Control

Control is a game that leans heavily on GPU throughput, and pairing an Intel Core i7-14700F with an AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT produces a predictable pattern: strong performance at mainstream resolutions, with the graphics card becoming the clear limiting factor as resolution climbs. The measured data shows this combo handles 1080p comfortably, remains playable at 1440p with adjusted settings, and struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K unless quality settings are dropped significantly. This is a balanced pairing for its intended class, but the frame rate curve makes the bottleneck obvious.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, indicating that the RX 6600 XT is the primary constraint in this system. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 74 at 1920x1080 to 56 at 2560x1440, then to 38 at 3840x2160. That is a 24% reduction moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 32% drop when stepping up to 4K. The pattern is similar across all settings tiers. At Low settings, the averages are 118, 89, and 60 FPS for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively. The 4K Low result of exactly 60 FPS suggests the GPU is just barely keeping pace with minimal load, but the scaling is not linear—the gap between 1440p and 4K is larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p at every quality level.

This scaling behavior points to a GPU-bound scenario. The i7-14700F has ample compute headroom, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and Geekbench multi-core score of 19620, but the RX 6600 XT’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth become strained at higher pixel counts. At Ultra settings, the 4K average drops to 33 FPS, which is less than half of the 1080p Ultra result of 65 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is also telling: 60 FPS versus 33 FPS, a 45% performance penalty purely from raising settings. At 1080p, the same Low-to-Ultra comparison shows 118 FPS versus 65 FPS, a 45% penalty as well, meaning the GPU’s relative workload scales evenly with settings but the absolute numbers reveal how quickly it runs out of headroom at higher resolutions.

The data suggests that for a 60 FPS target, this combo is only viable at 1080p with most settings, or at 1440p with Low settings. At 4K, even Low settings only hit 60 FPS on average, with no min FPS data provided to confirm stability. The frame rate curve indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck until very low resolutions and settings, where the 118 FPS result at 1080p Low still leaves room for the GPU to be the limiting factor. In practical terms, users should expect to dial down settings aggressively when moving beyond 1080p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip, manufactured on a 7 nm process by TSMC. It has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 32 ray tracing cores. The GPU’s base clock is 1968 MHz, with a game clock of 2359 MHz and a boost clock of 2589 MHz. These clock speeds allow for solid raw throughput, reflected in its FP32 performance of 10.60 TFLOPS. The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth and 16 Gbps effective memory speed. The GPU’s pixel rate is 165.7 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 331.4 GTexel/s.

In Control, the GPU’s role is dominant. The measured FPS at 1080p High (74 FPS) and 1440p High (56 FPS) show that the card is capable of delivering playable frame rates, but the 4K High result of 38 FPS indicates that the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are insufficient for high-detail 4K rendering. The RX 6600 XT’s PassMark G3D score of 16461 places it in the 70th percentile of all GPUs, which is respectable for its class. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 with an average score of 24277 (0.7% higher), the Intel Arc A350M at 24647 (0.8% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti at 24236 (0.8% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER at 24170 (1.1% higher). These deltas are small, suggesting the RX 6600 XT sits in a tightly contested performance band.

The GPU’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compliance mean it can handle modern rendering features, but Control’s specific demands still overwhelm it at higher resolutions. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1804 is modest, which aligns with the measured FPS results. The card’s 160 W TDP and 1x 8-pin power connector are typical for this class, and its dual-slot design with a length of 190 mm makes it easy to fit in most cases. The GPU is end-of-life per the production status, but its performance in this game remains consistent with its benchmark standing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and its 65 W TDP is relatively low for a desktop chip. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong: Cinebench R23 multi-core at 35122, Cinebench R23 single-core at 4958, Geekbench multi-core at 19620, and Geekbench single-core at 2429. Its PassMark multi-thread score is 41317, and it ranks in the 91st percentile of all CPUs.

In Control, the CPU’s role is secondary. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (118 FPS) is the highest result in the dataset, and even that is likely GPU-limited. The i7-14700F’s single-core performance, as shown by its Cinebench R15 single-core score of 499 and PassMark single-thread score of 4257, is more than sufficient for the game’s physics and logic. The 28 threads provide ample multitasking headroom, but Control does not appear to be a multi-threaded stress test for this processor. The CPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the Intel Xeon 6505P with an average score of 53701 (0.2% lower), the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 at 53469 (0.3% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X at 53288 (0.6% higher), and the AMD EPYC 7313P at 53206 (0.8% higher). These deltas indicate that the i7-14700F is competitive with high-end server and desktop parts in synthetic benchmarks.

The CPU’s 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for gaming. Its boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures high single-thread performance, which is what most games rely on. However, the fact that FPS scales down with resolution and settings—rather than staying flat—confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the 118 FPS result suggests the CPU can push beyond that if paired with a faster GPU, but with the RX 6600 XT, it never becomes the limiting factor in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. With Low settings, the average FPS is 118. Medium settings produce an average of 84 FPS, with a minimum of 71 and a maximum of 96. High settings yield 74 FPS on average, while Ultra settings drop to 65 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 53 FPS, indicating that the GPU has enough headroom at this resolution to accommodate higher settings while maintaining playable frame rates. The Medium settings min FPS of 71 shows that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low settings average 89 FPS, Medium averages 63 FPS with a min of 54 and max of 73, High averages 56 FPS, and Ultra averages 49 FPS. The Medium min FPS of 54 falls below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting occasional stutters in heavy scenes. The gap between Low and Ultra is 40 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p, reflecting the increased pixel load. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1440p, Low settings are required, while Medium and above will see frame rates in the 50s.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overmatched. Low settings average 60 FPS, which is exactly at the standard target, but Medium drops to 43 FPS with a min of 36 and max of 49. High settings average 38 FPS, and Ultra drops to 33 FPS. The min FPS of 36 at Medium shows that even mid-range settings can cause significant frame drops. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 27 FPS, which is the smallest absolute spread across resolutions, but the absolute numbers are all below what most users would consider acceptable for fast-paced action. The 4K results indicate that this combo is not suitable for 4K gaming unless the user is willing to accept 30-40 FPS ranges or lower settings to Low.

Looking at the full dataset, the sweet spot for this combo is 1080p with High or Ultra settings, where the average FPS ranges from 65 to 74. At 1440p, Medium settings provide a playable 63 FPS average, but the min FPS of 54 suggests that users may want to cap to Medium or drop to Low for consistency. The 4K results are only viable at Low settings, and even then, the 60 FPS average comes with no min FPS data to confirm stability.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2650 out of 3720 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the lower third of all systems. This ranking reflects the RX 6600 XT’s mid-range status rather than any deficiency in the i7-14700F. The CPU alone ranks in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 70th percentile of all GPUs, so the combination’s overall position is dragged down by the graphics card. For a pairing like this, the rank is expected—the CPU is overqualified for the GPU, but the GPU is the bottleneck in this game.

In the context of the benchmark database’s nearest rivals, the RX 6600 XT performs within 1.1% of GPUs like the RTX 2080 SUPER and GTX 780 Ti in average benchmark scores, but the actual measured FPS in Control shows that this GPU class is better suited to 1080p and light 1440p gaming. The combo rank of 2650 out of 3720 means that roughly 71% of tested systems perform better in Control, which is a direct consequence of the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions. Users with this combo should not expect to compete with 4K-capable systems, but for 1080p, it is a competent performer.

The rank also implies that pairing the i7-14700F with a stronger GPU would yield significantly better results, as the CPU’s benchmark scores suggest it can handle much higher frame rates. However, within the constraints of this specific combo, the data shows a system that is well-balanced for 1080p and acceptable for 1440p with settings adjustments. The 3720 total combos tested include many with higher-end GPUs, so the rank is not a condemnation but a reflection of the hardware class.

FAQ

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

A: According to the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 is the best resolution. At High settings, it averages 74 FPS, and at Ultra, it averages 65 FPS. At 2560x1440, High drops to 56 FPS, and at 3840x2160, High drops to 38 FPS.

Q: Can this combo hit 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Only with Low settings, which average 89 FPS at 2560x1440. Medium settings average 63 FPS but have a minimum of 54 FPS, so it may dip below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. High and Ultra settings average 56 FPS and 49 FPS, respectively, which are below 60 FPS.

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

A: The i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 53620. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6505P, scores 53701, which is 0.2% higher. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X scores 53288, which is 0.6% lower. The AMD EPYC 7313P scores 53206, which is 0.8% lower.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data shows the GPU is the bottleneck. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, frame rates drop significantly—for example, High settings go from 74 FPS at 1080p to 38 FPS at 4K. The CPU’s high benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core at 35122) suggest it is not the limiting factor.

Q: What are the GPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database?

A: The RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 24442. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 scores 24277 (0.7% higher), the Intel Arc A350M scores 24647 (0.8% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti scores 24236 (0.8% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170 (1.1% higher).

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in Control?

A: The combo ranks 2650 out of 3720 tested combinations. This places it below the median, meaning most other tested combos perform better in this game. The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely the primary reasons for this ranking.