Control

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks at position 1134 out of 3720 tested combinations for Control, placing it in the top third of all systems evaluated for this title. This percentile standing, combined with the measured frame rates, indicates a configuration that handles the game with substantial headroom at most settings, though 4K Ultra pushes the hardware to its limits.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's ranking of 1134 out of 3720 tested combos places it in the 69.5th percentile of all systems benchmarked against Control. This is a strong showing, suggesting that roughly seven out of every ten tested configurations will perform at or below this level. The ranking reflects the balanced nature of the pairing: the CPU's 91st percentile standing among all processors (avg benchmark score of 53620) and the GPU's 69th percentile among all graphics cards (avg benchmark score of 23877) combine to produce a system that excels in CPU-bound scenarios while remaining competitive in GPU-heavy workloads.

Breaking down the component contributions, the i7-14700F delivers exceptional multi-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and a single-core score of 4958. The RX 9070's PassMark G3D score of 25381 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6290 demonstrate solid rasterization capabilities for a 2025-era GPU. When contextualized against the full test pool, this rank means the system sits comfortably ahead of the median configuration, though it is not among the elite top-tier setups that dominate the leaderboard.

CPU and GPU Roles

At 1920x1080, the data shows the CPU has significant influence on overall performance. The jump from Low to Ultra settings yields a drop from 182 FPS to 100 FPS, a 45% reduction, yet even at Ultra the system maintains triple-digit frame rates. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, provide ample processing power to feed the GPU at lower resolutions where draw calls and game logic become more prominent. The Cinebench R20 single-core score of 2082 indicates strong per-thread performance, which is critical for maintaining high frame rates in action sequences.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the GPU begins to assert greater influence. The spread between Low (137 FPS) and Ultra (75 FPS) narrows to a 45% reduction, but the absolute numbers suggest the RX 9070's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the increased pixel workload. The medium preset at 1440p produces 98 FPS with a minimum of 83 FPS, showing that the GPU can sustain consistent frame delivery even when the scene complexity rises.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The RX 9070's 36.13 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 128 ROPs are pushed hard, with Ultra settings dropping to 51 FPS and High barely missing the 60 FPS threshold at 59 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 32% performance hit when moving from 1440p Ultra (75 FPS) to 4K Ultra (51 FPS), which is consistent with the 2.25x pixel count increase. The GPU's 220 W TDP and dual-slot cooler design are clearly being utilized to their maximum extent at this resolution.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X sits within 0.6% of the i7-14700F's average benchmark score (53288 vs 53620), meaning users with that processor would experience nearly identical frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Xeon 6505P is marginally ahead at 53701 (0.2% delta), while the Xeon Phi 7290 trails by 0.3% and the EPYC 7313P by 0.8%. These deltas are so small that any of these CPUs would produce statistically indistinguishable results in Control, given the game's moderate CPU demands at higher resolutions.

On the GPU side, the RX 9070's nearest rivals show similar performance parity. The AMD Radeon RX 6800S scores 24063 (0.8% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z scores 23736 (0.6% lower), and the RTX 3080 Mobile scores 23628 (1.1% lower). The RTX 2080 SUPER at 24170 is 1.2% higher. These differences are within the margin of measurement error, so a system using any of these GPUs would deliver comparable frame rates. Notably, the RX 6800S and RTX 3080 Mobile are mobile parts, suggesting that even laptop versions of these GPUs can match the desktop RX 9070 in this title.

The Verdict

The data clearly shows this system can run Control at all tested resolutions and presets, with the single exception of 4K Ultra. At 1920x1080, every preset from Low (182 FPS) to Ultra (100 FPS) far exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 2560x1440, all four presets remain playable, with Ultra delivering 75 FPS and Low reaching 137 FPS. The 4K resolution presents a mixed picture: Low (93 FPS) and Medium (66 FPS) are playable, while High (59 FPS) and Ultra (51 FPS) fall short of the 60 FPS target.

The verdict by resolution confirms these findings. At 3840x2160, the playable settings are Low and Medium, with Medium being the best choice at 66 FPS average. At 2560x1440, all settings are playable, and Ultra at 75 FPS is the recommended maximum. At 1920x1080, all settings are playable, with Ultra at 100 FPS providing the best visual quality while maintaining excellent performance. For users seeking the highest fidelity at 4K, the system will require some graphical compromises, but for 1440p and below, it offers a complete range of options.

FAQ

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

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system produces an average of 51 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable 4K option is Medium, which achieves 66 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution-to-settings combination for this system?

A: At 2560x1440 with Ultra settings, the system delivers 75 FPS average, offering the highest visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. This provides a better balance than 4K Medium (66 FPS) or 1080p Ultra (100 FPS).

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest competitor?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 53620, which is 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (53288) and 0.8% higher than the AMD EPYC 7313P (53206). The Intel Xeon 6505P is 0.2% faster at 53701.

Q: Is the GPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. At 1920x1080, even Ultra settings produce 100 FPS average, indicating the RX 9070 has sufficient headroom. The CPU's strong single-thread performance (4958 in Cinebench R23 single-core) helps maintain high frame rates at this resolution.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1440p High settings?

A: The system achieves 87 FPS average at 2560x1440 with High settings. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and demonstrates smooth gameplay with good visual fidelity.

Q: How does the GPU rank among all tested graphics cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 sits in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23877. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, scores 24170 (1.2% higher), while the AMD Radeon RX 6800S scores 24063 (0.8% higher).

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers 100 FPS average. This provides the full visual experience without any performance concerns.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings again achieve the highest quality while staying above the threshold, producing 75 FPS average. This is the recommended configuration for users with 1440p displays.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding playable preset is Medium, which yields 66 FPS average. High settings drop to 59 FPS, just below the 60 FPS target, so Medium is the optimal choice for 4K gaming with this hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 182 FPS on Low, 129 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 110 and maximum of 148), 115 FPS on High, and 100 FPS on Ultra. All settings maintain frame rates well above the playable threshold, with the minimum observed frame rate across any 1080p preset being 110 FPS on Medium.

At 2560x1440, performance scales predictably: Low produces 137 FPS, Medium delivers 98 FPS (with a range of 83 to 112), High achieves 87 FPS, and Ultra yields 75 FPS. The minimum frame rate at 1440p Medium is 83 FPS, indicating consistent performance without significant dips.

At 3840x2160, the system produces 93 FPS on Low, 66 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 56 and maximum of 76), 59 FPS on High, and 51 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset's minimum of 56 FPS shows occasional dips below the 60 FPS threshold, but the average of 66 FPS suggests these are transient and not representative of sustained performance. The High and Ultra presets at 4K fall below the playable threshold and are not recommended for a consistent experience.