Control

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 1080p Ultra settings in Control?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers an average of 149 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, which is still well above typical high-refresh-rate display targets.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's average benchmark score compare to its closest listed rival?

A: The RTX 4090 posts an average benchmark score of 60347, which is essentially tied with the Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60326 (a deltaPct of 0%). It also sits 0.3% above the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: This specific CPU-GPU pairing ranks 221st out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 6% of all configurations recorded in the database.

Q: Does the i5-11400F support DDR4 memory?

A: Yes, the processor supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel memory bus and a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s.

Q: What is the GPU's memory capacity and type?

A: The RTX 4090 features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s.

Q: What is the boost clock of the i5-11400F?

A: The i5-11400F has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz across its 6 cores and 12 threads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and the data for Control reflects its overwhelming capabilities. The GPU's architecture is Ada Lovelace on a 5 nm process from TSMC, with a die size of 609 mm² and 76,300 million transistors. Its base clock is 2235 MHz and boost clock is 2520 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). This configuration delivers 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 1,290.2 GTexel/s of texture fill rate.

The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory with 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth is far more than Control requires at any resolution tested, meaning memory capacity is never a limiting factor in the measured results. The GPU also has 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores, which are relevant for games that use ray tracing or DLSS, though the measured FPS rows here do not specify whether those features were enabled.

The RTX 4090 holds an 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 60347. Its nearest rivals in the database are professional workstation cards rather than gaming GPUs — the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326, deltaPct 0%) and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61896, deltaPct -2.5%) — which underscores how far ahead this consumer card sits in raw compute terms. In Control, the GPU's role is to push frame rates to extreme levels, and across all measured settings, the lowest average FPS recorded is 76 at 4K Ultra, which is still entirely playable.

How This Combo Ranks

This pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 holds a combo rank of 221 out of 3720 tested combinations in Control. That places it in the top 5.9% of all configurations in the database, which is remarkable given that the CPU is a mid-range 11th Gen part from 2021 while the GPU is a top-tier 40-series flagship.

The rank reflects the GPU-heavy nature of Control's workload. The RTX 4090's 88th percentile GPU score heavily outweighs the CPU's 71st percentile ranking among all processors, and the combo rank of 221 suggests that the overall result is driven primarily by the graphics card's dominance. Configurations ranked above this combo likely pair the RTX 4090 with faster CPUs, but the delta in overall performance is small because Control does not appear to be highly sensitive to CPU performance beyond a certain threshold.

The data indicates that this combo ranks higher than the vast majority of alternatives in the database, and the limiting factor for further improvement would be CPU-bound scenarios. For a 1080p or 1440p gamer, this rank confirms that the i5-11400F does not meaningfully hold back the RTX 4090 in this specific title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160) across four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, and Ultra), providing a full matrix of 12 data points.

At 1920x1080: The average FPS ranges from 199 at Low settings to 149 at Ultra. Medium settings yield 175 average FPS (with a minimum of 149 and maximum of 202), while High settings produce 168 average FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 50 FPS, which indicates that even the most demanding preset remains far above any refresh-rate concern for standard monitors.

At 2560x1440: The averages are 181 FPS at Low, 146 FPS at Medium (min 124, max 168), 130 FPS at High, and 113 FPS at Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 9-13% across all settings, which is modest and demonstrates the GPU's headroom.

At 3840x2160: The averages fall to 139 FPS at Low, 99 FPS at Medium (min 84, max 114), 88 FPS at High, and 76 FPS at Ultra. Even at 4K Ultra, the 76 FPS average is comfortably above 60 FPS, meaning this combo can handle the most demanding configuration without dipping below playable thresholds.

The Medium preset at each resolution includes min and max values, which provide insight into frame pacing. At 4K Medium, the min of 84 FPS and max of 114 FPS show a 30 FPS range, which is acceptable but indicates some variance under load. The 1080p Medium min of 149 FPS and max of 202 FPS show a 53 FPS range, suggesting that CPU-related frame time spikes are more visible at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the workload shifts between components. At Low settings, the average drops from 199 FPS at 1080p to 181 FPS at 1440p (a 9% decrease) and then to 139 FPS at 4K (a 23% decrease from 1440p, or 30% total from 1080p). At Ultra settings, the averages drop from 149 FPS at 1080p to 113 FPS at 1440p (a 24% decrease) and then to 76 FPS at 4K (a 33% decrease from 1440p, or 49% total from 1080p).

The key observation is that the scaling is not linear. The jump from 1440p to 4K causes a larger percentage drop than the jump from 1080p to 1440p, which is expected because 4K has 2.25 times the pixel count of 1440p, while 1440p has 1.78 times the pixel count of 1080p. However, the fact that Low settings only lose 23% going from 1440p to 4K, while Ultra settings lose 33%, suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher settings.

At 1080p Low, the 199 FPS average may be partially CPU-limited, as the i5-11400F's single-thread score of 868 in 3dmark and 2981 in Passmark single-thread would become relevant at such high frame rates. The data shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is 50 FPS, but at 4K it narrows to 63 FPS, indicating that the GPU is doing more work per frame as resolution increases, which effectively masks any CPU limitations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on 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, and it has 12 MB of shared L3 cache plus 512 KB of L2 cache per core. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 276 mm² die size are modest for a desktop part, and it supports PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-11400F scores 14340 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2024 in single-core, along with 7737 in Geekbench multicore and 1777 in single-core. Its 3dmark scores scale from 868 in single-thread to 5652 in max threads, which is a 6.5x scaling factor from single to full multicore utilization. This scaling indicates that the CPU can effectively use its 12 threads when needed, but Control's workload may not fully utilize all threads.

The CPU holds a 71st percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 17177. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17120, deltaPct 0.3%) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17074, deltaPct 0.6%), which are quite different parts but similar in aggregate performance.

In the context of Control with the RTX 4090, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (199 average) shows that the CPU can push frame rates near 200, but the single-thread performance may become a constraint at even higher frame rates. However, the 4K results (76-139 FPS depending on settings) are far from any CPU bottleneck, as the GPU is clearly the limiting factor at that resolution. The 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for this game, and the data does not show any significant frame rate penalties that would suggest a CPU deficiency.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and display refresh rate.

For 4K (3840x2160): The High preset produces 88 FPS average, which is ideal for 60 Hz displays with headroom. The Ultra preset drops to 76 FPS, which is still playable but offers diminishing returns for the 14% performance cost. The Medium preset at 99 FPS would be the best choice for 100 Hz displays, as it provides a significant boost over High while maintaining visual quality. The Low preset at 139 FPS exceeds any current 4K display's refresh rate, but the visual compromise is severe.

For 1440p (2560x1440): The Ultra preset delivers 113 FPS average, which matches many 144 Hz displays. The High preset at 130 FPS provides a 15% improvement and is the recommended choice for competitive play, as the visual difference between High and Ultra is often minor in the fast-paced action sequences of Control. The Medium preset at 146 FPS offers even more headroom for 165 Hz displays, while the Low preset at 181 FPS is unnecessary for most users but ensures maximum frame rates.

For 1080p (1920x1080): The Ultra preset at 149 FPS is suitable for 144 Hz displays, but the High preset at 168 FPS is the sweet spot for 165 Hz monitors. The Medium preset at 175 FPS provides near-maximum performance with only a 12% drop from Low settings. The Low preset at 199 FPS exceeds the refresh rates of most 1080p monitors, so it offers no practical benefit unless using a 240 Hz display.

The Medium preset at each resolution includes min and max FPS values, which show the variation. At 1080p Medium, the min of 149 FPS ensures no drop below 144 Hz, while at 1440p Medium, the min of 124 FPS means occasional dips below 144 Hz but still smooth gameplay. At 4K Medium, the min of 84 FPS is above 60 Hz, confirming that this preset is safe for any 4K display. For most users, the High preset at each resolution provides the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate consistency, based on the average scores alone.