Control

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT pairing in Control presents a fascinating study in balanced component interaction. The CPU, a 6-core/6-thread Coffee Lake part with a 2.90 GHz base and 4.10 GHz boost clock, sits at the 50th percentile of all tested processors. Its Cinebench R23 scores of 1125 single-core and 7969 multi-core place it in a tight cluster with rivals like the Intel Core i3-10305 (0.2% higher avg score) and Intel Core i7-8809G (0.6% lower avg score). This indicates the i5-9400 is an adequate, mid-range performer that won't bottleneck the GPU in most scenarios. The RX 6650 XT, built on RDNA 2.0 with 2048 shading units and a 2410 MHz game clock, is a substantially stronger component, ranking in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals—the AMD Radeon RX 6800M and RX 470—show a delta of 0.0% and 0.1%, respectively, meaning the 6650 XT is operating right at the expected performance envelope for its class.

The data reveals that this combo is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings and resolutions, but the CPU’s modest thread count becomes a factor at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 121.8 FPS, which is a clear indicator of high headroom; the CPU is feeding frames fast enough to keep the GPU busy, but the 6-thread limit prevents even higher frame rates. The single-thread performance (Cinebench R15 score of 113) is respectable, yet Control's engine appears to scale well with the GPU until the CPU hits its ceiling. The 9 MB shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 support are adequate, but the i5-9400’s lack of Hyper-Threading means that at very high frame rates, the CPU can become a limiting factor, especially when many particle effects and physics calculations are active.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows indicate a clear tiered performance structure across the four preset levels. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 77.1 FPS, which is a solid 60+ FPS experience, but the Medium preset at 86 FPS offers a more comfortable margin above refresh-rate thresholds. The Ultra preset drops to 69.5 FPS, which is still playable but shows diminishing returns for the extra visual fidelity. The Low preset at 121.8 FPS is the outlier, providing a massive performance boost that suggests the GPU is no longer the primary constraint. For the most balanced experience, Medium is the recommended starting point at 1080p, as it provides a 10.4% improvement over High (86 vs 77.1 FPS) while likely retaining most of the visual features that make Control's environments compelling.

At 1440p, the situation shifts. Medium yields 67 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS target, while High drops to 57 FPS and Ultra falls to 48.5 FPS. The Low preset at 92.2 FPS is the only setting that provides a truly smooth experience at this resolution, but it sacrifices significant visual quality. For 1440p, Medium is the pragmatic choice—it maintains playability without forcing a severe reduction in graphical fidelity. At 4K, the data shows that only the Low preset (64.3 FPS) is viable for a smooth experience. The High (41.2 FPS), Medium (42.5 FPS), and Ultra (32.7 FPS) presets all fall below the 60 FPS threshold, making them unsuitable for fast-paced action. The recommendation is clear: if you own a 4K display, you must accept the Low preset or lower the resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate degradation from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a definitive story about the limiting component. At 1080p High, the system produces 77.1 FPS; at 1440p High, it drops to 57 FPS (a 26% reduction); and at 4K High, it falls to 41.2 FPS (a 46.6% reduction from 1440p). This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload—the RX 6650 XT’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus are being saturated as pixel count increases. The 280.3 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the GPU’s compute throughput (10.79 TFLOPS FP32) and texture rate (337.3 GTexel/s) struggle to keep up with the demand.

Conversely, the scaling from Low to Medium presets at each resolution shows a different trend. At 1080p, the jump from Low (121.8 FPS) to Medium (86 FPS) is a 29.4% drop, whereas at 4K, the same preset change only drops from 64.3 FPS to 42.5 FPS (a 33.9% drop). This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU is more involved; the i5-9400’s 6 threads become a bottleneck when the GPU has spare capacity. At 4K, the GPU is so overwhelmed that the CPU’s limitations are masked. The data indicates that this combo is optimally balanced at 1440p, where neither component is severely underutilized—the 57 FPS at High is a reasonable middle ground between CPU and GPU load.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 1636 tested combinations in Control, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks 1080th. This places it in the lower third of all combos, which is surprising given the GPU’s strong 72nd percentile standing. The explanation lies in the CPU’s 50th percentile rank—the i5-9400 is a mid-range processor that, while not a weak link, does not boost the combo. The rank of 1080 suggests that many other pairings with stronger CPUs achieve higher frame rates, even if they use slightly slower GPUs, because Control benefits from higher single-thread performance.

When comparing to the GPU’s closest rivals, the data shows that the RX 6650 XT is well-matched with CPUs like the i5-9400. The AMD Radeon RX 6800M (0.0% delta) and RX 470 (0.1% delta) would likely produce nearly identical results with the same CPU. However, the combo rank indicates that the i5-9400 is holding back the system in scenarios where the GPU has headroom. For example, at 1080p Low (121.8 FPS), a higher-end CPU with more threads would likely push this number higher, as the GPU is not the limiting factor at that setting. The 1080th rank out of 1636 reflects this compromise: it’s a capable mid-tier setup, but not one that excels in CPU-bound scenarios. The i5-9400’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-10305 (0.2% faster avg score), would probably yield a similar combo rank, confirming that this is a consistent performance tier.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and preset for this combo to achieve a stable 60 FPS?

A: The data shows that 1440p Medium (67 FPS) is the highest-resolution preset that maintains a 60+ FPS average. At 4K, only the Low preset (64.3 FPS) achieves this, while 1080p Medium (86 FPS) and High (77.1 FPS) are also excellent options for 60 FPS displays.

*Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 bottlenecking the RX 6650 XT in Control?*

A: Benchmark results indicate a partial bottleneck at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the system hits 121.8 FPS, which is high, but the CPU’s 6 threads limit further scaling. At higher settings and resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting component, as shown by the significant FPS drops (e.g., 57 FPS at 1440p High vs 92.2 FPS at 1440p Low).

Q: How does this combo compare to the RX 6650 XT’s closest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 6650 XT’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, has an average benchmark score delta of 0.0%, meaning they perform nearly identically. The AMD Radeon RX 470 is 0.1% slower. Therefore, with the same CPU, these GPUs would produce almost identical frame rates in Control.

Q: What is the CPU’s performance percentile and how does it affect the combo’s rank?

A: The i5-9400 ranks in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, which is average. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 7969, placing it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10305. This mid-tier CPU performance contributes to the combo’s 1080th rank out of 1636, as stronger CPUs would yield higher frame rates.

Q: Is there a large performance jump between the Medium and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: Yes, the data shows a significant difference. Medium runs at 86 FPS, while Ultra drops to 69.5 FPS—a 19.2% reduction. The Ultra preset’s visual improvements may not justify the FPS loss for many users, making Medium the more efficient choice.

Q: Does the 4K performance of this combo suggest it’s viable for 4K gaming?

A: Only at the Low preset (64.3 FPS) is 4K playable. The High (41.2 FPS), Medium (42.5 FPS), and Ultra (32.7 FPS) presets all fall below 45 FPS, which is not suitable for a smooth action-adventure experience. The GPU’s 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus are insufficient for high-fidelity 4K in this title.