Control

Control, the 2019 action-adventure title, presents a demanding environment that stresses both the CPU and GPU in distinct ways. For the configuration of the Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, the measured frame rates reveal a system that is exceptionally powerful, yet still subject to the traditional performance scaling rules as resolution and graphical fidelity increase. The data indicates a clear hierarchy where the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the high-core-count CPU ensures that even the lowest settings at 1080p produce frame rates well beyond typical display refresh rates. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data to interpret what it means for gameplay across different resolutions and settings, and how this specific combination ranks against the broader field of tested hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and clearly indicates a transition from a CPU-bound scenario to a GPU-bound one. At the "Low" settings preset, the average frame rate falls from 246 FPS at 1920x1080 to 186 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 60 FPS, and then further down to 126 FPS at 3840x2160. This steep decline, particularly the 60 FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p, suggests that at lower resolutions and settings, the Intel Core i7-14700KF is able to feed frames to the GPU faster than it can render them, meaning the CPU is the bottleneck. The frame rate is not limited by the graphics card but by the processor's ability to handle game logic and draw calls.

As graphical settings increase, the scaling pattern shifts. At the "High" preset, the average frame rate goes from 156 FPS at 1080p to 118 FPS at 1440p (a 38 FPS drop) and then to 79 FPS at 4K (a 39 FPS drop from 1440p). The transition from 1440p to 4K now produces a similar absolute FPS loss as the transition from 1080p to 1440p, which indicates that the GPU is becoming the dominant limiting factor. The workload is shifting from the CPU to the GPU as the resolution increases, because the GPU must render more pixels, taking on a larger share of the total frame time.

The most extreme scaling is observed at the "Ultra" preset. Here, the average frame rate drops from 135 FPS at 1080p to 102 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 69 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is roughly 49%, showing that the demand on the GPU is immense. The RTX 4080, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory, is clearly being tasked heavily. The data shows that at 1080p, the system is capable of delivering exceptionally high frame rates, but the experience is heavily dependent on the settings chosen, with the GPU's rendering capabilities becoming the sole determinant of performance as resolution scales up.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested hardware combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 holds a rank of 241 out of 3720 combos for Control. This places the system in the top 6.5% of all tested configurations, underscoring its high-end positioning. The percentile data for the individual components supports this; the CPU is in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. This combination of top-tier components results in a system that is positioned to handle this game with very high frame rates at most settings.

The performance of this combo is consistent with its component's individual standing. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, has an average score that is only 0.2% higher, indicating that the i7-14700KF is at the very top of the performance pyramid for its class. Similarly, the GPU's closest competitor, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, is just 0.1% faster on average. This suggests that the combo's ranking is not an outlier but a direct result of pairing two near-flagship components. The rank of 241 implies that there are 240 other combinations that can produce higher average frame rates in this specific title, but the vast majority of the 3720 tested combos will deliver a significantly lower performance level.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting a standard 60 FPS experience at 4K, the "High" preset is the optimal choice, delivering an average of 79 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining high visual quality. The "Ultra" preset at 4K yields an average of 69 FPS, which is still playable, but the average frame rate is closer to the edge and could dip lower in demanding scenes, making "High" the safer recommendation for a consistent experience. At 4K, the "Medium" preset offers 89 FPS, but the visual improvements from "High" are generally worth the 10 FPS average cost.

At 2560x1440, the system has ample headroom. The "Ultra" preset runs at an average of 102 FPS, making it the clear choice for a high-refresh-rate monitor. Players could also select "High" for an even smoother 118 FPS average, but the "Ultra" preset is well within the capabilities of the hardware. For 1080p gaming, all presets are viable. The "Ultra" preset provides an average of 135 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate displays. The "High" preset pushes this to 156 FPS, but the visual difference between "High" and "Ultra" may be more noticeable on a smaller screen. The data suggests that "Ultra" is the best experience for 1440p, while "High" offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance for 4K. The "Low" preset at 1080p produces 246 FPS, which shows the absolute ceiling of the CPU's capability but is not recommended due to the significant loss of visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance. At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptional across all settings. The "Low" preset achieves an average of 246 FPS, which is the highest recorded value in the dataset. The "Medium" preset averages 175 FPS with a minimum of 149 FPS and a maximum of 201 FPS, showing a stable frame time. "High" averages 156 FPS, and "Ultra" averages 135 FPS. The range of 111 FPS between the lowest and highest settings at this resolution demonstrates the substantial impact of graphical settings on frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high. The "Low" preset averages 186 FPS. "Medium" averages 132 FPS, with a minimum of 113 FPS and a maximum of 152 FPS. "High" averages 118 FPS, and "Ultra" averages 102 FPS. The performance scaling is more linear here, with each preset step costing roughly 15-30 FPS, indicating a more balanced load between CPU and GPU. At 3840x2160, the GPU is the clear bottleneck. The "Low" preset averages 126 FPS, "Medium" averages 89 FPS (with a min of 76 and max of 103), "High" averages 79 FPS, and "Ultra" averages 69 FPS. The difference between "Low" and "Ultra" at 4K is 57 FPS, showing how much the high-resolution rendering taxes the RTX 4080.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 plays a pivotal role in this system's performance, especially at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU is based on the AD103 chip and features 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output pipelines. It operates at a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz. Its memory subsystem is substantial, with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. This high bandwidth is crucial for feeding the large amounts of texture data required at 4K resolution.

The benchmark results confirm the GPU's strength. It scores 34457 in the Passmark G3D test and 6567 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is a significant factor in its ability to handle the complex rendering tasks in Control. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the GPU is the limiting factor, with the average frame rate dropping to 69 FPS. This is not a sign of weakness but rather evidence of the game's demanding nature at maximum settings. The GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs, and its near-identical performance to the RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% delta), positions it as a top-tier card that can handle 4K gaming with high settings, though it cannot maintain extremely high frame rates at the 'Ultra' preset without compromise.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF provides the computational muscle to prevent the system from being CPU-bound in most scenarios. With 20 cores and 28 threads, and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, this processor is a powerhouse. Its architecture, Raptor Lake-R, allows it to achieve a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44167 and a single-core score of 6235. This high single-thread performance is critical for games, as it directly impacts the frame rate when the GPU is not the bottleneck.

The data shows that at 1080p with the "Low" preset, the system reaches 246 FPS. This is a scenario where the CPU is likely the limiting factor, and its 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs ensures that it can handle the game's logic at an incredibly high rate. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, is 0.9% slower on average, and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is 0.2% faster, placing the i7-14700KF in a tight competitive cluster at the top. The CPU's Passmark multithread score of 52425 and single-thread score of 4480 further emphasize its capability. In this game, the CPU's role is to ensure that the GPU is fed with enough data to maintain high frame rates, and the data indicates it performs this task admirably, only becoming a potential bottleneck at the lowest resolutions and settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Control?

A: The highest recorded average frame rate is 246 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with the "Low" settings preset.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming smoothly?

A: Yes, at 4K resolution with the "High" preset, the system achieves an average of 79 FPS, which is above the standard 60 FPS target. The "Ultra" preset also runs at an average of 69 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in this combo?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score is 54247, which is 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER and 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X.

Q: At which resolution does the CPU become less of a bottleneck?

A: As resolution increases, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The frame rate drop from 1440p to 4K is more consistent across settings, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K.

Q: Is the "Ultra" preset playable at 1440p?

A: Yes, the "Ultra" preset at 2560x1440 achieves an average frame rate of 102 FPS, which is well-suited for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: What is the memory configuration of the GPU?

A: The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, which provides a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s.