Control

# Control: Intel Core i7-14700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER

This combination of Intel's Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers playable frame rates across most settings in Control, though 4K resolution requires compromises. The measured data shows this pairing sits in the 1241st position out of 1636 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth prove adequate for the game's demands, while the i7-14700F's 20 cores and 28 threads ensure the CPU is rarely the bottleneck at mainstream resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results clearly indicate that the Low preset offers the most balanced experience for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, Low settings produce an average of 115.9 FPS, which is more than double the 54 FPS achieved at 2560x1440 with High settings. For players prioritizing smooth gameplay over visual fidelity, Low at 1080p provides headroom well beyond the 60 FPS threshold.

However, the Medium preset deserves consideration for those seeking a middle ground. At 1080p, Medium yields 82.8 FPS, representing a 28.6% drop from Low but delivering noticeably better visual quality than Low's stripped-down presentation. At 1440p, Medium maintains 65.6 FPS, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS target. The data suggests Medium is the sweet spot for 1440p gaming, as it keeps frame rates smooth without requiring the harsh compromises of Low.

High settings become viable only at 1080p, where the average of 73.4 FPS remains playable. At 1440p, High drops to 54 FPS, which will feel sluggish for action-oriented gameplay. Ultra settings are essentially reserved for 1080p enthusiasts, with 66.4 FPS being the only Ultra result above 60 FPS. At 4K, all presets fall below 60 FPS, with Ultra scraping by at 34.6 FPS and Low barely reaching 58.1 FPS. For 4K owners, Low is the only reasonable choice, though even then the experience borders on unacceptable for a fast-paced action title.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only with significant compromises. At 4K with Low settings, the system averages 58.1 FPS, while Medium drops to 42.3 FPS. High and Ultra produce 38.8 FPS and 34.6 FPS respectively, all below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider smooth.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 deliver 65.6 FPS, making it the only preset at this resolution that exceeds 60 FPS. Low reaches 86.8 FPS but sacrifices visual quality, while High and Ultra fall short at 54 FPS and 49.4 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 2070?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER's average benchmark score of 19774 is 0.5% higher than the RTX 2070's 19680. This places the two cards extremely close in overall performance, with the 2060 SUPER holding a marginal edge in the database's aggregate metrics.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700F a bottleneck for this GPU?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor. The i7-14700F scores 35443 in Cinebench R23 multicore and ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K follows GPU-bound patterns, indicating the RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary constraint.

Q: What kind of frame rate can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 73.4 FPS. This is playable for most users, though it leaves less headroom than Medium's 82.8 FPS or Low's 115.9 FPS. High at 1080p represents a reasonable balance between visual fidelity and performance.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This pairing ranks 1241st out of 1636 total combos, placing it in the 76th percentile of tested configurations. The ranking reflects the RTX 2060 SUPER's position in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, despite the CPU's strong 94th percentile standing.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 reduces average FPS from 115.9 to 86.8, a 25.1% drop. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low further reduces performance to 58.1 FPS, a 33.1% decline. This progressive degradation pattern is consistent with the RTX 2060 SUPER being the performance limiter, as the i7-14700F's computational headroom remains largely untapped at higher resolutions.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at higher presets. With High settings, the drop from 1080p's 73.4 FPS to 1440p's 54 FPS represents a 26.4% reduction, while the leap to 4K's 38.8 FPS is another 28.1% decline. Ultra settings show the steepest curve: 66.4 FPS at 1080p falls to 49.4 FPS at 1440p, then plummets to 34.6 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is just 52.1% of the 1080p Ultra figure, highlighting the GPU's inability to sustain high-fidelity rendering at pixel densities beyond 1440p.

The CPU's role in this scaling is minimal. The i7-14700F's 20 cores and 28 threads, combined with a 33 MB L3 cache, provide ample processing power for Control's physics and AI systems. The benchmark results show that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work relative to the CPU, the system achieves 115.9 FPS without apparent CPU limitation. This confirms that upgrading the GPU would yield the most substantial frame rate improvements across all resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. Low settings produce 115.9 FPS, which is the highest measured average across all configurations. Medium achieves 82.8 FPS, representing a 28.6% reduction from Low. High settings reach 73.4 FPS, while Ultra settles at 66.4 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 49.5 FPS, indicating that players have significant flexibility at this resolution to balance visual quality against performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low remains playable at 86.8 FPS, but Medium drops to 65.6 FPS. High falls to 54 FPS, and Ultra reaches 49.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 37.4 FPS, suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources become increasingly strained as pixel count rises. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 256-bit memory bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth appear insufficient to maintain high preset performance at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, only Low settings approach playability. The 58.1 FPS average at Low is technically above 60 FPS but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. Medium drops to 42.3 FPS, High to 38.8 FPS, and Ultra to 34.6 FPS. None of these results meet the 60 FPS standard, and even the Low preset's performance suggests that 4K gaming is a stretch for this hardware. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 105.6 GPixel/s pixel rate simply cannot keep pace with 4K rendering demands at higher quality settings.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination holds the 1241st position out of 1636 tested configurations, placing it in the lower quarter of the database. The ranking reflects the RTX 2060 SUPER's performance ceiling rather than any CPU deficiency. The i7-14700F's average benchmark score of 54097 places it just 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X's 54450 and 1.1% behind the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's 54681, while outperforming the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 by 1.2% and the AMD EPYC 7313P by 1.7%. This CPU is clearly capable of driving far more powerful GPUs.

The GPU's standing tells a different story. The RTX 2060 SUPER's average benchmark score of 19774 is a mere 0.3% ahead of the GeForce GTX TITAN's 19706 and 0.5% ahead of the RTX 2070's 19680. It also edges the Quadro K5200 by 0.8% and the Tesla K40m by 1.3%. These narrow margins demonstrate that the 2060 SUPER sits in a crowded performance tier, where small architectural differences translate to negligible real-world gains. The 63rd percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms this mid-range positioning.

The disconnect between the CPU's high percentile (94th) and the GPU's modest one (63rd) explains why this combo ranks relatively low overall. The i7-14700F is capable of supporting much higher frame rates, but the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM and 175 W TDP limit how far the system can push Control's visual settings. For players considering an upgrade path, the data suggests that replacing the GPU would yield the most significant performance improvement, as the CPU has substantial headroom remaining.