Control

The Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination delivers a remarkably consistent experience across all tested resolutions in Control, with the data showing every preset from Low to Ultra clearing the 60 FPS threshold. This makes the pairing unusually versatile, as the benchmark results indicate that even the most demanding settings at 4K remain playable, a trait not found in many systems. The measured FPS figures, taken directly from the dataset, show a clear scaling pattern: as resolution drops, headroom grows substantially, allowing for much higher frame rates at 1080p and 1440p. This analysis will break down the specifics of what this combo achieves, where its limits are, and how it compares to other tested hardware, using only the provided facts to guide the interpretation.

FAQ

Q: What is the playable threshold for this game, and does the Intel Core i7-14700K + RTX 4070 SUPER exceed it at all resolutions?

A: The playable threshold is 60 FPS, and the verdict data confirms this combo clears it at every resolution. At 3840x2160, the lowest average FPS recorded is 60 on Ultra settings; at 2560x1440, the lowest is 89 on Ultra; at 1920x1080, the lowest is 118 on Ultra.

Q: Which resolution offers the highest average frame rate for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 214, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is far above the 60 FPS threshold and indicates the GPU is not the primary constraint at lower resolutions.

Q: How much performance headroom exists at 2560x1440 compared to 4K?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 89 FPS, which is 29 FPS higher than the 60 FPS average at 3840x2160 Ultra. This 48% improvement in frame rate comes from the lower pixel count, demonstrating that resolution scaling is a major factor for this title.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 SUPER bottleneck at 1080p in this game?

A: The data shows no bottleneck. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 118 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 214 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (from 214 to 118 FPS) shows the GPU is handling the workload efficiently, with the CPU providing enough headroom to avoid limiting performance.

Q: Is the Core i7-14700K a significant factor in this game's performance?

A: The benchmark results indicate the CPU is sufficient but not dominant. The FPS drops from 214 at 1080p Low to 110 at 4K Low, showing the GPU is the main scaling factor. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5, ensure it does not become a limiting factor.

Q: What is the best setting to use at 3840x2160 to stay above 60 FPS?

A: The Ultra preset averages exactly 60 FPS, which is right at the threshold. For a safer margin, the High preset averages 69 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 78 FPS, both providing more headroom while maintaining high visual quality.

Best Settings per Resolution

The data provides a clear picture of optimal settings for each resolution, focusing on the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages exactly 60 FPS, making it the most demanding playable option, though the Medium preset offers a more comfortable 78 FPS average with a minimum of 66 FPS. For 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 89 FPS, which is well above the threshold and represents the best visual quality without compromise. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 118 FPS, providing a high-refresh-rate experience with maximum settings enabled.

The measured FPS data shows a consistent pattern: Control is highly scalable across resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the system hits 60 FPS exactly, which is the minimum for a playable experience. Dropping to Medium at 4K yields 78 FPS, a significant improvement that suggests the Ultra preset is pushing the GPU to its limits. At 1440p, the Ultra preset at 89 FPS leaves substantial headroom, meaning users can enjoy the game at max settings with no concerns about frame drops. At 1080p, the 118 FPS average on Ultra indicates the system is far from stressed, and the 214 FPS on Low shows the ceiling of this combo's capability.

For users with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1440p or 1080p, the data suggests that Ultra settings are not only playable but also provide a smooth experience. The minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium is 98, and at 1080p Medium it is 130, both well above the 60 FPS threshold. This indicates that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate remains stable, making the Ultra presets at these resolutions the clear choice for visual fidelity.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for how this combo behaves relative to other hardware. For the Intel Core i7-14700K, the closest competitor is the AMD EPYC 9115, which scores 69288 in average benchmark performance, a negligible 0.1% difference from the i7's 69355. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515, which is 0.2% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69875, 0.7% higher. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 69996, 0.9% higher. These deltas are all within 1%, meaning any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Control, as the game is not heavily CPU-bound.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB, which scores 43262, a 0.1% difference from the RTX 4070 SUPER's 43223. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile scores 43268, 0.1% higher, and the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 scores 43301, 0.2% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile scores 43667, which is 1% higher. These rivals are all within a 1% performance band, so users with any of these GPUs can expect similar frame rates in Control, assuming the rest of the system is comparable.

The practical implication is that this combo sits in a tight performance cluster. A system with an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X or an RTX 4090 Mobile would deliver nearly identical results in Control, with differences of less than 1% in average benchmark scores. This means the i7-14700K and RTX 4070 SUPER are well-balanced for this title, and users should not expect meaningful gains from swapping to these near-identical rivals. The data suggests that the game's performance is primarily dictated by the GPU, as the CPU rivals show minimal impact on overall scores.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER can run Control at 60 FPS or higher at every resolution and preset combination tested. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 60 FPS, meeting the playable threshold exactly, while High (69 FPS), Medium (78 FPS), and Low (110 FPS) all provide additional headroom. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 89 FPS, which is a comfortable margin above the threshold, and at 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 118 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate displays.

The verdict is clear: this system is more than capable of handling Control at maximum settings at 1440p and 1080p, and it can also handle 4K Ultra with the understanding that frame rates will hover right around 60 FPS. For users who prefer a safety margin at 4K, the High preset at 69 FPS is a better choice, as it provides a 9 FPS buffer over the threshold. The measured FPS data shows no significant frame drops, with the minimum FPS recorded at 66 for 4K Medium, indicating stable performance across the board.

Given the playable threshold of 60 FPS, the RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for this title's demands. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads, with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, ensure that even at 1080p where the GPU is less stressed, the system maintains high frame rates without CPU bottlenecks. This combo is a solid choice for Control, with the data showing no configuration that fails to meet the playable standard.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals which component matters more for Control. The data shows a clear pattern: the GPU is the dominant factor, while the CPU provides a stable foundation. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low (214 FPS) and Ultra (118 FPS) is 96 FPS, a 45% reduction in performance from the most demanding preset. At 2560x1440, the difference between Low (162 FPS) and Ultra (89 FPS) is 73 FPS, a 45% reduction. At 3840x2160, the difference between Low (110 FPS) and Ultra (60 FPS) is 50 FPS, again a 45% reduction. This consistent 45% drop from Low to Ultra across all resolutions indicates that the GPU is the primary scaling factor, as the relative performance hit is identical regardless of pixel count.

The resolution scaling further confirms the GPU's dominance. At Ultra settings, dropping from 1080p to 1440p reduces performance from 118 to 89 FPS, a 25% decrease. Dropping from 1440p to 4K reduces performance from 89 to 60 FPS, a 33% decrease. This non-linear scaling is typical of GPU-bound workloads, where the pixel count directly impacts the rendering load. The CPU's role is to keep feeding the GPU with data, and the i7-14700K's high single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2160) ensures it does not become a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

At 1080p Low, the 214 FPS figure approaches the CPU's limit, but the system still delivers excellent performance. The data suggests that Control is heavily GPU-bound, as evidenced by the consistent 45% performance gap between Low and Ultra presets across all resolutions. This means that for users looking to improve performance, upgrading the GPU would yield larger gains than upgrading the CPU. The i7-14700K is more than sufficient for this game, and its nearest rivals, which are all within 1% performance, would not change the outcome.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination ranks 639th out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the top 17% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing for a desktop setup. The percentile rankings support this: the CPU is in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. This indicates that the combo is well above average, with the CPU being particularly strong relative to its peers.

The rank of 639 out of 3720 suggests that while this combo is not at the absolute top, it outperforms the vast majority of systems in this game. The 83rd percentile GPU ranking is noteworthy because it shows the RTX 4070 SUPER is a high-end card, but the 94th percentile CPU ranking indicates the i7-14700K is even more exceptional. This asymmetry means the GPU is more likely to be the limiting factor in Control, a conclusion consistent with the resolution scaling analysis.

For context, the combo ranks higher than the vast majority of systems, but there are 638 combos that perform better. These would likely include systems with higher-end GPUs like the RTX 4090 or RTX 4080, which would push frame rates higher at 4K. However, the data shows that this combo still delivers a playable experience at 4K Ultra, which is a significant achievement. The rank, combined with the measured FPS data, indicates that users of this system can expect a smooth, high-quality experience in Control, with the only caveat being that 4K Ultra sits right at the 60 FPS threshold.