Control

FAQ

Q: Is this combination of Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 570 capable of running Control at 1080p?

A: Yes, at 1080p the combination achieves 55.3 FPS on Low settings and 38.9 FPS on High settings, with Medium at 44.2 FPS and Ultra at 33.9 FPS. The Low preset is the only one that clears 60 FPS, while the others sit in playable but not smooth territory.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core i5-11400F scores 17,181 in average benchmark score, which is virtually identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17,189, 0% delta) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (17,212, -0.2% delta). The Intel Core Ultra 7 164U is also within -0.2% at 17,215, while the Intel Core i5-1240U trails slightly at 17,141 (0.2% delta).

Q: What is the GPU's relative standing among all tested graphics cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 sits at the 74th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30,158. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at 30,109 (0.2% delta), followed by the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT at 30,097 (0.2% delta) and the NVIDIA Tesla M60 at 29,969 (0.6% delta).

Q: Which resolution delivers the highest average frame rate for this combo?

A: The highest recorded average is 55.3 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 2560x1440 the best result drops to 45.1 FPS (Low), and at 3840x2160 the best is 29.7 FPS (Low). The gap between resolutions is substantial, particularly when moving to 4K.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested system combinations in Control?

A: This pairing ranks 1538th out of 1636 total combinations, placing it in the lower percentile of tested systems. The data shows it at the bottom 6% of all combos for this specific game, reflecting the GPU's age and limited VRAM.

Q: Does the CPU's single-thread performance suggest it could bottleneck the GPU?

A: The CPU scores 868 in 3dmark_single_thread and 2,029 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which are moderate figures. Given that the GPU's 4 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are the more likely constraints at higher resolutions, the CPU is probably not the primary limiting factor in most scenarios.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 brings 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock runs at 1168 MHz with a boost of 1244 MHz, while memory operates at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The chip itself is Polaris 20 on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, containing 5,700 million transistors across a 232 mm² die. The GPU has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, which translate to a pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 5.095 TFLOPS, with FP16 at the same rate (1:1).

In Control, the GPU's role is decisively the bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS collapses to 15.5, and even 4K Low only reaches 29.7 FPS. The VRAM capacity of 4 GB is likely a significant constraint, as Control is known for its heavy texture usage. The 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth helps at lower resolutions, but the pixel and texture rates become limiting factors as resolution climbs. The GPU's 74th percentile ranking among all GPUs suggests it is a mid-range part that has aged, yet the data shows it still performs respectably at 1080p with adjusted settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS reveals a steep drop as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 55.3 FPS, but at 1440p Low it falls to 45.1 FPS (a drop of 10.2 FPS), and at 4K Low it plummets to 29.7 FPS (a further drop of 15.4 FPS). This scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. For High settings, the progression is 38.9 FPS at 1080p, 28.3 FPS at 1440p, and 20.7 FPS at 4K — each step costs roughly 8-10 FPS. Medium settings follow a similar trajectory: 44.2 FPS at 1080p, 29.1 FPS at 1440p, and 23.4 FPS at 4K. Ultra is the most punishing, starting at 33.9 FPS at 1080p and dropping to 22.5 FPS at 1440p and 15.5 FPS at 4K.

The pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component. The frame rate drops are roughly proportional to the pixel count increase, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is unlikely to be the constraint here, as even at 1080p Low the frame rate does not exceed 55.3 FPS — a level where CPU bottlenecks would typically appear if the processor were weak. The data suggests that moving from 1080p to 4K roughly halves the frame rate at every settings level, confirming that the RX 570's compute and memory resources are stretched thin at higher pixel counts.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages are: Low 55.3 FPS, Medium 44.2 FPS, High 38.9 FPS, and Ultra 33.9 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 21.4 FPS, showing that settings have a significant impact at this resolution. Low is the only preset that approaches smooth gameplay, while Ultra remains playable but noticeably less fluid.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 45.1 FPS, Medium 29.1 FPS, High 28.3 FPS, and Ultra 22.5 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is a steep 16 FPS drop, indicating that the Medium preset's additional effects tax the GPU heavily. High and Medium are nearly identical (28.3 vs 29.1), suggesting a plateau in the settings curve at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 29.7 FPS, Medium 23.4 FPS, High 20.7 FPS, and Ultra 15.5 FPS. All presets fall below 30 FPS, making 4K effectively unplayable for smooth action. The gap between Low and Ultra is 14.2 FPS, and even Low struggles to maintain a playable frame rate. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p possible only at Low settings, and 4K not recommended for this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3. Memory support is DDR4 with dual-channel configuration, providing 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes (CPU only).

In benchmark tests, the CPU scores 5,619 in 3dmark_16_threads and 5,652 in 3dmark_max_threads, with a single-thread score of 868. Cinebench R23 results show 14,372 multi-core and 2,029 single-core. These scores place the CPU at the 75th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17,181. Its nearest rivals are all within 0.2% of its score, indicating that the i5-11400F is a solid mid-range performer.

In Control, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. At 1080p Low, the frame rate of 55.3 FPS is below what this CPU could likely push if the GPU were not the constraint. The 12 threads provide ample parallelism for the game's physics and logic, and the boost clock of 4.40 GHz offers decent single-thread performance. The data does not show any CPU-specific bottlenecks, as frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience at 1920x1080, the Low preset at 55.3 FPS is the only option that approaches smooth gameplay, though Medium at 44.2 FPS may be acceptable for players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate. High at 38.9 FPS is a compromise, but Ultra at 33.9 FPS is likely too choppy for a fast-paced action game like Control. At 2560x1440, Low at 45.1 FPS is the recommended choice, as all other presets fall below 30 FPS. Medium at 29.1 FPS is borderline, while High and Ultra are not recommended.

At 3840x2160, no preset delivers a playable experience — the best is Low at 29.7 FPS, which is marginal for a game that benefits from smooth motion. The data suggests that this combo should be used at 1080p with Low or Medium settings for the best balance of performance and visuals. If the user must play at higher resolutions, Low is the only viable option, but the frame rates will be below ideal. The measured rows indicate that the GPU's 4 GB VRAM and 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are the limiting factors, and lowering settings is the only way to improve frame rates without upgrading hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 1538th out of 1636 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the bottom 6% of all systems. This low ranking is surprising given that both components sit at the 74th and 75th percentiles, respectively, in their individual categories. The discrepancy suggests that Control is particularly demanding on the GPU, and the RX 570's 4 GB VRAM is insufficient for this title's high-resolution textures.

The CPU's nearest rivals — AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, Intel Core i7-1260P, Intel Core Ultra 7 164U, and Intel Core i5-1240U — all have average scores within 0.2% of the i5-11400F, meaning any of these CPUs paired with the RX 570 would likely produce similar results. The GPU's nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, are all within 0.8% of the RX 570's average score, which is remarkable given the generational differences. This indicates that the RX 570 still holds its own in synthetic benchmarks, but the real-world performance in Control is heavily influenced by VRAM capacity and driver optimization.

The ranking of 1538/1636 implies that most other system combinations deliver better frame rates in Control, even those with lower-spec CPUs. The data points to the GPU as the primary drag on performance, as the CPU's benchmark scores are competitive with much newer parts. For users with this combo, the measured FPS at 1080p Low (55.3) is the best-case scenario, and the ranking reflects that the system is not well-suited for this game at higher settings or resolutions.