Control

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Control, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling at 4K. The measured frame rates show that this combination is well-balanced for mainstream gaming, though the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases. The benchmark results indicate that players targeting high refresh rates will find the most success at 1080p, while those with 4K displays will need to make significant compromises in visual quality.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial across all settings, highlighting the GPU-bound nature of Control at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 92 FPS at 1920x1080 to 64.3 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 30%. Pushing further to 3840x2160 drops the average to 44.5 FPS, representing a 52% decrease from the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are being taxed heavily at 4K.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all quality presets. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 138.2 FPS at 1080p to 106.1 FPS at 1440p, then to 73.8 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic fall, going from 77.9 FPS at 1080p to 56.9 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 37.2 FPS at 4K. These numbers suggest that the i5-11400F is not the limiting factor in these scenarios; the RTX 4060's compute and memory bandwidth are what determine the final output. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly wide, reinforcing that 4K gaming with this combo requires either the Low preset or acceptance of sub-60 FPS averages.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F brings six cores and twelve threads to the table, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Rocket Lake architecture chip relies on a 14 nm process and supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus delivering 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In Control, which is an action-adventure title that benefits from strong single-thread performance, the i5-11400F's 3dmark_single_thread score of 868 and passmark_single_thread score of 2981 indicate it can keep up with the RTX 4060 in most scenarios.

The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 138.2 FPS average, which is high enough that the CPU must be feeding frames efficiently. The i5-11400F's cinebench_r23_multicore score of 14372 and geekbench_multicore score of 7579 suggest that it has enough multi-threaded headroom for Control's physics and AI systems, which are often demanding in this genre. However, as resolution increases, the CPU's role diminishes relative to the GPU, and the frame rates become more dependent on the graphics card's capabilities. The data shows no signs of CPU throttling, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings rather than hitting a flat ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i5-11400F and RTX 4060 ranks 942 out of 1636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the upper-middle tier of configurations. This rank reflects the balanced nature of the pairing, where neither component severely bottlenecks the other at typical gaming resolutions. The CPU itself sits in the 75th percentile among all processors, while the GPU is in the 66th percentile among all graphics cards, reinforcing that this is a mainstream but capable pairing.

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the i5-11400F posts an average benchmark score of 17181, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U at 17189 (0% delta) and the Intel Core i7-1260P at 17212 (-0.2% delta). The Intel Core Ultra 7 164U scores 17215 (-0.2% delta), while the Intel Core i5-1240U trails slightly at 17141 (0.2% delta). This clustering shows that the i5-11400F's processing power is competitive with newer mobile and low-power parts, though its desktop-oriented design provides consistent sustained performance in gaming workloads. For the GPU, the RTX 4060's average score of 23181 is close to the AMD Radeon RX 6600M at 23321 (-0.6% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti at 23338 (-0.7% delta), while the Intel Arc B580 scores 23021 (0.7% delta) and the AMD Radeon 760M scores 22999 (0.8% delta).

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all presets. The Low preset averages 138.2 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium settings produce 99 FPS, while High achieves 92 FPS. The Ultra preset still manages 77.9 FPS, making it viable for smooth gameplay on standard 60 Hz displays. These numbers show that 1080p is where this combo truly shines, offering headroom for competitive play or maximum visual fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains respectable but demands more careful settings selection. Low settings average 106.1 FPS, comfortably above 60 FPS. Medium drops to 72.8 FPS, and High falls to 64.3 FPS, both still playable. Ultra settings average 56.9 FPS, which is slightly below the 60 FPS target but acceptable for slower-paced action-adventure gameplay. The data suggests that 1440p High is the sweet spot for this resolution, balancing visual quality with smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4060's limitations become evident. Low settings average 73.8 FPS, which is surprisingly strong for 4K, but Medium drops to 49.6 FPS and High to 44.5 FPS. Ultra settings average just 37.2 FPS, making them unsuitable for anything but cinematic screenshots. The steep drop between Low and Medium at 4K indicates that texture quality and post-processing effects are heavily taxing the 8 GB VRAM and 272.0 GB/s memory bandwidth.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, built on the AD107 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture and a 5 nm process, is the dominant factor in Control's performance at higher resolutions. Its boost clock of 2460 MHz and 3072 shading units provide solid raw compute, with FP32 performance rated at 15.11 TFLOPS. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes a constraint at 4K with higher quality settings.

The GPU's 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores suggest it can handle ray tracing and DLSS, though the measured data does not include those features in the standard presets. The passmark_g3d score of 19545 and 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 2302 place it in the 66th percentile among all GPUs, confirming its mid-range positioning. The texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s are adequate for the game's particle effects and destructible environments, but the 4K results show that the memory subsystem is the primary bottleneck, especially at Medium and High presets where texture streaming demands more bandwidth.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the Ultra preset at 77.9 FPS is the best choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining smooth frame rates. Players with 144 Hz or higher monitors can drop to High at 92 FPS or Medium at 99 FPS for a competitive edge, but the visual gains from Ultra are worth the modest frame rate cost. The Low preset at 138.2 FPS is only necessary for extreme esports-style play, which is uncommon in a single-player action-adventure title.

At 1440p, the High preset at 64.3 FPS offers the best balance of image quality and performance, keeping the experience above 60 FPS. Medium at 72.8 FPS is a viable alternative for those who prefer extra headroom, while Ultra at 56.9 FPS is acceptable for players who prioritize visuals over frame rate consistency. The Low preset at 106.1 FPS is overkill for this resolution and sacrifices too much detail for marginal gains.

For 4K displays, the Low preset at 73.8 FPS is the only setting that delivers a consistently smooth experience. Medium at 49.6 FPS and High at 44.5 FPS are playable but will show noticeable stutter in action-heavy scenes. Ultra at 37.2 FPS is not recommended for gameplay, as the frame rate dips below the threshold for comfortable interaction. Players with 4K monitors should accept the visual downgrade or consider reducing the resolution to 1440p for a better overall experience. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for those willing to compromise on settings.