69% of recorded combinations deliver higher performance in this specific game. The rank reflects the GPU's position as the limiting factor: the RTX 2060 SUPER sits at the 62nd percentile among all GPUs, while the i7-13700K ranks at the 89th percentile among all CPUs. The CPU is clearly not the bottleneck here, yet the overall combo position is dragged down by the graphics card's mid-range standing.

For context, the GPU's average benchmark score is 18093, with nearest rivals such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile at 18159 (0.4% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 at 18189 (0.5% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 460 at 18373 (1.5% lower), and the Intel Arc A770M at 18383 (1.6% lower). The spread among these GPUs is narrow, under 2%, so the RTX 2060 SUPER performs essentially on par with this group. The CPU, meanwhile, has an average benchmark score of 46881, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 at 46971 (0.2% lower), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 at 47022 (0.3% lower), the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX at 46654 (0.5% higher), and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 at 46653 (0.5% higher). The CPU holds its own against these alternatives, with deltas all within half a percent.

The measured FPS data confirms that the combo's ranking is heavily influenced by resolution. At 1920x1080, the system performs strongly across all presets. At 2560x1440, it becomes borderline at High. At 3840x2160, only Low is playable. This pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become the decisive factors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded average FPS values are as follows: Low runs at 120.9 FPS, Medium at 83.6 FPS, High at 72.7 FPS, and Ultra at 65.8 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium is a 37.3 FPS drop, from Medium to High a 10.9 FPS drop, and from High to Ultra a 6.9 FPS drop. The step from Low to Medium is the steepest, indicating that the initial move up in quality costs the most performance. The gap between High and Ultra is relatively small, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end. All settings remain comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra only 5.8 FPS above it.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low at 88.6 FPS, Medium at 62.3 FPS, High at 56.6 FPS, and Ultra at 47.6 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 26.3 FPS, from Medium to High is 5.7 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 9.0 FPS. Here, Medium barely clears the threshold, while High and Ultra fall short. The transition from Medium to High is the smallest step, but it pushes the system below 60 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra is larger, indicating that Ultra settings impose a heavier load beyond what High requires.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: Low at 60.5 FPS, Medium at 45.4 FPS, High at 39.7 FPS, and Ultra at 32.9 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 15.1 FPS, from Medium to High is 5.7 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 6.8 FPS. Only Low reaches the playable mark, and it does so by a margin of just 0.5 FPS. The pattern here shows that each quality tier costs significant performance, and the system cannot sustain 60 FPS beyond the lowest preset. The min and max FPS values were not recorded in the database, so only averages are available for analysis.

Across all resolutions, the same relative ordering holds: Low is fastest, then Medium, then High, then Ultra. The absolute FPS values scale down as resolution increases, but the proportional gaps between presets shift. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 55.1 FPS. At 1440p, that gap narrows to 41.0 FPS. At 4K, it narrows further to 27.6 FPS. This indicates that the GPU becomes more stressed at higher resolutions, compressing the performance differences between settings.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i7-13700K is closely matched by several processors in the database. The AMD Ryzen 9 5900 has an average benchmark score of 46971, which is 0.2% lower than the i7-13700K's 46881. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 scores 47022, 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX scores 46654, 0.5% higher. The Intel Xeon w3-2535 scores 46653, 0.5% higher. In practical terms, all four alternatives are within half a percent of the i7-13700K's average score, so they would behave nearly identically in CPU-bound scenarios. For Control, where the GPU is the limiting factor, swapping the CPU to any of these would not meaningfully change the measured FPS.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is bracketed by four similarly performing cards. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile averages 18159, 0.4% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 averages 18189, 0.5% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 460 averages 18373, 1.5% lower. The Intel Arc A770M averages 18383, 1.6% lower. The performance deltas are small, all under 2%, so any of these GPUs would produce nearly the same FPS in Control at the same settings and resolution. The RTX 2060 SUPER sits in the middle of this cluster, neither the fastest nor the slowest among its nearest rivals.

Given the measured FPS data, a system with any of these alternative GPUs would likely show the same pattern: playable at 1080p across all presets, playable at 1440p only up to Medium, and playable at 4K only at Low. The CPU alternatives would not alter this outcome, as the i7-13700K already provides ample headroom for the RTX 2060 SUPER.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear GPU-bound pattern across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 120.9 FPS at Low and 65.8 FPS at Ultra. At 2560x1440, the same settings produce 88.6 FPS and 47.6 FPS respectively. At 3840x2160, they produce 60.5 FPS and 32.9 FPS. The FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, which is a hallmark of GPU-limited performance. The CPU's role remains constant regardless of resolution, while the GPU's workload grows with pixel count.

The scaling between resolutions at the same preset shows the GPU's influence. At Low settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS from 120.9 to 88.6, a 26.7% drop. Moving from 1440p to 4K reduces it from 88.6 to 60.5, a 31.7% drop. At Ultra settings, the same transitions go from 65.8 to 47.6 (27.7% drop) and from 47.6 to 32.9 (30.9% drop). The percentage drops are similar across presets, indicating that the GPU is consistently the bottleneck at every quality level.

The CPU's capability is evident from its benchmark scores: the i7-13700K has a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30745 and a single-core score of 2116. These are strong numbers, and the CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms it is not holding back the system. The GPU, by contrast, ranks at the 62nd percentile among all GPUs, with a Passmark G3D score of 16462. The combination of a high-tier CPU with a mid-tier GPU means that at 1080p, the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, but at higher resolutions, the GPU's limits become the sole constraint.

The preset scaling within each resolution further confirms this. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 55.1 FPS. At 1440p, it is 41.0 FPS. At 4K, it is 27.6 FPS. The shrinking gap at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is so saturated that raising settings has less impact relative to the baseline. This is typical of a GPU-limited scenario where the graphics card is the primary determinant of performance.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control, but with significant caveats depending on resolution. The database's verdict by resolution is clear: at 3840x2160, only Low settings are playable, with an average of 60.5 FPS. That is a pass, but barely, and there is no room for higher quality settings. Medium drops to 45.4 FPS, High to 39.7 FPS, and Ultra to 32.9 FPS, all below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the system can handle Low and Medium presets, with Medium being the best playable option at 62.3 FPS. Low runs at 88.6 FPS, providing a smoother experience for those who prefer higher frame rates. High at 56.6 FPS and Ultra at 47.6 FPS are not playable by the 60 FPS standard.

At 1920x1080, the system is fully capable. All four presets clear 60 FPS, with Ultra at 65.8 FPS being the highest quality option. High at 72.7 FPS and Medium at 83.6 FPS offer progressively higher frame rates for those who want more headroom, and Low at 120.9 FPS is well above typical display refresh rates.

The overall verdict is that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with maximum settings, or 1440p gaming with medium settings. 4K gaming is limited to the lowest preset, which defeats the purpose of high-resolution output in most cases. The CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution; the GPU determines the outcome. Users targeting 60 FPS should prioritize 1080p Ultra or 1440p Medium, while 4K should only be considered if Low settings are acceptable. The measured data leaves no ambiguity: this system delivers playable performance at 1080p across the board, at 1440p only up to Medium, and at 4K only at Low.