Control

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT delivers a playable, though not flawless, experience in Control, with performance that scales predictably across resolutions and settings. The benchmark data shows a combination that is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p but begins to strain under the demands of 4K, particularly at higher graphical presets. This analysis dissects the measured FPS across twelve distinct configurations, interprets the ranking against other tested combos, and provides data-driven recommendations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent pattern: performance degrades significantly as resolution increases, which indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the primary limiting component at higher pixel counts. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 116.7 FPS, which drops to 85.7 FPS at 1440p and further to 57.4 FPS at 4K. This represents a 26.5% performance hit when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a 50.8% hit from 1080p to 4K, showing that the GPU is being pushed progressively harder.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced when examining the High preset. At 1080p, the average FPS is 71.3, dropping to 57.1 at 1440p (a 19.9% reduction) and then to 37.3 at 4K (a 47.7% reduction from 1080p). The fact that the 1440p High result (57.1 FPS) is very close to the 4K Low result (57.4 FPS) is a strong indicator that the GPU’s rendering capabilities are the bottleneck, as the resolution increase is offset by the lower graphical complexity. The data suggests the 6-core, 12-thread Intel Core i5-10400F, with its 4.30 GHz boost clock, is sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the RX 5700 XT’s 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is maxed out as pixel count grows.

The most demanding configuration, 4K Ultra, yields an average of only 32.9 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. This steep drop from 4K Medium (43.6 FPS) to 4K High (37.3 FPS) and then to 4K Ultra (32.9 FPS) highlights the incremental cost of each preset tier. The data indicates that for 4K gaming, the user must make significant compromises on visual fidelity to maintain acceptable frame rates, while 1080p and 1440p offer much more headroom for higher settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 1256th out of 1636 tested combos for Control, placing it in the lower half of all submissions. This rank of 1256 puts it in the 23rd percentile of tested systems, indicating that a majority of other hardware pairings deliver higher average frame rates in this title. The ranking reflects the balance of the components; the RX 5700 XT is a solid mid-range card, but it is not a top-tier performer in a demanding game like Control.

Looking at the individual component standings, the CPU’s average benchmark score of 14168 places it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, with its nearest rival being the AMD EPYC 7552, which scores 0.4% higher. The GPU’s average score of 24731 puts it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, with the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile being its closest competitor at a -0.1% delta. While both components are above average individually, their combined performance in Control is dragged down by the GPU’s inability to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions, which is a critical factor for a fast-paced action-adventure title.

The combination's rank suggests that many other pairings, likely featuring more powerful GPUs or newer architectures, achieve higher average FPS. The data does not specify which combos are above it, but the percentile ranking provides a clear context. This is not a top-tier setup for Control, but rather a mid-pack performer that can be tuned to deliver a good experience at 1080p and a decent one at 1440p, as the measured FPS breakdown will show.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience is found at 1080p with High settings, which delivers an average of 71.3 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and provides a significant visual upgrade over the Low preset. The data shows that High settings offer a 11.6% performance improvement over Ultra (63.4 FPS) while maintaining most of the visual fidelity, making it the best balance of performance and quality. For players with 144Hz monitors, the Low preset at 1080p is the only option that can push frame rates above 100 FPS, achieving an average of 116.7 FPS.

At 1440p, the High preset is the recommended choice, yielding an average of 57.1 FPS. While this is slightly below 60 FPS, it is a more playable experience than the 49 FPS average of the Ultra preset. The Medium preset at 1440p (66 FPS) is also a viable option for those who prioritize a locked 60 FPS experience over higher graphical detail. The 4K resolution is generally not recommended for this combo, as even the Low preset averages only 57.4 FPS, and the visual quality at that resolution is severely compromised. The High preset at 4K (37.3 FPS) is not playable for most users, and the Ultra preset (32.9 FPS) is untenable.

The data indicates that the RX 5700 XT has enough memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s) and pixel rate (121.9 GPixel/s) for 1440p gaming, but the core compute power is the limiting factor at 4K. For the best overall experience, the 1080p High preset is the clear winner, offering a frame rate that is 24.9% higher than the 1440p High preset and 91.2% higher than the 4K High preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following analysis details the exact average FPS figures for each tested configuration, demonstrating the performance envelope of this hardware combination.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 116.7 FPS. This is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo, indicating that the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution and settings level.
• Medium: 80.6 FPS. A significant drop from Low, showing the impact of increased shading and texture detail.
• High: 71.3 FPS. The recommended preset for a balance of quality and performance, still well above the 60 FPS mark.
• Ultra: 63.4 FPS. The most demanding 1080p preset, which is still playable but offers diminishing returns over High.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 85.7 FPS. A 26.5% reduction from the 1080p Low result, showing the cost of the increased pixel count.
• Medium: 66 FPS. This is the minimum recommended average for smooth gameplay, and it is just above the 60 FPS target.
• High: 57.1 FPS. This preset is playable but requires some adjustment for players sensitive to frame rate dips below 60 FPS.
• Ultra: 49 FPS. A noticeable step down from High, indicating that this setting is too demanding for the GPU at this resolution.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 57.4 FPS. The only 4K preset that approaches playability, but it requires the lowest level of visual detail.
• Medium: 43.6 FPS. This is a substantial drop from Low, making the game feel less fluid.
• High: 37.3 FPS. This preset is below the threshold for a consistently smooth experience.
• Ultra: 32.9 FPS. The lowest recorded average, confirming that this combo is not suited for 4K Ultra gaming.

The data across all resolutions shows a consistent hierarchy, with Low settings always providing the highest frame rate and Ultra the lowest. The performance deltas between presets are consistent, showing that the game scales predictably with graphical load.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K with playable frame rates?*

A: The data indicates that 4K gaming is not recommended. The highest average FPS at 4K is 57.4 on Low settings, which is barely playable. Higher settings at 4K yield averages of 43.6 FPS (Medium), 37.3 FPS (High), and 32.9 FPS (Ultra), which are all below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for a 60 FPS experience?

A: The benchmark data shows that the 1080p High preset (71.3 FPS) and the 1440p Medium preset (66 FPS) are the only configurations that average above 60 FPS while providing a moderate level of visual quality. For a locked 60 FPS experience, the 1440p Medium preset is the most demanding option that still meets this target.

Q: How does the 1080p Low preset compare to the 1440p Low preset?

A: The 1080p Low preset achieves an average of 116.7 FPS, which is 31 FPS (or 26.5%) higher than the 1440p Low preset’s 85.7 FPS. This demonstrates the significant performance cost of increasing the resolution, even at the same graphical settings level.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this configuration?

A: Based on the resolution scaling data, the GPU is the primary limiting factor. As resolution increases, frame rates drop significantly, indicating that the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is being saturated. The Intel Core i5-10400F, with its 4.30 GHz boost clock, is capable of driving the GPU at lower resolutions where the frame rates are high.

Q: What is the performance difference between the High and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the High preset averages 57.1 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 49 FPS. This is a difference of 8.1 FPS (or 14.2% lower performance for Ultra), which represents a significant cost in frame rate for the highest level of visual detail.

*Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested systems in Control?*

A: This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT ranks 1256th out of 1636 tested combos. This puts it in the lower 23rd percentile of all systems tested, meaning that most other hardware pairings deliver higher average frame rates in this game.