Control

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT delivers a playable, though not consistently smooth, experience in Control, with performance heavily dependent on the selected resolution and quality preset. The data shows a classic balance between a mid-range CPU and a capable GPU, where the limiting factor shifts depending on the workload. This combination ranks 1229th out of 1636 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower half of the database, a position that reflects its struggles at higher settings rather than a fundamental lack of capability.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a steep performance curve as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 117.1 FPS, which drops to 90.8 FPS at 1440p and further to 57.5 FPS at 4K. This represents a 51% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, a substantial hit that clearly demonstrates the pixel-pushing demands of the higher resolution overpowering the Radeon RX 6600 XT's capabilities.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced at higher quality presets. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 72.4 FPS at 1080p to 56.7 FPS at 1440p, then to 36.8 FPS at 4K. This 49% drop from 1080p to 4K is slightly less severe than at Low settings, but the absolute numbers are far lower, suggesting that the GPU is already under significant load from the increased graphical fidelity before resolution scaling is applied. The transition from 1440p to 4K at High settings incurs a 35% performance loss, while the same transition at Low settings costs 37%, showing that resolution scaling has a consistent impact across quality tiers.

Examining the Ultra preset tells a similar story. The combo produces 64.3 FPS at 1080p, which is the highest average across all Ultra rows, but this falls to 49.8 FPS at 1440p and collapses to 34.6 FPS at 4K. The 46% drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is the smallest relative decline among all presets, yet the 4K figure is the lowest recorded in the entire dataset. This indicates that at Ultra settings, the GPU is so heavily tasked that even the relatively lighter 1080p resolution cannot push the frame rate much higher, resulting in a compressed performance envelope.

These results suggest that the CPU is not the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The frame rate scales almost linearly with pixel count, a signature of GPU-bound performance. At 1080p, the i5-9400 with its six cores and six threads can feed the GPU adequately, but as resolution climbs, the RX 6600 XT's rendering throughput becomes the decisive factor. The data shows that for a smooth 60 FPS experience, the user must stay within 1080p or 1440p with lower settings, as 4K is only viable for a cinematic experience below 40 FPS on most presets.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining 60 FPS in Control with this combo?*

A: The data shows that 1080p with Medium settings yields an average of 86.7 FPS, and High settings at the same resolution produce 72.4 FPS, both comfortably above 60 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low preset achieves a 60+ FPS average at 90.8 FPS, while Medium falls to 61.1 FPS, which is just barely playable but not consistently smooth.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-10305 at 2300 and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-1125G4 at 2299. It trails the Intel Core i7-8809G by 0.6%, which scores 2319, showing that this CPU sits in a very tight performance band around the 2300 mark.

Q: What is the GPU's standing among all tested graphics cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT achieves a percentile ranking of 71 among all GPUs, meaning it outperforms 71% of the database. Its average benchmark score of 27985 is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti at 27956 and 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 M395X at 27883, but it is 0.9% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 at 28238.

Q: Is the combo better suited for 1440p or 1080p gaming?

A: The measured data indicates that 1080p is the more reliable choice for high frame rates, with all presets except Ultra exceeding 70 FPS on average. At 1440p, only the Low preset delivers a high refresh rate experience at 90.8 FPS, while High and Medium settings hover around 56.7 and 61.1 FPS respectively, making 1080p the preferred resolution for consistent performance.

Q: How does the GPU's memory configuration affect performance?

A: The RX 6600 XT features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This configuration is sufficient for the tested resolutions, but the data shows that 4K Ultra performance at 34.6 FPS is likely constrained by the GPU's compute throughput rather than memory capacity, as lower settings at the same resolution yield higher frame rates.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is the dominant component in this pairing for Control, as evidenced by the resolution scaling behavior. The GPU's architecture, RDNA 2.0, is built on a 7 nm process from TSMC and contains 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die. It operates with a base clock of 1968 MHz and a boost clock of 2589 MHz, with a game clock rated at 2359 MHz, providing substantial headroom for sustained workloads.

The memory subsystem is a critical factor in this game's results. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit interface, the card achieves a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. This is not a limiting factor at 1080p, where the combo reaches 117.1 FPS on Low settings, but it becomes more relevant at 4K where the frame buffer demands increase. The pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s are the theoretical limits that the measured frame rates approach at 4K Ultra, where the 34.6 FPS average suggests the GPU is nearing its fill-rate ceiling.

The GPU's benchmark profile shows it is a mid-to-high performer, with a 71st percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its passmark G3D score of 16461 is respectable, and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1804 indicates solid DirectX 12 performance. In Control, the GPU's 32 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are relevant, though the measured data does not isolate ray tracing effects. The FP32 performance of 10.60 TFLOPS provides the raw compute power necessary for the game's physics and particle effects, which likely contribute to the significant frame rate differences between Low and Ultra presets at any given resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 1229th out of 1636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 25th percentile of all tested systems. This rank reflects the overall performance envelope, which is heavily weighted toward 1080p gaming. The CPU's average benchmark score of 2305 places it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU's 71st percentile ranking shows that the graphics card is the stronger component in this pairing.

The rank is not surprising given the measured frame rates. At 1440p High, the combo produces 56.7 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target that many users expect, and at 4K High it falls to 36.8 FPS. These results place the combo in a position where it can handle 1080p esports-style play at high frame rates but struggles with modern AAA demands at higher resolutions. The CPU's six cores and six threads are adequate for the game's threading model, but the lack of hyper-threading may become a factor in CPU-intensive scenes, though the data does not provide min FPS figures to confirm this.

Comparatively, the combo's performance is tightly clustered with its individual component rivals. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-10305, scores within 0.2% of the i5-9400, while the GPU's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, is within 0.1% of the RX 6600 XT's average benchmark score. This suggests that swapping either component for a similarly-ranked alternative would yield negligible differences in Control performance, keeping the combo's rank stable within the database.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience measured in the data, users should prioritize 1080p resolution with Medium or High settings. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers an average of 86.7 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth, responsive experience for action sequences. High settings at the same resolution yield 72.4 FPS, offering better visual fidelity while still maintaining a high frame rate. This is the sweet spot for this combo, balancing visual quality with performance.

At 1440p, the Low preset is the only configuration that achieves a high refresh rate experience, with an average of 90.8 FPS. However, this sacrifices significant visual quality, and the Medium preset at 61.1 FPS is a more balanced choice for those who prioritize image quality over raw frame rate. Users seeking 1440p gaming should accept that High settings at 56.7 FPS will not provide a consistently smooth experience, and Ultra settings at 49.8 FPS will have noticeable dips below 50 FPS.

4K is not recommended for this combo, as even the Low preset only reaches 57.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 34.6 FPS and High at 36.8 FPS are playable only in a cinematic sense, not for fast-paced gameplay. The data suggests that the GPU's 8 GB memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K Ultra in Control, and users should either lower the resolution or accept sub-40 FPS performance. The best overall experience is clearly at 1080p with Medium settings, which offers the highest frame rate above 60 FPS without the visual trade-offs of the Low preset.