Control

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 delivers a robust Control experience, with the benchmark data indicating that the High preset offers the most balanced combination of visual fidelity and frame rate across all tested resolutions. This pairing places in the 1134th position out of 3720 tested combos for this title, placing it in the upper third of all configurations. The measured results show a clear hierarchy of performance scaling with both resolution and graphical settings, revealing a system that is consistently capable of smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K requires more careful settings selection to maintain playable frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the High preset emerges as the optimal choice for this CPU-GPU combination across all three tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 115 FPS, which is only 15 FPS lower than the Low preset's 182 FPS but provides substantially better visual quality. The step up to Ultra at this resolution yields 100 FPS, representing a 15 FPS drop from High for diminishing returns in graphical enhancement. The Medium preset sits between these at 129 FPS, but High offers a better balance of performance headroom and image quality for most users.

At 2560x1440, the High preset maintains an average of 87 FPS, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Low preset reaches 137 FPS here, while Medium achieves 98 FPS, and Ultra drops to 75 FPS. The 12 FPS difference between High and Medium at this resolution is noticeable but not critical, while the 12 FPS gain from High to Medium may not justify the visual downgrade for many players. The High preset's 87 FPS provides sufficient headroom for demanding scenes without sacrificing the game's atmospheric lighting and texture detail.

For 3840x2160, the High preset produces an average of 59 FPS, which is right at the edge of the 60 FPS target. While the Low preset reaches 93 FPS and Medium achieves 66 FPS, the visual compromise at Low is significant for a game like Control, which relies heavily on its environmental storytelling and particle effects. The Ultra preset at this resolution drops to 51 FPS, which may introduce noticeable stuttering during intense combat sequences. For 4K users, the Medium preset at 66 FPS offers a safer margin above the 60 FPS target while retaining more visual fidelity than Low.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070's memory configuration plays a critical role in this game's performance profile. With 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, the card provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for Control's texture streaming and particle-heavy environments. The GPU's boost clock of 2520 MHz and game clock of 2070 MHz demonstrate that the card is operating at high frequencies during benchmark runs, with the base clock of 1330 MHz serving as a floor for idle or lightly loaded states.

The GPU's architecture, RDNA 4.0 on a 4 nm process, contributes to its efficiency in this title. The 3584 shading units and 128 ROPs provide substantial raw compute power, reflected in the card's 36.13 TFLOPS FP32 performance. The 56 ray tracing cores are particularly relevant for Control, which features extensive use of ray-traced reflections and global illumination in its benchmark modes. The measured FPS data suggests that at 1080p, the GPU is rarely the limiting factor, as even the Ultra preset achieves triple-digit frame rates.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 25381 places it in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (scoring 24170, a 1.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 6800S (scoring 24063, a 0.8% delta). This positioning indicates that the RX 9070 is competitive with previous-generation high-end cards, and its performance in Control aligns with this expectation given the game's 2019 release date.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about the system's bottleneck characteristics. At the High preset, performance drops from 115 FPS at 1920x1080 to 87 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 28 FPS or approximately 24%. Moving further to 3840x2160, the frame rate falls to 59 FPS, representing an additional 28 FPS drop. This linear scaling pattern suggests that the GPU is becoming increasingly stressed as pixel count rises, but the CPU is keeping pace adequately.

The Low preset shows a steeper decline: 182 FPS at 1080p falls to 137 FPS at 1440p (a 45 FPS drop) and then to 93 FPS at 4K (a further 44 FPS drop). The percentage drops between resolutions are roughly consistent at 25% and 32% respectively, indicating that the GPU is the primary scaling factor even at lower settings. This is expected, as reducing graphical settings removes CPU-side overhead less than it reduces GPU load.

The Medium preset, which has the most complete data including minimum and maximum FPS values, shows a similar trend. From 129 FPS at 1080p, the frame rate drops to 98 FPS at 1440p and 66 FPS at 4K. The minimum FPS values at each resolution (110, 83, and 56 respectively) demonstrate that even during demanding scenes, the system maintains playable frame rates, though the 4K minimum of 56 FPS approaches the threshold where stutter becomes noticeable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance capabilities. The Low preset achieves an average of 182 FPS, which represents the highest frame rate measured across all configurations. Medium produces 129 FPS with a minimum of 110 FPS and maximum of 148 FPS, indicating stable performance with minimal frame-time variance. High reaches 115 FPS, while Ultra delivers 100 FPS. The 82 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at this resolution shows that the GPU has significant headroom even at maximum settings, with the CPU providing enough throughput to feed the graphics card effectively.

At 2560x1440, the performance envelope tightens. Low still delivers a strong 137 FPS, but the gap between presets narrows. Medium achieves 98 FPS (minimum 83, maximum 112), High produces 87 FPS, and Ultra drops to 75 FPS. The 62 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at this resolution indicates that the GPU is beginning to become more of a limiting factor, though the system still comfortably exceeds 60 FPS at all settings. The minimum FPS of 83 for Medium suggests that even during the most demanding sequences, frame rates remain well above playable thresholds.

At 3840x2160, the system's limits become apparent. Low remains playable at 93 FPS, but Medium drops to 66 FPS (minimum 56, maximum 76), High falls to 59 FPS, and Ultra reaches only 51 FPS. The 42 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is narrower than at lower resolutions, demonstrating that the GPU's pixel throughput is now the dominant constraint. Users targeting 60 FPS at 4K will need to select Medium or lower settings, as High's 59 FPS average may dip below the target during intense combat or when ray tracing effects are active.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1134 out of 3720 tested configurations places it in the 30th percentile of all CPU-GPU pairings tested for Control. This positioning is notable given the hardware's specifications: the RX 9070's 16 GB VRAM and RDNA 4.0 architecture are well-suited to this title's requirements, while the i5-11400F's 6 cores and 12 threads provide adequate processing power for the game's physics and AI systems.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 17177 places it in the 71st percentile of all processors, with its nearest rivals including the AMD EPYC 7H12 (scoring 17120, a 0.3% delta) and the Intel Core i5-12450H (scoring 17239, a 0.4% delta). This near-identical performance to a high-end server CPU and a newer mobile chip indicates that the i5-11400F remains competitive despite being from an older generation. The GPU's average benchmark score of 23877 places it in the 69th percentile, with its nearest rivals being the RTX 2080 SUPER and RX 6800S, as previously noted.

The combination's ranking sits below the 50th percentile despite both components ranking above the 69th percentile individually Face. This discrepancy likely stems from the game's age and its optimization patterns, which may favor newer CPU architectures or specific GPU features. However, the measured FPS data shows that this combo delivers smooth performance at 1080p and 1440p, with only 4K Ultra proving challenging.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 on High settings provides the best balance, achieving 87 FPS average with strong visual quality. At 1920x1080, the system can push 115 FPS on High, but the visual improvement at 1440p may be worth the 28 FPS trade-off.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Control?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset achieves 66 FPS average with a minimum of 56 FPS, which is playable. The High preset drops to 59 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 51 FPS, so users must be willing to compromise on settings for 4K.

Q: How does the RX 9070 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 9070's benchmark score of 23877 is 1.2% higher than the RTX 2080 SUPER (24170, deltaPct -1.2) and 0.8% higher than the RX 6800S (24063, deltaPct -0.8). It trails the GTX TITAN Z (23736, deltaPct 0.6) by a similar margin.

Q: Is the i5-11400F a bottleneck for this GPU in Control?

A: The measured FPS scaling suggests the CPU keeps pace well. At 1080p, the system achieves 182 FPS on Low settings, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently. The bottleneck shifts to the GPU at 4K, where all settings show similar relative performance drops.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values for the Medium preset?

A: The Medium preset shows minimum FPS of 110 at 1080p, 83 at 1440p, and 56 at 4K. These values represent the lowest frame rates during demanding scenesesian and demonstrate that the system maintains playable performance even at 4K.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 1134th out of 3720 tested combinations for Control, placing it in the upper 30% of all configurations. Both the CPU and GPU individually rank above the 69th percentile of their respective categories.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F provides 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This configuration is well-suited for Control's threading model, which scales across multiple cores for physics simulations and AI pathfinding. The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 cache per core provide sufficient memory hierarchy for the game's asset streaming requirements.

The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14340 and a 3DMark max threads score of 5652. Its single-thread performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 singlecore at 2024, is adequate for the game's primary game thread. The CPU's percentile ranking of 71 places it above the majority of processors, though its nearest rivals include both server and mobile chips, indicating the i5-11400F's performance envelope is competitive with newer options.

The CPU's architecture, Rocket Lake on a 14 nm process, is older than the GPU's RDNA 4.0 on 4 nm, but this generational gap does not manifest as a significant bottleneck in the measured data. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 182 FPS, suggesting that the CPU can handle even the highest frame rates without becoming a limiting factor. The CPU's 65 W TDP and support for DDR4 memory with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth provide a solid foundation for gaming workloads, with the PCIe Gen 4 interface offering ample bandwidth for the GPU's data transfers.