Control

Control is a demanding action-adventure title that stresses both the CPU and GPU, and the data for the Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER shows a system that is exceptionally well-balanced for this game. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings indicate that this combination is capable of delivering a premium experience, though the optimal configuration depends heavily on the target display and desired visual fidelity. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results to provide clear settings guidance, examines the GPU’s role, and details how performance scales with resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data for this configuration reveals a clear hierarchy of performance across the four tested presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. For players seeking the highest possible frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers an average of 214.3 FPS, which is exceptionally high. However, this comes at a significant cost to visual quality. The data suggests that the Medium preset offers a far more balanced experience, providing a substantial leap in visual fidelity over Low while maintaining excellent performance. At 1080p, Medium yields an average of 153.6 FPS, which is a 40.7 FPS drop from Low but still far above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

For the best overall experience on a 1440p display, the High preset is the recommended starting point. It achieves an average of 101.9 FPS, which is smooth and responsive for this genre of game. The jump from Medium to High at this resolution is a smaller 13.6 FPS penalty (from 115.5 to 101.9 FPS), making it a worthwhile trade for the improved shadows, textures, and reflections. Pushing to Ultra at 1440p results in a 92.1 FPS average, which is still playable but begins to sacrifice performance for marginal visual gains. At 4K, the situation changes. The High preset delivers a 70.8 FPS average, which is the recommended target for a console-like experience. While the Ultra preset is playable at 59.8 FPS, the High preset provides a more comfortable performance margin above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring smoother gameplay in combat-heavy scenes.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER plays the pivotal role in this configuration’s performance profile. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides a 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, which is sufficient for the texture loads at all tested settings. The GPU’s architecture, based on the AD104 chip with 7168 shading units, is the primary driver of the frame rates observed. The boost clock of 2475 MHz ensures high computational throughput, which is directly reflected in the scaling between settings. The difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p is 99 FPS (214.3 down to 115.3), demonstrating that the GPU is being fully utilized as settings are increased.

The GPU’s compute capabilities are also relevant for the game’s physics and particle effects. The data shows that the card is not a bottleneck at lower settings, as the CPU is capable of feeding it frames well above 200 FPS. However, as the resolution and settings increase, the GPU’s workload becomes the limiting factor. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s 56 RT cores and 224 Tensor cores are present for features like ray tracing and DLSS, which are not part of the measured data but indicate the hardware is capable of supporting them. The GPU’s overall performance is further contextualized by its benchmark scores, such as a passmark_g3d score of 29995, which places it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. This data confirms that the RTX 4070 SUPER is a high-tier component that is well-matched to the i7-14700KF’s capabilities in this game.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a classic resolution scaling curve, where performance degrades as pixel count increases. From 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average frame rate drops from 138.1 FPS to 101.9 FPS, a reduction of 26.2%. This is a significant drop that indicates the GPU is becoming more heavily loaded as the pixel count increases. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings is even more pronounced, with the average falling from 101.9 FPS to 70.8 FPS, a 30.5% reduction. This pattern strongly suggests that the system is GPU-limited at higher resolutions, which is expected for a game with complex rendering.

The data also reveals how the CPU’s influence diminishes at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 214.3, which is a very high number that suggests the CPU is working hard to keep up. However, by 4K Low, the average drops to 110.6 FPS, a 48.4% reduction. This shows that the GPU’s rendering workload becomes the dominant factor at 4K, even on the Low preset. The frame rate gap between the Low and Ultra presets also widens with resolution. At 1080p, the gap is 99 FPS, but at 4K, the gap shrinks to 50.8 FPS (110.6 minus 59.8). This narrowing gap is a strong indicator that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the performance ceiling is being reached regardless of the settings. The system’s high CPU performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44557, is what allows it to push high frame rates at 1080p, but the GPU takes over as the primary limiter as resolution increases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p): The results at 1080p show a wide performance envelope. The Low preset achieves an average of 214.3 FPS, providing an extremely high refresh rate experience. Medium follows at 153.6 FPS, which is a 28.3% drop from Low. High is next at 138.1 FPS, a modest 10.1% reduction from Medium. The Ultra preset delivers 115.3 FPS, which is a 16.5% drop from High. These numbers show that the i7-14700KF is able to fully saturate the RTX 4070 SUPER at this resolution, with the CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads being more than sufficient for the game’s engine.

2560x1440 (1440p): At 1440p, the performance scales down proportionally. The Low preset averages 165 FPS, which is still an excellent result. Medium achieves 115.5 FPS, a 30% reduction from Low. High is at 101.9 FPS, a drop of 11.8% from Medium. The Ultra preset produces a 92.1 FPS average, which is a 9.6% penalty over High. The data shows that the gap between High and Ultra narrows at this resolution, suggesting the GPU is working harder to maintain the higher settings. This resolution is the sweet spot for this hardware, offering a balance between the high frame rates of 1080p and the visual clarity of 4K.

3840x2160 (4K): At 4K, the RTX 4070 SUPER is clearly the limiting component. The Low preset yields a 110.6 FPS average, which is a substantial 33% drop from the 1440p Low result. Medium follows at 79.7 FPS, a 31% reduction from Low. High achieves 70.8 FPS, an 11.2% drop from Medium. Finally, the Ultra preset averages 59.8 FPS, which dips below the 60 FPS mark. This data indicates that players targeting 4K will need to use the High preset to maintain a smooth frame rate, as the Ultra preset is not quite capable of sustaining 60 FPS on average. The 70.8 FPS at High is the recommended target for a 4K experience with this hardware.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 60 FPS experience at 4K with this hardware?

A: The High preset is the best choice for 4K, as it delivers an average of 70.8 FPS. The Ultra preset is not recommended for a locked 60 FPS experience, as it averages 59.8 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance gain is there from using the Low preset over High at 1440p?

A: The Low preset at 1440p averages 165 FPS, while High averages 101.9 FPS. This represents a 63.1 FPS increase, or about 62% more performance, by using the Low preset.

Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck at 1080p resolution?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the main bottleneck at 1080p, as the frame rates are very high. The Intel Core i7-14700KF has a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44557, which allows it to feed the GPU effectively. The GPU is still the primary limiter as settings are increased.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER capable of running the Ultra preset at 1440p?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 1440p produces an average of 92.1 FPS. This is a playable frame rate, though it is 10.7% slower than the High preset, which achieves 101.9 FPS.

Q: How does the performance drop from 1440p to 4K at High settings compare to the drop from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The drop from 1440p to 4K is larger. At High settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces the average FPS from 138.1 to 101.9 (a 36.2 FPS drop). Moving from 1440p to 4K reduces it from 101.9 to 70.8 (a 31.1 FPS drop).

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this system can achieve in Control?

A: The maximum average FPS recorded in the data is 214.3 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.