Control

# Control with Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Control, with the combo ranking 32nd out of 2,888 tested configurations. This pairing combines a 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake Refresh processor with a 32 GB GDDR7 GPU built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, producing results that range from 83 FPS at 4K Ultra to 248 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 4.70 GHz boost clock keeps 1080p performance firmly in high-refresh territory.

FAQ

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

A: This Intel Core i5-14400F + RTX 5090 D combination ranks 32nd out of 2,888 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 1.1% of all recorded configurations.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 248 on Low to 163 on Ultra, a difference of 85 FPS or roughly 34% lower performance when maxing out settings.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB VRAM matter for Control?

A: The 32 GB GDDR7 memory with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth provides massive headroom for Control's textures and effects. The game was released in 2019, so this GPU's memory capacity far exceeds what the title requires, meaning VRAM is not a limiting factor in any measured scenario.

Q: How does the i5-14400F's multi-core performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-14400F scores 21,645 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 32,279 average benchmark score. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, scores 32,233, putting the Intel chip just 0.1% ahead. The Intel Core i9-11900 trails by 0.2% at 32,226.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: At 3840x2160, High settings produce 96 FPS average, while Medium gives 108 FPS and Ultra drops to 83 FPS. Based on the measured data, High offers the best balance for 4K, staying above 90 FPS while maintaining visual quality.

Q: Is there a significant performance gap between 1440p and 4K with this setup?

A: Yes. At High settings, 2560x1440 delivers 142 FPS average, while 3840x2160 drops to 96 FPS — a 46 FPS reduction (32% lower). This indicates the GPU becomes substantially more stressed as pixel count increases.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D serves as the dominant performance driver in this Control configuration. With 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output pipelines, the GPU's raw throughput is enormous. The board runs at a 2,017 MHz base clock and boosts to 2,407 MHz, with memory clocked at 1,750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) across a 512-bit bus. This produces 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth, which is critical for feeding the 32 GB GDDR7 frame buffer at high resolutions.

In Control specifically, the GPU's workload varies dramatically with settings. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 83, suggesting the Blackwell 2.0 architecture is being pushed hard by the game's physics-heavy rendering. The 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate provide ample compute, but the data shows diminishing returns at the highest preset. The 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores are present but not explicitly tested in these measurements; the standard rasterization results show the card's baseline capability.

The GPU's benchmark profile reinforces its position. It scores 44,065 in Passmark G3D and 14,326 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, with a 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, scores 78,940 on average benchmark score, which is 1.6% higher than the RTX 5090 D's 77,712 average — though that comparison is across all workloads, not specifically Control. The 5 nm TSMC process node and 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die explain the high performance but also indicate the power draw is substantial at 575 W TDP.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals clear performance tiers for this combination. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 248 FPS average, which is excellent for competitive play or extremely high refresh rate monitors. However, the jump from Low to Medium only costs 37 FPS (dropping to 211), while Medium to High costs another 23 FPS (188), and High to Ultra costs 25 FPS (163). For most users at 1080p, Medium or High provides the best experience — the difference between 211 FPS and 248 FPS is imperceptible on standard 144Hz displays, while the visual uplift from Low to Medium is significant.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low gives 225 FPS, Medium drops to 160 FPS, High to 142 FPS, and Ultra to 124 FPS. Here, High is the sweet spot: 142 FPS comfortably exceeds 120Hz refresh rates while maintaining higher visual fidelity than Medium. The 18 FPS gap between High and Ultra (142 vs 124) is modest enough that users with G-Sync or FreeSync displays might prefer Ultra for maximum quality.

At 3840x2160, the choices become more constrained. Low produces 152 FPS, Medium 108 FPS, High 96 FPS, and Ultra 83 FPS. For 4K gaming, High at 96 FPS represents the best balance — it stays above 90 FPS and looks substantially better than Medium. Ultra at 83 FPS is playable but dips closer to the 60 FPS threshold for less margin. The Medium preset with its 92 FPS minimum (the only measured minimum alongside 1080p Medium's 180 FPS and 1440p Medium's 136 FPS) suggests stability that makes it a safe fallback if High proves too demanding in specific scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's 32nd place out of 2,888 tested configurations places it in rarefied air. This ranking reflects the RTX 5090 D's strength more than the CPU's, given that the i5-14400F sits in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs. The processor's 32,279 average benchmark score places it within 0.2% of the Intel Core i9-11900 and 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, with the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS 0.2% behind and the Intel Core i7-12800H 0.5% behind. This clustering shows the CPU is competitive but not exceptional — it's the GPU doing the heavy lifting in this ranking.

The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with its 77,712 average benchmark score, positions it well above typical desktop cards. However, the nearest rivals — AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT at 76,904 (1.1% behind) and AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78,940 (1.6% ahead) — are mobile parts, which suggests the RTX 5090 D's desktop positioning is strong but not unchallenged in synthetic tests. In Control specifically, the combo's top-32 finish among nearly 2,900 configurations indicates that this pairing extracts near-maximum performance from the game engine.

The rank also implies that only 31 other CPU-GPU combinations out-deliver this setup in Control. Given the GPU's massive memory bandwidth and the CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache, the pairing is well balanced for this title. The i5-14400F's 16 threads (via 10 cores with hyperthreading) provide enough parallel throughput to keep the RTX 5090 D fed at lower resolutions, while at 4K the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression across resolutions tells a clear story about system balance. At High settings, 1080p delivers 188 FPS, 1440p drops to 142 FPS (24% reduction), and 4K falls to 96 FPS (another 32% reduction). This scaling pattern indicates the GPU is the limiting factor starting at 1440p, with the CPU able to maintain high frame rates at 1080p but the GPU's pixel throughput becoming the constraint as resolution increases.

The Low settings data amplifies this observation. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 248 FPS, which is likely CPU-limited given the i5-14400F's single-thread capabilities (3,055 in Cinebench R23 single-core, 3,701 in Passmark single-thread). Dropping to 1440p Low yields 225 FPS (9% reduction), while 4K Low yields 152 FPS (32% reduction from 1440p). The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests the CPU maintains its advantage until the pixel count increases substantially.

At Medium settings, the pattern is more uniform: 211 FPS at 1080p, 160 FPS at 1440p (24% drop), and 108 FPS at 4K (33% drop). This consistency indicates that Medium settings scale predictably with resolution, and the measured minimums (180 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, 92 FPS at 4K) confirm stable performance without major frame-time spikes.

The Ultra settings show the steepest resolution penalty: 163 FPS at 1080p, 124 FPS at 1440p (24% drop), and 83 FPS at 4K (33% drop). This consistent 24-33% reduction per resolution step across all settings presets strongly suggests the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints at higher resolutions, while the CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings average 248 FPS, making it the only measured configuration to exceed 240 FPS. Medium settings average 211 FPS with a minimum of 180 FPS and maximum of 243 FPS, indicating excellent frame pacing. High settings average 188 FPS, while Ultra drops to 163 FPS. The 85 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is the largest of any resolution, reflecting the GPU's ability to brute-force lower presets.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the first signs of GPU limitation. Low settings average 225 FPS, still exceptionally high. Medium averages 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS and maximum of 184 FPS. High settings produce 142 FPS average, and Ultra yields 124 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 101 FPS, indicating that the GPU's workload at 1440p is more sensitive to settings changes than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is firmly the bottleneck. Low settings average 152 FPS, which is still playable on high-refresh 4K displays. Medium averages 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 FPS and maximum of 124 FPS, providing a stable experience above 90 FPS. High settings drop to 96 FPS average, while Ultra falls to 83 FPS. The 69 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is smaller than at lower resolutions, showing that the GPU's absolute limits are being approached regardless of settings.

The Medium preset measurements are the only ones with complete min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the 180-243 FPS range shows a 63 FPS variance. At 1440p, the 136-184 FPS range has a 48 FPS variance. At 4K, the 92-124 FPS range narrows to 32 FPS. This tightening variance at higher resolutions further confirms the GPU-limited nature of 4K performance, where frame times become more consistent as the GPU saturates.