Control

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers a playable but not dominant experience in Control, placing the combo at rank 1151 out of 1636 tested combinations. This position, falling in the 30th percentile of all tested hardware pairings, indicates that while the system is far from the bottom of the stack, it is outperformed by a substantial majority of configurations. The ranking reflects a fundamental imbalance: the CPU is a top-tier performer, sitting in the 96th percentile of all processors, while the GPU, in the 63rd percentile, acts as the limiting factor. Benchmark results show the system is capable of exceeding 60 FPS at 1080p, but struggles to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions, making the experience heavily dependent on settings and resolution choices.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame of 1151 out of 1636 places this configuration in the lower-middle tier of tested systems for Control. This is a surprisingly low standing for a processor as powerful as the Core i7-14700KF, which achieves an average benchmark score of 70104 and outperforms its nearest rivals in synthetic tests. The data shows the CPU is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-14700K, which scores 70074, and is slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 9115 by 0.3 percent. It also leads the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X by 0.4 percent and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 by 1.3 percent. However, this processing headroom is wasted in Control, where the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, with an average benchmark score of 19774, becomes the bottleneck. The GPU sits just 0.3 percent behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN and 0.5 percent behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070. The result is a system that cannot translate its CPU strength into high in-game rankings because the graphics card cannot keep pace with the demands of the title at higher settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured frame rate data indicates that the "Low" preset is the only setting level that consistently provides a fluid experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 117.9 FPS, which is a significant margin above the 82.5 FPS of Medium and the 74.4 FPS of High. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 67.1 FPS, which is still playable but begins to approach the threshold where frame pacing becomes noticeable. Moving to 1440p, the Low preset maintains a solid 90 FPS, while Medium falls to 62.3 FPS and High to 55.3 FPS. At 4K, the Low preset manages 62.2 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS target, but every other setting falls below it. The data suggests that for a consistent experience, the Low preset is the safest choice, particularly for users who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity. The Medium preset is viable at 1080p and 1440p, but the drop from Low to Medium at 4K is a severe 20.4 FPS loss, indicating that the GPU lacks the headroom for this setting at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate degradation from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting component. At the High preset, performance drops from 74.4 FPS at 1080p to 55.3 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 19.1 FPS, and then to 40.2 FPS at 4K, a total drop of 34.2 FPS from the baseline. This scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low, the system goes from 117.9 FPS at 1080p to 90 FPS at 1440p to 62.2 FPS at 4K. The percentage loss from 1080p to 4K is substantial, with the High preset losing 46 percent of its frame rate and the Low preset losing 47.2 percent. This steep decline is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload increases exponentially with pixel count. The CPU, which is capable of much higher frame rates, is not the constraint here. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth on the RTX 2060 SUPER are being saturated at higher resolutions, leading to the observed performance collapse.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 117.9 FPS, which is more than double the 4K Low result. Medium produces 82.5 FPS, High produces 74.4 FPS, and Ultra produces 67.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 50.8 FPS, showing a wide range of performance depending on settings. At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop considerably. The Low preset delivers 90 FPS, which is a strong result, but Medium falls to 62.3 FPS, High to 55.3 FPS, and Ultra to 52.1 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium at 1440p is 27.7 FPS, indicating that the Medium preset demands significantly more from the GPU. At 3840x2160, the system struggles. Only the Low preset, at 62.2 FPS, manages to stay above 60 FPS. Medium falls to 41.8 FPS, High to 40.2 FPS, and Ultra to 33.5 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is effectively unplayable, with a frame rate that is 84.4 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. The data shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 2060 SUPER is only comfortable at 1080p and 1440p with lower settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the decisive component in this configuration. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, paired with a 256-bit bus, provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is adequate for 1080p but becomes strained at higher resolutions. The GPU has 2176 shading units and a boost clock of 1650 MHz, which translates to an FP32 performance of 7.181 TFLOPS. These specifications put the card in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 19774 places it just 0.3 percent behind the GeForce GTX TITAN and 0.5 percent behind the GeForce RTX 2070. In Control, the GPU’s limitations are exposed by the demanding visual effects. The RTX 2060 SUPER includes 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores, but the game’s use of ray tracing and high-resolution textures appears to overwhelm the card at 4K. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra, 33.5 FPS, is a clear indication that the GPU is maxed out. The card’s 12 nm process node and 175 W TDP are also factors, as they limit the thermal and power headroom available for sustained boost clocks during extended gaming sessions. The data confirms that the GPU, not the CPU, determines the playability of this title.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU and GPU combination in Control?*

A: The combo ranks 1151 out of 1636 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of tested systems.

Q: Which settings preset provides the highest frame rate at 1080p?

A: The Low preset achieves the highest average frame rate at 1080p, delivering 117.9 FPS.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Only the Low preset at 4K manages to exceed 60 FPS, with an average of 62.2 FPS. All other settings at 4K fall below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70104, which is 0.3 percent higher than the AMD EPYC 9115 and 0.4 percent higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth and how does it affect performance?

A: The GPU has a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows a significant frame rate drop at 4K, indicating the bandwidth and memory capacity are insufficient for that resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU is in the 96th percentile of all processors, but the GPU is in the 63rd percentile. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent decline that is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck.