Control

Control on the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 580 combination is a demanding title that heavily taxes the GPU, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. The measured data indicates that this pairing is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve playable frame rates on lower presets, but it struggles to maintain fluid performance at 1440p and becomes largely unplayable at 4K. The performance ceiling is firmly set by the graphics card, with the processor providing sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and clearly identifies the GPU as the primary limiting factor. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers an average of 39.5 FPS. Moving to 1440p High reduces that to 32.7 FPS, a 17% decrease in performance. The jump to 4K High is far more punishing, with the average FPS plummeting to 18.5, which is a 53% reduction from the 1440p figure and a 53% drop from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where the increasing pixel count overwhelms the Radeon RX 580's rendering capabilities.

The trend holds across all settings presets. With Low settings, the system goes from 62.3 FPS at 1080p to 49.3 FPS at 1440p and finally to 33.9 FPS at 4K. Even at the lowest graphical fidelity, the 4K resolution proves too demanding, resulting in a 46% performance loss compared to 1440p. The data suggests that the Radeon RX 580's 8 GB of VRAM and its overall compute throughput are insufficient for the pixel-pushing demands of 4K in this game, regardless of the quality settings chosen. The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is more moderate, indicating that the GPU still has some headroom at the lower resolution, but the transition to 4K exposes its hard limits.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, provides a solid foundation for gaming, but in this specific title, its role is secondary to the GPU. The processor's base clock of 2.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz are adequate for feeding the graphics card with data. Benchmark results show it performs well in multithreaded workloads, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372 and a Passmark multithread score of 16908. Its single-thread performance, as indicated by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2029, is also respectable.

However, the fact that frame rates drop so significantly with resolution increases points to the GPU being the bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see less of a performance disparity between 1080p and 4K. The data indicates that the i5-11400F is capable of pushing well over 60 FPS in this game, as evidenced by the 62.3 FPS average at 1080p Low. This suggests that at higher settings and resolutions, the processor is not the constraint. The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support are sufficient for the game's requirements, ensuring that it does not hold back the overall system performance in this configuration.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is unequivocally the performance bottleneck in this pairing. The data shows that the GPU's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is quickly overwhelmed as resolution and settings increase. The GPU's base clock of 1257 MHz and boost clock of 1340 MHz are not enough to maintain high frame rates in Control's demanding environments. With a Passmark G3D score of 8813, the GPU sits in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, placing it in the mid-range tier.

This is evident in the measured frame rates. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS drops to 34.6, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. At 1440p, even the Low preset only manages 49.3 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 25.1 FPS. The 4K results are even more telling, with the Ultra preset averaging a mere 21.1 FPS and the High preset at 18.5 FPS. These figures clearly demonstrate that the RX 580, with its 2304 shading units and 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, lacks the raw power to handle the game's high-fidelity graphics at resolutions beyond 1080p. The GPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 with a 0.1% deltaPct, reinforces its position as a capable 1080p card that is out of its depth at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested combinations, this CPU and GPU pairing ranks 1508 out of 1636 combos for Control. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, indicating that it is a low-to-mid range configuration for this specific game. The rank reflects the GPU's limitations, as the CPU is a relatively strong performer. The i5-11400F's percentile vs all CPUs is 75, while the RX 580's percentile vs all GPUs is only 53. This disparity shows that while the processor is above average, the graphics card drags the overall combo ranking down.

This low ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data. The system is only capable of achieving a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1080p with Low settings. For a game like Control, which has demanding visual effects, this is a suboptimal experience. The combo's performance is closer to entry-level gaming systems than to mid-range or high-end ones. The data suggests that users with this configuration will need to make significant compromises on visual quality to achieve playable frame rates, and even then, they will be limited to 1080p resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in Control?

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo can achieve a playable average frame rate above 60 FPS, and only at Low settings (62.3 FPS). At 1440p, the highest average FPS is 49.3 on Low, which is below the 60 FPS target.

Q: How much of a performance drop is there from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 39.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 18.5 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 53% reduction in performance, highlighting the GPU's inability to handle 4K resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck for this system in Control?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck. The evidence is that frame rates scale heavily with resolution and settings, which is a classic sign of a GPU limitation. The CPU is capable of higher frame rates, as shown by the 62.3 FPS result at 1080p Low.

Q: Can this system handle Control at 1440p with Ultra settings?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings is only 25.1 FPS. This is far below the threshold for smooth, playable performance and indicates the setting is too demanding for the RX 580.

Q: How does the Radeon RX 580 compare to its closest rival in terms of benchmark score?

A: The Radeon RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 13559. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950, has a score of 13549, resulting in a deltaPct of 0.1%, meaning the RX 580 is effectively tied in performance with that card.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS measurements for the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 580 combination in Control.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | :---------- |

| 3840x2160 | High | 18.5 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 33.9 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 25.6 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 21.1 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 32.7 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 49.3 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 35.7 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 25.1 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 39.5 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 62.3 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 42.7 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 34.6 |

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience for this hardware is at 1080p with the Low settings preset, which is the only configuration that achieves an average FPS above 60. This provides the smoothest gameplay, though it sacrifices visual fidelity. For a better visual experience while maintaining playability, the Medium preset at 1080p is a viable option, delivering an average of 42.7 FPS. This is a 9% decrease in performance compared to Low but offers improved graphical quality.

The High preset at 1080p, with an average of 39.5 FPS, is another option for those who prioritize visuals over a higher frame rate, but users should expect a less fluid experience. At 1440p, only the Low preset comes close to playable territory at 49.3 FPS, but it is still below the 60 FPS mark. All other settings at 1440p and every setting at 4K produce average frame rates below 40 FPS and are not recommended for a satisfactory gaming experience. The data suggests that users should stick to 1080p and adjust the settings from Low to Medium based on their preference for frame rate versus graphical detail.