Control

The pairing of an Intel Core i5-9400 with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a study in extremes. The data shows a 6-core, 6-thread CPU from the Coffee Lake generation that sits at the 50th percentile of all tested processors, paired with a flagship GPU from the Ada Lovelace generation that reaches the 91st percentile of all tested GPUs. This imbalance creates a peculiar performance profile in Control, where the 2019 action-adventure title's frame rates are dictated more by your resolution and settings choices than by the raw horsepower of either component. The measured results across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions reveal exactly where this bottleneck lies and how to get the most out of this mismatched combo.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but not catastrophic, indicating a system that transitions from CPU-bound at lower resolutions to GPU-bound at higher ones. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo hits 160 FPS, but this drops by roughly 20% to 127.8 FPS at 4K Low. This relatively modest scaling penalty suggests that at 1080p, the i5-9400 is holding the RTX 4090 back, preventing it from stretching its legs fully. The gap widens significantly when you look at higher presets: at Ultra settings, the system delivers 130 FPS at 1080p but falls to 74.4 FPS at 4K, a 43% reduction. This steeper decline at higher settings indicates that the GPU is finally becoming the limiting factor as the workload increases.

The most telling data point is the difference between Low and Ultra at each resolution. At 1080p, the gap between Low (160 FPS) and Ultra (130 FPS) is a mere 30 FPS, or 19%. At 4K, that same gap balloons to 53.4 FPS (127.8 vs 74.4), a 42% difference. This pattern is classic evidence of a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions: the i5-9400's six threads cap the frame rate regardless of how light the GPU load is. Once you push to 4K, the RTX 4090's workload becomes heavy enough that its own capabilities dictate the performance ceiling, and the CPU bottleneck fades into the background.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 1,636 tested combos in Control, this specific pairing of the i5-9400 and RTX 4090 lands at rank 211. That places it in the top 13% of all combinations tested, which is impressive on the surface. However, the context is crucial: the RTX 4090 is a GPU that sits at the 91st percentile of all GPUs, while the i5-9400 is squarely average at the 50th percentile of CPUs. The fact that this combo still reaches 211th place despite such a mediocre CPU speaks volumes about the GPU's dominance in this title.

The data suggests that the i5-9400 is not a catastrophic pairing, but it is undeniably leaving performance on the table. A more balanced CPU would likely push this combo much higher in the rankings, as the RTX 4090 clearly has headroom that the CPU cannot exploit at lower resolutions. The rank of 211 out of 1,636 is a strong result, but it is a reflection of the GPU's brute force rather than the synergy of the components. If you are building this system, understand that the CPU is the weak link, and the frame rates you see are likely 10-15% lower than what a newer 8-core processor could achieve with the same GPU.

GPU Role

The RTX 4090 brings a staggering amount of hardware to the table, and the benchmark results reflect its dominance. With 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, it has a memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s, which is more than sufficient for Control's textures at any resolution. The GPU's boost clock of 2520 MHz and its 16384 shading units provide the raw compute power needed to push those high frame rates at 4K. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, which is the most demanding setting tested, the combo still manages 74.4 FPS, a playable frame rate for a game that rewards fast reactions.

The GPU's role becomes clearer when you look at the scaling between Medium and High settings. At 4K, the jump from Medium (97.5 FPS) to High (90.3 FPS) is a modest 7 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra (74.4 FPS) is a much steeper 16 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset includes effects that disproportionately tax the GPU, likely related to ray tracing or high-resolution shadows. The RTX 4090 has 128 RT cores, and the data indicates that the Ultra preset is where those cores are put to work, causing the frame rate to dip. If you want to stay above 100 FPS at 4K, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, as it avoids the heaviest ray-traced effects while still looking good.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the ideal settings for this combo depend heavily on your target resolution. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 137.4 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most gaming monitors. Pushing to Ultra drops you to 130 FPS, a negligible 5% difference that is worth it for the visual improvements. At 1080p, the CPU is the bottleneck, so you might as well crank the settings to Ultra since the frame rate penalty is minimal—the CPU is capping performance anyway.

At 1440p, the data shows a more interesting trade-off. High settings deliver 124 FPS, while Medium gives you 132 FPS. The 8 FPS difference is small, but the visual quality gap between Medium and High is significant in a game like Control with its detailed environments. Ultra at 1440p still gives you a very playable 114.2 FPS, so if you have a 120 Hz monitor, Ultra is the way to go. The data suggests that the GPU has enough headroom at this resolution to handle Ultra without sacrificing smoothness.

At 4K, the recommendation shifts dramatically. Ultra drops to 74.4 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced action game. High settings give you 90.3 FPS, which is a much better experience on a 4K display. Medium gives you 97.5 FPS, but the visual downgrade from High is noticeable. The sweet spot for 4K is clearly High: it offers a 21% improvement over Ultra while maintaining most of the visual fidelity. If you have a 144 Hz 4K monitor, you will need to drop to Low (127.8 FPS) to get close to that refresh rate, but the visual sacrifice is significant.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo in Control is as follows. At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 160 FPS, Medium produces 142.3 FPS, High produces 137.4 FPS, and Ultra produces 130 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 30 FPS, which is the smallest of all resolutions, confirming the CPU bottleneck at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the numbers are: Low 150.1 FPS, Medium 132 FPS, High 124 FPS, and Ultra 114.2 FPS. The spread widens to 35.9 FPS, indicating that the GPU is starting to take on more of the load. The step from Medium to High is 8 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 9.8 FPS, showing a relatively even degradation as settings increase.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 127.8 FPS, Medium 97.5 FPS, High 90.3 FPS, and Ultra 74.4 FPS. The spread here is 53.4 FPS, the largest of all resolutions. The dramatic drop from Low to Medium (30.3 FPS) is notable, suggesting that Medium enables effects that are particularly heavy at 4K. The step from High to Ultra is the steepest single drop (15.9 FPS), reinforcing the idea that Ultra includes disproportionately expensive rendering features.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 bottlenecking the RTX 4090 in Control?*

A: Yes, but only at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rate difference between Low (160 FPS) and Ultra (130 FPS) is just 30 FPS, indicating the CPU is capping performance. At 4K, the spread widens to 53.4 FPS, showing the GPU becomes the primary limiter.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: The High preset at 3840x2160 delivers 90.3 FPS, which is a good balance. Ultra drops to 74.4 FPS, a 21% penalty that is hard to justify for the visual gain. Medium offers 97.5 FPS but with a noticeable quality loss.

Q: Can this combo achieve 144 FPS at 1440p?

A: No, the maximum frame rate at 1440p is 150.1 FPS on Low settings. On High settings, you get 124 FPS, and on Ultra you get 114.2 FPS. To hit 144 FPS, you would need to use Low settings, which is not ideal for visual quality.

*Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems in Control?*

A: It ranks 211th out of 1,636 total combos, placing it in the top 13%. This is a strong result, but it is primarily driven by the RTX 4090's performance, as the i5-9400 is only at the 50th percentile of all CPUs.

*Q: Is the RTX 4090's 24 GB of VRAM necessary for Control?*

A: The data does not indicate VRAM limitations at any resolution or setting. The GPU's 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth and 24 GB capacity are more than sufficient for this game, even at 4K Ultra.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium produces 142.3 FPS while High produces 137.4 FPS, a difference of just 4.9 FPS. This is a negligible penalty for the visual improvement, making High the better choice at this resolution.