Control

# Control with Intel Core i5-14600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a strong Control experience, ranking 291st out of 1,636 tested combos. At 1080p, the combo pushes well past 200 FPS on Low settings, while 4K Ultra remains playable at 57.9 FPS. The CPU's 14 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock keep frame rates high even at lower resolutions, while the GPU's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth handle the game's demanding visuals at higher presets.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1440p High as the sweet spot, delivering 100.5 FPS. This maintains high refresh rates while providing better visual fidelity than 1080p, and it stays well above the 60 FPS threshold compared to 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 41,687 puts it 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (41,441) and 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41,610). It trails the NVIDIA Tesla M40 by 0.5% (41,897) and the AMD Radeon Pro 580X by 0.7% (41,991).

Q: What is the CPU's performance percentile relative to all processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF sits in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49,367. It is 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K (49,166) and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (49,062).

Q: How much FPS drops when moving from 1080p Low to 4K Low?

A: The frame rate falls from 205.8 FPS at 1080p Low to 107.9 FPS at 4K Low, a reduction of 97.9 FPS. This represents a 47.6% drop, indicating the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combination ranks 291st out of 1,636 tested combos, placing it in the top 17.8% of all configurations tested for Control. The data confirms this is a high-performing pairing for this game.

Q: Does the CPU have enough single-thread performance for Control?

A: Yes. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,643 and Geekbench single-core score of 2,778 indicate strong per-core performance. This supports the high frame rates observed at 1080p, where CPU overhead is more significant.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the dominant component in this pairing when resolution scales upward. Its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory across a 192-bit bus provides 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for Control's texture-heavy environments at 4K. The base clock of 2325 MHz and boost clock of 2512 MHz drive the GPU's 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, enabling the frame rates seen in the measured data.

At 1080p, the GPU's capabilities are partially held back by CPU limits, as evidenced by the 205.8 FPS Low result. The RTX 5070's 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are present but not heavily utilized in standard rasterization at lower settings. However, at 4K Ultra, the GPU's workload increases dramatically, and the 57.9 FPS result reflects the full demand placed on the 80 ROPs and 192 TMUs. The 250 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a power-hungry part, but the data shows it delivers consistent performance across all tested settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 291 out of 1,636 places this configuration in the upper tier of tested systems. This position reflects the balance between the CPU's 93rd percentile standing and the GPU's 83rd percentile among all GPUs. The pairing outperforms the vast majority of tested combos, though it does not reach the top echelon occupied by flagship CPU and GPU pairings.

The RTX 5070's nearest rival comparisons show tight competition: it is 0.6% ahead of the RTX 3090 and 0.2% ahead of the Radeon Pro 5300 in average benchmark scores. This suggests the GPU alone is competitive with last-generation high-end parts. When combined with the i5-14600KF's 0.4% lead over the i5-14600K and 0.6% lead over the Ryzen 9 5950X, the overall combo strength is clear. The rank of 291 indicates that only 17.8% of tested configurations outperform this pairing, making it a robust choice for Control.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce 205.8 FPS, while Medium drops to 152.2 FPS and High reaches 133.8 FPS. Ultra settings still maintain 113.2 FPS, comfortably above 100 FPS for high-refresh-rate displays.

Moving to 1440p, the frame rates remain strong but show the expected scaling. Low settings yield 158.6 FPS, a 22.9% reduction from 1080p. Medium produces 113.9 FPS, High hits 100.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 88.7 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p narrows at higher settings, indicating the GPU becomes more involved.

At 4K, the GPU workload becomes the limiting factor. Low settings still achieve 107.9 FPS, but Medium falls to 77.1 FPS, High to 69.1 FPS, and Ultra to 57.9 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is just below the 60 FPS threshold, but the 69.1 FPS at High settings provides a playable experience. The data shows a consistent pattern: each settings tier costs roughly 10-15% performance, and each resolution step costs significantly more.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals how the bottleneck shifts between CPU and GPU. At Low settings, 1080p produces 205.8 FPS, which drops to 158.6 FPS at 1440p (a 22.9% decrease) and then to 107.9 FPS at 4K (a 47.6% decrease from 1080p). This scaling pattern indicates that at Low settings, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at high frame rates, but the GPU's rendering workload becomes the constraint as resolution rises.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is more linear: 113.2 FPS at 1080p, 88.7 FPS at 1440p (21.6% decrease), and 57.9 FPS at 4K (48.9% decrease). The consistent percentage drops across the resolution spectrum suggest the GPU is the primary bottleneck even at 1080p Ultra. The CPU's 14 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock provide sufficient headroom, as evidenced by the 205.8 FPS result at 1080p Low, which is much higher than the Ultra settings frame rates.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens with resolution: at 1080p, the difference is 92.6 FPS, while at 4K it narrows to 50.0 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is increasingly saturated as both resolution and settings increase, confirming the RTX 5070 as the performance limiter at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K gaming, High settings provide the best balance with 69.1 FPS. This is 11.2 FPS higher than Ultra's 57.9 FPS, and the visual difference between High and Ultra is typically modest in Control. Medium at 77.1 FPS is also viable, but High offers the best combination of visual quality and smoothness.

At 1440p, Ultra settings at 88.7 FPS are fully playable, and the 11.8 FPS gain from dropping to High (100.5 FPS) may not justify the visual reduction for most players. The 158.6 FPS Low result shows the combo's ceiling, but Medium at 113.9 FPS is the recommended starting point for competitive play.

For 1080p, all settings exceed 100 FPS, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. Ultra at 113.2 FPS and High at 133.8 FPS both provide excellent experiences. The 205.8 FPS Low result is only relevant for esports-style play where maximum frame rates take priority over visuals. Overall, the data suggests 1440p High or 4K High as the optimal configurations, depending on display capability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF's 14 cores (20 threads) and boost clock of 5.30 GHz provide the computational foundation for this combo. The Raptor Lake architecture's 24 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 per core help maintain high memory efficiency, which is critical for sustaining frame rates above 200 FPS at 1080p Low.

The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,889 and single-core score of 4,643 demonstrate balanced performance. The Geekbench multi-core score of 15,636 further confirms the CPU's capability. The PassMark multi-thread score of 38,697 and single-thread score of 4,273 indicate that both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads are handled well.

In Control, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p Low, where the 205.8 FPS result shows the processor can feed the GPU efficiently. The 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs means this processor outperforms 93% of alternatives. The launch MSRP of $294 positions it as a high-end mainstream part, and the 125 W TDP with 10 nm process from Intel provides efficient operation. The CPU's boost clock of 5.30 GHz is particularly important for maintaining high frame rates in scenes with complex physics or AI, which Control frequently presents.