Control

# CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor built on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This configuration provides a substantial foundation for handling both the single-threaded physics and scripting workloads that Action Adventure titles like Control typically present, as well as any background system tasks that may compete for processor time.

In terms of raw computational capability, the i7-14700K achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5 and a single-core score of 2160. The single-core result is particularly relevant for Control, which often relies on a single primary thread for game logic and world-state updates. A higher single-thread score translates directly to smoother frame pacing in scenes with complex AI or destruction events. The multi-core score of 18544 in Cinebench R20 and 5035 in Cinebench R15 further underscore the processor's ability to handle parallel workloads, though Control's engine is not known for scaling perfectly across 28 threads.

The processor's position in the broader market is solid, sitting at the 94th percentile of all CPUs tested on this benchmark database. Its average benchmark score of 69355 places it in close competition with notable rivals. The AMD EPYC 9115 scores 69288, a delta of 0.1% relative to the i7-14700K, meaning the Intel part holds a marginal edge. Conversely, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515, which is -0.2% below the i7-14700K in this database's context — effectively a statistical tie. The Ryzen 9 7940HX and Ryzen 7 9700F trail by 0.7% and 0.9% respectively, with scores of 69875 and 69996. These narrow margins indicate that the i7-14700K is positioned at the very top tier of consumer and workstation processors, and any performance differences in Control would be driven more by software optimization than by raw CPU headroom.

For Control specifically, the measured frame rates across all settings and resolutions show that the CPU is never the bottleneck at 1080p, even at Low settings where the average FPS reaches 246. This suggests the processor's 5.60 GHz boost clock is sufficient to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics updates without introducing frame-time spikes. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache also helps keep frequently accessed game data close to the cores, reducing memory latency that could otherwise impact frame rates in open environments.

# GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. It operates at a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, with memory running at 1400 MHz or 22.4 Gbps effective. The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory across a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. For a game like Control, which features heavy use of real-time ray tracing effects and high-resolution textures, this memory capacity and bandwidth are more than adequate to prevent texture streaming or geometry load stutters, even at 4K Ultra settings.

The RTX 4080's compute capabilities are impressive: 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units, along with 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores. This configuration delivers 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s. These specifications translate into the card's benchmark scores, including a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 and a Passmark G3D score of 34457. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 214739 and Vulkan score of 263779 further demonstrate the GPU's raw throughput.

In the database's ranking, the RTX 4080 sits at the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54209, a delta of 0.1% — the two cards are effectively identical in performance. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, which is -1.1% relative to the RTX 4080, indicating the NVIDIA card is slightly ahead. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and AMD Radeon 8060S score 55698 and 55757 respectively, placing them 2.6% and 2.7% behind the RTX 4080 in this database's measurements.

For Control's measured frame rates, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 69, while at 1080p Low it reaches 246. This wide spread is typical of a GPU-bound scenario at high resolutions, where the render resolution and shading complexity outpace the CPU's ability to feed frames. The 16 GB VRAM ensures that even the most demanding texture packs and ray tracing effects do not exceed memory capacity, which would otherwise cause severe frame drops. The 716.8 GB/s bandwidth also supports high-resolution rendering without memory bandwidth throttling.

# Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Analyzing the measured FPS across all settings presets at each resolution reveals a clear pattern for the best experience. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 246 FPS, which is exceptionally high but unnecessary for most displays. The Medium preset, with an average of 175 FPS and a minimum of 149 FPS, provides a more balanced experience — the minimum frame rate is still well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of many gaming monitors, and the extra visual fidelity from Medium over Low is substantial. The High preset averages 156 FPS, which is still excellent, but the Medium preset's 175 FPS average and 149 FPS minimum offer a slightly better safety margin for frame time consistency.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again emerges as the sweet spot. It averages 132 FPS with a minimum of 113 FPS and a maximum of 152 FPS. The High preset averages 118 FPS, which is close but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 186 FPS is overkill for most users, and the Ultra preset at 102 FPS, while playable, does not provide the same fluidity as Medium. The 113 FPS minimum at Medium ensures that even the most intense combat sequences with particle effects and debris remain smooth.

For 3840x2160, the recommendation shifts. At 4K, the Medium preset averages 89 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS. The High preset averages 79 FPS, which is lower but still playable. However, the Medium preset's 76 FPS minimum is the key differentiator — it avoids the sub-60 FPS dips that can occur in the Ultra preset, which averages 69 FPS. The Low preset at 126 FPS is viable for competitive play, but the visual downgrade is significant. For a balance of visual fidelity and performance at 4K, Medium is the recommended preset, as it maintains an average above 85 FPS while keeping the minimum above 75 FPS.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently offers the most favorable combination of average FPS, minimum FPS, and visual quality. It provides a meaningful improvement over Low settings in terms of texture detail and shadow quality, while avoiding the performance penalty of Ultra settings that can cause frame rates to dip below the refresh rate of high-end displays.

# How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 241 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places the pairing in the top 6.5% of all system configurations tested, which is a strong result given the broad range of hardware combinations in the database. The rank reflects the combined capability of the CPU and GPU to deliver high frame rates across all settings and resolutions.

In the context of the database's measured results, this rank indicates that the i7-14700K and RTX 4080 pairing is well-matched for Control. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking and the GPU's 86th percentile ranking both contribute to the overall combo performance, but the GPU's role is more significant at higher resolutions. The fact that the combo ranks 241st overall, rather than higher, suggests that there are a few configurations with more powerful GPUs (such as the RTX 4090 series) that outperform this pairing at 4K Ultra settings, where the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

However, the rank also shows that the i7-14700K does not hold back the RTX 4080. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 246 FPS, which is near the practical limit for most displays and indicates that the CPU can keep up with even the highest frame rate scenarios. The rank of 241 out of 3720 reflects the balance of this pairing — it is not the absolute fastest combination, but it offers consistent performance that places it ahead of the vast majority of tested systems. The deltaPct values from the CPU and GPU rivals suggest that minor upgrades (such as moving to a RTX 4080 SUPER, which has a 0.1% higher GPU score) would not significantly alter this ranking.

# Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear resolution scaling pattern that identifies the limiting component at each stage. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 246 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 186 FPS, a decrease of 60 FPS or 24.4%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 126 FPS, a further drop of 60 FPS or 32.3% from 1440p. This scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario at lower settings — the CPU has ample headroom, and the GPU's render load increases quadratically with resolution.

For the Medium preset, the scaling is similar but with slightly different magnitudes. At 1080p Medium, the average is 175 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 132 FPS, a decrease of 43 FPS or 24.6%. At 4K Medium, the average is 89 FPS, a drop of 43 FPS or 32.6% from 1440p. The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and Medium settings suggests that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints, as the CPU's workload does not scale significantly with resolution.

The High preset shows a similar trend: 156 FPS at 1080p, 118 FPS at 1440p (a 24.4% drop), and 79 FPS at 4K (a 33.1% drop from 1440p). The Ultra preset follows suit with 135 FPS at 1080p, 102 FPS at 1440p (a 24.4% drop), and 69 FPS at 4K (a 32.4% drop from 1440p).

These consistent percentage drops — approximately 24-25% from 1080p to 1440p and 32-33% from 1440p to 4K — indicate that the RTX 4080 is the limiting component across all settings. The CPU's performance headroom is sufficient to maintain frame delivery even at 1080p Low, where the frame rate reaches 246 FPS. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS at lower resolutions, with the frame rate not increasing as the resolution decreases. The data shows no such plateau; instead, FPS continues to rise at 1080p, confirming that the GPU's rendering throughput is the determining factor.

# Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average 246 FPS
• Medium: Average 175 FPS, minimum 149 FPS, maximum 201 FPS
• High: Average 156 FPS
• Ultra: Average 135 FPS

At 1080p, the RTX 4080 delivers exceptional frame rates across all presets. The Low setting provides 246 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. The Medium setting at 175 FPS averages with a 149 FPS minimum ensures smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. The High setting at 156 FPS remains highly playable, and Ultra at 135 FPS is still well above the standard 60 FPS threshold.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average 186 FPS
• Medium: Average 132 FPS, minimum 113 FPS, maximum 152 FPS
• High: Average 118 FPS
• Ultra: Average 102 FPS

At 1440p, the performance remains strong. The Low preset at 186 FPS provides a competitive advantage, while the Medium preset at 132 FPS average with a 113 FPS minimum offers a robust experience for most users. High at 118 FPS and Ultra at 102 FPS both stay above 100 FPS, making this resolution a sweet spot for high-refresh-rate gaming with the RTX 4080.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average 126 FPS
• Medium: Average 89 FPS, minimum 76 FPS, maximum 103 FPS
• High: Average 79 FPS
• Ultra: Average 69 FPS

At 4K, the GPU's limits become apparent. The Low preset at 126 FPS is still excellent, but the Medium preset at 89 FPS average with a 76 FPS minimum is the recommended choice for visual quality. High at 79 FPS and Ultra at 69 FPS are playable but begin to approach the 60 FPS threshold, especially in scenes with heavy ray tracing or particle effects. The minimum FPS data for the Medium preset (76 FPS) indicates that frame times remain consistent without severe drops, which is critical for maintaining a smooth experience at 4K.

# FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for the Intel Core i7-14700K and RTX 4080 combo in Control at 1440p High settings?

A: The average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 118 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 have enough VRAM for Control at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the RTX 4080 has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory with a 716.8 GB/s bandwidth. The measured average FPS at 4K Ultra is 69 FPS, which indicates no memory capacity or bandwidth limitations are causing stutters.

Q: How does the i7-14700K compare to the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X in benchmark scores?

A: The i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 69355, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515. The Ryzen 9 7950X is -0.2% relative to the i7-14700K, meaning the Intel processor is marginally ahead.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p 144Hz monitor?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 132 FPS with a minimum of 113 FPS, which is ideal for a 144Hz monitor. The High preset at 118 FPS average would also work but leaves less headroom for frame time spikes.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations in Control?

A: The combo ranks 241 out of 3720 tested configurations, placing it in the top 6.5% of all systems.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low settings?

A: The data shows the GPU is the limiting factor, as the frame rate reaches 246 FPS at 1080p Low. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would plateau at lower resolutions, but it continues to increase, confirming the GPU's rendering throughput is the constraint.