Control

# Control with Intel Core i5-14600K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a playable but constrained experience in Control, with the GPU acting as the definitive bottleneck across all resolutions. The data shows a system that handles 1080p comfortably but struggles to maintain 60 FPS at higher resolutions, ultimately ranking near the bottom of tested combinations with a combo rank of 2950 out of 3720. The RTX 2060, which sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, limits this otherwise capable 14-core processor to frame rates that rarely showcase its full potential.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, revealing a classic GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 107 FPS at 1920x1080 to 81 FPS at 2560x1440, then plummets to 55 FPS at 3840x2160 — a total reduction of 52 FPS, or roughly 49%, from the baseline. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 2060's rendering throughput, not the CPU, dictates performance as pixel count rises.

At Medium settings, the same trend holds: 76 FPS at 1080p drops to 58 FPS at 1440p and further to 39 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 1440p is 18 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 19 FPS, showing nearly linear degradation with resolution. This linearity is a hallmark of a GPU operating near its bandwidth and shading limits, as the 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 compute become increasingly taxed at higher pixel counts.

High settings tell a similar story: 68 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. The 4K result sits below the 40 FPS threshold often considered the minimum for smooth action gameplay, while the 1440p figure is borderline. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 59 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and just 30 FPS at 4K — the latter being a 50% drop from the 1080p Ultra result.

The scaling data strongly suggests that resolution, not settings, is the primary factor limiting this combo. Dropping from Ultra to Low at 4K yields only a 25 FPS improvement (from 30 to 55 FPS), whereas dropping from 4K to 1080p at Low yields a 52 FPS improvement (from 55 to 107 FPS). Pixel count has roughly double the impact of preset selection, confirming that the RTX 2060's fill rate and memory subsystem are the constraining components.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip, provides the graphical muscle for this combo. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth — sufficient for 1080p but increasingly marginal at higher resolutions. The GPU's base clock of 1365 MHz and boost clock of 1680 MHz, combined with 1920 shading units, yield a pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s.

Benchmark results place this GPU at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15290. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (scoring 15283, a 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon 680M (scoring 15270, a 0.1% delta). This clustering indicates that the RTX 2060's raw compute performance is comparable to older high-end parts and modern integrated graphics, despite its newer feature set including 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores.

In Control, the GPU's 6 GB VRAM capacity becomes a practical limitation at 4K. The measured results show that at 3840x2160, even Low settings only reach 55 FPS, and Medium settings drop to 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS — indicating that texture and geometry data may be spilling beyond the memory buffer. The 14 Gbps effective memory speed, while fast for its generation, cannot compensate for the relatively narrow 192-bit bus when handling 4K frame buffers.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) theoretically positions it well for modern titles like Control, which leverages DX12 features. However, the measured FPS suggests that the Turing architecture's compute units are the limiting factor rather than API compatibility. The 201.6 GTexel/s texture rate and 80.64 GPixel/s pixel rate translate to real-world performance that tops out at 107 FPS in the best case (1080p Low) and bottoms out at 30 FPS in the worst case (4K Ultra).

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation, running on Intel Socket 1700. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz, combined with a 24 MB shared L3 cache, make it a formidable partner in theory. The CPU's benchmark results are impressive: it achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064, placing it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs.

The processor's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (scoring 48698, a -0.2% delta) and the AMD EPYC 4345P (scoring 48470, a 0.3% delta). The i5-14600K's average benchmark score of 48618 shows it trading blows with enterprise and server-class parts, confirming its high-end desktop positioning.

However, in Control, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking — at 1080p Low, the system achieves 107 FPS, which is well within the range where a strong CPU would still be limited by the GPU. The fact that 1080p Ultra (59 FPS) is only 48 FPS lower than 1080p Low (107 FPS) indicates that the GPU's shading load, not CPU draw calls, is driving the performance difference.

The 14 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom for Control's physics and AI systems, which are not particularly demanding by modern standards. The 5.30 GHz boost clock ensures that single-threaded game logic runs efficiently, but the data shows that this headroom goes unused — the combo's 2950th rank out of 3720 combos indicates that the CPU is far outperforming its GPU partner. In essence, the i5-14600K is overqualified for this pairing, and the RTX 2060 leaves significant CPU potential on the table.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 2950th out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the bottom 21% of all pairings. This low rank is directly attributable to the RTX 2060's modest performance tier, as the GPU's 58th percentile standing among all GPUs is the weakest link. The CPU, by contrast, sits at the 90th percentile, creating a stark imbalance that the benchmark data makes clear.

The ranking suggests that many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver better Control performance, even if their individual components are less impressive on paper. For context, the RTX 2060's nearest GPU rivals — the GTX 580 and Radeon 680M — score nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks, yet the RTX 2060's feature set (ray tracing, DLSS) might offer advantages in specific scenarios. However, the measured FPS in Control shows that these features do not translate to higher frame rates.

The combo's rank relative to its components' individual percentiles (90th CPU, 58th GPU) reveals a significant mismatch. Systems with more balanced pairings — a mid-range CPU with a mid-to-high-range GPU — would likely rank higher. The data indicates that the i5-14600K's capabilities are largely wasted in this configuration, as Control's performance ceiling is set entirely by the GPU's 6.451 TFLOPS of compute and 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal balance of visual quality and performance is achieved at 1920x1080 with High settings, delivering 68 FPS average. This provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target while maintaining substantial visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 76 FPS, which is smoother but sacrifices some graphical detail for a modest 8 FPS gain.

For 2560x1440, the Low preset at 81 FPS is the only setting that maintains a clearly playable experience, though the High preset at 51 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced sections. The Medium preset at 58 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS is a viable compromise, offering better visuals than Low while staying above 45 FPS. Ultra at 1440p drops to 45 FPS, which is borderline for action sequences.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves a fully smooth experience. Low settings at 55 FPS is the only option that approaches playability, while Medium at 39 FPS and High at 35 FPS will feel choppy. Ultra at 30 FPS is not recommended for any gameplay scenario. Users prioritizing 4K should accept Low settings or consider this resolution unsuitable for this combo.

The data's minimum FPS values — 33 FPS at 4K Medium, 49 FPS at 1440p Medium, and 65 FPS at 1080p Medium — show that even the "playable" presets have occasional dips. The 1080p High preset's 68 FPS average, while not showing a minimum value, is likely to maintain a smoother experience than the Medium presets with their documented lows.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings range is playable. Low settings produce 107 FPS average, the highest of any configuration tested. Medium settings yield 76 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS. High settings deliver 68 FPS average. Ultra settings drop to 59 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold by a narrow margin.

At 2560x1440, performance becomes more variable. Low settings maintain 81 FPS average, a 26 FPS drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings produce 58 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 66 FPS. High settings average 51 FPS. Ultra settings fall to 45 FPS, which is below the ideal range for fast-paced action.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060's limitations become severe. Low settings average 55 FPS, which is playable but represents a 52 FPS drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS. High settings average 35 FPS. Ultra settings bottom out at 30 FPS, which is at the edge of playability for any genre.

Across all resolutions, the scaling from Low to Ultra is consistent: at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 48 FPS; at 1440p, it is 36 FPS; at 4K, it is 25 FPS. This narrowing delta at higher resolutions confirms that pixel throughput, not settings complexity, is the dominant constraint. The RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory bus are simply insufficient for 4K gaming, while its compute power is adequate for 1080p and acceptable for 1440p at reduced settings.