Control

Control is an action-adventure title from 2019 that stresses both CPU and GPU, and the measured results for the Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB show a combo that is generally capable of smooth play, but requires careful settings management at higher resolutions. The data indicates a system that performs best at 1080p and 1440p with medium-to-high presets, while 4K demands significant compromises to maintain acceptable frame rates. The following analysis breaks down exactly what this hardware pairing delivers in this specific game, based solely on the measured FPS data.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the sweet spot. The average frame rates range from 90.7 FPS on Ultra to 162.8 FPS on Low, with High and Medium presets delivering 102.6 FPS and 113.6 FPS respectively, providing a consistently fluid experience.

Q: Can this setup handle 4K gaming in Control?

A: 4K is playable only on lower settings. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 80.4 FPS, while Medium drops to 61.3 FPS. High averages 53.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 47.6 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many players target.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB compare to its direct rival in this context?

A: The GPU’s benchmark score is 2913 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, which is exactly tied with the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M (deltaPct 0). It is 0.2% ahead of the RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB and 0.7% ahead of the GT 650M, but 1.5% behind the GTX 860M.

Q: What is the CPU’s performance percentile relative to all other CPUs?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 sits at the 50th percentile in the database, positioning it squarely in the mid-range. Its average benchmark score is 2305, with nearest rivals like the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, deltaPct 0.2) and the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295, deltaPct 0.4) performing nearly identically.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM on this GPU sufficient for Control at high settings?

A: The measured FPS data shows that at 2560x1440 High settings, the combo averages 79.2 FPS, and at 1920x1080 High it averages 102.6 FPS. These numbers suggest that the 8 GB allocation is not a bottleneck at these settings for this game, as the performance remains strong.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for Control?

A: The combo is ranked 660 out of 1636 total tested combos in this game. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all configurations tested, indicating it is a viable but not top-tier pairing for Control.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It has a 9 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. In Control, an action-adventure game that relies on physics and real-time calculations, the CPU’s role is to maintain a stable frame pipeline, especially when multiple objects are being manipulated by the protagonist’s telekinetic abilities.

The benchmark data shows this CPU is a mid-pack performer, sitting at the 50th percentile of all CPUs. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 7969, while its single-core score is 1125. These scores are comparable to the Intel Core i3-10305, which has an average score of 2300 (a 0.2% difference from the i5-9400's 2305). This means the i5-9400 is not a bottleneck in most scenarios, but it also does not provide headroom for extremely high frame rates in CPU-intensive sequences.

At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches 162.8 FPS, which is the highest measured result. This high frame rate suggests that at lower graphical loads, the CPU can keep up with the GPU. However, the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 72.1 FPS (from 162.8 to 90.7), indicating that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as settings increase. The CPU’s six threads are sufficient for Control’s engine, as evidenced by the stable performance across resolutions, but it would likely struggle to push beyond the 160 FPS range even with a more powerful GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB is based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 4352 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, with a boost clock of 2535 MHz. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory operates across a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. This GPU is the primary driver of visual fidelity in Control, handling the game’s complex lighting and particle effects.

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern: the GPU scales predictably with resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 90.7 FPS, which is a strong result. At 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 69.8 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it falls to 47.6 FPS. The GPU’s performance is quantifiable by its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2913, which places it at the 17th percentile of all GPUs. This is a low percentile ranking, but the score itself is tied with the GeForce GT 555M (2913, deltaPct 0) and only 0.2% higher than the RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB (2907).

The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for Control’s textures, as the data shows no anomalous drops or stutters in the average FPS numbers. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p is 7.7 FPS (from 86.9 to 79.2), while the jump from High to Ultra is 9.4 FPS (from 79.2 to 69.8). This suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute units are the limiting factors at higher settings, not the VRAM capacity. The GPU’s pixel rate of 121.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 344.8 GTexel/s directly influence how well it handles Control’s fast-moving action sequences.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy of settings for this combo. For a target of 60 FPS or higher, the Ultra preset is only achievable at 1920x1080, where it averages 90.7 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 69.8 FPS, which is still playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 47.6 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS standard.

The best experience per the data is the High preset at 2560x1440, which averages 79.2 FPS. This provides a balance between visual quality and performance, as High settings typically include most of the game’s graphical features without the extreme demands of Ultra. For players with a 144Hz monitor at 1080p, the Medium preset (113.6 FPS) or Low preset (162.8 FPS) would be preferable to maximize refresh rate utilization.

At 4K, the Low preset is the only option that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, averaging 80.4 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K (61.3 FPS) is technically playable but close to the edge, and any complex scene could push it below 60 FPS. The data suggests that High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended, as they fall to 53.2 FPS and 47.6 FPS respectively. A practical recommendation is to use High at 1440p for the best overall experience, or Low at 4K if resolution is the priority.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB holds a rank of 660 out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This places it in the 60th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms a majority of systems but is far from the top tier. The ranking reflects the balanced nature of the pairing: the CPU is mid-range, and the GPU is a modern mid-range part with a low percentile ranking (17th) among all GPUs.

The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300 score, 0.2% delta) and the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295 score, 0.4% delta), are nearly identical in performance, suggesting that the i5-9400 is not a differentiator. The GPU’s nearest rival, the GeForce GT 555M, has the exact same score (2913, 0% delta), which is surprising given the generational gap, but the data is what it is. The combo’s rank of 660 indicates that there are roughly 976 other combinations that perform better, likely featuring higher-end CPUs and GPUs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 162.8 FPS, which is the absolute maximum measured. The Medium preset averages 113.6 FPS, High averages 102.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 90.7 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 72.1 FPS drop, showing a significant performance cost for the highest visual settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance decreases predictably. The Low preset averages 124.7 FPS, Medium averages 86.9 FPS, High averages 79.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 69.8 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 54.9 FPS, which is a smaller absolute difference than at 1080p but still substantial. The High preset remains above the 60 FPS threshold, making it a solid choice for this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the data shows the most severe performance impact. The Low preset averages 80.4 FPS, which is the only setting that clears 60 FPS comfortably. The Medium preset averages 61.3 FPS, High averages 53.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 47.6 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 32.8 FPS, indicating that the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K with this game’s demanding effects. Across all resolutions, the Low preset consistently provides the highest frame rates, while the Ultra preset consistently provides the lowest, with no anomalies in the scaling pattern.