Control

Control with the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT produces a performance profile that shifts character dramatically depending on the target resolution. The dataset shows a configuration that is firmly capable of high-refresh 1080p gameplay and comfortably playable 1440p, but which encounters significant strain at 4K. The measured results indicate a clear progression where the GPU becomes the dominant limiting factor as pixel count increases, while the six-core processor provides a stable foundation across all tested settings.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a substantial performance cost that is characteristic of GPU-bound rendering. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 79.4 FPS at 1080p to 60.2 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 39.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 49.8% reduction in average FPS when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings. The scaling is similar across other settings presets, with Low settings showing a drop from 121.3 FPS at 1080p to 91.7 FPS at 1440p and 63.8 FPS at 4K. The pattern indicates that resolution scaling is nearly linear in terms of pixel count, which is the expected behavior for a workload dominated by pixel shading and memory bandwidth.

The data suggests that the limiting component at 4K is unambiguously the GPU. The RX 7600 XT, with its 128-bit memory bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, struggles to maintain fluid frame rates at 3840x2160. Even at Low settings, the 4K average of 63.8 FPS is barely above the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra settings at the same resolution produce just 32.7 FPS. At 1080p and 1440p, the scaling pattern shows less severe penalties when moving between settings presets, indicating that the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU adequately. However, the 4K Ultra result of 32.7 FPS versus the 1080p Ultra result of 70.1 FPS demonstrates that the GPU's fillrate and bandwidth constraints become prohibitive at higher resolutions.

The resolution scaling data also indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck even at 1080p with Low settings, where the frame rate reaches 121.3 FPS. This suggests that the Intel Core i5-11400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is sufficient to keep up with the GPU's output at lower resolutions. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is 51.2 FPS (121.3 vs 70.1), which is a significant spread that points to the GPU's ability to respond to graphical load changes when not constrained by pixel count.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, fabricated on a 6 nm process by TSMC. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2755 MHz, with a game clock rated at 2470 MHz. The memory configuration is 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications directly inform the measured performance in Control, particularly at higher resolutions where bandwidth becomes critical.

The 16 GB frame buffer is generous for this game, and the benchmark results show that memory capacity is not a limiting factor at any tested resolution or settings preset. However, the 128-bit memory bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are more modest, and the 4K results reflect this constraint. The pixel rate of 176.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 352.6 GTexel/s are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the GPU's compute throughput of 22.57 TFLOPS FP32 is insufficient to maintain high frame rates with demanding settings.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in a specific competitive context. Its average benchmark score of 20146 puts it at the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals show a tight grouping: the AMD Radeon RX 460 scores 20088 (0.3% ahead), the AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 20258 (0.6% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER scores 19774 (1.9% ahead), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534 (1.9% behind). This indicates that the RX 7600 XT performs within a narrow band of these cards, with no significant advantage or disadvantage in synthetic workloads.

In Control specifically, the GPU's behavior across settings at 1080p shows a clear hierarchy: Low produces 121.3 FPS, Medium 89.1 FPS, High 79.4 FPS, and Ultra 70.1 FPS. The scaling from Medium to Ultra is gradual, indicating that the GPU handles incremental graphical features without major performance cliffs. The 4K results show a more compressed range, from 63.8 FPS at Low to 32.7 FPS at Ultra, which suggests that the GPU is reaching its architectural limits for pixel throughput.

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 node. It operates with 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 cache. The processor supports DDR4 memory on a dual-channel bus, with a theoretical memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s.

The CPU's benchmark results show a balanced performance profile. Its average benchmark score is 17181, placing it at the 75th percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U scores 17189 (0% delta), the Intel Core i7-1260P scores 17212 (-0.2% delta), the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U scores 17215 (-0.2% delta), and the Intel Core i5-1240U scores 17141 (0.2% delta). This indicates that the i5-11400F performs equivalently to these mobile-oriented processors in aggregate benchmarks, despite being a desktop part.

In the context of Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution tested. At 1080p Low, the pair achieves 121.3 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate that any CPU limitation would manifest as a plateau. The fact that frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings indicates that the 6-core, 12-thread configuration is sufficient for this game's threading model. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz provides strong single-thread performance, which is often critical for game logic and rendering thread dispatch.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s is notably lower than the GPU's 288.0 GB/s, but this is not a limiting factor in this configuration. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache helps mitigate memory latency, and the benchmark results show that the processor can maintain high frame rates even when the GPU is under heavy load. The data shows no evidence of CPU-induced frame rate drops, as the performance scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4K follows the expected GPU-bound pattern.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable at 1080p with this configuration?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 121.3 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At Ultra settings, the average is 70.1 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT in Control?

A: The data does not indicate CPU bottlenecking. At 1080p Low, the pair achieves 121.3 FPS, and frame rates scale consistently with resolution, suggesting the CPU has sufficient headroom.

Q: How does the RX 7600 XT compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 2060 SUPER, in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7600 XT has an average benchmark score of 20146, while the RTX 2060 SUPER scores 19774. This places the RX 7600 XT 1.9% ahead of the RTX 2060 SUPER.

Q: What is the playability status at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 32.7 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold and indicates marginal playability for fast-paced action.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM capacity affect performance in Control?

A: The 16 GB frame buffer is not a limiting factor at any tested resolution or settings preset. The performance constraints appear to be related to memory bandwidth and pixel throughput rather than capacity.

Q: How much performance is gained by dropping from Ultra to Low settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Ultra produces 52.3 FPS while Low produces 91.7 FPS. This represents a 39.4 FPS improvement, or approximately 75% higher average frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the configuration shows a clear performance hierarchy across settings. Low settings produce an average of 121.3 FPS, which drops to 89.1 FPS at Medium, 79.4 FPS at High, and 70.1 FPS at Ultra. The spread between Low and Ultra is 51.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution. All settings presets exceed the 60 FPS threshold, making 1080p a suitable target for high-refresh displays with this hardware.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 91.7 FPS at Low, 68.0 FPS at Medium, 60.2 FPS at High, and 52.3 FPS at Ultra. The Low and Medium presets remain above 60 FPS, while High settings achieve exactly 60.2 FPS. Ultra settings fall below the 60 FPS threshold, but remain playable at 52.3 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p is a 39.4 FPS drop, which is a slightly smaller absolute reduction than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings produce 63.8 FPS, which is the only preset above 60 FPS at this resolution. Medium settings yield 41.9 FPS, High settings yield 39.8 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 32.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 31.1 FPS, and none of the higher settings presets approach the 60 FPS target. The 4K results suggest that this configuration is best suited for Low settings if a smooth experience is required, while higher settings require a reduction in resolution to maintain acceptable frame rates.

The overall pattern across all resolutions shows that the RX 7600 XT performs best at 1080p, with diminishing returns as resolution increases. The CPU remains a stable component throughout, with no evidence of bottlenecking at any tested combination. The configuration ranks 1046 out of 1636 total combinations in the game's performance database, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the overall distribution.