Control

Control, Remedy’s 2019 action-adventure, presents a demanding mix of physics-based combat and dense visual effects. With the Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT, the benchmark data reveals a configuration that is firmly capable of delivering a smooth experience, provided the settings are tuned appropriately. The measured results show that this combo ranks in the 54th percentile of tested configurations, indicating a solid mid-pack performer that prioritizes high refresh rates at 1080p over uncompromising 4K fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks

The pairing of the Core i5-14600K and RX 6750 XT achieves a rank of 1712 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all systems, signifying that while it is not an elite-level configuration for this specific title, it comfortably outpaces the majority of setups. The ranking suggests a balanced platform where neither component is a severe bottleneck, but where the GPU's mid-range positioning ultimately dictates the ceiling for performance at higher resolutions.

This ranking is consistent with the individual component standings. The GPU sits in the 71st percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 26011. Its nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Radeon R9 M395X, which is only 0.5% behind, and the AMD FirePro W7100, which is 0.6% behind. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is actually 1.1% ahead of the RX 6750 XT in aggregate score, highlighting that while the desktop card is strong, it is not without peers in its performance class. The CPU, however, is a much stronger component, sitting in the 90th percentile among all processors with an average benchmark score of 48618, placing it in the company of server and high-end HX-series chips.

Given the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's more modest one, the in-game rank is heavily influenced by the graphics card. The data indicates that the 1712 rank is a direct reflection of the GPU's capability to handle Control's graphical load, especially as resolution increases. The system is not being held back by the processor, but rather by the inherent limits of the RX 6750 XT's raw processing power.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates show a clear and expected progression of performance scaling with resolution and settings. At 1080p, the combo is exceptionally strong. With Low settings, it achieves an average of 148 FPS, a figure that drops to 105 FPS on Medium and 94 FPS on High. The most demanding preset, Ultra, still yields a highly playable 81 FPS average. These numbers indicate that for competitive or high-refresh-rate play, 1080p is the sweet spot, with even the Ultra preset providing a fluid experience.

Moving to 1440p, the performance remains very respectable. The Low preset delivers 112 FPS, which is still excellent for fast-paced action. Medium and High settings produce 80 FPS and 71 FPS respectively, both of which are well within the range for a smooth experience on standard 60Hz and 144Hz monitors. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 62 FPS, which is playable but begins to show the strain on the GPU, falling below the 70 FPS threshold that many consider ideal for action games.

At 4K resolution, the RX 6750 XT begins to show its limitations. The Low preset manages an average of 76 FPS, which is still playable, but the higher presets suffer significant drops. Medium produces 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 FPS, High drops to 48 FPS, and Ultra falls to 42 FPS. These numbers suggest that 4K gaming with this combo is only viable with significant compromises to visual quality, specifically by sticking to the Low preset.

The data shows that the 1080p Medium preset, with an average of 105 FPS and a minimum of 90 FPS, is a particularly strong configuration. It provides a robust frame rate with a narrow frame time variance, as indicated by the 90 FPS minimum, ensuring minimal stutter. In contrast, the 4K Medium preset’s minimum of 46 FPS suggests potential for noticeable hitches during intense combat sequences.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the primary determinant of frame rate in this analysis. Its specifications, including 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, provide a 432.0 GB/s memory bandwidth. This is sufficient for the texture and geometry loads at 1080p and 1440p, but the data suggests it becomes a bottleneck at 4K. The GPU's 40 ray accelerators and 2560 shading units are tasked with processing Control's complex lighting and particle effects, and the measured FPS drops at higher resolutions are directly attributable to these compute units being overwhelmed.

The card's clock speeds are notable, with a base of 2150 MHz and a boost of 2600 MHz. This high boost clock helps maintain performance in less demanding scenes, but under sustained load at 4K, the average FPS figures indicate that the card cannot sustain its peak performance. The FP32 performance of 13.31 TFLOPS is a raw measure of its compute capability, and the results show it is adequate for 1080p and 1440p but insufficient for smooth 4K on high presets.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in this game, as Control's requirements are well within this amount, even at 4K. The bottleneck at 4K is not memory capacity but rather the sheer number of pixels the GPU must render, which taxes the shading units and ROPs. The data implies that the RX 6750 XT is a 1440p-class card for a demanding title like Control, with 4K being a stretch goal only achievable with significant settings reductions.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals the nature of the limiting component. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 94. Moving to 1440p High, it drops to 71 FPS, a 24.5% reduction. Scaling up to 4K High, the average falls to 48 FPS, a 48.9% reduction from 1440p and a 48.9% reduction from 1080p. This steep decline is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario, where the CPU has ample headroom to feed the graphics card but the GPU cannot process the increased pixel count fast enough.

This pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For instance, at Low settings, the FPS drops from 148 at 1080p to 112 at 1440p (a 24.3% drop) and then to 76 at 4K (a 32.1% drop from 1440p). The scaling is not perfectly linear, but the consistent, significant drops indicate that the RX 6750 XT is the performance bottleneck.

The implications are clear for users: the Core i5-14600K is not a limiting factor in this game. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, is more than capable of handling the game's physics and AI logic at any resolution. The data suggests that if a user were to upgrade the GPU, they would see a nearly linear improvement in frame rates, as the CPU's performance headroom is substantial. Conversely, overclocking the CPU or upgrading it further would yield no measurable benefit in Control, as the GPU is the definitive constraint.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1440p with Medium settings. This configuration delivers an average of 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 FPS, providing a smooth and responsive experience that leverages the CPU's strength without pushing the GPU to its breaking point. The 68 FPS minimum is high enough to avoid most perceptible stuttering, making it an excellent balance of visual fidelity and performance.

For users prioritizing a high refresh rate experience, 1080p with the High preset is the best choice. It yields an average of 94 FPS, which is well-suited for 144Hz monitors, and the visual upgrade from Medium is noticeable. The Ultra preset at 1080p, while playable at 81 FPS, offers diminishing returns for the performance cost.

At 4K, the data strongly suggests avoiding the Medium, High, and Ultra presets, as they all fall below the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 4K, with an average of 76 FPS, is the only viable option, but it requires a significant sacrifice in visual quality. Therefore, the recommendation is to treat 4K as an experimental mode rather than a primary gaming resolution for this hardware.

The 1080p Medium preset, with a 105 FPS average and a 90 FPS minimum, is also a compelling option for those who want maximum smoothness without any risk of frame drops. The minimal variance between average and minimum FPS indicates consistent frame pacing progression. In summary, the data champions 1440p Medium as the "best overall" and 1080p High as the "best for high refresh" configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a high-end processor that is vastly overqualified for the demands of Control. With a boost clock of 5.30 GHz and a multi-core score of 24491 in Cinebench R23, its processing power is far beyond what this game requires. This is evident in the FPS scaling; the frame rates are almost entirely dictated by the GPU and resolution, not the CPU.

The CPU’s 14 cores and 20 threads are a signal of its modern architecture, but Control is not a title that utilizes such extensive parallelism effectively. The measured data shows no significant CPU bottleneck, as the FPS drops are directly proportional to the increase in resolution, which is a GPU workload. The processor's high single-core performance, as indicated by its Geekbench single-core score of 2491, ensures that the game's primary game thread is handled with ease, allowing the GPU to receive instructions without delay.

The processor's 24 MB of shared L3 cache also contributes to smooth performance, though again, its impact is not visible in the measured FPS due to the GPU being the limiting factor. The data suggests that this CPU will remain a non-issue for Control even with a future GPU upgrade. It provides a massive performance headroom, ensuring that the platform is future-proof for more CPU-intensive titles. In this specific game, however, its role is to be a silent, efficient partner that never hinders the graphics card.