Control

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is an exceptional combination for Control, delivering playable performance at every tested resolution and preset. Benchmark data shows this combo achieves a rank of 5 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the top 0.1% of all systems. The measured FPS results confirm that this hardware configuration obliterates the 60 FPS playable threshold, with even the most demanding Ultra preset at 4K maintaining an average of 83 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination produces staggering frame rates that push far beyond display refresh rate capabilities. The Low preset averages 298 FPS, while Medium reaches 211 FPS with a minimum of 180 FPS and maximum of 243 FPS. High settings deliver 188 FPS average, and the Ultra preset still manages 163 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is almost entirely GPU-bound, with the RTX 5090 D's raw compute power driving frame rates that would satisfy even the most competitive esports players.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scaling remains remarkably strong. Low settings produce 225 FPS average, Medium drops to 160 FPS with a min/max range of 136 to 184 FPS, High achieves 142 FPS, and Ultra stays well above the playable threshold at 124 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a performance cost of approximately 24% at Low settings, 24% at Medium, 24% at High, and 24% at Ultra, indicating a consistent resolution scaling pattern that suggests the GPU's memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is sufficient to handle the increased pixel count without bottlenecking.

At 3840x2160, the system finally begins to show some strain, though it remains firmly in playable territory. Low settings deliver 152 FPS average, Medium achieves 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 FPS and maximum of 124 FPS, High produces 96 FPS, and Ultra still clears the 60 FPS threshold comfortably with 83 FPS. The 4K results demonstrate a performance drop of roughly 32% from 1440p at Low settings, 33% at Medium, 32% at High, and 33% at Ultra, showing that the scaling penalty remains consistent across all quality presets as resolution increases.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals that the Intel Core i9-14900K with its 24 cores and 32 threads is more than sufficient to feed the RTX 5090 D in Control, even at lower resolutions where CPU overhead typically becomes more pronounced. At 1080p, the jump from Low to Ultra costs approximately 45% of the frame rate (298 to 163 FPS), which indicates that while the GPU is the primary driver, the CPU's strong single-thread performance from its 6.00 GHz boost clock prevents any significant processor bottleneck from emerging.

The scaling between resolutions provides clear evidence of GPU dominance. From 1080p to 1440p, the system loses roughly 24% performance across all presets, which is a relatively modest penalty for a 2.25x increase in pixel count. This suggests that the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 512-bit bus width provide ample bandwidth headroom. From 1440p to 4K, the performance penalty grows to approximately 32%, indicating that at 4K the GPU's compute resources become the limiting factor, while the CPU's role diminishes further.

At 4K Ultra, the system produces 83 FPS, which is only 51% of the 163 FPS achieved at 1080p Ultra. This 49% performance reduction across a 4x pixel count increase demonstrates that the RTX 5090 D is handling the workload efficiently, with the i9-14900K's high clock speeds ensuring that frame pacing remains consistent. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and single-core score of 2262.5 indicate that processor performance is not a limiting factor at any resolution tested.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 5th out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 99.9th percentile of all systems benchmarked. This top-tier ranking reflects the synergy between the i9-14900K's exceptional single-thread performance and the RTX 5090 D's massive compute throughput. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 44065 places it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU's average benchmark score of 79097 puts it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, creating a balanced pairing where neither component significantly outperforms the other.

The ranking indicates that only 4 other combinations in the entire database produce higher average FPS in Control. Given that the RTX 5090 D's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT with a delta of -1.6% and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB with a delta of -2.4%, the performance gap between this combo and the top-ranked systems is likely minimal. The i9-14900K's nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14900KF, shows a delta of only -0.3%, suggesting that the CPU choice has negligible impact on the final ranking.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Control at maximum settings across all tested resolutions. The verdict data confirms that all four quality presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080, with every configuration clearing the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K Ultra, the system maintains 83 FPS average, providing a 38% margin above the playable threshold, which allows for consistent frame delivery even during intense combat sequences with multiple particle effects.

At 1440p Ultra, the 124 FPS average provides a 107% margin over the playable threshold, making this resolution the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate displays. The 1080p Ultra result of 163 FPS offers a 172% margin, which is sufficient for even 165Hz monitors. The minimum FPS values recorded at Medium settings across all resolutions (180 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, 92 FPS at 4K) indicate that frame pacing remains stable, with no severe drops that would cause perceptible stuttering.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i9-14900KF provides virtually identical performance with an average benchmark score of 79371 compared to the i9-14900K's 79097, a delta of only -0.3%. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus scores 79574 with a -0.6% delta, while the AMD EPYC 7413 achieves 80041 with a -1.2% delta. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 77740 with a +1.7% delta, meaning it is slightly slower. All four alternatives would produce nearly indistinguishable frame rates in Control, with differences well within the margin of measurement error.

On the GPU side, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT has an average score of 78940 with a -1.6% delta from the RTX 5090 D's 77712, indicating it performs slightly better despite being a mobile-class part. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79396 with a -2.1% delta, and the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79605 with a -2.4% delta. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT scores 76904 with a +1.1% delta, making it slightly slower. These GPU alternatives would produce FPS numbers within a few percentage points of the RTX 5090 D in Control, though the Tesla P100 parts lack modern gaming features.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers 83 FPS average. This provides a comfortable margin above the playable threshold while maximizing visual quality. Players seeking higher frame rates at 4K can drop to High for 96 FPS or Medium for 108 FPS, but the Ultra preset's 83 FPS is already sufficient for smooth gameplay on most displays.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is again the best choice, achieving 124 FPS average. This represents the optimal balance of visual fidelity and performance, with the frame rate being high enough to take advantage of 120Hz or 144Hz monitors. The 136 FPS minimum at Medium settings suggests that even in the most demanding scenes, the system maintains fluid motion.

At 1920x1080, Ultra delivers 163 FPS average, making it the recommended preset for maximum visual quality. The 211 FPS at Medium and 298 FPS at Low are available for players with extremely high refresh rate displays, but the Ultra preset's 163 FPS already exceeds the refresh rate of most gaming monitors. The data shows no scenario where this combination struggles to maintain playable performance, making it one of the most capable systems tested for Control.