Control

Control is a demanding action-adventure title that stresses both the CPU and GPU, and the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT produces a specific performance profile that varies significantly across resolutions and presets. The measured data reveals a system that is highly capable at 1080p, but which begins to show its limits as the resolution climbs, making the choice of settings a critical factor for the optimal experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is built on the Raptor Lake architecture and features 14 cores with 20 threads, a configuration that provides substantial multi-threaded headroom for modern game engines. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz indicate a processor that can deliver strong single-thread performance when needed, which is often the limiting factor in older or less scalable game titles like Control. The processor’s large 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency and improving frame pacing.

In the context of Control’s benchmark results, the CPU’s role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 174 FPS. This high frame rate suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to reach levels that are well beyond typical display refresh rates. However, the data also shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the frame rate scales down predictably when the GPU load increases. The processor’s percentile rank of 90 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49394, places it in the top tier of desktop processors, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, scores only 0.3% higher, indicating they are virtually neck-and-neck in general compute performance.

The 14-core, 20-thread configuration is likely overkill for a game like Control, which was released in 2019 and may not fully utilize all available threads. The data implies that the i5-14600KF is never the limiting component in this test, as even at 4K Ultra, the average frame rate of 49 FPS is far more indicative of a GPU-bound scenario. The processor’s high single-core performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4594, ensures that the game’s main thread is handled without creating a bottleneck. This allows the RX 7800 XT to operate at its full potential, particularly at 1080p where the system’s frame rates are exceptionally high.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combo provides a clear picture of how different presets affect performance, and the optimal choice depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable frame rates, but the data suggests that the High preset at 110 FPS average offers a better balance than Ultra at 96 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra costs 14 FPS on average, which is a noticeable 12.7% reduction, and it is unlikely that the visual fidelity increase from High to Ultra justifies that performance hit on a standard 60 Hz or 144 Hz monitor. The Medium preset at 124 FPS is also viable, but the High preset provides a more substantial visual upgrade for a relatively small performance cost compared to Medium.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more nuanced. The High preset delivers an average of 83 FPS, which is smooth for most players. The Ultra preset drops to 72 FPS, which is still playable but begins to approach the threshold where frame time consistency matters more. The Low preset at 132 FPS is noticeably faster, but the visual quality sacrifice is significant. For this resolution, the High preset appears to be the sweet spot, offering a 15.3% performance increase over Ultra while maintaining a high level of graphical fidelity. The Medium preset at 94 FPS is a strong alternative for those who prefer higher frame rates over maximum visual detail.

At 3840x2160, the data reveals a more challenging environment. The High preset averages 56 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS target but may not be consistent enough for all users. The Medium preset averages 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS, indicating some frame time variance. The Ultra preset at 49 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold and may result in a less responsive experience. The Low preset at 89 FPS is the only option that provides a significant margin above 60 FPS, but it comes with substantial visual compromises. For 4K, the Medium preset offers the best balance, as it is the only preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS while keeping the minimum frame rate at 54 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced action-adventure gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a clear and expected trend: as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, the average FPS decreases across all settings. This scaling pattern is a strong indicator of where the bottleneck lies in this system. At 1080p High, the system achieves 110 FPS. Moving to 1440p High reduces the average to 83 FPS, a 24.5% drop. Moving further to 4K High reduces it to 56 FPS, a 32.5% drop from 1440p and a 49.1% drop from 1080p. This increasingly steep decline suggests that the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the GPU must render exponentially more pixels.

The data for the Low preset further illustrates this point. At 1080p Low, the system hits 174 FPS, but this drops to 132 FPS at 1440p and 89 FPS at 4K. The relative performance drop from 1080p to 4K is 48.9%, which is almost identical to the drop seen in the High preset. This consistency across settings indicates that the scaling is driven by the GPU’s raw pixel throughput rather than by CPU or memory limitations. The RX 7800 XT’s memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s and its 256-bit bus width are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the sheer number of pixels being processed begins to saturate the GPU’s compute units.

The fact that the system maintains a playable 56 FPS at 4K High reflects the GPU’s capabilities, but the data clearly shows that this combination is not designed for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming. The limiting component is unambiguously the GPU, as the CPU has more than enough headroom to support the frame rates being produced. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with a GPU-bound workload, where the CPU’s role diminishes as resolution increases.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo to achieve a consistent 60 FPS or higher?

A: The measured data shows that at 2560x1440 with High settings, the system averages 83 FPS, and at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, it averages 96 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the only one that averages above 60 FPS at 63 FPS, but its minimum frame rate is 54 FPS.

Q: How does the i5-14600KF compare to its closest rival in general compute performance?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900’s score of 49228. This indicates they are nearly identical in performance, with the Intel part having a negligible edge.

Q: Is the RX 7800 XT a bottleneck for the i5-14600KF at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 174 FPS, which is a very high frame rate. The data suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU sufficiently, as the GPU is still the limiting factor at higher resolutions, but at 1080p, the system is well-balanced.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Ultra and High presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 72 FPS, while the High preset averages 83 FPS. This represents an 11 FPS average difference, or roughly a 15.3% performance advantage for the High preset.

Q: Does the game performance scale linearly with resolution?

A: No, the scaling is not linear. From 1080p High (110 FPS) to 1440p High (83 FPS), there is a 24.5% drop. From 1440p High to 4K High (56 FPS), there is a 32.5% drop. The increasing percentage drop indicates the GPU is becoming more heavily loaded.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture and features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This memory configuration is substantial and allows the GPU to handle high-resolution textures and complex scenes without running out of memory, which is a critical factor in a game like Control that features detailed environments and physics effects. The GPU’s boost clock of 2430 MHz and game clock of 2124 MHz indicate a high operating frequency that contributes to its compute throughput of 37.32 TFLOPS FP32.

The measured FPS data shows that the RX 7800 XT is the primary driver of performance variance across settings and resolutions. At 1080p, the GPU is able to push frame rates from 96 FPS on Ultra to 174 FPS on Low, demonstrating a wide range of performance headroom. The GPU’s 96 ROPs and 240 TMUs are well-suited for rasterization-heavy workloads, which is evident in the strong performance at 1440p, where it maintains an average of 83 FPS on High settings. The 60 RT cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing, but the data does not include ray tracing-specific benchmarks, so their impact on this title cannot be assessed.

The GPU’s percentile rank of 51 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 11627, places it in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, scores 0.5% lower, indicating the RX 7800 XT has a slight edge in general compute. However, the data suggests that the GPU’s performance in Control is more dependent on its raw rasterization power and memory bandwidth than on its compute benchmarks, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, even at 4K Ultra, as there is no indication of memory capacity being a limiting factor in the measured results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset achieves an average of 174 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 124 FPS with a minimum of 105 FPS and a maximum of 142 FPS. The High preset averages 110 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 96 FPS. The data shows a clear progression where each step up in settings costs a significant number of frames, with the largest drop occurring between Low and Medium.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease but remain highly playable. The Low preset averages 132 FPS, the Medium preset averages 94 FPS with a minimum of 80 FPS and a maximum of 108 FPS, the High preset averages 83 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 72 FPS. The minimum frame rates for the Medium preset indicate that even with some variance, the system maintains a solid performance floor.

At 3840x2160, the performance takes a more pronounced hit. The Low preset averages 89 FPS, the Medium preset averages 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS, the High preset averages 56 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 49 FPS. The data shows that at 4K, the system struggles to maintain 60 FPS on High and Ultra settings, making those presets less desirable for a consistent experience.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 1254 out of 3720 combos for this game. This places the combo in the top 33.7% of all tested systems, indicating it is a solid performer but not at the very top tier. The rank reflects the balanced nature of the components, where the CPU is high-end and the GPU is mid-range, resulting in a system that excels at lower resolutions but falls behind more powerful GPU configurations at 4K.

The combo’s rank is likely influenced by the fact that the RX 7800 XT, while capable, is not a flagship GPU. The CPU’s performance is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking, but the overall frame rates are capped by the GPU’s capabilities, particularly at higher resolutions. The rank suggests that there are 2454 other combos that perform better in this specific game, which is not surprising given the availability of more powerful GPUs. The data implies that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates, and that users targeting 4K would need to accept lower settings or consider a more powerful GPU to achieve higher ranks.