Control

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT delivers a robust 1080p and 1440p experience in Control, with performance scaling predictably across settings and resolutions. The combination ranks in the 53rd percentile of tested configurations for this title, indicating a balanced pairing that favors high refresh rate gaming at standard resolutions while remaining viable for 4K at reduced settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the expected average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: The benchmark data shows an average of 80.3 FPS at 1080p Ultra. This suggests that the combo can comfortably handle the game’s highest visual fidelity at Full HD, though it falls short of the 141.2 FPS achievable at Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rates range from 43.2 FPS on Ultra to 73.7 FPS on Low. The High preset yields 44.9 FPS, while Medium produces 53.5 FPS, indicating that playable frame rates at 4K require sacrificing some graphical quality.

Q: What is the combo’s ranking among all tested system configurations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 874 out of 1636 configurations tested in Control. This places it in the upper-middle tier, indicating that while it is not a top-tier performer, it outperforms a majority of other tested systems.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U at 17189 (0% delta). It trails the Intel Core i7-1260P by 0.2% and leads the Intel Core i5-1240U by 0.2%, showing it sits in a very tight performance cluster.

Q: What is the GPU’s relative standing compared to its closest competitors?

A: The RX 6700 XT has an average benchmark score of 33721. It is 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 and 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A5000, but it is 1% behind both the AMD Radeon HD 7950 and the AMD Radeon RX 480.

Q: What graphics API support does the GPU offer that is relevant to modern titles?

A: The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. This feature set ensures compatibility with advanced rendering techniques and modern game engines.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 14 nm process. Its base clock is 2.60 GHz, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, providing a solid foundation for gaming workloads. The CPU has a 12 MB shared L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 cache per core, with 80 KB of L1 cache per core, which helps reduce memory latency in CPU-bound scenarios.

In synthetic testing, the CPU demonstrates a significant scaling from 2-thread to multi-thread performance. Its 3DMark scores range from 1691 in the 2-thread test to 5652 in the max-thread test, indicating that while single-thread performance is adequate, the processor’s multi-threading capabilities are more pronounced. This is further evidenced by Cinebench R23 results, where the multi-core score of 14372 vastly exceeds the single-core score of 2029, highlighting the benefit of its 12 threads in heavily threaded workloads.

For Control, an action-adventure title that relies on physics and real-time rendering, the CPU’s role is to maintain a stable frame pipeline. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 141.2 FPS, which suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower graphical settings where the GPU has less work to do. However, as resolution increases to 4K, the frame rates drop significantly, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor. The CPU’s 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are typical for this class of processor, providing sufficient data throughput for gaming.

The processor’s percentile ranking of 75 among all CPUs underscores its competitive position. It is closely matched with rivals like the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, which scores 17189, and the Intel Core i7-1260P at 17212, with deltas of 0% and -0.2% respectively. This tight grouping suggests that the i5-11400F’s performance is well within the expected range for its generation and price point, making it a reliable choice for pairing with a mid-range GPU like the RX 6700 XT.

How This Combo Ranks

The configuration of the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT achieves a rank of 874 out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This positional data places it in the 53rd percentile, meaning it outperforms slightly more than half of all tested systems. This ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component drastically limits the other in this particular game.

Given the CPU’s strong synthetic scores and the GPU’s high percentile ranking of 77 among all GPUs, the combo’s mid-tier rank in Control is somewhat surprising. The RX 6700 XT, with an average benchmark score of 33721, is a capable performer, yet the game’s specific engine and optimization may favor systems with different architectural strengths. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-1260P, perform nearly identically in synthetic tests, suggesting that the combo’s rank is more influenced by the GPU’s interaction with the game than by CPU differences.

The measured FPS data illustrates this balance. At 1440p High, the combo achieves 70.2 FPS, which is a solid result for a demanding title, but it trails the 107 FPS seen at 1440p Low. This gap of 36.8 FPS indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed by higher settings, while the CPU maintains its end of the bargain. The rank of 874 out of 1636 suggests that while this combo is not a top-tier performer, it offers a dependable experience for most players, especially those targeting 60 FPS at 1440p or higher frame rates at 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data for Control reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results, with an average of 141.2 FPS at Low settings. This drops to 98.7 FPS at Medium, 87.7 FPS at High, and 80.3 FPS at Ultra. The transition from Low to Ultra represents a 43% reduction in frame rate, highlighting the significant cost of enabling the game’s highest visual features.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease proportionally. The Low preset averages 107 FPS, which is still highly playable. Medium and High produce 75 FPS and 70.2 FPS, respectively, while Ultra drops to 61 FPS. This resolution is where the combo hits a sweet spot for high refresh rate monitors, as even the Ultra preset maintains an average above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to struggle with the higher pixel count. The Low preset yields 73.7 FPS, providing a playable experience, but Medium drops to 53.5 FPS, and High falls to 44.9 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, averaging just 43.2 FPS. These numbers suggest that 4K gaming is only viable with reduced settings, and even then, frame rates may not satisfy users with high refresh rate displays.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at the same settings shows a consistent pattern. For example, at High settings, the frame rate drops from 87.7 FPS at 1080p to 70.2 FPS at 1440p, and further to 44.9 FPS at 4K. This indicates that the RX 6700 XT, with its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth, is well-suited for 1440p gaming but is pushed to its limits at 4K with high-quality presets.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the dominant component in this pairing for Control. Built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a 7 nm process, it features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. Its base clock is 2321 MHz, with a boost clock of 2581 MHz, and it operates with a game clock of 2424 MHz. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a substantial memory pool for high-resolution textures, which is crucial for a game like Control that features detailed environments and effects.

The GPU’s compute capabilities are substantial, with a FP32 performance of 13.21 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s. It also includes 40 ray tracing cores, which are relevant for Control’s use of ray-traced reflections and lighting, though the measured FPS data does not specify whether ray tracing is enabled. The GPU’s 77th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 33721, places it in the upper tier of graphics cards, closely matching the performance of the RX 6800.

In the context of the measured FPS, the GPU’s role is evident in the scaling between settings. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 46 FPS, from 107 FPS to 61 FPS, which is a direct reflection of the GPU’s workload. At 4K, the GPU’s limitations become apparent, as the average frame rate at Ultra is 43.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for smooth gameplay. The GPU’s 230 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this performance class, and its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate ensures compatibility with the latest rendering features.

The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the RX 6800 (0.7% faster) and the RTX A5000 (1.3% slower), indicate that the RX 6700 XT sits in a competitive position. Its 12 GB VRAM is a notable advantage for Control, which can consume significant memory at high resolutions and settings. The benchmark results show that the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences across resolutions, while the CPU provides a stable foundation that does not bottleneck the system until lower resolutions are used.