Control

The Intel Core i7-14700KF combined with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 delivers a decidedly mixed experience in Control, one that hinges almost entirely on the chosen resolution. At 1080p, the pairing is thoroughly capable, clearing the 60 FPS threshold at every preset. The data shows a steady decline as resolution increases, with the combo falling below the playability line at 4K for all but the Low preset. This is a configuration that prioritizes high-refresh 1080p gaming, and its performance envelope at higher resolutions is strictly limited by the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combination in Control reveal a clear pattern of performance scaling across the three tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 118 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 84 FPS on Medium with a recorded minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 97 FPS. Moving to High settings, the average settles at 75 FPS, and the most demanding Ultra preset still maintains a respectable 65 FPS average. This indicates that even at the highest visual fidelity, the combo has sufficient headroom to stay well above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

At 2560x1440, the performance cost becomes more pronounced. The Low preset yields an average of 89 FPS, which is a substantial 29 FPS drop from the 1080p result. The Medium preset averages 64 FPS, with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS, placing it just above the playable line but with occasional dips below. High settings produce an average of 56 FPS, falling short of the 60 FPS goal, while Ultra drops further to 49 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p clearly taxes the RX 7600, with each preset tier losing roughly 20-25% of its average frame rate.

The 3840x2160 results are the most telling. At 4K, the Low preset manages an average of 60 FPS exactly, which is the only playable configuration at this resolution. The Medium preset averages 43 FPS, with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 49 FPS, which is a significant decline. High settings average just 38 FPS, and Ultra drops to 33 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is a stark 17 FPS, suggesting that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are saturated. The frame time variance at 4K is also notable, as the Medium preset’s minimum of 36 FPS indicates noticeable stutter during intense scenes.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is the decisive component in this pairing for Control. The Intel Core i7-14700KF, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, provides more than enough computational headroom for this title. The evidence lies in the frame rate scaling across resolutions. When moving from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS at High settings drops from 75 to 56, a 25% reduction. The subsequent move to 4K High yields only 38 FPS, another 32% drop. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload increases with pixel count and the CPU’s role diminishes.

At 1080p, the CPU’s influence is more apparent, as the frame rates are high enough that the GPU is not always the limiting factor. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 34 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs only 9 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 10 FPS. This non-linear scaling suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at lower settings, but the GPU’s raw throughput becomes the bottleneck as settings increase. The i7-14700KF’s strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6235, ensures that it does not introduce a frame pacing bottleneck at any resolution.

The data supports the conclusion that the RX 7600 is the limiting factor at 1440p and 4K. The GPU’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is likely the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The 4K Medium result of 43 FPS, compared to the 1080p Medium result of 84 FPS, represents a 49% performance loss, which aligns with the increased memory pressure and shading workload. For this game, the i7-14700KF is effectively a passive observer at resolutions above 1080p, with the Radeon RX 7600 determining the playable settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 1080p with maximum settings?

A: Yes. The benchmark data shows the combo achieves an average of 65 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. All four presets at this resolution clear 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset is the most demanding option that stays at or above 60 FPS, with an average of 64 FPS. However, the minimum recorded FPS is 54, so some scenes will drop below the threshold. High and Ultra presets average 56 and 49 FPS respectively, which are not playable.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware?

A: Only at the Low preset, which averages exactly 60 FPS. The Medium, High, and Ultra presets all fall short, with averages of 43, 38, and 33 FPS respectively. The data indicates that 4K is only playable with significant visual compromises.

Q: How does the CPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70163, which is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX. It trails the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K by 1%.

Q: How does the GPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 7600 has an average benchmark score of 15171, which is 0.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM and 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon 680M. It is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 560X.

Q: What is the frame rate variance at 1080p Medium settings?

A: The average FPS is 84, with a minimum of 71 and a maximum of 97. This indicates a relatively stable frame delivery, with a spread of 26 FPS between the lowest and highest recorded values.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control, but the playable experience is strictly resolution-dependent. According to the verdict data, at 1920x1080, all four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) clear the 60 FPS threshold, with the Ultra preset averaging 65 FPS. This is the sweet spot for this combination, offering the full visual experience without sacrificing smoothness. At 2560x1440, only the Low and Medium presets are playable, with Medium being the best option at an average of 64 FPS. The High preset falls short at 56 FPS, and Ultra is not recommended at 49 FPS.

The 3840x2160 resolution presents a significant challenge. The data shows that only the Low preset achieves the 60 FPS target, averaging exactly 60 FPS. The Medium preset’s average of 43 FPS, with a minimum of 36 FPS, is not a smooth experience for an action-adventure title. Therefore, the verdict is clear: this system is a capable 1080p machine for Control, a borderline 1440p machine, and a 4K machine only at the absolute lowest settings. The i7-14700KF is not the limiting factor; the RX 7600’s performance ceiling defines the boundaries.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 2608 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places the pairing in the 70th percentile, meaning it outperforms approximately 70% of the other hardware combinations tested for this game. The rank reflects the GPU’s mid-range positioning rather than the CPU’s high-end capabilities. The RX 7600’s percentile of 57 among all GPUs, combined with the i7-14700KF’s 94th percentile among CPUs, shows a system where the processor is far more powerful than the graphics card. This imbalance is evident in the frame rates, which are consistently GPU-limited at higher resolutions. The rank suggests that while this is not a top-tier configuration for Control, it is comfortably above the median and provides a solid 1080p experience.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, the only setting that maintains an average of 60 FPS is Low, which achieves exactly 60 FPS. This is the recommended preset for 4K, as the next step up, Medium, drops to 43 FPS and introduces noticeable frame pacing issues.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the most demanding option that stays at or above 60 FPS, with an average of 64 FPS. While the minimum FPS of 54 is below the threshold, the average is acceptable for most play. The High preset averages 56 FPS and should be avoided for a consistent experience.

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 65 FPS and is the recommended setting. All lower presets also exceed 60 FPS, with High at 75 FPS, Medium at 84 FPS, and Low at 118 FPS. The Ultra preset provides the full visual fidelity of Control without sacrificing the 60 FPS target.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearest rival data, several other CPUs and GPUs would produce similar performance in this configuration. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is the closest CPU match, with an average benchmark score of 69996, which is 0.2% lower than the i7-14700KF. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875) and AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515) are also within 1% of the Intel chip’s performance. Swapping the i7-14700KF for any of these would yield nearly identical frame rates in Control, as the game is not CPU-bound at the tested resolutions.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM has an average score of 15199, which is 0.2% higher than the RX 7600, making it the closest equivalent. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, 0.7% higher, while the AMD Radeon Pro 560X scores 15082, 0.6% lower. A system with any of these GPUs paired with a high-end CPU would exhibit the same performance characteristics: strong 1080p performance, playable 1440p at medium settings, and limited 4K capability. The data suggests that the GPU, not the CPU, is the primary determinant of the experience for this title.