Control

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is a combination that places in the lower-middle tier of tested configurations for Control, landing at rank 1200 out of 1636 tested combos. This positioning, roughly in the 27th percentile of all tested pairings, reflects a system that can deliver playable framerates at 1080p and 1440p, but one that will struggle to maintain smooth performance at 4K with higher graphical presets. The data shows a clear performance ceiling imposed by the GPU, while the CPU’s substantial headroom means that this is not a balanced pairing for the game’s most demanding settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark database places this specific CPU-GPU pair at rank 1200 out of 1636 tested combinations for Control. This is a below-average standing, indicating that most other tested pairings deliver better performance in this title. The rank is heavily influenced by the GPU’s position in the broader market; the Radeon RX 6600 XT sits at the 71st percentile among all GPUs, which is respectable for mainstream gaming, but not sufficient to push this combo higher up the leaderboard. The CPU, conversely, is a high-end part sitting at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, creating a significant mismatch in capabilities that becomes apparent in the game’s resolution scaling. The practical takeaway from the rank data is that while this system will run Control, it will not be among the smoother or higher-fidelity experiences available, and users should temper expectations regarding maximum settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is the primary determinant of this combo’s gaming performance. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s, which is adequate for Control at 1080p and 1440p, but becomes a limiting factor at 4K where the game’s textures and effects demand more memory throughput. The GPU’s clock speeds—a base of 1968 MHz, a game clock of 2359 MHz, and a boost of 2589 MHz—show a tightly binned chip that can sustain high frequencies. In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU scores 16461 in Passmark G3D and 27985 on average, placing it just 0.1% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti and 0.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 in the nearest rival comparisons. The measured framerates in Control reflect this mid-range positioning: the card can handle the game’s physics and particle effects at lower resolutions, but its 64 ROPs and 2048 shading units are overwhelmed when the resolution increases. The 10.60 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the theoretical peak, and the data shows that in practice, this translates to playable but not exceptional results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance drop as resolution increases, which is the clearest indicator that the GPU is the bottleneck in this pairing. At High settings, the average framerate falls from 73.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 55.4 FPS at 2560x1440, a 24.5% reduction, and then to 37.7 FPS at 3840x2160, a 48.6% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario, where the number of pixels being rendered outpaces the card’s fill rate and memory bandwidth. The CPU’s role in this scaling is minimal; with 14 cores and 20 threads boosting up to 5.30 GHz, it has ample headroom to feed the GPU at all resolutions. The data suggests that the RX 6600 XT is the component that determines the experience, and that moving from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, with the framerate dropping below the 40 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for acceptable action gameplay. The low preset at 4K still manages 58.2 FPS, which indicates that the card can handle the resolution if the graphical load is reduced, but the scaling shows that there is no free lunch in terms of resolution headroom.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark results provide a full matrix of framerates across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 117.7 FPS on Low, 81.8 FPS on Medium, 73.4 FPS on High, and 66.2 FPS on Ultra. This is a smooth experience across the board, with even the most demanding Ultra preset staying well above the 60 FPS target. Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers drop to 92.2 FPS on Low, 65.5 FPS on Medium, 55.4 FPS on High, and 48.5 FPS on Ultra. The High and Ultra presets at this resolution fall below the 60 FPS line, indicating that users will need to make compromises for smoother play. At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit: 58.2 FPS on Low, 45.5 FPS on Medium, 37.7 FPS on High, and 31.8 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results are consistently below the playable threshold for a fast-paced action game, and even the Low preset barely scrapes by at 58.2 FPS. The progression across presets at each resolution shows a consistent pattern of diminishing returns; the jump from Low to Medium costs performance but the jump from High to Ultra is also significant, with the latter being particularly demanding on the GPU’s memory subsystem.

Settings Recommendations

For users targeting a consistent 60 FPS experience, the data points to 1920x1080 with the High preset as the best balance, delivering 73.4 FPS with the visual quality that the game’s art direction benefits from. The Ultra preset at this resolution still achieves 66.2 FPS, so those who prioritize image quality over a few extra frames can safely max out the settings. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 65.5 FPS is the recommended choice, as it remains above the 60 FPS threshold while High drops to 55.4 FPS. Users with 1440p monitors who want higher fidelity should accept the slight compromise of the High preset’s 55.4 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast reflex moments. At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 58.2 FPS is the only option that approaches playability, but even this is below the 60 FPS target. The data strongly suggests that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo in Control, and users with 4K displays should either lower the resolution in-game or accept a sub-60 FPS experience with the Medium preset at 45.5 FPS. The best overall experience, balancing visuals and smoothness, is the 1080p High setting.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a powerhouse that is largely underutilized in this pairing for Control. With 14 cores (a mix of performance and efficiency cores) and 20 threads, it has far more processing capability than the game requires. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz, combined with a 24 MB shared L3 cache, provide the kind of single-thread performance that action-adventure titles typically leverage. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 32881 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4642 in single-core, placing it at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, has an average score of 49062 versus the i5-14600K’s 49166, a delta of only 0.2%, showing that the Intel part is competitive with top-tier previous-generation chips. However, the measured FPS data shows that this CPU power does not translate into higher framerates in Control because the RX 6600 XT becomes the limiting factor well before the CPU’s capabilities are exhausted. The game is not CPU-bound in any of the tested configurations; the framerate differences between presets and resolutions are entirely attributable to the GPU’s workload. This means that users with this CPU could potentially upgrade the GPU in the future without needing to change the processor, as the i5-14600K has ample headroom for a more powerful graphics card.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU-GPU combo in Control?*

A: The combo ranks 1200 out of 1636 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems for this game.

*Q: Is this combo capable of running Control at 4K smoothly?*

A: No. The highest measured framerate at 3840x2160 is 58.2 FPS on the Low preset, while High and Ultra drop to 37.7 FPS and 31.8 FPS respectively, all below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RX 6600 XT compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 27985, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti and 0.9% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 60 FPS experience at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers 65.5 FPS, which is the only 1440p setting that stays above the 60 FPS threshold; High drops to 55.4 FPS.

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-14600K bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The CPU’s benchmark scores (e.g., 32881 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) and high percentile ranking (93rd) indicate it has far more capability than needed, and the FPS scaling with resolution confirms the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average framerate drops from 73.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 37.7 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 48.6%.