Control

Control is an Action Adventure title from 2019 that stresses both GPU rasterization and CPU physics, and the measured results for the Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 show a system that is exceptionally well-balanced. The data indicates a clear hierarchy where the RTX 5080 dominates the visual load as resolution increases, while the 20-core processor keeps frame pacing consistent at lower resolutions. The benchmark results place this combination in the 75th percentile out of 1636 tested combos, which signals a top-tier pairing for this specific game, though the scaling patterns reveal where the bottlenecks emerge.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, which is typical for a GPU-bound title at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 259.7 at 1920x1080 to 132.9 at 3840x2160, a reduction of roughly 49%. This is a massive performance hit that points squarely at the RTX 5080’s rendering limits rather than any CPU constraint. The same pattern holds at Medium settings, where the average drops from 187.4 at 1080p to 95.6 at 4K, a 49% decline. High settings show a similar trend, moving from 163.7 down to 81.4, which is a 50% loss. Ultra settings are the heaviest, going from 145.8 at 1080p to 73 at 4K, a 50% reduction.

The consistency of that ~50% drop across all settings is telling. It suggests that the scaling is purely resolution-driven, meaning the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors at 4K. The RTX 5080’s 960.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 293.1 GPixel/s pixel rate are being saturated, and the data shows that no amount of CPU headroom can compensate. Conversely, the gap between 1080p and 1440p is smaller but still significant: at Low settings, FPS drops from 259.7 to 199.2, a 23% decrease. This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is starting to become more relevant, but the GPU is still the primary driver of performance. The fact that the 4K Ultra result of 73 FPS is still playable shows the raw power of this card, but the scaling curve makes it clear that 4K is where the RTX 5080 works hardest.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. At High settings, the average FPS is 122.4, which is smooth for a fast-paced action game, while 4K Ultra drops to 73 FPS, which may feel less fluid for some players.

Q: How much faster is Low settings compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings deliver an average of 259.7 FPS, while Ultra produces 145.8 FPS. That is a 78% increase in frame rate, which is substantial for competitive play or high refresh rate monitors.

Q: Does the RTX 5080 bottleneck the i7-14700KF at 4K?

A: Yes, based on the scaling data. The FPS drops by roughly half from 1080p to 4K at every setting level, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU’s 20 cores and high boost clock are not the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with max settings?

A: The measured Ultra preset at 3840x2160 shows an average of 73 FPS, which exceeds 60 FPS. However, the margin is not huge, and any demanding scenes could push it lower, so a slight settings tweak might be needed for a locked 60.

Q: How does the i7-14700KF compare to its closest rival in raw CPU benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70104, which is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-14700K at 70074, showing a deltaPct of 0. It is also 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, which scores 70420.

Q: What is the launch MSRP for the RTX 5080?

A: The launch MSRP is $999 USD. The data does not include any information on street pricing or availability.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the undisputed workhorse in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured frame rates. The card features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, which provides 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is crucial for Control, a game that loads large textures and complex environments, and the high bandwidth prevents stuttering at higher resolutions. The GPU’s base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2617 MHz, and it has 10752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. The pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s are what allow it to push those high average FPS numbers at 1080p and 1440p.

The benchmark data shows the RTX 5080 holds a percentile rank of 89 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 59188. Its nearest rivals in raw compute are the Intel Arc A570M, which scores 58239 and is 1.6% behind, and the Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60326, which is 1.9% ahead. This places the RTX 5080 in a strong position, but the in-game results are what matter most. The 4K Ultra result of 73 FPS is impressive, but the fact that it drops from 132.9 at Low settings to 73 at Ultra highlights how much the visual presets tax the GPU. The 16 GB VRAM is also notable, as it ensures the game does not run out of memory even at 4K with high-resolution textures, which is a common pitfall for cards with less capacity.

Settings Recommendations

If you are targeting a 4K display, the measured data suggests that the High preset is the sweet spot. At 3840x2160, High settings deliver 81.4 FPS, which is a 12% improvement over the Ultra preset’s 73 FPS, with likely comparable visual quality in most scenes. The Medium preset at 4K offers 95.6 FPS, which is a massive jump from Ultra, but the visual differences between Medium and High are usually more noticeable in a game like Control that relies on atmospheric effects. For 1440p, the High preset is again recommended, as it hits 122.4 FPS, which is well above the 107.1 FPS seen at Ultra, and the visual drop is minor. At 1080p, the High preset at 163.7 FPS is more than enough for any high refresh rate monitor, and pushing to Ultra at 145.8 FPS still leaves headroom.

The Low preset is not recommended for any resolution above 1080p, as it sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a frame rate that is already high. The data shows that Low at 1440p yields 199.2 FPS, but the game’s lighting and physics are a large part of its appeal, so that trade-off is rarely worth it. The Ultra preset is viable for those who prioritize image quality over raw frame rate, but the 73 FPS at 4K is close to the edge of what is comfortable for a fast-paced action game. The best approach is to start with High, and only adjust if you need more performance or want to push for a higher refresh rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS values provide a complete picture of this combo’s performance. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 259.7 at Low, 187.4 at Medium, 163.7 at High, and 145.8 at Ultra. These numbers are exceptionally high, indicating that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution, and the RTX 5080 is free to render at its fullest potential. Moving to 2560x1440, the results are still excellent: Low hits 199.2 FPS, Medium 143.1 FPS, High 122.4 FPS, and Ultra 107.1 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant but leaves plenty of performance for high refresh rate gaming.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits. The average FPS at Low is 132.9, which is still very playable, but Medium drops to 95.6, High to 81.4, and Ultra to 73. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is a 45% reduction, which shows how much the higher quality settings impact the rendering pipeline. The data across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 5080 delivers playable frame rates even at the highest settings, but the gap between presets widens as resolution increases. This is expected behavior for a GPU that is pushing a large number of pixels, and the 16 GB VRAM ensures that texture quality does not cause any sudden drops.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF provides the computational backbone for this system, and its specifications are highly relevant to Control’s physics-heavy gameplay. The CPU has 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This high boost clock is critical for single-threaded performance, which Control uses for its physics simulations and AI logic. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache also helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency. The processor’s benchmark scores reflect its strength: it achieves a 44557 in Cinebench R23 multicore and a 6290 in single-core, with a Geekbench multicore score of 19287.

The CPU’s percentile rank is 96 against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 70104. Compared to its nearest rivals, it is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-14700K at 70074, and it is 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, which scores 70420. This indicates that the i7-14700KF is at the very top of the consumer CPU hierarchy, and it is not a limiting factor in this game. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (259.7) is so high that it suggests the CPU can feed the GPU faster than most displays can refresh, and the 1440p results confirm that the processor has ample headroom. Only at 4K does the GPU become the clear bottleneck, and even then, the CPU ensures consistent frame times without stutter, thanks to its 20 cores handling background tasks efficiently.