Control

Control with the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER presents a fascinating case study in system balancing, as the measured frame rates reveal a configuration that scales predictably with resolution but exhibits distinct behavioral shifts at the extremes of the settings spectrum. The data indicates a pairing where the GPU becomes the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions, while the CPU's substantial core and thread count ensures the system never feels bottlenecked at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K shows a classic GPU-bound curve, but the slope is steeper than what pure pixel-count math would suggest, indicating that the RTX 4070 SUPER is doing increasingly heavy lifting as resolution rises. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 135 at 1920x1080 to 102 at 2560x1440 (a 24% reduction), and then further to 69 at 3840x2160 (a 32% drop from 1440p). This accelerating decline suggests that while the GPU handles 1080p with headroom, it approaches its architectural limits at 4K, where the 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 compute become the constraining factors.

The Low settings curve tells a more dramatic story about the limiting component. Here, the system achieves 214 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 162 at 1440p (a 24% fall) and then to 110 at 4K (a 32% decline). The fact that even at Low settings the 4K frame rate is only 110 FPS—not hundreds—implies that the GPU is still the primary constraint, as a purely CPU-limited scenario would show much less variation across resolutions. However, the gap between High and Low settings narrows as resolution increases: at 1080p, the difference is 79 FPS (214 vs 135), but at 4K it shrinks to 41 FPS (110 vs 69), suggesting that the GPU's fixed costs at higher resolutions diminish the relative impact of settings changes.

Ultra settings provide the clearest evidence of GPU saturation. At 4K Ultra, the system delivers exactly 60 FPS average, which appears to be a hard floor rather than a coincidence, while at 1080p Ultra it reaches 118 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result of 89 FPS slots neatly between these values, creating a near-linear scaling pattern that points to consistent GPU-limited behavior across the entire resolution range. This linearity is notable because it suggests the CPU is never the bottleneck, even at 1080p where the 20-core processor could theoretically dominate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F brings 20 cores and 28 threads to this pairing, running at a base clock of 2.10 GHz and boosting to 5.40 GHz. These specifications place it in the 91st percentile among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 53620. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, which scores 53288 (a 0.6% delta), and the Intel Xeon 6505P at 53701 (a -0.2% delta), meaning the i7-14700F sits in a tightly contested performance band where tiny percentage differences separate top-tier processors.

In the context of Control's measured results, the CPU's role appears to be one of enabling rather than limiting. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and single-core score of 4958 indicate strong all-around capability, but the game's frame rates at 1080p Low (214 FPS) suggest the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond what the RTX 4070 SUPER can render. The Geekbench multi-core score of 19620 reinforces this interpretation, showing that the processor has ample headroom for game logic and physics calculations without becoming a constraint.

The fact that frame rates scale so consistently with resolution—even at Low settings where visual effects are minimal—points to the GPU as the consistent bottleneck. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS across resolutions at Low settings, but instead we see a steady decline from 214 to 162 to 110. The i7-14700F's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 and DDR5) provide sufficient bandwidth for the game's data streaming, but the data shows the processor's primary contribution is maintaining a stable platform rather than driving frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 639th out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 17% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the measured FPS data across all resolution and settings combinations, and it suggests that while this is a strong pairing, it is not at the absolute apex of performance for this game.

The ranking is somewhat surprising given the individual component strengths. The CPU sits in the 91st percentile and the GPU in the 83rd percentile, yet their combined rank of 639/3720 (approximately 83rd percentile) suggests that the game's performance is not purely additive. This could indicate that Control's engine has a ceiling on how much it can utilize the hardware, or that the RTX 4070 SUPER's specific architectural strengths (such as ray tracing capabilities with 56 RT cores) are not fully exercised at standard rasterization settings.

The GPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (scoring 43262, a -0.1% delta) and the GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43268, also -0.1% delta), while the RTX 4090 Mobile scores 43667 (a -1% delta). These tight margins in synthetic benchmarks suggest that the RTX 4070 SUPER is well-positioned among its peers, yet the combo rank in Control indicates that real-world gaming performance can diverge from these aggregate scores. The rank of 639 out of 3720 implies that many other combinations—likely those with higher-end GPUs or different CPU-GPU balances—achieve better frame rates in this specific title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 214 FPS, which is more than enough for any high-refresh-rate display. Medium settings reduce this to 152 FPS (with a minimum of 130 and maximum of 175), High settings yield 135 FPS, and Ultra settings still manage 118 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 96 FPS, indicating that the RTX 4070 SUPER has substantial headroom even at maximum settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain highly playable but show the expected decline. Low settings average 162 FPS, Medium drops to 115 FPS (with a range of 98 to 133), High achieves 102 FPS, and Ultra settles at 89 FPS. The percentage difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 45%, which is slightly larger than the 45% difference at 1080p (214 vs 118), suggesting that higher resolutions amplify the impact of settings on GPU workload.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show its limits for 60 FPS gaming. Low settings average 110 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium drops to 78 FPS (with a minimum of 66 and maximum of 90), High falls to 69 FPS, and Ultra hits exactly 60 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is particularly interesting because it lands precisely on the 60 FPS mark, suggesting that the game or driver may have a frame rate cap at this combination, or that the hardware is perfectly balanced to hit this target. The Medium settings at 4K show a minimum of 66 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold but could dip below during intense scenes, making High or Ultra the safer choices for consistent 60 FPS play.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the AD104 chip using a 5 nm process from TSMC, with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. It operates at a base clock of 1980 MHz and boosts to 2475 MHz, with memory clocked at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical specification for Control's high-resolution textured environments.

The GPU's 7168 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 80 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s. These specifications translate to 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, which is the raw processing power that drives the frame rates observed in the data. The measured results show that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, where the 60 FPS Ultra result suggests it is fully saturated.

The 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 43223, places the RTX 4070 SUPER in a competitive position, but its nearest rivals are notably close. The Quadro M6000 24 GB scores 43262 (-0.1% delta), and the RTX 5050 Mobile scores 43268 (-0.1% delta), indicating that the desktop RTX 4070 SUPER is only marginally ahead of these alternatives in aggregate benchmarks. In Control specifically, the GPU's 12 GB VRAM appears sufficient, as there is no indication of memory-related stuttering or frame drops in the measured data.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080 displays, Ultra settings at 118 FPS provide the best visual experience without sacrificing smoothness, as the frame rate remains well above 60 FPS and even high-refresh-rate 144 Hz monitors would benefit from the 118 FPS average. If a player prioritizes maximum frame rates, Low settings at 214 FPS would be the choice, but the visual fidelity loss is substantial.

At 2560x1440, High settings at 102 FPS offer the best balance, as they deliver a smooth experience while maintaining good visual quality. Medium settings at 115 FPS provide a slight frame rate advantage but may show noticeable graphical differences, while Ultra at 89 FPS is still playable but approaches the threshold where dips could become noticeable on 144 Hz displays. The data shows that High is the sweet spot for 1440p, providing 102 FPS average with no reported minimum frame drops.

For 3840x2160, the recommendation becomes more nuanced. Ultra settings at exactly 60 FPS are ideal for 60 Hz displays, as the frame rate matches the refresh rate perfectly. However, for players with variable refresh rate monitors, High settings at 69 FPS provide more headroom and reduce the risk of dropping below 60 FPS during intensive scenes. Medium settings at 78 FPS (with a minimum of 66) offer the best performance for 4K if visual fidelity can be slightly compromised. The 4K Low setting at 110 FPS is overkill for most displays and sacrifices too much visual quality for the frame rate gain.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700F a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 SUPER in Control?

A: No, the data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor across all resolutions. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 214 FPS, and frame rates scale consistently with resolution, suggesting the CPU has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU without constraining performance.

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the measured data shows exactly 60 FPS average at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This result suggests the hardware is precisely balanced to hit this target, whether through raw performance or a game-imposed cap.

Q: How does the i7-14700F compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i7-14700F scores 53620 in average benchmarks, which is nearly identical to the Intel Xeon 6505P (53701, -0.2% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (53288, 0.6% delta). These differences are within 1%, indicating very close performance levels.

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

A: High settings at 2560x1440 provide 102 FPS average, which represents the best balance between visual quality and performance. Ultra settings drop to 89 FPS, while Medium increases to 115 FPS but with reduced graphical fidelity.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB VRAM cause any issues in Control?

A: The measured data shows no indication of VRAM-related problems, as frame rates remain stable across all settings and resolutions. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory appears sufficient for this game's requirements.

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

A: This combination ranks 639th out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 17% of all configurations. This rank reflects its strong but not top-tier performance in this specific title.