Control

The Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT combination ranks 1251st out of 1636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This rank reflects a pairing where a very strong CPU is held back by a mid-range GPU, a conclusion supported by the benchmark data showing the GPU’s average score (24731) sits at the 68th percentile, while the CPU’s average score (54097) reaches the 94th percentile. The result is a system that can deliver playable frame rates at 1080p but struggles to maintain smooth performance at higher resolutions or maximum settings, making it a suitable match for 1080p gaming rather than a high-refresh-rate or 4K powerhouse.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 1636 tested combinations, this pairing sits at rank 1251, which is in the 24th percentile of all combos tested for Control. The data indicates a significant imbalance: the CPU is a top-tier performer, with its average benchmark score (54097) placing it just 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (54450) and 1.1% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54681). Meanwhile, the GPU’s average score (24731) is nearly identical to the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (24763, delta -0.1%) and the Intel Arc A350M (24647, delta 0.3%), showing it is a mid-pack component. This mismatch means the combo’s ranking is dictated almost entirely by GPU performance, as the CPU has ample headroom that the GPU cannot exploit in this title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured frame rates show that the Ultra preset is only viable at 1080p, where it delivers 67.1 FPS on average. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 46.5 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 34.8 FPS, both of which are below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset offers a better balance: 71.8 FPS at 1080p, 54.9 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K. For the best experience, the data suggests using the High preset at 1080p, as it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS (71.8 FPS) while maintaining visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1080p (81.3 FPS) is also viable, but High offers superior image quality with only a 13% performance penalty. At 1440p, High is the recommended choice for those willing to accept slightly sub-60 FPS gameplay, while Low (90.2 FPS) is the only preset that consistently stays above 60 FPS at this resolution.

Resolution Scaling

Frame rates scale predictably with resolution, but the drop-off reveals the GPU as the limiting factor. From 1080p to 1440p at High settings, average FPS falls from 71.8 to 54.9, a 24% reduction. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is steeper: High falls from 54.9 to 39 FPS, a 29% reduction. The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For example, at Low settings, FPS goes from 114.7 (1080p) to 90.2 (1440p) to 59.6 (4K). These percentage declines are larger than what would be expected if the CPU were the bottleneck, confirming that the RX 5700 XT’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count increases. The CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads are more than sufficient for Control’s demands, so the GPU’s rendering throughput is what governs these drops.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 114.7 FPS on Low, 81.3 FPS on Medium, 71.8 FPS on High, and 67.1 FPS on Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 41% performance penalty for maximum settings, which is reasonable for a game of this era. At 2560x1440, the figures are 90.2 FPS (Low), 63.9 FPS (Medium), 54.9 FPS (High), and 46.5 FPS (Ultra). The gap between Medium and High narrows to 14%, while High to Ultra drops another 15%. At 3840x2160, performance degrades sharply: 59.6 FPS (Low), 41.8 FPS (Medium), 39 FPS (High), and 34.8 FPS (Ultra). Notably, the difference between Medium and High at 4K is only 7%, suggesting the GPU is becoming pixel-bound and additional settings have diminishing returns. The only preset that achieves 60 FPS at 4K is Low, and it just barely does so at 59.6 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture with a Navi 10 chip fabricated on a 7 nm process. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes a constraint at 4K. The GPU’s boost clock of 1905 MHz and game clock of 1755 MHz are modest by modern standards, contributing to its 9.754 TFLOPS FP32 performance. The measured results show that the GPU’s average benchmark score (24731) is statistically tied with the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (24763) and only 0.6% behind the Intel Arc A350M (24647), placing it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. This mid-tier positioning explains why the combo ranks 1251st: the GPU cannot push Control beyond the observed frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions where the 4K Ultra result of 34.8 FPS indicates the GPU is fully saturated.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 1080p?

A: Yes, at 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 114.7 FPS, and with Medium it reaches 81.3 FPS. High settings deliver 71.8 FPS, and even Ultra stays above 60 FPS at 67.1 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: The data shows 1080p is the sweet spot, as all four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) exceed 60 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (90.2 FPS) and Medium (63.9 FPS) maintain 60 FPS, while High (54.9 FPS) and Ultra (46.5 FPS) fall short.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 5700 XT’s average benchmark score (24731) is 0.1% below the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (24763) and 0.3% above the Intel Arc A350M (24647). It also sits 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (24592).

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The CPU’s average benchmark score (54097) is in the 94th percentile, while the GPU’s score (24731) is in the 68th percentile. The large gap indicates the GPU is the limiting component, not the CPU.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves 59.6 FPS. At Medium (41.8 FPS), High (39 FPS), and Ultra (34.8 FPS), the frame rates are below 60 FPS and would be considered borderline playable at best.

Q: How much performance is lost from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 71.8 (1080p) to 54.9 (1440p) to 39 (4K), representing a 46% total reduction from 1080p to 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K alone is 29%.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This CPU is a top-tier performer, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35443 and single-core score of 5003. Its average benchmark score (54097) places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, and it sits just 1.1% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54681) and 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (54450). In Control, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations, and its 33 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support are more than adequate for this task. The measured frame rates confirm that the CPU is not a bottleneck: even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the combo reaches 114.7 FPS, and the scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is consistent with GPU-bound behavior. The CPU’s 65 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility make it a practical choice, but its performance headroom is wasted in this pairing at resolutions above 1080p, where the RX 5700 XT’s 8 GB memory and 9.754 TFLOPS throughput become the decisive factors.