Control

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers exceptional performance in Control, with measured frame rates far exceeding the 60 FPS playability threshold at every tested resolution and settings preset. Across all twelve measured configurations, the lowest average frame rate recorded is 83 FPS at 4K Ultra settings, which remains comfortably above the playable threshold. The data indicates this combination provides a consistently smooth experience, with average frame rates scaling from 83 FPS at the most demanding 4K Ultra preset to 289 FPS at 1080p Low settings. The performance headroom is substantial, suggesting the system rarely, if ever, becomes a bottleneck in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 5090 D produces immense frame rates that are largely CPU-limited at lower presets. The Low preset yields an average of 289 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 211 FPS with a minimum of 180 FPS and a maximum of 243 FPS. Moving to High settings, the average drops to 188 FPS, and the Ultra preset maintains an average of 163 FPS. The scaling between Low and Ultra at this resolution is a 126 FPS difference, indicating that while the GPU still has headroom, the CPU's single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 1136) begins to constrain higher framerates at lower graphical loads.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally high. The Low preset delivers a 225 FPS average, while Medium settings produce 160 FPS on average, with a recorded minimum of 136 FPS and maximum of 184 FPS. High settings average 142 FPS, and the Ultra preset still achieves a 124 FPS average. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings reduces the average frame rate by 39 FPS (from 163 to 124), a 24% decrease, which is a moderate scaling factor that reflects the increased pixel count and memory bandwidth demands on the 32 GB GDDR7 frame buffer.

At 3840x2160, the combination still delivers high performance, though the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor. The Low preset averages 152 FPS, while Medium settings achieve 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 FPS and maximum of 124 FPS. The High preset averages 96 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to an 83 FPS average. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings shows a 41 FPS reduction (from 124 to 83), a 33% decrease, which is in line with the fourfold increase in pixel count from 1080p to 4K. The minimum frame rate data points, available only for Medium presets, show that even the lowest recorded frames remain well above the 60 FPS threshold at all resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on aggregate benchmark scores, indicate that the Core i7-13700K's average score of 46881 is statistically equivalent to several other high-end processors. The AMD Ryzen 9 5900 scores 46971, a negligible 0.2% difference, while the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 scores 47022, a 0.3% difference. On the other side, the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX scores 46654, a 0.5% difference, and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 scores 46653, also a 0.5% difference. These deltaPct values are all within one percent, meaning that in Control, any of these CPUs would produce virtually identical frame rates when paired with the same GPU, as the game's engine is not particularly sensitive to the small multi-threaded performance differences between these processors.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a similar pattern of close performance parity. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT has an average score of 76904, which is 1.1% below the RTX 5090 D's 77712 average. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940, a 1.6% advantage over the RTX 5090 D, while the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB and 16 GB variants score 79396 and 79605, representing 2.1% and 2.4% advantages respectively. These deltas are small enough that in practice, a user with any of these GPUs paired with the Core i7-13700K would experience nearly identical framerates in Control, with differences of only a few frames per second at most settings. The Tesla P100 cards, despite being compute-oriented, show that the game's GPU workload is well-served by a wide range of high-end architectures.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 83 FPS, which is 23 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict by resolution confirms Ultra is playable at 4K, with an average FPS of 83 at the best settings.

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 289, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the data that approaches 300 FPS, with the next closest being 225 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its closest rival in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77712, which is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76904) and 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940). The deltaPct values range from -2.4% to +1.1% against its four nearest rivals.

Q: Does the frame rate drop significantly between 1440p and 4K?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 124 at 2560x1440 to 83 at 3840x2160, a 41 FPS reduction or 33% decrease. This is consistent with the higher pixel count and memory bandwidth requirements of 4K rendering.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded across all tested configurations?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 92, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is the only configuration with a recorded minimum below 100 FPS, and it remains 32 FPS above the playable threshold.

Q: How does the Core i7-13700K perform relative to the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX?

A: The Core i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881, which is 0.5% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX's 46654. This deltaPct indicates the two CPUs are effectively tied in multi-threaded performance, with the Intel chip having a marginal edge.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control at every resolution and preset combination tested, with all configurations exceeding the 60 FPS playable threshold by a significant margin. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 163 FPS, providing a 103 FPS headroom above the threshold. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 124 FPS, which is more than double the playable frame rate. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 83 FPS, still 23 FPS above the threshold. The verdict by resolution lists all four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) as playable at each of the three resolutions, with the best settings being Ultra at all resolutions. The data indicates that this combination is overqualified for this game, as even the most demanding configuration leaves substantial performance headroom. The minimum frame rate data, available for Medium presets, shows the lowest recorded value is 92 FPS at 4K, which is still well above the threshold, indicating that frame time consistency is also strong.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals the relative importance of the CPU and GPU in Control. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 126 FPS (289 vs 163), which suggests that the CPU is partially limiting performance at lower presets, as the GPU is capable of much higher frame rates than the engine can deliver. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and multi-thread score of 12412 indicate strong single-core performance that supports high framerates, but the game's engine appears to have a ceiling around 289 FPS at 1080p Low. At this resolution, the CPU's role is more significant, particularly at Low and Medium presets where the GPU is less stressed.

At 2560x1440, the scaling between Low and Ultra is 101 FPS (225 vs 124), which is a smaller absolute difference than at 1080p, but the relative scaling is similar. The GPU begins to play a larger role at this resolution, as evidenced by the 33% performance drop from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings. The CPU still maintains high frame rates at Low settings, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher presets. At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant component, with the scaling from Low to Ultra being 69 FPS (152 vs 83), and the performance drop from 1440p to 4K at Ultra being 41 FPS (124 vs 83). The CPU's role diminishes at 4K, as the GPU's rendering workload becomes the primary constraint. The data shows that the Core i7-13700K is sufficient to feed the RTX 5090 D at all resolutions, but the GPU is the determining factor for frame rates at 4K, while the CPU's influence is most apparent at 1080p Low and Medium presets.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested combinations in the benchmark database for Control, this specific pairing ranks 23rd out of 3720 total combinations. This places the combo in the top 0.6% of all tested systems, indicating that it outperforms the vast majority of other hardware configurations in this game. The percentile ranking of the CPU (89th vs all CPUs) and GPU (92nd vs all GPUs) are both high, but the combo's combined rank of 23 suggests that the pairing is particularly well-suited for Control, likely due to the game's moderate CPU demands and the GPU's high fill rate and pixel throughput. The RTX 5090 D's pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are particularly relevant for a game like Control that features heavy particle effects and environmental destruction. The rank of 23 out of 3720 indicates that there are only 22 other combinations in the database that achieve higher frame rates in this game, and these are likely to include higher-end CPUs or more specialized configurations.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which achieves an average of 163 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available, and it provides a 103 FPS margin above the playable threshold, making it the recommended choice for 1080p users.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is also the best setting, delivering a 124 FPS average. This is 64 FPS above the threshold, and it offers the full graphical feature set without sacrificing playability. The data shows no benefit to reducing settings at this resolution, as even the most demanding preset remains well above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 83 FPS, which is 23 FPS above the threshold. While this is the most demanding setting and remains playable, users seeking additional headroom could consider High settings, which average 96 FPS, though the data indicates Ultra is still comfortably playable. For users with high-refresh-rate 4K displays, the Medium preset at 108 FPS or Low preset at 152 FPS offer progressively higher frame rates, but all settings remain above the playable threshold, and the Ultra preset provides the best visual quality while still clearing 60 FPS with a 23 FPS margin.