Control

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT delivers a solid, high-refresh-rate experience in Control, ranking in the 57th percentile of tested hardware combos. In a field of 1,636 combinations, this setup sits at rank 698, placing it firmly in the upper-middle tier—capable of excellent 1080p performance and playable 4K, but not at the absolute top of the leaderboard. The data indicates a balanced pairing where the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU's strong single-thread performance ensures high frame rates are never left on the table.

How This Combo Ranks

This combo’s rank of 698 out of 1,636 tested combinations places it in the upper-middle tier of all systems tested for Control. The percentile placement suggests that roughly 57% of tested combos are slower, while 43% are faster. This is a competitive position for a 1080p and 1440p gaming machine, though it does not threaten the top-tier 4K ultra performers.

The CPU’s overall benchmark percentile against all processors is 93, indicating it sits in the top 7% of CPUs tested. However, the GPU’s percentile is 73, meaning it sits in the top 27% of GPUs. The disparity between these two figures is telling: the CPU has more headroom than the GPU can currently exploit in this title. This creates a situation where system performance is limited by the graphics card, particularly at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 7700 XT features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. For a game like Control, which uses detailed textures and physics-heavy environments, this capacity is sufficient to avoid VRAM-related stuttering at 1440p and even at 4K with adjusted settings. The GPU’s boost clock of 2544 MHz and game clock of 2171 MHz demonstrate a high operating frequency for its RDNA 3.0 architecture.

The GPU’s compute capabilities are substantial, with a FP32 rating of 35.17 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 549.5 GTexel/s. These specifications translate into raw rendering power that the benchmark results confirm. In the measured data, the GPU shows a distinct scaling pattern: at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is a 69.9 FPS gap (from 160.4 to 90.5 FPS), while at 4K, that same settings gap is only 37.6 FPS (from 83.3 to 45.7 FPS). This narrowing gap at 4K indicates the GPU is becoming the bottleneck, with settings having less relative impact as the resolution demands more from the hardware.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1440p High as the sweet spot, delivering 74.9 FPS average. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining high visual fidelity. At 1080p, you can expect 102.6 FPS on High, and at 4K, the same settings drop to 54.7 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K?

A: At 4K, the system is playable but not ideal for high refresh rates. High settings yield 54.7 FPS, while dropping to Medium yields 58.5 FPS. Low settings are required to exceed 60 FPS, hitting 83.3 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K are the most demanding, producing 45.7 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter at 1440p and 4K. The CPU’s benchmark percentile (93) is significantly higher than the GPU’s (73). Furthermore, the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a significant drop, which is characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 49,166. This is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, which scores 49,062 (a 0.2% difference). It is also within 0.4% of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and within 1% of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H.

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

A: The Radeon RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 30,097. This puts it in a statistical tie with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, which scores 30,109 (a 0% delta). It is also within 0.6% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile.

Q: Does the game support ray tracing?

A: The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes ray tracing capabilities. However, the measured FPS data does not include ray tracing-specific results, so the performance impact cannot be quantified from this dataset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data provides a complete matrix of average FPS across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1080p, the system delivers excellent performance across the board. Low settings achieve a very high 160.4 FPS, Medium hits 116 FPS, and High reaches 102.6 FPS. Even Ultra settings maintain a smooth 90.5 FPS, making 1080p a strong option for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 1440p, the performance remains highly playable. Low settings produce 122.8 FPS, Medium yields 85.4 FPS, and High maintains 74.9 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 65.5 FPS, still comfortably above the 60 FPS standard. At 4K, the limits of the GPU become apparent. Low settings are the only preset to exceed 60 FPS, hitting 83.3 FPS. Medium and High produce 58.5 FPS and 54.7 FPS respectively, while Ultra falls to 45.7 FPS.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the gap between Low and Ultra settings shrinks as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 69.9 FPS. At 1440p, it is 57.3 FPS. At 4K, it is only 37.6 FPS. This compression is a classic sign of GPU limitation, where the pixel fill rate becomes the dominant factor.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and reveals the GPU-bound nature of this combo. At High settings, the system delivers 102.6 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 74.9 FPS at 1440p, and further to 54.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 47.9 FPS reduction from 1080p to 4K, or a 46.7% decrease in performance.

This scaling pattern suggests the RX 7700 XT is working near its limits at 1440p and is fully saturated at 4K. The CPU has ample headroom, as evidenced by its high benchmark scores. The 14 cores and 20 threads of the i5-14600K, with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, are sufficient to feed the GPU at all tested settings. The fact that performance scales consistently with resolution indicates the bottleneck is the GPU’s rendering throughput, not the CPU’s processing power.

For users targeting 4K, the data suggests that Medium settings (58.5 FPS) are the highest preset that remains near the 60 FPS target. Low settings are required for a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. At 1440p, the system is well-balanced, offering high frame rates with high visual quality, making it the recommended resolution for this hardware combination.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong single-thread and multi-thread capabilities. In Cinebench R23, it scores 4,642 points in single-core and 32,881 in multi-core. Its Geekbench scores are 2,803 single-core and 15,846 multi-core.

The CPU’s percentile of 93 against all CPUs confirms its high-end positioning. In Control, a game that relies on physics and complex AI routines, this single-thread performance is crucial. However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this pairing. The FPS does not improve disproportionately at lower resolutions, which would indicate a CPU bottleneck. Instead, the consistent scaling across resolutions points to the GPU as the primary constraint.

The cache hierarchy, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache, provides low-latency access to frequently used data, further supporting the CPU’s ability to keep up with the GPU. The processor’s ECC memory support and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 compatibility are additional features, though they do not directly impact gaming performance in the measured data.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. For 1080p, Ultra settings are viable, delivering 90.5 FPS. This is the best choice for users with high-refresh-rate monitors who want maximum visual fidelity. High settings at 1080p also offer strong performance at 102.6 FPS.

At 1440p, High settings (74.9 FPS) provide the best combination of visual quality and performance. Medium settings (85.4 FPS) are a good alternative for those seeking higher frame rates, while Ultra (65.5 FPS) is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. For 4K gaming, Low settings (83.3 FPS) are the only preset that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Medium (58.5 FPS) is the highest setting that remains near 60 FPS, but users should expect occasional dips.

The data suggests that High settings at 1440p offer the most balanced experience for this combo, providing a high-quality image while maintaining a smooth 74.9 FPS average. For users prioritizing frame rate over fidelity, 1080p Low (160.4 FPS) or 1440p Low (122.8 FPS) are excellent choices. The GPU’s 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for all tested presets, so no memory-related adjustments are necessary.