Control

The Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT combination ranks 551st out of 1,636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top third of all systems assessed. This is a strong position, but the data reveals that the pairing is not uniformly balanced across all settings and resolutions. The combo’s overall rank is respectable, yet its performance profile shows a clear pattern: the GPU is the dominant force at lower resolutions, while the CPU’s capabilities become more relevant as graphical load increases. Benchmark results indicate a system that excels at high-refresh 1080p and 1440p gaming, but requires careful settings management to maintain smooth 4K performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 551 out of 1,636 places it within the 66th percentile of all tested pairings, which is a solidly above-average result. This position is largely driven by the GPU’s strong overall standing, as the RX 6800 XT sits in the 87th percentile against all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 93rd percentile against all CPUs. The data suggests the processor is the more capable component on paper, but in Control, the graphics card dictates the playable experience at higher resolutions. When compared to similar hardware, the RX 6800 XT’s average benchmark score of 49,982 is just 0.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A550M, yet 2.6% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER. This indicates the GPU is competitive but not class-leading, and the measured FPS numbers reflect that nuance. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 49,166 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, with a delta of just 0.2%, meaning the i5-14600K is effectively tied with a previous-generation flagship in synthetic tests. In-game, this translates to a system that can push high frame rates, but the rank suggests that many other combos deliver a more consistent experience at 4K Ultra.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the primary driver of Control’s visual fidelity, and its memory configuration is central to its performance. The card features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. This ample memory capacity and bandwidth allow the GPU to handle high-resolution textures without excessive stuttering, which is evident in the measured FPS at 1440p and 4K. The GPU’s clocks are set at a base of 1825 MHz, a game clock of 2015 MHz, and a boost clock of 2250 MHz. These frequencies, combined with 4,608 shading units and 128 ROPs, produce a pixel rate of 288.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 648.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 20.74 TFLOPS is a key indicator of raw compute power, and benchmark results show the GPU achieving a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,689 and a Passmark G3D score of 24,980. In Control, the GPU’s role is most apparent in the scaling from Medium to Ultra settings. At 1440p, dropping from High to Medium only reduces the average FPS from 87.9 to 95.1, while jumping to Ultra drops it to 73.7. This suggests the GPU is well-utilized, but the 16 GB VRAM is not a bottleneck at these settings; rather, the compute load is what limits performance. The card’s 72 ray tracing cores also matter, though the measured data does not isolate RT performance specifically.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide substantial on-die memory for game logic and physics calculations. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 32,881 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,642 in single-core, alongside a Geekbench multi-core score of 15,846 and single-core of 2,803. These numbers indicate strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance, which is crucial for Control’s CPU-bound scenes. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU provides enough headroom to reach 176.7 FPS on Low settings, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher settings. At 4K, the CPU’s role shifts: the difference between Low and Medium settings is only 23.5 FPS (91.1 to 67.6), suggesting that the GPU is increasingly saturated. The CPU’s 20 threads help maintain frame pacing in complex combat sequences, but the measured FPS values do not show a clear CPU bottleneck at any resolution tested. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-14600K is 0.4% slower than the i5-14600KF, but 1% faster than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, indicating it is a top-tier consumer chip for this game.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Control?*

A: The data shows 1440p High is the sweet spot, delivering 87.9 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining visual quality. 4K Ultra drops to 52.1 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play.

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

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 113.6 at 1080p to 56.6 at 4K, a reduction of 57.0 FPS. This indicates the GPU is the primary scaling factor, as the CPU’s performance is less stressed at higher resolutions.

Q: Is the RX 6800 XT faster than the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER in this game?

A: Based on synthetic benchmarks, the RX 6800 XT is 2.6% slower than the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, but the measured FPS in Control shows the RX 6800 XT delivering solid frame rates. The actual in-game difference is not directly measured, so synthetic scores are the only comparison.

Q: Does the CPU hold back the GPU at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 176.7 FPS, which is extremely high. The CPU’s single-core score of 4,642 in Cinebench R23 suggests it can feed the GPU, but the bottleneck shifts to the GPU at higher settings, as seen by the 101.1 FPS at 1080p Ultra.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Medium and Ultra at 1440p?

A: The average FPS drops from 95.1 on Medium to 73.7 on Ultra, a difference of 21.4 FPS. This is a significant gap, indicating that Ultra settings impose a heavy load on the GPU’s compute units.

Q: How does the CPU’s rank compare to its rivals?

A: The i5-14600K has a percentile rank of 93 against all CPUs, and its average benchmark score is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X. This makes it a top-tier choice for gaming, even if the difference is negligible in practice.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 113.6 FPS, which drops to 87.9 FPS at 1440p and further to 56.6 FPS at 4K. This represents a 50.2% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is the dominant limiting factor. The pattern holds across all settings: at Low, the FPS drops from 176.7 at 1080p to 137.9 at 1440p (a 22% reduction), and then to 91.1 at 4K (a 34% reduction from 1440p). This suggests that at lower settings, the CPU has more influence, as the GPU is less saturated. However, at Ultra settings, the 4K average of 52.1 FPS is just below the 60 FPS target, showing that the GPU’s compute resources are fully utilized. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep on Ultra, with a drop from 73.7 to 52.1 FPS, a 29.3% reduction. This indicates that the RX 6800 XT’s 16 GB of VRAM is sufficient, but the raw pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck at 4K. The data suggests that users targeting 4K should stick to High or Medium settings to maintain playable frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution. At 1080p, Ultra is viable with an average of 101.1 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and only 12.5 FPS slower than High. For 1440p, High is the recommended preset, delivering 87.9 FPS, while Ultra drops to 73.7 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices 14.2 FPS for marginal visual gains. The data shows that Medium at 1440p offers 95.1 FPS, but the visual quality difference between Medium and High is often worth the 7.2 FPS loss. At 4K, High is the best choice, yielding 56.6 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target. Ultra at 4K drops to 52.1 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutters in fast-paced action. Low settings are only recommended for competitive play at 4K, where 91.1 FPS is achievable, but the visual fidelity is severely compromised. The data indicates that High settings provide the best balance of performance and quality across all resolutions, with the GPU’s 16 GB VRAM ensuring texture quality is not a limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data is comprehensive, covering three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 176.7 FPS on Low, 126 FPS on Medium, 113.6 FPS on High, and 101.1 FPS on Ultra. This shows a 75.6 FPS spread between Low and Ultra, indicating that the GPU’s compute load scales significantly with settings. At 2560x1440, the FPS values are 137.9 on Low, 95.1 on Medium, 87.9 on High, and 73.7 on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 64.2 FPS, suggesting the GPU is beginning to become the limiting factor. At 3840x2160, the FPS drops to 91.1 on Low, 67.6 on Medium, 56.6 on High, and 52.1 on Ultra. The spread here is 39 FPS, which is much tighter, confirming that the GPU is fully saturated at 4K. The data reveals that the most significant performance drop occurs between Low and Medium settings at 4K, where the FPS falls from 91.1 to 67.6, a 23.5 FPS reduction. This suggests that Medium settings introduce substantial graphical effects that heavily tax the GPU. Overall, the measured FPS breakdown shows a system that is capable of high-refresh gaming at 1080p and 1440p, but requires settings trade-offs at 4K to maintain smooth gameplay.