Control

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER produces a mid-pack result in Control, ranking 1004th out of 1636 tested combinations. This placement places the combo in the lower half of the database, indicating that while the system is capable of running the game, it does not deliver top-tier performance relative to other hardware pairings. The 632-combo gap between this system and the top of the list suggests a meaningful performance deficit that becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1004 out of 1636 tested combos places it at roughly the 61st percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 61% of tested configurations outperform it in Control. This is a solidly mid-pack result, not a standout one. The data indicates that this pairing is more suited to 1080p and 1440p gaming than to 4K, where frame rates fall below the 60 FPS threshold at most settings. The CPU is a strong performer with a percentileVsAllCpus of 93, meaning it outperforms 93% of all CPUs in the database, but the GPU is the limiting factor, with a percentileVsAllGpus of 65. The imbalance between the two components is clear: the CPU has headroom, but the GPU cannot translate that into high frame rates at demanding resolutions. The combo’s rank reflects this bottleneck, as the system’s overall standing is dragged down by the GPU’s more modest position in the hierarchy.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a TU104 chip, featuring 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus. The memory runs at 1750 MHz with a 14 Gbps effective data rate, yielding a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, with 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs. Its FP32 performance is 9.062 TFLOPS, and it includes 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, which are relevant for the game’s ray-tracing and DLSS features, though the measured FPS data does not isolate these effects.

In Control, the GPU’s role is decisive. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 36.7, which is below the 40 FPS threshold that most players would consider playable. Dropping to 4K High improves this to 41.6 FPS, still marginal. The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game’s textures at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the combination of high resolution and demanding settings stresses the memory bandwidth. The measured data shows that at 4K, even dropping from High to Medium only yields a 3.6 FPS improvement (from 41.6 to 45.2), suggesting the GPU is nearing its limits. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 22206 places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, and it sits close to the NVIDIA RTX A400 (deltaPct -0.5) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (deltaPct 0.9), indicating it is a mid-range performer in the current landscape.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. Its launch MSRP is $294, and it is an unlocked multiplier part, suggesting overclocking headroom, though the measured data does not include overclocked results.

The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32889 and a single-core score of 4643. Its avgBenchmarkScore of 49367 places it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, and it sits within 1.4% of rivals like the Intel Core i5-14600K (deltaPct 0.4) and the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (deltaPct 0.6). In Control, the CPU’s role is less critical than the GPU’s, as evidenced by the FPS scaling. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 129.2 FPS, which is high enough to suggest the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution. However, when the resolution increases to 4K, the FPS drops significantly, indicating that the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU at 1080p, but at 4K, the GPU’s rendering throughput caps the frame rate.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1080p provides the most consistent experience, with average FPS ranging from 69.7 at Ultra to 129.2 at Low. At 1440p, the range is 52.5 to 100.9, while 4K drops to 36.7 to 66.6, making 1080p the only resolution where all settings stay above 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER’s average benchmark score is 22206, which is 0.5% below the NVIDIA RTX A400 (22307) and 0.9% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (22006). It sits 2.3% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (22729) and 2.5% above the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (21670).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The FPS data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K. At 4K Ultra, the system averages 36.7 FPS, and dropping to Low only raises it to 66.6 FPS. The CPU’s high single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4643) suggests it can handle the game’s logic, but the GPU’s rendering capacity caps the frame rate.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 59.5 FPS, with Low averaging 129.2 FPS and Ultra averaging 69.7 FPS. This indicates that the GPU has significant headroom at lower settings, but Ultra settings impose a substantial load.

Q: How does this CPU compare to the Intel Core i5-14600K?

A: The i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49367, which is 0.4% higher than the i5-14600K’s 49166. This places the two CPUs within a negligible performance margin, indicating they are effectively equivalent in this game.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60 FPS at 1440p High settings?

A: No, at 1440p High settings, the average FPS is 59.6, which is just below the 60 FPS target. To achieve a stable 60 FPS at 1440p, the user would need to drop to Medium settings, which yields 67.9 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of decreasing performance as resolution increases. At 1080p, the system delivers 84 FPS on High settings, which drops to 59.6 FPS at 1440p (a 29% reduction) and further to 41.6 FPS at 4K (a 50% reduction from 1440p). This scaling behavior is typical of a GPU-bound system, where the rendering load increases with pixel count. The CPU’s performance does not change with resolution, so the FPS drop is entirely attributable to the GPU’s workload.

At 1080p Low, the system achieves 129.2 FPS, which is more than double the 4K Low result of 66.6 FPS. This indicates that the GPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions but becomes saturated at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K narrows at higher settings: at Ultra, the difference is 33 FPS (69.7 at 1080p vs. 36.7 at 4K), while at Low, the difference is 62.6 FPS (129.2 vs. 66.6). This suggests that at Ultra settings, the GPU is already heavily loaded even at 1080p, leaving less room for resolution scaling to impact performance. The data points to the GPU as the primary limiter across all resolutions, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and frame rate. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 84 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and offers a good balance between visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 69.7 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 17% performance hit compared to High. For players prioritizing frame rate, the Medium preset at 1080p provides 95.8 FPS, offering a smoother experience with only a moderate visual compromise.

At 1440p, the High preset produces 59.6 FPS, which is just below 60 FPS and may be acceptable for some users but not ideal for competitive play. Dropping to Medium yields 67.9 FPS, which provides a more stable experience while maintaining decent visual quality. The Low preset at 1440p achieves 100.9 FPS, making it the best option for high-refresh-rate monitors, though the visual downgrade is significant. At 4K, all settings fall below the 60 FPS target except for Low, which averages 66.6 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 36.7 FPS, which is playable but far from smooth. For the best experience at 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option for maintaining a playable frame rate, while High and Medium are too demanding for this GPU. The data clearly indicates that this combo is best suited to 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for lower settings or less demanding scenes.