Control

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on Intel's 14 nm Comet Lake architecture. It operates with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, drawing 65 W TDP. The chip features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 256 KB of L2 cache per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR4 in a dual-channel configuration, with a memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. This CPU occupies the Intel Socket 1200 and connects via PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes from the CPU.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-10400F delivers a 3DMark single-thread score of 688 and a 2-thread score of 1350, while scaling to 2560 in 4-thread and 3929 in 8-thread tests. The max-thread score reaches 4735, closely matching the 16-thread result of 4748, indicating that the processor's 12 threads are near-saturated by the 16-thread workload. Cinebench R23 results show a multicore score of 10283 and a single-core score of 1451, meaning the chip maintains roughly 7.1x scaling from one core to all cores — a typical figure for a 6-core/12-thread part. The PassMark multithread score is 12115, with a single-thread score of 2541.

The CPU's percentile rank vs all processors is 68, placing it above the median but not among top-tier parts. Its average benchmark score is 14185, which sits within 0.6% of its nearest rivals: the Intel Xeon 6756E (14163, +0.2% delta), Intel Core 7 160UL (14232, -0.3%), AMD EPYC 7552 (14115, +0.5%), and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14277, -0.6%). These deltas are negligible, meaning the i5-10400F's compute capability is effectively interchangeable with those parts in aggregate synthetic workloads.

For Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics data. The game is an Action Adventure title from 2019, and at 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 170 FPS average — a figure that suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at that resolution. However, the 6-core/12-thread configuration with a 4.30 GHz boost clock is modest by modern standards, and the data shows that as resolution scales up, the FPS differences narrow, which points to the GPU becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is a RDNA 4.0 architecture GPU built on TSMC's 4 nm process, featuring the Navi 48 chip with 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die. The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. Its base clock is 1660 MHz, with a boost clock of 2970 MHz and a game clock of 2400 MHz; memory runs at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective). The card has 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, 128 ROPs, and 64 RT cores. Pixel rate is 380.2 GPixel/s, texture rate is 760.3 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 48.66 TFLOPS. The GPU's TDP is 304 W, requiring a 700 W suggested PSU and dual 8-pin power connectors.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 9070 XT scores 7260 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 17428 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 65879 in Geekbench Vulkan. PassMark results show a G3D score of 26795 and a GPU compute score of 15864. The GPU's percentile rank vs all GPUs is 55, with an average benchmark score of 13543. Its nearest rivals are surprisingly dated: the AMD Radeon HD 7770M (13536, +0.1% delta), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13515, +0.2%), NVIDIA P106-090 (13470, +0.5%), and AMD Radeon Pro 555 (13407, +1.0%). These deltas are within 1%, indicating that the RX 9070 XT's average benchmark score is not far from those older parts in aggregate — though this metric likely mixes very different workload types.

For Control, the GPU's 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient, and the high memory bandwidth supports high-resolution textures. The measured FPS data shows the GPU's raw performance scaling: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 170 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 54 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution reveals the GPU's sensitivity to render load, which is typical for a game with heavy post-processing and particle effects.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 1039 out of 3720 tested combos for Control, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all tested configurations. The combo's rank indicates that while it is not a top-tier pairing, it outperforms the majority of tested systems. Given that the CPU ranks at the 68th percentile and the GPU at the 55th percentile, the combined system's ranking at the 72nd percentile suggests that the pairing is more effective in this game than the individual component percentiles might imply.

The rank of 1039 out of 3720 means there are 1038 combos that deliver higher average FPS in this game, and 2681 that deliver lower. This positions the combo firmly in the upper-middle tier. The data indicates that the RX 9070 XT, despite its modest percentile rank, pairs well with the i5-10400F to produce strong results in Control specifically. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to keep the GPU fed at most settings, and the GPU's high bandwidth and VRAM help maintain frame rates even at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces an average of 170 FPS on Low settings, 137 FPS on Medium, 122 FPS on High, and 106 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 157 FPS, indicating some frame pacing variance but no severe dips. From Low to Ultra at 1080p, the FPS drops by 64 FPS (a 37.6% reduction), which shows the GPU's scaling under increasing render load.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 146 FPS on Low, 103 FPS on Medium, 92 FPS on High, and 80 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 119 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 66 FPS (a 45.2% reduction), which is a larger percentage drop than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more stressed as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 98 FPS on Low, 70 FPS on Medium, 62 FPS on High, and 54 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 44 FPS (a 44.9% reduction). Notably, the 4K Ultra average of 54 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, meaning the combo can deliver playable frame rates at maximum settings but not with much headroom.

The Medium preset is the only one with min/max FPS data across all three resolutions, showing consistent minimums at 116, 88, and 59 for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively. This suggests that Medium is a stable preset for this combo, with minimums that stay above 60 FPS at 1440p and above 55 FPS at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K varies by settings preset. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 170 at 1080p to 146 at 1440p (a 14.1% reduction) and then to 98 at 4K (a 42.4% reduction from 1080p). At Medium, the drop is from 137 to 103 (24.8%) and then to 70 (48.9% from 1080p). At High, the drop is from 122 to 92 (24.6%) and then to 62 (49.2%). At Ultra, the drop is from 106 to 80 (24.5%) and then to 54 (49.1%).

The pattern shows that the largest FPS penalty occurs between 1440p and 4K, where the pixel count quadruples. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is relatively modest (14-25%), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is much steeper (28-37% depending on settings). This indicates that the GPU is the primary limiter at higher resolutions, as the RX 9070 XT's compute and bandwidth are increasingly taxed by the pixel fill rate demands.

The fact that the FPS at 4K Low (98) is nearly double the FPS at 4K Ultra (54) suggests that the GPU's shading units and ROPs are the bottleneck at high settings, rather than the CPU. The CPU's 12 threads are adequate to maintain frame rates above 100 FPS at 1080p, but the GPU's raw throughput dictates the ceiling at 4K. The data supports a conclusion that this combo is GPU-bound at 1440p and above, while at 1080p the CPU still has headroom.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60+ FPS at High settings?

A: At High settings, the combo averages 122 FPS at 1080p, 92 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. All three resolutions exceed 60 FPS, so 4K High is playable at 62 FPS average.

Q: How much FPS is gained by dropping from Ultra to Low at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the average FPS goes from 106 on Ultra to 170 on Low, a gain of 64 FPS (a 60.4% increase).

Q: Does the Medium preset have stable frame times across resolutions?

A: The Medium preset shows minimums of 116 FPS at 1080p, 88 FPS at 1440p, and 59 FPS at 4K. The minimums stay above 55 FPS even at 4K, indicating stable frame pacing.

Q: Is this combo CPU-bound or GPU-bound in Control?

A: The data indicates GPU-bound behavior at higher resolutions. From 1080p to 4K, FPS drops by 42-49% depending on settings, while the CPU's 12 threads maintain headroom at 1080p where FPS exceeds 120.

Q: What is the combo's rank among tested configurations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 1039 out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the upper 28% of all tested systems.

Q: How does the RX 9070 XT's VRAM capacity affect 4K performance?

A: With 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, VRAM is not a limiting factor. The 4K Ultra average of 54 FPS is constrained by GPU compute rather than memory capacity.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows that the Medium preset provides the best balance of performance and visual quality for this combo. At 1080p Medium, the average is 137 FPS with a minimum of 116 FPS, offering a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 103 FPS with an 88 FPS minimum, which is well above the standard 60 FPS target. At 4K Medium, the average is 70 FPS with a 59 FPS minimum, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable.

For users with 1080p displays, Ultra settings are viable at 106 FPS average, with no min FPS data indicating potential dips. The 4K Ultra average of 54 FPS is borderline, and the Medium preset at 4K (70 FPS) provides a 16 FPS improvement over Ultra while maintaining a minimum of 59 FPS. The High preset at 4K delivers 62 FPS average, which is also playable, but the Medium preset offers a higher minimum (59 vs. no data for High) and better frame consistency.

The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, particularly at 1440p and 4K where the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p, the user has the freedom to choose Ultra for maximum visual quality without sacrificing performance, as the 106 FPS average leaves ample headroom. The Low preset at any resolution is only recommended for competitive play or extreme frame rate targets, as it sacrifices significant visual fidelity for a 24-28% FPS gain over Medium.