Control

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i9-14900K sits in a tight performance cluster at the top of the desktop CPU spectrum. Its average benchmark score of 79097 places it within 1.7% of the nearest rivals in the database. The Intel Core i9-14900KF trails by only 0.3%, making it effectively indistinguishable in everyday workloads. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus is 0.6% behind, while the AMD EPYC 7413 sits 1.2% lower. Interestingly, the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 1.7% higher, meaning the i9-14900K is the slower part in this immediate group, though the margins are small enough that game performance differences would rarely be visible.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 occupies a different tier. Its average benchmark score of 15290 places it at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, a mid-range position. The nearest rivals are striking because they include both ancient and modern parts. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 matches it exactly with a 0% delta, while the AMD Radeon 680M integrated graphics is only 0.1% behind. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM trails by 0.6%, and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is 0.8% lower. This suggests the RTX 2060's raw compute profile is comparable to a wide range of hardware, from a 2010-era flagship to a 2023 integrated solution.

For Control specifically, this combination pairs a top-5 percentile CPU with a 58th percentile GPU. The CPU is overqualified relative to the GPU, which means the RTX 2060 will almost certainly be the limiting factor at every resolution. Users coming from a weaker processor would see no meaningful change in this game, while users upgrading from a slower GPU would see substantial gains.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data records no playable settings for this resolution. The closest approach is Low at 55 FPS average, which falls short by 5 FPS. Medium averages 39, High averages 35, and Ultra drops to 30. None of these configurations can sustain smooth gameplay at 4K.

At 2560x1440, only Low qualifies as playable. The Low preset delivers an average of 81 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold by a comfortable 21 FPS margin. Medium falls to 58 FPS, just 2 FPS short of playable. High averages 51, and Ultra averages 45. The verdict data confirms Low as the best playable setting at this resolution, with an average of 81 FPS.

At 1920x1080, three presets clear the threshold. High is the most demanding playable option, averaging 68 FPS. Medium averages 76, and Low reaches 107. Ultra sits at 59 FPS, one frame below the 60 FPS cutoff. The verdict data designates High as the best playable setting, delivering 68 FPS average. This means players at 1080p can enjoy the game with high-quality visuals while maintaining fluid frame rates.

The pattern is clear: as resolution increases, the GPU becomes increasingly strained. The 6 GB VRAM capacity and 192-bit memory interface of the RTX 2060 likely contribute to the steep drops at 4K, where texture data and pixel throughput demands exceed what this mid-range Turing card can deliver.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a stark imbalance between the CPU and GPU in this pairing. The Intel Core i9-14900K with 24 cores and 32 threads is one of the fastest desktop processors available, ranking in the 95th percentile among all CPUs. The RTX 2060, by contrast, sits at the 58th percentile among GPUs. In Control, a game that relies heavily on real-time rendering and particle effects, the GPU dominates performance scaling.

Looking at the frame rate progression across resolutions confirms this. At 1080p Low, the system averages 107 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Low reduces this to 81 FPS, a 24% decline. At 4K Low, the average falls to 55 FPS, another 32% drop. These reductions track almost entirely with GPU workload. The CPU, with its massive multi-threaded capability, is nowhere near saturated at any of these settings.

The preset scaling within each resolution tells the same story. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium drops the average from 107 to 76 FPS, a 29% reduction. Low to High drops from 107 to 68, a 36% reduction. Low to Ultra drops from 107 to 59, a 45% reduction. These are GPU-bound penalties. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and single-core score of 2262.5 indicate it can feed frames far faster than the RTX 2060 can render them.

At 1440p, the Medium preset records a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 66 FPS, a 17 FPS variance. At 1080p Medium, the variance is 23 FPS (65 to 88). This frame time instability is characteristic of GPU bottlenecking, where the render pipeline stalls on pixel and texture work rather than waiting on CPU game logic.

The conclusion is straightforward: this game's performance at all tested resolutions and presets is dictated by the RTX 2060. The i9-14900K contributes little beyond ensuring the GPU is never starved of draw calls or physics updates. Users who upgrade their GPU while keeping this CPU would see proportional frame rate gains; the reverse would yield no improvement.

The Verdict

The recorded data shows that this PC can run Control, but the experience depends heavily on resolution and settings. The verdictByResolution data provides clear guidance.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot maintain 60 FPS at any preset. The best option, Low, averages only 55 FPS. Medium averages 39, High averages 35, and Ultra averages 30. None of these meet the playable threshold of 60 FPS. This resolution is not viable for smooth gameplay with this GPU.

At 2560x1440, only the Low preset clears the threshold, averaging 81 FPS. This is comfortably playable, though it requires sacrificing visual fidelity. Medium at 58 FPS is borderline, missing the cutoff by just 2 FPS. High and Ultra are not playable, averaging 51 and 45 respectively.

At 1920x1080, the system performs well. High settings average 68 FPS, exceeding the 60 FPS threshold with a small but sufficient margin. Medium averages 76, and Low reaches 107. Ultra falls just short at 59 FPS. The data designates High as the best playable setting, which is a strong outcome: 1080p users can enjoy near-maximum visual quality while staying above the playable threshold.

In summary: 1080p is the sweet spot, supporting High settings at 68 FPS. 1440p is playable only on Low. 4K is not playable at any setting. The GPU is the limiting factor, and the CPU's considerable power does not compensate for the RTX 2060's bandwidth and compute constraints at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides exact figures for each resolution and preset combination. Note that some entries lack minimum and maximum values, indicating the database recorded only averages for those configurations.

3840x2160 (4K)

• High: 35 FPS average
• Low: 55 FPS average
• Medium: 39 FPS average, 33 FPS minimum, 45 FPS maximum
• Ultra: 30 FPS average

At 4K, the Medium preset shows a 12 FPS variance between minimum and maximum, reflecting the GPU struggling with inconsistent frame times. The Low preset's 55 FPS average is the only configuration that approaches playability, but it still misses the threshold by 5 FPS.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• High: 51 FPS average
• Low: 81 FPS average
• Medium: 58 FPS average, 49 FPS minimum, 66 FPS maximum
• Ultra: 45 FPS average

At 1440p, Low is the only preset that consistently exceeds 60 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 49 FPS indicates noticeable stuttering during intense scenes, even though the average sits near the threshold.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• High: 68 FPS average
• Low: 107 FPS average
• Medium: 76 FPS average, 65 FPS minimum, 88 FPS maximum
• Ultra: 59 FPS average

At 1080p, the system shows its best behavior. The Medium preset has a 23 FPS variance, but the minimum of 65 FPS still clears the playable threshold. High averages 68 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum, suggesting consistent performance. Ultra averages 59 FPS, one frame below the cutoff.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is fully playable across three presets, 1440p is playable only on Low, and 4K is unplayable at all settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 60 FPS on 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, High settings average 68 FPS, Medium averages 76 FPS, and Low reaches 107 FPS. Ultra averages 59 FPS, which falls 1 FPS short of the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gameplay?

A: Low is the only playable setting at 2560x1440, averaging 81 FPS. Medium averages 58 FPS, missing the 60 FPS threshold by 2 FPS, while High and Ultra average 51 and 45 FPS respectively.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. Low averages 55 FPS, Medium averages 39, High averages 35, and Ultra averages 30. The verdict data lists no playable settings at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 15290 is matched by the GTX 580 (0% delta), nearly matched by the AMD Radeon 680M (0.1% behind), and slightly ahead of the RTX 3050 OEM (0.6% behind) and RX 7600 (0.8% behind). It ranks at the 58th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Is the i9-14900K a bottleneck in Control?

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 95th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks at the 58th percentile. Frame rates decline sharply with resolution and preset increases, which indicates GPU-bound performance. The CPU has ample headroom to feed the GPU.

Q: What frame rate variance can I expect at 1080p Medium?

A: The recorded data shows a minimum of 65 FPS, a maximum of 88 FPS, and an average of 76 FPS. This 23 FPS spread suggests occasional frame time spikes, but the minimum remains above the playable threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2950th out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the bottom 21% of all configurations in the database. This low ranking is notable because the CPU is near the top of its class. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range position and the game's demanding rendering workload.

The 58th percentile GPU ranking and 95th percentile CPU ranking create an unusual pairing. In Control, the GPU's limitations dominate, dragging the overall combo ranking far below what the CPU alone would suggest. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it achieves playable frame rates at High settings. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the clear constraint, and the CPU's considerable power goes unused.

Users with this combo who prioritize Control should consider the GPU as the primary upgrade path. The CPU would support a much faster graphics card without becoming a bottleneck. The current setup delivers a playable experience at 1080p and a limited experience at 1440p, but it cannot handle 4K. The combo ranking of 2950 out of 3720 reflects this constrained performance envelope.