Control

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a highly capable Control experience, but the data reveals that the GPU is the definitive bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p, this combo provides excellent headroom, while at 4K, it struggles to maintain smooth framerates on demanding presets. The combo ranks in the 60th percentile of all tested configurations, indicating solid but not top-tier performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 81.6. This drops to 73.4 at Ultra settings, showing a 10% performance cost for the highest preset at this resolution.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 63.9 on Low settings to 35.0 on Ultra. The High preset yields 42.4 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: Which component is the limiting factor in this system?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter. The RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB of VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are challenged by 4K textures, while the i7-14700K's 20 cores and 5.60 GHz boost clock provide ample processing headroom.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The average FPS at 2560x1440 is 97.5 on Low and 56.7 on Ultra. This represents a 41.8% decrease in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Is this GPU comparable to any modern mobile parts?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER's average benchmark score of 22206 is within 2.3% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile, which scores 22729. This places the desktop card in a similar performance tier to that laptop GPU.

Q: Does the CPU show any signs of bottlenecking in this game?

A: No. The i7-14700K scores in the 96th percentile of all CPUs and its nearest rival, the i7-14700KF, has a deltaPct of 0. This suggests the processor has significant headroom, and the frame rates are overwhelmingly dictated by GPU load.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It operates at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boosts up to 5.60 GHz, making it a top-tier gaming and productivity chip. In the context of Control, a game that is not heavily multithreaded, the CPU's high boost clock is more critical than its core count. The data shows the CPU is not a limiting factor in this pairing, as its performance metrics are far beyond what the game requires.

This processor's benchmark scores are exceptional. It achieves a multi-core score of 44534 in Cinebench R23 and a single-core score of 6287. In PassMark, its multithread score is 52392 and its single-thread score is 4472. These figures place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, outperforming the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X by 0.5% and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 by 1.4% in average benchmark scores. Since the FPS numbers in this game scale more with GPU capability, the i7-14700K's raw power ensures it will not create a bottleneck, allowing the RTX 2070 SUPER to be the primary determinant of frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a 12 nm process node. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1605 MHz and boosts to 1770 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). With 2560 shading units and 40 RT cores, it is a capable DirectX 12 Ultimate part.

The GPU's performance is the defining factor in this combo's results. At 1080p, the card has enough horsepower to push frame rates from 73.4 FPS on Ultra to 132.5 FPS on Low, indicating significant headroom. However, at 4K, the 8 GB VRAM capacity and bandwidth become a constraint. The transition from 1080p to 4K on High settings sees a 48% drop in average FPS, falling from 81.6 to 42.4. This highlights that the RTX 2070 SUPER's memory subsystem is the main bottleneck at higher resolutions, not the compute cores. Its PassMark G3D score of 18169 puts it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, just behind the RTX 4060 Mobile.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a smooth experience across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 132.5 FPS, Medium 95.6 FPS, High 81.6 FPS, and Ultra 73.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 59.1 FPS, showing that the GPU has more than enough power for high refresh-rate monitors at this resolution, even with maxed-out graphics.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but the scaling is more pronounced. Low settings yield 97.5 FPS, a 26.4% drop from 1080p. Medium averages 71.5 FPS, High 62.3 FPS, and Ultra 56.7 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result is below 60 FPS, suggesting that players seeking a locked 60 FPS may need to adjust settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations are evident. Low settings average 63.9 FPS, which is still playable. However, Medium drops to 48.7 FPS, High to 42.4 FPS, and Ultra falls to a demanding 35.0 FPS. The 4K High and Ultra presets are not ideal for a 60 FPS target, indicating that this resolution requires lower quality settings or a more powerful GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is ranked 983 out of 1636 tested combos for Control. This places it in the 60th percentile, meaning it outperforms a majority of systems but is not among the elite. The rank reflects the balance between a high-end CPU and a mid-range GPU.

The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's performance ceiling. While the i7-14700K is in the 96th percentile of CPUs, the RTX 2070 SUPER sits in the 65th percentile of GPUs. This mismatch means that in a GPU-bound scenario like Control at high resolutions, the combo's overall performance is capped by the graphics card. Systems with lower-end CPUs but faster GPUs would likely rank higher in this specific game due to the GPU-centric workload.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution. For 1080p, the High preset is the sweet spot, delivering an average of 81.6 FPS. This provides a significant quality boost over Medium while maintaining a high frame rate. Ultra is also viable at 73.4 FPS for those prioritizing visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the Medium preset offers the best balance, averaging 71.5 FPS. This maintains smooth gameplay while providing better visuals than Low. The High preset at 62.3 FPS is also acceptable for most players, but the Ultra preset's 56.7 FPS may introduce noticeable stutter on high-refresh-rate displays.

For 4K, the Low preset is the only one that consistently stays above the 60 FPS threshold, averaging 63.9 FPS. The Medium preset at 48.7 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Given the significant frame rate drops at High and Ultra, players at 4K should prioritize the Low or Medium presets to maintain a fluid experience.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a clear trend of performance degradation as resolution increases. Going from 1080p to 1440p on High settings, the average FPS drops from 81.6 to 62.3, a 23.7% decrease. From 1080p to 4K, the drop is more severe, falling to 42.4 FPS, a 48% reduction. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound system.

At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU's performance can occasionally come into play. However, the consistent and steep drop-offs at higher resolutions confirm that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting component. The 4K results, in particular, show that the GPU's memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity are insufficient for the higher pixel count and texture demands. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 31.9% performance loss, further solidifying the GPU as the primary bottleneck. The CPU's role becomes negligible at these resolutions, as the frame rate is almost entirely dictated by the graphics card's ability to render frames.