Control

Control is a demanding action-adventure title from 2019 that stresses both CPU and GPU heavily, and the combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 produces a wide spread of frame rates depending on how you configure it. The measured data shows that this pairing is far from consistent across resolutions, with the GPU clearly becoming the dominant constraint as pixel counts rise. At 1080p the system can push well past 100 frames per second, but at 4K it struggles to maintain a smooth experience on higher presets, which tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lives.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 93 at 1920x1080 to 71 at 2560x1440, and then to 48 at 3840x2160. That is a 48% reduction from 1080p to 4K, and the pattern holds across all presets. Low settings show the biggest raw numbers: 148 FPS at 1080p, 112 at 1440p, and 76 at 4K, which is a 49% drop from the lowest resolution to the highest. Medium settings go from 105 to 80 to 54, a 49% decline, while Ultra drops from 81 to 61 to 41, a 49% reduction as well. The consistency of that ~49% penalty from 1080p to 4K across every preset strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting component, because a CPU-bound system would show a smaller relative drop when the resolution increases.

The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is also telling. At High settings, the drop is from 93 to 71 FPS, a 24% reduction. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is from 71 to 48, a 32% reduction. The larger relative penalty at the higher resolution step indicates that the RX 7700’s compute and memory bandwidth are being saturated as the pixel workload expands. The GPU’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth are substantial, but the 256-bit bus and 25.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance appear insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K on demanding presets. The data implies that 4K gaming with this combo requires turning settings down significantly, while 1080p and 1440p are far more comfortable operating ranges.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores are strong, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064, plus a Geekbench single-core score of 2491. The 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it is a high-end part, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX, with which it trades blows within a 1% margin. This CPU is unlikely to be the limiting factor in Control, especially at higher resolutions.

At 1080p with Low settings, the system reaches 148 FPS on average. That is a high frame rate, but not exceptionally so for a modern processor, and it suggests the GPU is still doing the heavy lifting. The CPU’s 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 or DDR5) provide enough headroom for the game’s physics and AI workloads, which are known to be demanding in Control. However, the fact that FPS scales almost identically across presets at each resolution — with Low always being roughly 60% faster than Ultra at the same resolution — points to the GPU as the primary performance gate. The CPU’s role becomes more prominent only if the GPU were weaker, but with this pairing, the i5-14600K has ample compute headroom.

The 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest this CPU can sustain high clocks under load, and its Passmark multi-thread score of 38682 confirms strong multi-core performance. In a game like Control, which can utilize multiple threads for physics and rendering tasks, the 20 threads are beneficial, but the measured frame rates do not show any sign of CPU bottlenecking. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would be most likely to limit, the 148 FPS average is not near the ceiling of what this processor can deliver in other titles. The conclusion from the data is that the CPU is more than adequate for this game, and any performance issues at 4K are squarely on the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience. At 1920x1080, High settings deliver 93 FPS on average, which is smooth for most displays, while Medium gives 105 FPS and Low hits 148 FPS. Ultra drops to 81 FPS, which is still playable but offers diminishing returns over High. At 2560x1440, High produces 71 FPS, Medium 80 FPS, and Low 112 FPS, with Ultra falling to 61 FPS. At 3840x2160, the situation changes: High averages 48 FPS, Medium 54 FPS, Low 76 FPS, and Ultra just 41 FPS. For a 60 Hz display, Medium at 1440p is the safest choice (80 FPS), while High at 1440p (71 FPS) is acceptable if you prefer visual fidelity. At 4K, only Low (76 FPS) reaches a comfortable level, while Medium (54 FPS) and High (48 FPS) are borderline and likely to feel stuttery on fast-moving scenes.

The Medium preset at 1440p stands out because it has the only measured min/max data in the entire set: min 68 FPS and max 92 FPS. That range indicates decent frame pacing, with the minimum staying above 60 FPS, which is important for consistent gameplay. At 1080p Medium, the min is 89 FPS and max is 121 FPS, showing even better consistency. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, balancing visual quality with performance headroom. High settings are viable at 1080p (93 FPS) and 1440p (71 FPS), but Ultra is only recommended at 1080p (81 FPS) if you prioritize image quality over frame rate. For 4K, the choice is stark: Low is the only preset that keeps the average above 60 FPS, and even then, the 76 FPS average leaves little margin for demanding scenes.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60 FPS?

A: At 1920x1080, every preset except Ultra stays above 90 FPS, and Ultra still averages 81 FPS. At 2560x1440, High and Medium both exceed 70 FPS, but Ultra drops to 61 FPS, which is just barely above 60. At 3840x2160, only Low (76 FPS) maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU’s performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15852, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival is the AMD Radeon R9 370X with a score of 15862, a delta of -0.1%, meaning they are virtually identical in synthetic benchmarks. The RX 9060 is 1% faster, and the RTX 3060 Ti is 1.7% faster, while the Radeon Pro W5500 is 1.1% slower.

Q: Is the CPU holding back performance in Control?

A: No. The i5-14600K ranks in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with strong single-core (Cinebench R23 2064) and multi-core (Cinebench R23 24491) scores. The consistent FPS drops across resolutions indicate a GPU bottleneck, not a CPU one.

Q: What does the 4K performance tell us about the GPU’s limitations?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 41 (Ultra) to 76 (Low). The 49% drop from 1080p to 4K across all presets shows that the GPU’s 25.18 TFLOPS and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high-fidelity 4K gaming in this title.

Q: Are there any frame pacing concerns?

A: Only the Medium preset has min/max data. At 1080p Medium, the range is 89-121 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 68-92 FPS; at 4K Medium, it is 46-62 FPS. The 4K range shows a minimum below 60, which could cause noticeable stutters.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: In Control, this pairing ranks 1294 out of 2888 total combos, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the database. The rank reflects its balanced but not top-tier performance, driven by the GPU’s mid-range standing.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is based on the Navi 32 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units, with a base clock of 1900 MHz and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. The memory subsystem is substantial: 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. These specs place it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15852, which is nearly identical to the Radeon R9 370X (15862) and slightly behind the RTX 3060 Ti (16129) and RX 9060 (16014).

In Control, the GPU’s role is decisive. The measured FPS data shows a clear ceiling at 4K, where even High settings only reach 48 FPS. The GPU’s 40 ray tracing cores and 25.18 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are not enough to handle the game’s rendering demands at high resolutions and presets. However, at 1080p, the GPU performs admirably: Low settings hit 148 FPS, and High settings stay at 93 FPS. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, as Control’s textures and effects do not appear to exceed that capacity at any measured setting. The bottleneck is raw compute and memory bandwidth, not capacity.

The GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 20974 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2865 confirm its mid-range positioning. It is not a top-tier card, and the data shows that its performance drops off sharply as resolution increases. The 49% FPS reduction from 1080p to 4K is consistent with a GPU that has strong 1080p performance but lacks the headroom for 4K. The 200 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest it is a power-efficient card, but that does not translate into high-end 4K capability. For this game, the RX 7700 is best suited to 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K only viable on Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 148 FPS on Low, 105 FPS on Medium, 93 FPS on High, and 81 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a min of 89 FPS and max of 121 FPS, indicating tight frame pacing. At 2560x1440, the numbers are 112 FPS (Low), 80 FPS (Medium, min 68, max 92), 71 FPS (High), and 61 FPS (Ultra). At 3840x2160, the results are 76 FPS (Low), 54 FPS (Medium, min 46, max 62), 48 FPS (High), and 41 FPS (Ultra). The progression is linear: each resolution step down reduces FPS by roughly 20-30% at every preset, and each preset step down from Low to Ultra reduces FPS by 20-40% at every resolution.

The 1080p Low result of 148 FPS is the highest measured value, showing the system’s peak capability when the GPU is least stressed. The 4K Ultra result of 41 FPS is the lowest, representing the worst-case scenario. The gap between Low and Ultra at the same resolution is consistent: at 1080p, Low is 83% faster than Ultra; at 1440p, Low is 84% faster; and at 4K, Low is 85% faster. This consistency reinforces that the GPU is the primary limiter, as the relative performance difference between presets does not change with resolution. The data also shows that 1440p is the practical ceiling for high-fidelity gaming, as High and Ultra both stay above 60 FPS, while 4K requires sacrificing visual quality to maintain playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested CPU/GPU combinations for Control, this pairing ranks 1294 out of 2888 total combos. That places it in the 55th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 45% of combinations perform better and 55% perform worse. The rank is driven primarily by the GPU’s mid-range standing (58th percentile among all GPUs) rather than the CPU, which is in the 90th percentile. The CPU’s high benchmark scores — including a Passmark multi-thread score of 38682 and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 — do not translate into a top-tier gaming rank because Control is heavily GPU-bound at the resolutions tested.

The combo’s position suggests it is a competent but not exceptional pairing for this game. It outperforms systems with weaker GPUs but falls short of those with higher-end cards like the RTX 3060 Ti, which has a marginally higher average benchmark score (16129 vs 15852). The 1.7% benchmark delta between the RX 7700 and RTX 3060 Ti is small, but in real-world Control performance, that could translate to a few FPS at 4K, where the RX 7700 already struggles to maintain 50 FPS on High settings. The rank of 1294 reflects a system that can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming excellently, but it is not designed for 4K high-refresh-rate play. For users targeting 1440p at High or Medium settings, this combo is well-suited; for 4K enthusiasts, it falls short of the top 50% of tested systems.