Control

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combination sits near the bottom of the performance hierarchy for Control, ranking 1402 out of 1636 tested combos. This places the pair in the 14th percentile of all systems tested, meaning roughly 86% of configurations deliver higher frame rates in this title. The ranking reflects a pairing of a mid-range six-core processor with an older enthusiast-tier GPU, both of which are now end-of-life products. While the combo is far from the slowest available, the data indicates that gamers seeking high-refresh-rate or high-resolution experiences will find this pairing constrained.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1402 out of 1636 combos is a clear signal that this is a lower-tier configuration for Control. The CPU alone sits at the 50th percentile among all processors tested, with an average benchmark score of 2305, while the GPU sits at the 51st percentile among all graphics cards, with an average score of 12331. When combined in this specific game, the pairing underperforms its individual percentile standings, suggesting that the system is not well-balanced for Control's demands. The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals show it is extremely close to the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, both within 0.2% of the i5-9400's average score, while the Intel Core i7-8809G is only 0.6% faster. This tight grouping indicates that CPU performance is not the differentiator here; the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as its nearest rivals—the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 and GeForce GTX 880M—show a mere 0.7% and 1.3% delta, respectively.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured frame rates. It features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p but becomes strained at higher resolutions. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1506 MHz and boosts to 1683 MHz, with a memory clock of 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective). These clocks are modest by modern standards but were competitive at the GPU's 2016 launch. The Pascal architecture, built on a 16 nm process, delivers 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, which is the raw horsepower available for rendering Control's physics-heavy environments. The data shows the GPU's performance drops dramatically as resolution increases: at 1080p High settings, the combo achieves 62.1 FPS, but at 4K High, it falls to 29.6 FPS. This 52% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K highlights how the GTX 1070's memory bandwidth and compute resources are insufficient for pixel-dense output in this game.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience, the measured data points to 1080p as the optimal resolution for this combo. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system reaches 95.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for most displays. However, Low settings sacrifice visual fidelity in a game known for its atmospheric destruction. The High preset at 1080p delivers 62.1 FPS, which is playable but not headroom-rich for demanding scenes. The Medium preset at 1080p offers a middle ground at 67.7 FPS, providing a 9% improvement over High while presumably retaining more visual detail than Low. At 1440p, the situation worsens: High drops to 44.4 FPS, and even Low only reaches 74.2 FPS, making 1440p viable only for players willing to accept significant graphical compromises. At 4K, all presets fall below 50 FPS, with Ultra at 24.4 FPS being unplayable and Low at 48.8 FPS being barely tolerable. The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Medium, as it balances frame rate and visual quality without the steep performance penalty of Ultra settings.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 55 FPS across all presets. At 1440p, only Low settings break 70 FPS, and at 4K, even Low dips below 50 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 12331, placing it 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 and 1.4% ahead of the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER. It is 1.3% slower than the GeForce GTX 880M and 1.7% slower than the Tesla K20Xm.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The i5-9400's nearest rival, the Core i7-8809G, is only 0.6% faster in synthetic benchmarks, yet the combo's frame rates drop by over half from 1080p to 4K, which is characteristic of GPU limitation.

Q: Can this combo handle Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: Yes, but just barely. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combo averages 55.9 FPS. This is playable but leaves little margin for drops during intense combat sequences with heavy particle effects.

Q: What is the GPU's launch MSRP?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 had a launch MSRP of 379 USD.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1402 out of 1636 tested combos for Control, placing it in the lower 14% of all configurations tested.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 62.1 FPS; at 1440p High, it drops to 44.4 FPS (a 28.5% reduction); and at 4K High, it falls to 29.6 FPS (a 52.3% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline is disproportionate to the pixel count increase, indicating that the GTX 1070's 256.3 GB/s memory bandwidth and 6.463 TFLOPS of compute are exhausted well before 4K. The pattern holds across all presets: Low settings go from 95.3 FPS at 1080p to 74.2 FPS at 1440p to 48.8 FPS at 4K, while Ultra goes from 55.9 to 38.5 to 24.4 FPS. The consistent halving of frame rates from 1080p to 4K across presets confirms that the limiting component is the GPU, not the CPU, as a CPU bottleneck would show less resolution sensitivity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 provides six cores and six threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. This Coffee Lake Refresh processor, built on a 14 nm process, has 9 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 7969 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1125 in single-core, placing it at the 50th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Core i7-8809G, is only 0.6% faster in average score, meaning the i5-9400 is not leaving significant performance on the table. However, in Control, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The measured frame rates at 1080p Low (95.3 FPS) suggest the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at lower settings, but at higher presets and resolutions, the GPU's limitations cap performance well below what the CPU could theoretically support. The 6-thread configuration is sufficient for this game, but the lack of hyper-threading means background tasks could introduce stutter in CPU-intensive scenes, though the data does not show this as a major factor given the GPU-bound nature of the results.