Control

Control is a 2019 Action Adventure title that stresses both GPU rendering and CPU physics, and the benchmark data for the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 reveals a system that scales predictably across resolutions, with the GPU becoming the dominant factor at 4K while the CPU’s strong single-thread performance keeps frame rates high at 1080p. The measured rows show a total of twelve distinct configurations, spanning three resolutions and four quality presets, with average frame rates ranging from a low of 72 FPS at 4K Ultra to a high of 255 FPS at 1080p Low. This combo sits at rank 204 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it comfortably in the top tier of systems for this title, and the data invites a closer look at how each component contributes to the final experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate this combo achieves in Control, and at what settings?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 255, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The second-highest is 193 FPS at 2560x1440 with Low settings, showing that the game’s lower presets unlock very high refresh rates even at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested systems in this game?

A: The combo ranks 204th out of 3720 tested combinations, which places it in the top 5.5% of all systems benchmarked for Control. This indicates that while not the absolute fastest, it outperforms the overwhelming majority of tested hardware configurations.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the Low and Ultra presets at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset produces an average of 130 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 72 FPS. This represents a 45% reduction in average frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra, highlighting the significant load that high-quality settings place on the GPU at 4K.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU appear to be the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the frame rates are extremely high (140 to 255 FPS depending on preset), and the gap between presets is relatively smaller than at 4K, suggesting the CPU’s single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4594) is strong enough to feed the GPU without bottlenecking at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded for the Medium preset across all resolutions?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with minFps data. At 1920x1080, the min is 154 FPS; at 2560x1440, the min is 117 FPS; and at 3840x2160, the min is 79 FPS. These values show the worst-case dips still remain highly playable.

Q: How does the CPU’s multi-core performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228) and 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49196). It trails the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 by 0.8%, indicating very close performance parity among these top CPUs.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the primary driver of visual fidelity in Control, and its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for the game’s textures and effects at any resolution tested. The GPU’s boost clock of 2617 MHz, combined with 10752 shading units, allows it to push high pixel rates (293.1 GPixel/s) and texture rates (879.3 GTexel/s), which directly translates to the measured frame rates. The data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, with the gap between Low and Ultra presets widening from a 45% difference at 1080p (255 vs 140 FPS) to a 45% difference at 4K (130 vs 72 FPS), confirming that the RTX 5080’s raw compute power is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s architecture, Blackwell 2.0 on a 5 nm process, delivers 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is essential for handling the game’s particle effects and physics-based destruction. In benchmark terms, the RTX 5080 scores 36565 in Passmark G3D and 8637 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 8060S, scores 55757 (0.6% lower), while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 0.7% behind, showing that the RTX 5080 is slightly ahead of its closest competitors but not by a dominant margin. At 4K Ultra, the 72 FPS average is just above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, but the GPU’s 16 GB memory ensures that even the most demanding scenes at Ultra settings do not run into VRAM limitations, which would otherwise cause stuttering or texture pop-in.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals a consistent scaling pattern across resolutions, with average frame rates dropping by roughly 35-40% when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and another 30-35% when moving from 1440p to 4K. For example, at High settings, the average FPS goes from 161 at 1080p, to 122 at 1440p (a 24% drop), and then to 82 at 4K (a 33% drop from 1440p). This non-linear scaling suggests that the GPU is becoming increasingly saturated as pixel count grows, but the CPU is still able to keep up with the game’s logic and draw call processing. At Low settings, the drop from 255 FPS at 1080p to 193 FPS at 1440p (24% reduction) and then to 130 FPS at 4K (33% reduction) shows a similar pattern, indicating that resolution scaling is consistent regardless of preset.

The fact that the 4K to 1440p drop is steeper than the 1440p to 1080p drop points to the GPU’s memory bandwidth and fillrate becoming the primary constraint at higher pixel counts. The RTX 5080’s 960.0 GB/s bandwidth is substantial, but 4K requires four times the pixels of 1080p, and the data shows that the GPU cannot maintain the same efficiency at that resolution. This is particularly evident in the Ultra preset, where the 4K average of 72 FPS is only 51% of the 1080p average of 140 FPS, whereas at Low settings the 4K average of 130 FPS is exactly 51% of the 1080p average of 255 FPS. This consistency suggests that the limiting component at higher resolutions is purely the GPU’s rendering pipeline, not any CPU-side constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 204 out of 3720 tested combinations, this system places in the top 5.5% of all configurations benchmarked for Control. This rank is a composite of both CPU and GPU performance, and the data indicates that the i5-14600KF’s high single-thread score (4594 in Cinebench R23) combined with the RTX 5080’s strong 3DMark results (8637 in Steel Nomad) creates a balanced platform that excels in this game. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 49394 puts it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU’s average score of 56083 places it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, meaning this combo is well-matched without either component significantly dragging down the other.

The ranking also implies that there are 203 other combinations that achieve higher frame rates in Control, likely including more powerful CPUs with higher core counts or GPUs with faster memory. However, the delta between this combo and the top 200 is likely small, given that the i5-14600KF’s nearest CPU rivals (AMD Ryzen 9 7900, Intel Core Ultra 5 245) have average scores within 0.8% of each other. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE, are 2.2% faster in average benchmark score, but the RTX 5080’s 16 GB VRAM and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth provide a tangible advantage in memory-intensive scenarios, which may explain why this combo still ranks highly despite not being the absolute fastest on paper.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. For a game like Control, which relies heavily on single-threaded physics and game logic, the CPU’s single-core performance is critical. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4594 is exceptionally high, and this directly enables the high frame rates seen at 1080p, where the GPU is not the bottleneck. The multi-core score of 32544 in Cinebench R23 also ensures that background tasks and the game’s thread scheduling do not introduce stutter, even when many objects are on screen. The CPU’s 24 MB of shared L3 cache is ample for the game’s working set, and its support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory means it can feed the GPU quickly, though the exact memory bandwidth is not specified in the data.

The i5-14600KF’s benchmark results show it is a top-tier performer, with a Passmark multi-thread score of 38697 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4273. Its average benchmark score of 49394 is just 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.8% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, indicating that it is competitive with the best CPUs in its class. However, it trails the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 by 0.8%, suggesting that AMD’s flagship mobile processor has a slight edge in raw compute. In Control specifically, the CPU’s role is to maintain a consistent frame delivery, and the data shows that at 1080p Low, the 255 FPS average is likely near the CPU’s maximum frame generation capability, as the GPU could theoretically render faster but is limited by the CPU’s frame time. At 4K, the CPU has ample headroom, as the GPU’s rendering time dominates the total frame time.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are 255 FPS (Low), 181 FPS (Medium), 161 FPS (High), and 140 FPS (Ultra). The Medium preset has a minimum FPS of 154 and a maximum of 209, indicating that even during intense combat sequences, the frame rate rarely dips below 150 FPS. At 2560x1440, the averages are 193 FPS (Low), 137 FPS (Medium), 122 FPS (High), and 106 FPS (Ultra). The Medium preset’s minimum at 1440p is 117 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 130 FPS (Low), 93 FPS (Medium), 82 FPS (High), and 72 FPS (Ultra). The Medium preset’s minimum at 4K is 79 FPS, which is the lowest recorded minimum across all configurations but remains playable.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: Low settings offer the highest frame rates at every resolution, while Ultra settings are the most demanding. The difference between Medium and High is relatively small (11-13% at each resolution), suggesting that High settings provide a good balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data, which allows for a deeper analysis of frame time consistency. At 1080p, the range from min to max is 55 FPS (154 to 209), at 1440p it is 41 FPS (117 to 158), and at 4K it is 28 FPS (79 to 107). This narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU’s workload becomes more consistent, reducing the variance between simple and complex scenes.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the High preset at 2560x1440 offers the most compelling experience, with an average of 122 FPS and no recorded minimum below 60 FPS. This resolution strikes a balance between visual fidelity and performance, and the High preset provides a 15% improvement over Ultra (106 FPS) while being 11% slower than Medium (137 FPS). For players with 144Hz monitors, the Medium preset at 1440p (137 FPS average) is the better choice, as it stays above 144 FPS for most of the time, though the minimum of 117 FPS means there will be occasional dips below the refresh rate.

At 4K, the Medium preset (93 FPS average, 79 FPS minimum) is the recommended starting point, as it provides a smooth experience on 60Hz displays and leaves headroom for V-sync. The High preset at 4K (82 FPS average) is also viable, but the lack of min/max data means it is harder to guarantee no drops below 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K (72 FPS average) is playable but leaves little margin for error, and the Low preset at 4K (130 FPS) sacrifices too much visual quality to be recommended for a game like Control, where the atmospheric lighting and particle effects are key to the experience. For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset (255 FPS) is the clear winner, as it maximizes frame rate and minimizes input latency, though the Medium preset (181 FPS) is a better choice for those who want a balance of responsiveness and visual quality.