Control

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB produces a distinctive performance profile in Control, one that shifts from a fluid 1080p experience to a more demanding 4K challenge. The measured data indicates a system where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the 20-core processor provides ample headroom. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results to explain how this specific combination behaves across the game’s four quality presets and three resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, clearly illustrating the GPU’s workload scaling. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 102 FPS at 1920x1080 to 77 FPS at 2560x1440, and ultimately to 52 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 49% reduction in performance from the lowest to the highest resolution tested. The progression is not linear; the jump from 1440p to 4K costs 25 FPS, while the jump from 1080p to 1440p costs 25 FPS as well, showing a consistent scaling pattern for this preset.

The Ultra preset shows a similar trend, dropping from 88 FPS at 1080p to 67 FPS at 1440p, and then to 45 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that dips below the 50 FPS threshold, indicating that this setting pushes the RTX 5060 Ti to its limits. The data suggests that the GPU is the limiting component in this scenario; the frame rate decline is directly proportional to the pixel count increase, which is a classic sign of a fill-rate or pixel-throughput bottleneck.

Interestingly, the Low preset at 4K achieves 82 FPS, which is higher than the High preset at 1440p (77 FPS). This indicates that while resolution is a major factor, the quality settings have an equally significant impact on the GPU’s workload. The scaling between presets at a fixed resolution shows that the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB has enough raw compute power to handle the game’s effects, but the memory bandwidth and capacity become stressed as both resolution and visual fidelity increase. The 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 8 GB frame buffer appears to be a constraint at 4K, particularly with higher texture quality settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience balances visual fidelity with playable frame rates. For 1080p displays, the Ultra preset is the clear choice, as it maintains an average of 88 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS target and provides the most detailed visuals without sacrificing smoothness. The High preset at 1080p offers an average of 102 FPS, which is a 16% improvement over Ultra, but the visual difference between these presets is often minimal in action scenes.

At 1440p, the High preset emerges as the recommended configuration. It delivers an average of 77 FPS, which is comfortable for most gamers, and it avoids the performance hit of Ultra (67 FPS). The Medium preset at 1440p achieves 87 FPS, but the leap from Medium to High is often worth the 10 FPS sacrifice for improved texture and shadow quality. The data shows that High settings at 1440p provides a 15% performance buffer over Ultra, ensuring more consistent frame pacing.

For 4K resolution, the situation becomes more nuanced. The High preset produces 52 FPS, which is playable but may not feel smooth to all users. The Medium preset provides a more stable experience at 58 FPS, with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 67 FPS. This is the only preset at 4K that offers a minimum FPS above 48, suggesting it is the most consistent choice. The Low preset at 4K achieves 82 FPS, but the graphical compromises are significant. Therefore, the Medium preset at 4K is the best compromise for maintaining visual quality while ensuring a playable frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a high-end desktop processor with 20 cores and 28 threads, based on the Raptor Lake-R architecture. Its benchmark results show exceptional multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44167 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 52425. This processing power is far more than Control requires, as the game is not known for being CPU-intensive.

The CPU’s high boost clock of 5.60 GHz and strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6235, ensure that the game’s main thread is never a bottleneck. The data supports this; at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 161 FPS, which is a frame rate that would likely be limited by the GPU’s pixel throughput rather than the CPU’s instruction throughput. Even at this low resolution and quality setting, the GPU is still the primary constraint.

The processor’s 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data storage for the game’s physics and AI calculations. The 125 W TDP and 10 nm process node are typical for a desktop processor of this generation. In the context of this game, the i7-14700KF’s role is to provide a stable platform that never introduces frame time spikes. The benchmark data shows no signs of CPU-related stuttering, as the minimum FPS values for the Medium preset are consistent across all resolutions (97 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 50 FPS at 4K), which are proportional to the average FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB ranks 1094 out of 2888 tested combos for Control. This places it in the top 38% of all tested systems, indicating a solid mid-to-high tier performance level. The rank is likely held back by the GPU’s performance, as the CPU is exceptionally powerful.

The CPU alone sits in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 94% of its peers in synthetic benchmarks. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, score within 1% of the i7-14700KF’s average benchmark score of 70163. This shows that the CPU is on par with the best available processors.

The GPU, however, sits in only the 29th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 4901. Its nearest rivals in the Passmark G3D test include the AMD FirePro W5130M and the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450, which are significantly older and less powerful. This disparity explains the combo’s overall rank; the system is effectively a top-tier CPU paired with a mid-range GPU. In a game like Control, the GPU’s relative weakness limits the system’s overall ranking, preventing it from reaching the upper echelons of the benchmark database.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The system achieves an average of 102 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: Is the 4K Ultra preset playable with this hardware?

A: The measured data shows an average of 45 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which falls below the standard 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70163, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F’s score of 69996.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS recorded at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 74 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU’s performance percentile compare to the CPU’s?

A: The GPU sits in the 29th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 94th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 4K?

A: The average FPS at 3840x2160 is 82 with Low settings and 45 with Ultra settings, a difference of 37 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data presents the exact average frame rates measured for this hardware configuration in Control.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 161 FPS on Low, 114 FPS on Medium, 102 FPS on High, and 88 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS. This resolution provides the highest performance, with all presets exceeding the 60 FPS target.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 122 FPS on Low, 87 FPS on Medium, 77 FPS on High, and 67 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p results in a 24% performance drop for the High preset.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates drop to 82 FPS on Low, 58 FPS on Medium, 52 FPS on High, and 45 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 67 FPS. This is the only resolution where the Ultra preset fails to maintain a playable average frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB is the clear limiting factor in this configuration for Control. Its 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes restrictive at 4K. The GPU’s 4608 shading units and 144 texture mapping units are capable of processing the game’s effects, but the frame buffer size appears to be the primary constraint.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2572 MHz and 23.70 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are respectable for its class. However, the benchmark results show that it falls behind in synthetic tests, with a Passmark G3D score of 21981. This score places it in the 29th percentile, indicating that it is a mid-range part. The GPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the AMD FirePro W5130M and NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450, which have nearly identical average scores (4904 and 4893, respectively). This suggests that while the RTX 5060 Ti has modern features like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 support, its raw compute performance is not significantly higher than much older parts.

In Control, the GPU’s limitations are most visible at 4K resolution. The difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings is a 49% drop in average FPS, which is a larger decline than what would be expected from a purely compute-bound workload. This indicates that memory bandwidth and capacity are the bottlenecks. The 8 GB frame buffer is likely being saturated by the game’s high-resolution textures and effects, forcing the GPU to manage memory more aggressively and reducing overall throughput.