Control

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 presents an interesting combination for Control, a game from 2019 that still stresses modern hardware. The CPU is a high-end 20-core processor, while the GPU is an older mid-range card with 6 GB of VRAM. The recorded measurements show a system that can handle the game at certain resolutions, but struggles at the highest settings. This analysis examines the measured FPS data to determine where this combination excels and where it falls short.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database records average FPS for four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) at three resolutions. The playable threshold is defined as 60 FPS. Based on the measured data, the best settings that maintain at least 60 FPS are as follows.

At 1920x1080, all four presets clear the 60 FPS threshold. Low settings produce an average of 110.3 FPS, Medium reaches 75.5 FPS, High delivers 66.1 FPS, and Ultra manages 61.8 FPS. Since Ultra remains above 60 FPS, it is the best settings choice at this resolution. The margin is narrow, only 1.8 FPS above the threshold, but it is technically playable. This means the full visual experience, including the highest quality effects, is accessible at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, only the Low preset stays above 60 FPS, with an average of 83.9 FPS. Medium drops to 57.1 FPS, which is below the threshold. High produces 50.6 FPS, and Ultra falls further to 46.8 FPS. Therefore, the best settings at 1440p are Low. This is a significant compromise, as the game’s atmospheric lighting and destructible environments are heavily reduced at Low settings. However, it is the only way to maintain smooth gameplay at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. Low averages 53.7 FPS, Medium 39.8 FPS, High 37.1 FPS, and Ultra 27.4 FPS. The verdict data confirms that there are no playable settings at 4K. The closest option is Low, but it still falls short by 6.3 FPS. The GPU simply does not have enough compute power or memory bandwidth for 4K rendering in this title.

The pattern is clear: this combination is best suited for 1080p gaming with high visual fidelity, and it can manage 1440p only with significant graphical sacrifices. The GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU appears capable of feeding frames well beyond what the GPU can render.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a stark contrast between the CPU’s capability and the GPU’s limitations. The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core processor with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz and a 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44167 and single-core score of 6235 indicate a processor that is far more powerful than what this game requires. In contrast, the RTX 2060 ranks in the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with a Passmark G3D score of 14111.

Looking at the FPS scaling between resolutions, the GPU’s role becomes evident. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 110.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, FPS drops to 83.9, a 24% decrease. Moving to 4K Low, FPS falls to 53.7, a 36% decrease from 1440p. These drops are entirely attributable to the GPU, as the CPU load does not change significantly with resolution. The RTX 2060’s 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are stretched thin at 4K, and its 1920 shading units cannot keep up with the pixel count.

The settings scaling at each resolution further confirms the GPU’s dominance. At 1080p, going from Low to Ultra drops FPS from 110.3 to 61.8, a 44% reduction. At 1440p, the same settings change drops FPS from 83.9 to 46.8, a 44% reduction as well. This consistent percentage drop across resolutions indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU has headroom to spare, as evidenced by its high benchmark scores, but it cannot compensate for the GPU’s rendering limits.

At 1080p, the CPU becomes more relevant because the GPU can produce high frame rates. At 110 FPS, the CPU must process more draw calls and physics calculations than at 50 FPS. The i7-14700KF’s high single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6235) ensures that it does not become a limiting factor. However, the data does not indicate a frame rate ceiling imposed by the CPU. The system scales as expected with GPU load, suggesting the CPU is never the bottleneck.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU’s role diminishes further. The GPU is clearly overwhelmed, and the CPU is effectively idle waiting for rendering tasks. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 27.4, which is a very low frame rate for such a powerful CPU. This indicates that no amount of CPU power can save this configuration at 4K. The RTX 2060 is simply too weak for that resolution.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 60 FPS on Ultra settings?

A: Yes, but only at 1920x1080. The measured average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 61.8, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, Ultra settings produce 46.8 FPS and 27.4 FPS respectively, both below the threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination?

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets are playable. Low, Medium, High, and Ultra all exceed 60 FPS at this resolution. The best settings at 1080p are Ultra, with an average of 61.8 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 or the i7-14700KF the limiting factor?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions above 1080p. The CPU’s benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 multicore 44167, Geekbench multicore 21462) are far higher than what the game requires. The FPS drops significantly with increased resolution, which is a GPU characteristic. At 4K, even Low settings only reach 53.7 FPS, while the CPU has ample headroom.

Q: Can this system handle 2560x1440 gaming?

A: Only with Low settings. The measured average FPS at 1440p Low is 83.9, which is playable. Medium settings drop to 57.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. High and Ultra settings produce 50.6 and 46.8 FPS respectively.

Q: What performance can I expect at 4K?

A: The game is not playable at 4K with this combination. The highest measured average FPS at 3840x2160 is 53.7 on Low settings. Medium, High, and Ultra produce 39.8, 37.1, and 27.4 FPS respectively. All are below the playable threshold.

Q: How does this system’s overall performance compare to other tested combinations?

A: The combination ranks 2894 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems. The CPU is in the 94th percentile, but the GPU is only in the 58th percentile, dragging down the overall ranking.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-14700KF provide context for its processing power. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69996, which is 0.2% lower than the i7-14700KF’s average of 70163. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69875, 0.4% lower. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515, 0.9% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 70879, which is 1% higher. These deltas are all within 1%, meaning any of these CPUs would perform nearly identically in Control when paired with the same GPU. The game’s frame rates would be virtually unchanged, as the GPU remains the bottleneck.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, the nearest rivals show what other GPUs would behave similarly. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 has an average score of 15283, essentially identical to the RTX 2060’s 15290 (0% delta). The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, 0.1% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, 0.6% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171, 0.8% lower. All four of these GPUs would produce nearly the same FPS in Control as the RTX 2060. The measured FPS in this analysis would apply almost exactly if any of these GPUs were substituted into the system.

This suggests that the user could swap the RTX 2060 for a GTX 580, Radeon 680M, RTX 3050 OEM, or RX 7600 and see no meaningful difference in Control. The GPU bottleneck would remain the same, and the playable settings would be identical. Similarly, swapping the CPU for any of the four rivals would not change the FPS, because the GPU is the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database provides exact average FPS figures for each resolution and settings combination. The min and max FPS fields are null for all entries, so only average FPS is available for analysis.

At 1920x1080, the measurements are as follows. Low settings produce an average of 110.3 FPS. Medium settings produce 75.5 FPS. High settings produce 66.1 FPS. Ultra settings produce 61.8 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 48.5 FPS, showing a steep performance cost for higher quality settings. The transition from Low to Medium costs 34.8 FPS, which is the largest single-step drop. From Medium to High, the drop is 9.4 FPS, and from High to Ultra, the drop is 4.3 FPS. This indicates diminishing returns at higher settings, where visual improvements become less noticeable relative to the performance cost.

At 2560x1440, the measurements are as follows. Low settings produce 83.9 FPS. Medium settings produce 57.1 FPS. High settings produce 50.6 FPS. Ultra settings produce 46.8 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 37.1 FPS. The largest drop occurs from Low to Medium, costing 26.8 FPS. The drops from Medium to High (6.5 FPS) and High to Ultra (3.8 FPS) are much smaller. This pattern suggests that the Medium preset represents a major quality jump that the GPU cannot handle at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the measurements are as follows. Low settings produce 53.7 FPS. Medium settings produce 39.8 FPS. High settings produce 37.1 FPS. Ultra settings produce 27.4 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 26.3 FPS. The largest drop is from Low to Medium, costing 13.9 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is only 2.7 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 9.7 FPS. At 4K, even the lowest settings cannot reach 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces a nearly unplayable 27.4 FPS.

The Verdict

The verdict is clear: this PC can run Control, but only under specific conditions. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold on all four settings presets. The best settings at this resolution are Ultra, with an average of 61.8 FPS. This provides the full visual experience, including all high-quality effects, while maintaining playable frame rates. The margin is slim, but it is technically playable.

At 2560x1440, the system can only run the game on Low settings, which produce 83.9 FPS. Medium settings drop to 57.1 FPS, just below the threshold. High and Ultra are not playable, with 50.6 and 46.8 FPS respectively. The user must choose between smooth gameplay with reduced visuals or higher quality with stuttering.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot run the game at any settings preset. The highest average FPS is 53.7 on Low, which is 6.3 FPS below the threshold. The verdict data confirms that there are no playable settings at 4K. This resolution is simply beyond the RTX 2060’s capabilities.

The overall verdict is that this combination is a 1080p gaming system for Control. It excels at that resolution, offering high frame rates with maximum settings. At 1440p, it can play with significant compromises. At 4K, it is not viable. Users with this hardware should target 1080p for the best experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2894 out of 3720 tested combinations for Control. This places it in the 22nd percentile (calculated as 2894 divided by 3720), meaning that roughly 78% of tested systems perform better in this game. The ranking reflects the GPU’s limitation, as the CPU is far more capable.

The CPU itself is in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, indicating that it is a top-tier processor. The GPU, however, is in the 58th percentile among all GPUs. The combination of a high-end CPU with a mid-range GPU creates an imbalance. The CPU could easily support a much more powerful GPU, but the RTX 2060 holds the system back.

This ranking suggests that for Control specifically, the GPU is the determining factor for performance. A system with a weaker CPU but a stronger GPU would likely rank higher. The data shows that the i7-14700KF’s advantages, such as its high Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44167, do not translate into higher FPS in this game because the GPU cannot render frames fast enough to utilize the CPU’s full potential.

For users considering this combination, the ranking indicates that it is a functional but not exceptional setup for Control. It will run the game well at 1080p, but it is not competitive with higher-end GPU configurations. The upgrade path would be to replace the GPU, as the CPU has substantial headroom for more demanding graphics cards.