Control

Control pairs a 20-core Intel Core i7-14700KF with an 8 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, and the measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system that scales predictably with GPU load. The data shows a combination that ranks 658 out of 1636 tested configurations in this title, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. The RTX 4060 Ti, sitting at the 17th percentile among all GPUs in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, is the clear performance anchor here, while the CPU’s 96th percentile standing across all processors ensures it rarely becomes the bottleneck. Benchmark results indicate that Control’s demands shift decisively from the graphics card at 4K to a more balanced workload at 1080p, where the processor’s high single-thread and multi-thread scores can flex their muscles.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate curve from 1080p to 4K follows a steep and consistent decline that points directly at the GPU as the primary limiting component. At 1080p High settings, the system delivers 106 FPS, but moving to 1440p High drops that to 78.2 FPS, a reduction of roughly 27.8 FPS. Pushing further to 4K High yields just 51.4 FPS, which is a 51.5% decrease from the 1080p result. This pattern is consistent across all quality presets, suggesting that the RTX 4060 Ti’s 128-bit memory bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count rises.

The scaling behavior becomes even more telling when comparing the Low preset results. At 1080p Low, the system hits 162.6 FPS, which drops to 121 FPS at 1440p and then falls to 85 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Low settings is 77.6 FPS, showing that even with reduced graphical load, the GPU cannot maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions. This indicates that the 8 GB VRAM and the AD106 chip’s 4352 shading units are the ceiling, not the CPU. The i7-14700KF, with its 5.60 GHz boost clock and 6290 Cinebench R23 single-core score, has ample headroom to feed frames at these rates.

Interestingly, the scaling from 1440p to 4K is more punishing than from 1080p to 1440p at every preset. For example, at Medium settings, the drop from 1440p (86.6 FPS) to 4K (61 FPS) is 25.6 FPS, while the drop from 1080p (117.2 FPS) to 1440p is 30.6 FPS. This nonlinearity suggests that the memory bandwidth ceiling is hit somewhere between 1440p and 4K, where the 288.0 GB/s figure becomes the hard limit. The data shows that this system is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant settings compromises to stay above 60 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 85 FPS. At Medium it drops to 61 FPS, and at High it falls to 51.4 FPS. Ultra settings yield just 48.9 FPS, so 4K gaming requires turning down quality to stay smooth.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU scores 2913 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is identical to the GeForce GT 555M’s 2913 score (0% delta). It is 0.2% ahead of the RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB (2907) and 0.7% ahead of the GT 650M (2893), but 1.5% behind the GTX 860M (2959).

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Control?

A: The data shows 1080p is the sweet spot. At High settings it hits 106 FPS, and at Low it reaches 162.6 FPS. 1440p is playable with 78.2 FPS at High, but 4K at High falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the CPU holding back the GPU in this game?

A: No. The i7-14700KF ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs and has a 44557 Cinebench R23 multi-core score. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with GPU limitations, not CPU bottlenecks.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 87.9 FPS at 1080p Ultra to 67.7 FPS at 1440p Ultra, and then to 48.9 FPS at 4K Ultra. That is a 39 FPS loss from 1080p to 4K, a 44.4% reduction.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM cause issues at higher resolutions?

A: The measured data does not show explicit VRAM spillover, but the 128-bit bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely the reason 4K performance degrades so sharply. The card’s 17th percentile GPU ranking supports this interpretation.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB is the dominant factor in Control’s performance, and its specifications explain the measured frame rates. Built on the AD106 chip with 22,900 million transistors on a 5 nm process, the card operates at a base clock of 2310 MHz and a boost clock of 2535 MHz. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is modest by modern standards and appears to be the bottleneck at 4K.

The GPU’s 4352 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 48 ROPs produce a pixel rate of 121.7 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 344.8 GTexel/s. In synthetic testing, the card scores 2913 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it at the 17th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database are older mobile parts like the GT 555M (2913, 0% delta) and GT 650M (2893, 0.7% delta), which underscores its mid-range positioning. The RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB variant scores 2907, just 0.2% lower, indicating that the extra VRAM does not improve raw compute performance.

In Control specifically, the GPU’s role becomes clear when comparing the Low and Ultra presets at the same resolution. At 1080p, Low yields 162.6 FPS while Ultra drops to 87.9 FPS, a 74.7 FPS difference. At 4K, the spread is from 85 FPS (Low) to 48.9 FPS (Ultra), showing that the card’s compute and memory resources are stretched thin at higher pixel counts. The 160 W TDP and single 16-pin power connector suggest the card is power-efficient, but the 288.0 GB/s bandwidth remains a limiting factor for a game like Control that relies heavily on texture streaming and particle effects.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data covers three resolutions and four settings, providing a complete picture of this combo’s behavior in Control. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 162.6 FPS on Low, 117.2 FPS on Medium, 106 FPS on High, and 87.9 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a smooth degradation as quality increases, with the largest single step being from Low to Medium (45.4 FPS). The 1080p results are all above 85 FPS, indicating a highly playable experience regardless of settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop to 121 FPS on Low, 86.6 FPS on Medium, 78.2 FPS on High, and 67.7 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p results show a tighter clustering, with the gap between Low and Ultra shrinking to 53.3 FPS. This suggests that at 1440p, the GPU is starting to feel the pressure, but the i7-14700KF’s 28 threads and 33 MB of L3 cache are still feeding it adequately. The High preset at 1440p, at 78.2 FPS, remains above the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, the system produces 85 FPS on Low, 61 FPS on Medium, 51.4 FPS on High, and 48.9 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results reveal a hard ceiling, with even the Low preset unable to reach 90 FPS. The drop from 1440p High (78.2 FPS) to 4K High (51.4 FPS) is 26.8 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls below 50 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K gaming is only viable with Low or Medium settings, and even then, the margin above 60 FPS is thin at Medium (61 FPS).

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF plays a supporting role in Control, but its specifications ensure that it never becomes the bottleneck. With 20 cores and 28 threads, based on a 3.40 GHz base clock and 5.60 GHz boost clock, this Raptor Lake-R chip delivers exceptional multi-threaded performance. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 and single-core score of 6290 place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, and its Passmark multi-thread score of 52425 confirms its high-end positioning.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core i7-14700K (avg score 70074, 0% delta) and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (avg score 70420, -0.4% delta), showing that it trades blows with the fastest consumer chips. The AMD EPYC 9115 (69887, 0.3% delta) and Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 (71056, -1.3% delta) are also within a narrow band, indicating that the 14700KF is at the top of the desktop heap. In Control, this means the CPU can easily generate frames faster than the RTX 4060 Ti can render them.

Evidence of the CPU’s adequacy comes from the fact that 1080p Low settings produce 162.6 FPS, which is a frame rate that would stress a weaker processor. The 5.60 GHz boost clock and 6290 Cinebench R23 single-core score are particularly relevant for Control’s physics and AI systems, which are typically single-threaded. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache further reduce latency, ensuring that the GPU receives a steady stream of draw calls. The 125 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 platform round out a package that is clearly not the limiting factor in this configuration.