Control

Control is an Action Adventure title that stresses both the CPU's ability to feed the renderer and the GPU's raw throughput. The pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT produces a dataset that shows clear scaling patterns across resolutions and settings, with the measured frames per second (FPS) indicating where each component's headroom begins to limit the final output. The following analysis breaks down the benchmark results for this specific combination, using only the measured data to explain how the processor and graphics card interact in this game.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, running on a 14 nm process node. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz, which can boost up to 4.10 GHz under load. This is a desktop part with a 65 W TDP, and it supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing 42.7 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The processor has a shared L3 cache of 9 MB, with 64 KB of L1 and 256 KB of L2 per core.

In the context of Control, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls, which become more demanding as the framerate target rises. At lower resolutions like 1920x1080, the CPU's 6 threads are more likely to become a limiting factor because the GPU can produce frames faster than the processor can issue commands. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the combination reaches 163.3 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the dataset. This suggests the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU at that level, but the gap between settings narrows as resolution increases, indicating that the CPU's throughput is not the sole bottleneck at higher graphical loads.

The processor's single-thread performance, as measured by Cinebench R23, is 1125 points, while its multi-core score is 7969 points. These figures place the i5-9400 at the 50th percentile among all CPUs, indicating a mid-pack position for general compute. In Control, the game's engine benefits from higher single-thread performance for frame pacing, and the 4.10 GHz boost clock helps maintain consistent frame delivery. The fact that the CPU's average benchmark score is 2305, with nearest rivals like the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, deltaPct 0.2%) and Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295, deltaPct 0.4%), shows that the i5-9400 is competitively positioned for its class, but it is not a top-tier part for extreme framerates.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is ranked 575 out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This places the pairing in the upper-middle portion of the database, meaning it outperforms the majority of other hardware configurations tested for this game, but it is not among the elite setups. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's mid-tier compute capabilities and the GPU's high-end rendering power.

The GPU itself sits at the 87th percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 49982. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A550M (49737, deltaPct 0.5%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER (48704, deltaPct 2.6%), showing that the RX 6800 XT is slightly ahead of those parts in aggregate. However, the combo rank of 575 indicates that the i5-9400's processing power may hold back the GPU in certain scenarios, preventing the pairing from reaching the top tiers of the rankings. In Control, this means the GPU is not always fully utilized, especially at lower resolutions where the CPU's 6 threads can become a constraint.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data shows a clear progression as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 112.8 at 1080p to 85.7 at 1440p, and then to 58.6 at 4K. This represents a 48% reduction in framerate when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings. The pattern is consistent across all settings, with the drop being more pronounced at lower graphical presets.

At Low settings, the framerate falls from 163.3 FPS at 1080p to 136.9 FPS at 1440p, and then to 90.3 FPS at 4K. The percentage decrease from 1080p to 4K is about 45%, which is similar to the High setting drop. This indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, because the RX 6800 XT's workload grows with pixel count, while the CPU's load remains relatively constant. However, the fact that the framerate at 1080p Low (163.3 FPS) is significantly higher than at 4K Low (90.3 FPS) suggests that the CPU can still push higher framerates, but the GPU's rendering capacity at 4K is the bottleneck.

The scaling between resolutions shows a nonlinear relationship. From 1080p to 1440p, the FPS drop at High settings is 24%, while from 1440p to 4K, the drop is 32%. This increasing rate of decline at higher resolutions is typical of GPU-bound scenarios, where the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become more critical. The RX 6800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 4K, but the raw compute required for Control's effects at that resolution still limits the framerate.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combination delivers its highest framerates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 163.3. Moving to Medium settings reduces the average to 126 FPS. High settings yield 112.8 FPS, and Ultra settings drop the average to 96.6 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 66.7 FPS, which is a substantial 41% reduction, showing that the GPU is capable of handling the extra graphical load without the CPU becoming a hard limit.

At 2560x1440, the framerates scale down proportionally. Low settings average 136.9 FPS, Medium settings drop to 95.2 FPS, High settings produce 85.7 FPS, and Ultra settings average 73.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 63.4 FPS, which is a 46% reduction. This widening percentage difference compared to 1080p indicates that the GPU is starting to become more of a limiting factor, as the additional pixels require more shading and texture work.

At 3840x2160, the resolution puts the most strain on the GPU. Low settings average 90.3 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium settings drop to 63.7 FPS. High settings average 58.6 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 52.3 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 38 FPS, a 42% reduction. Interestingly, the percentage drop is similar to 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower, meaning that the GPU is operating near its limits at this resolution. The fact that even Low settings at 4K (90.3 FPS) is lower than Low settings at 1080p (163.3 FPS) confirms that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at higher resolutions.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is a high-end graphics card based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture, built on a 7 nm process. It features 4608 shading units, 288 texture mapping units, and 128 raster operation units, along with 72 ray tracing cores. The GPU has a base clock of 1825 MHz, a game clock of 2015 MHz, and a boost clock of 2250 MHz. Its memory operates at 2000 MHz, effectively 16 Gbps, across a 256-bit bus, yielding 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The 16 GB of GDDR6 VRAM is more than sufficient for Control at any resolution and setting tested. There is no indication in the data that memory capacity is a limiting factor, as the framerate differences between settings are primarily driven by compute and bandwidth demands. The GPU's pixel rate is 288.0 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 648.0 GTexel/s, which are high figures that allow it to handle the game's visual effects at 4K, albeit with framerates in the 50-90 FPS range depending on settings.

The GPU's aggregate performance, as measured by its average benchmark score of 49982, places it at the 87th percentile among all graphics cards. In comparison, its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, has an average score of 48704, with the RX 6800 XT leading by 2.6%. This performance advantage is reflected in the measured FPS data, where the GPU is able to drive framerates above 60 FPS at 1440p High settings (85.7 FPS) and at 4K Low settings (90.3 FPS). However, at 4K Ultra, the framerate drops to 52.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU's compute limits are reached, and the CPU's role becomes less significant.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Control?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 163.3, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 52.3, which is the lowest measured value in the dataset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the framerate varies significantly with settings (from 96.6 FPS at Ultra to 163.3 FPS at Low), suggesting the GPU is still the primary bottleneck, as the CPU's 6 threads can keep up with the lower pixel count.

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

A: The combo is ranked 575 out of 1636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the upper-middle tier of performance.

Q: How much does the framerate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 112.8 at 1080p to 58.6 at 4K, a reduction of 54.2 FPS, or about 48%.

Q: Does the GPU's VRAM capacity limit performance in this game?

A: The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, and the measured data shows no evidence of VRAM-related stutters or capacity limits, as the framerates scale consistently with settings and resolution.