Control

Control with the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a smooth experience at 1080p, but demands careful settings management at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear hierarchy: at 1920x1080, the combo achieves 124 FPS on Low, 88 FPS on Medium, 78 FPS on High, and 68 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 2560x1440, those figures drop to 94 FPS on Low, 67 FPS on Medium, 59 FPS on High, and 52 FPS on Ultra. At 3840x2160, the RTX 5050 struggles, with only the Low preset (63 FPS) crossing the 60 FPS threshold; Medium averages 45 FPS, High averages 40 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35 FPS. This pattern indicates a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the six-core, twelve-thread CPU provides ample headroom for this 2019 action-adventure title.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal preset depends entirely on your target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 78 FPS is the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. It offers a substantial jump from the 68 FPS of Ultra while remaining well above the 60 FPS playability standard. If you have a 144Hz monitor, the Low preset at 124 FPS is the only option that fully utilizes that refresh rate, but the visual compromise is significant. The Medium preset at 88 FPS is a strong middle ground for high-refresh 1080p, providing a 10 FPS advantage over High with modest visual cuts.

At 1440p, the High preset (59 FPS) is borderline for smooth play, sitting just one frame below 60 FPS. The Medium preset (67 FPS) is the safer choice for consistent gameplay, offering a 12% performance increase over High while retaining most visual quality. Avoid Ultra at this resolution, as the 52 FPS average will feel noticeably less fluid. For 4K, the data is unambiguous: only the Low preset (63 FPS) is viable for a playable experience. The 45 FPS of Medium and 40 FPS of High are playable for slower, story-driven moments but will suffer in combat-heavy sequences. Ultra at 4K (35 FPS) should be avoided entirely.

Benchmark results indicate that the Medium preset is the most efficient across all resolutions. It provides the largest relative FPS gain over High for the least visual cost. For example, at 1080p, Medium is 10 FPS faster than High, and at 1440p, it is 8 FPS faster. This makes Medium the recommended starting point for any user who wants to prioritize frame rate without completely sacrificing graphical detail. Only push to High if you have a 60Hz display and can accept the occasional dip below that threshold.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only on the Low preset, which averages 63 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 45 FPS, and High falls to 40 FPS, making them unsuitable for smooth action at 4K. Ultra is not viable at 35 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144Hz 1080p monitor?

A: The Low preset is the only one that reaches 124 FPS, which is necessary to approach a 144Hz refresh rate. The Medium preset (88 FPS) and High preset (78 FPS) are better for visual quality but will not fully utilize a 144Hz panel.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 perform against its closest rivals in this system?

A: The RTX 5050's average benchmark score is 21035. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, scores 21153, making the RTX 5050 0.6% slower. It is 1% slower than the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (21237) and 1.6% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20713).

Q: Is the CPU a limiting factor for this game?

A: No. The Intel Core i5-11400F's benchmark scores indicate it is not the bottleneck at any resolution. The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep (e.g., 78 to 40 FPS on High), which is the classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's 12 threads and multi-core performance are sufficient for this title.

Q: What kind of frame rates can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: The average FPS is 59, which is just under the 60 FPS target. The data shows no minimum FPS recorded for High at 1440p, but the Medium preset has a min of 57 FPS, suggesting High would see similar or lower dips during intense scenes.

Q: Is the RTX 5050's 8GB VRAM sufficient for Control?

A: Yes. The measured data shows the game runs at all presets up to 4K, though only Low is playable at that resolution. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth are enough to handle the game's assets without causing a crash or preventing the benchmark from completing.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the defining component in this system's Control performance. Its memory configuration—8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 320.0 GB/s bandwidth—provides sufficient capacity for the game's textures, but the bandwidth becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The GPU's clock speeds are a more direct indicator of its capability: a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz. These high frequencies are essential for the game's DirectX 12 workload, and the data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rate differences between presets.

The RTX 5050's raw compute power, measured at 13.17 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, translates directly to the measured FPS. The GPU's benchmark percentile is 66, placing it above average among all GPUs. In this specific title, the data shows a clear progression: at 1080p, the GPU is powerful enough to push frame rates high, but at 4K, its limits are exposed. The average FPS at 4K Ultra (35) is less than a third of the 1080p Low result (124), demonstrating that the GPU's shading units and ROPs (32) are overwhelmed by the pixel count.

The GPU's architecture and features, such as 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores, are present but do not appear to be heavily utilized in this non-ray-traced title. The data indicates a standard rasterization workload. The GPU's 130W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with a mainstream card, and its performance in Control reflects that positioning. The measured results show that the RTX 5050 is a capable 1080p and 1440p card for this game, but it is not a 4K solution beyond the lowest settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows a wide performance range across presets. The Low preset averages 124 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this combo. Medium averages 88 FPS with a minimum of 75 and maximum of 101 FPS, indicating stable performance. High averages 78 FPS, and Ultra averages 68 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 36 FPS drop, while the step from Medium to High is 10 FPS, and High to Ultra is another 10 FPS. This suggests diminishing returns on visual quality for the GPU's effort at the top end.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low averages 94 FPS, which is still very smooth. Medium averages 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 and maximum of 77 FPS, making it the most consistent playable option. High averages 59 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra averages 52 FPS. The delta between Medium and High is 8 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 7 FPS, showing a similar relative decrease to 1080p but from a lower starting point.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low averages 63 FPS, which is the only playable preset. Medium averages 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 and maximum of 52 FPS, indicating significant frame time spikes. High averages 40 FPS, and Ultra averages 35 FPS. The performance cliff between 1440p and 4K is severe: for example, High settings drop from 59 FPS at 1440p to 40 FPS at 4K, a 32% decrease. This confirms that the RTX 5050 is not designed for 4K gaming in this title beyond minimal settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is a textbook example of GPU-bound scaling. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 78 at 1080p to 59 at 1440p and then to 40 at 4K. That is a 24% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 32% decrease from 1440p to 4K. On Low settings, the drop is from 124 at 1080p to 94 at 1440p and 63 at 4K. The absolute FPS loss is larger at Low (61 FPS total) than at High (38 FPS total), but the percentage drop is similar, indicating a consistent scaling curve.

This behavior points directly to the GPU as the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not change with resolution. Instead, the data shows a near-linear relationship between the pixel count and the frame rate, which is the signature of a video card that is running out of pixel throughput and memory bandwidth. The RTX 5050's 128-bit memory bus and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth are the likely culprits, as 4K requires significantly more memory traffic than 1080p.

The data also shows that the CPU's performance, which ranks in the 71st percentile, is sufficient to keep up with the GPU at all settings. The Intel Core i5-11400F has a boost clock of 4.40 GHz and 12 MB of L3 cache, which are more than adequate for this game. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that any performance issues you encounter at 1440p or 4K are due to the graphics card, not the processor. Upgrading the CPU would have no measurable impact on the 4K Low result of 63 FPS, but upgrading the GPU would.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F plays a supporting role in this system's Control performance, but it is a solid one. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it provides ample multi-threading capability for the game's engine. Its base clock of 2.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz ensure that single-threaded performance is strong, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2024. The CPU's average benchmark score of 17177 places it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, and it trades blows with its nearest rivals: it is 0.3% faster than the AMD EPYC 7H12 and 0.6% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U, while being 0.4% slower than the Intel Core i5-12450H and 0.6% slower than the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G.

In the context of Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 124 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would expose a weak processor. The CPU's multi-core score in Cinebench R23 (14340) and its 12 threads are more than enough for this title. The 65W TDP and 14nm process node are irrelevant to game performance, but they do indicate that the CPU runs efficiently within its power budget.

The CPU's memory support for DDR4 at dual-channel speeds with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth is also sufficient. The game does not appear to be memory-bandwidth sensitive, as the frame rate scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The data suggests that the i5-11400F is a well-matched partner for the RTX 5050 in this game. It does not hold the GPU back at any resolution or settings preset, allowing the graphics card to be the sole determinant of performance. For this specific title, the CPU is a non-issue; the focus should be entirely on GPU settings for optimization.