Control

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers an exceptional Control experience, placing 115th out of 3720 tested combos for this title. This places the configuration in the top 3.1% of all tested hardware pairings, indicating that the system is overwhelmingly capable of running the game at maximum fidelity. The benchmark data confirms that every preset at every resolution tested clears the 60 FPS playability threshold, making this a no-compromise setup for Control.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 115 out of 3720 tested combinations places this CPU-GPU pairing in the top percentile of systems tested for Control. This rank reflects the sheer performance headroom available, as the RTX 4090 is a flagship GPU and the i7-14700F provides substantial processing power. The data shows that the system is not merely playable but is positioned to deliver extremely high frame rates, with the lowest average FPS across all tested settings being 74.3 FPS at 4K Ultra. The rank suggests that only a small fraction of tested systems can outperform this configuration, and those that do likely feature even more exotic CPU or GPU combinations. In practical terms, this hardware pairing is overkill for a game like Control, which launched in 2019, and the benchmark results confirm that the limiting factor will be the display's refresh rate rather than the hardware's capability.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear pattern in how the CPU and GPU workloads scale across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the GPU is the dominant bottleneck, but the CPU still provides enough headroom to push frame rates to extraordinary levels. The average FPS at 1080p Low is 272.2, which is a 58% increase over 1080p High at 171.8 FPS. This scaling indicates that the GPU is heavily utilized, but the i7-14700F's 20 cores and 28 threads are more than sufficient to prevent any CPU-side limitation. As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop consistently across all presets, with Low going from 272.2 to 208.1 FPS and Ultra going from 152.9 to 114.3 FPS. This is a uniform reduction that points to the GPU becoming the sole performance limiter, as the CPU workload remains relatively constant regardless of resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unequivocally the dominant component. The 4K Low preset yields 136.6 FPS, which is nearly half the 1080p Low figure, while 4K Ultra drops to 74.3 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at the same preset shows a roughly 50-55% reduction in frame rate, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's role is to feed the GPU with enough data, and the i7-14700F's single-core performance—evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4958—ensures that it never becomes a bottleneck. The data suggests that for this game, the GPU is responsible for the vast majority of performance scaling, while the CPU provides a stable foundation that does not degrade frame rates even at the highest settings.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers an average of 74.3 FPS. This is a comfortable margin above the playability threshold, and the data shows that all presets—Low at 136.6, Medium at 97, and High at 90.5 FPS—exceed the 60 FPS mark. For 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves 114.3 FPS average, which is well above the threshold, and there is no need to compromise on settings. The 1920x1080 resolution allows for the highest fidelity, with Ultra averaging 152.9 FPS, making it the best choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. In all cases, the recommendation is to select the Ultra preset, as the hardware provides enough headroom to run the game at its maximum visual quality while maintaining frame rates that are far above the playable threshold. The only scenario where a user might choose a lower preset is to push frame rates beyond 200 FPS, which is achievable at 1080p Low with 272.2 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Intel Core i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 53620, placing it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. The closest comparable processors are the Intel Xeon 6505P with an average score of 53701 (0.2% higher), the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 at 53469 (0.3% lower), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X at 53288 (0.6% lower), and the AMD EPYC 7313P at 53206 (0.8% lower). These rival CPUs would deliver nearly identical performance in Control, as the game's engine is not heavily reliant on multi-core scaling beyond what these processors offer. The Ryzen 9 7900X is particularly notable as a consumer alternative that would behave almost exactly the same in this game, with a delta of just 0.6%.

For the GPU, the RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 60347 and sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals are the Intel Arc Pro A60 with a score of 60326 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 at 60140 (0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M at 61896 (2.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 at 58657 (2.9% lower). These deltas are remarkably small, meaning that swapping the RTX 4090 for any of these GPUs would result in nearly identical frame rates in Control. However, it is worth remembering the RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are far beyond what Control requires, so these rival GPUs would likely match its performance in this specific title despite having different specifications.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates range from 272.2 FPS on Low to 152.9 FPS on Ultra, with High at 171.8 and Medium at 192.9. The spread between Low and Ultra is 119.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom even at the highest settings. At 2560x1440, the averages are 208.1 FPS on Low, 146.8 on Medium, 133.3 on High, and 114.3 on Ultra. The performance gap between presets narrows slightly as resolution increases, which is expected in a GPU-bound scenario. At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 136.6 FPS on Low, 97 on Medium, 90.5 on High, and 74.3 on Ultra.

Notably, the data does not include min or max FPS values, so the analysis is based solely on average frame rates. The consistency of the scaling across all three resolutions suggests that the system maintains stable performance without significant frame-time spikes, which is typical for a high-end GPU like the RTX 4090. The largest performance hit occurs when moving from 1440p to 4K at the same preset, with an average reduction of approximately 35-40% across all settings. This is a substantial drop but still leaves the system well above the 60 FPS threshold at 4K Ultra. The data confirms that the RTX 4090 is the primary driver of performance, and the i7-14700F's role is to ensure that the GPU is never starved of data.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 74.3 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the highest FPS achievable at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 272.2, which is the highest recorded value across all tested configurations.

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

A: Comparing the same preset, the average FPS drops by roughly 50-55%. For example, High settings go from 171.8 FPS at 1080p to 90.5 FPS at 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the dominant bottleneck at all resolutions, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate scaling across presets. The CPU provides sufficient headroom to avoid limiting performance.

Q: Are there any settings that drop below 60 FPS?

A: No, every resolution and preset combination tested maintains an average FPS above 74.3, which is the lowest value recorded.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 115th out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the top 3.1% of all systems tested for Control.

The Verdict

The data unequivocally demonstrates that this system can run Control at maximum quality across all tested resolutions. The verdict by resolution confirms that all playable settings—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are available at every resolution, with the best settings being Ultra at each. At 3840x2160, the average FPS at Ultra is 74.3, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with a 24% margin. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves 114.3 FPS, providing a smooth experience even on high-refresh-rate displays. At 1920x1080, Ultra delivers 152.9 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any gaming monitor.

This configuration is a definitive "yes" for Control. The combination of the i7-14700F's strong single-thread performance and the RTX 4090's immense rasterization power ensures that the game runs flawlessly at its highest settings. The only reason to lower settings would be to pursue frame rates beyond 200 FPS, which is achievable at 1080p Low with 272.2 FPS. For standard 60 FPS gaming, the Ultra preset is the clear recommendation at all resolutions, and the system has enough headroom to handle future updates or more demanding scenes within the game. This is a top-tier setup that will not struggle with Control under any circumstances.