Control

Control is a demanding action-adventure title that scales heavily with both CPU and GPU resources, and the combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces top-tier results across all tested resolutions. The benchmark data shows this pairing ranks first out of 2,888 tested combos, making it the definitive high-end setup for this game. This analysis breaks down how the system behaves across resolution and settings presets, what each component contributes, and where the optimal experience lies.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, with the most significant drops occurring between 1080p and 4K. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 188 FPS at 1920x1080 to 142 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 46 FPS, and then further down to 96 FPS at 3840x2160. This means that moving from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 24% of the performance, while jumping from 1440p to 4K costs another 32%. The overall transition from 1080p to 4K at High settings results in a 49% drop in average FPS, which is substantial but still leaves the game highly playable at the highest resolution.

The Low preset shows a steeper absolute decline, with average FPS going from 298 at 1080p down to 225 at 1440p and finally 152 at 4K. While the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 49% here as well, the absolute numbers remain extremely high, indicating that even at 4K Low, the system is nowhere near being CPU-bound. The Medium preset follows suit, with 211 FPS at 1080p, 160 FPS at 1440p, and 108 FPS at 4K, while the Ultra preset delivers 163 FPS, 124 FPS, and 83 FPS respectively across the three resolutions. The gap between Medium and Ultra widens as resolution increases, suggesting that the GPU is doing more work per frame at higher pixel counts.

This scaling behavior points to the RTX 5090 D being the primary limiting factor at 4K, particularly on the Ultra preset where the average dips below 90 FPS. At 1080p, the frame rates on Low (298 FPS) and even Medium (211 FPS) are so high that the CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads are likely keeping up without bottlenecking, but the performance ceiling is still dictated by the GPU’s ability to push pixels. The data indicates that for players targeting 1440p or 1080p, the system has ample headroom, but 4K Ultra represents the first scenario where the GPU’s raw throughput becomes the constraining factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache, which provides substantial memory bandwidth for game logic and physics calculations. In Control, the CPU’s role is most evident at lower resolutions and higher frame rates, where the data shows 298 FPS on Low at 1080p, indicating that the processor is capable of feeding frames to the GPU without becoming a bottleneck.

Benchmark scores for the i7-14700KF place it in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70,163. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, scores 69,996 with a delta of 0.2%, meaning the Intel chip is marginally faster, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X trails by 0.9% with a score of 69,515. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K actually leads slightly, scoring 70,879 with a -1% delta, but the performance difference is negligible in real-world gaming. In multi-core workloads like Cinebench R23, the i7-14700KF scores 44,167 points, and its single-core score of 6,235 indicates strong per-thread performance that benefits games with light threading.

For Control specifically, the CPU’s high single-thread performance and 28 threads ensure that even at 1080p Low where the frame rate reaches 298 FPS, the processor maintains consistent frame delivery. The measured FPS values show that the gap between Low and Medium at 1080p is 87 FPS (298 vs 211), which is a larger difference than the 65 FPS gap at 4K (152 vs 108), suggesting that at lower resolutions the CPU has more influence over the final frame rate. However, the data does not show any CPU-related stutter or frame time issues, as the min FPS values for Medium settings are 180 FPS at 1080p and 136 FPS at 1440p, which are well above playable thresholds.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a massive GPU built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. It comes with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for high-resolution textures and effects. The GPU’s clock speeds are 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost, and it delivers 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, making it one of the most powerful cards available.

In Control, the GPU’s role is most pronounced at 4K resolution, where the pixel count demands significant memory bandwidth and shading power. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 83, which is the lowest recorded value across all settings, indicating that the GPU is fully saturated. The jump from 4K High (96 FPS) to 4K Ultra (83 FPS) is a 13 FPS loss, while moving from 4K Medium (108 FPS) to 4K High (96 FPS) costs 12 FPS, showing that each settings tier reduces the GPU headroom. At 1440p, the GPU has more breathing room, with Ultra delivering 124 FPS and High at 142 FPS, and at 1080p, even Ultra stays above 160 FPS.

The RTX 5090 D’s benchmark scores place it in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 77,712. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, which scores 76,904 with a 1.1% delta, and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which scores 78,940 with a -1.6% delta, meaning the NVIDIA card is slightly slower than the latter in synthetic tests. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB and 16 GB versions score 79,396 and 79,605 respectively, with deltas of -2.1% and -2.4%, indicating that the RTX 5090 D is a bit behind those workstation cards in raw compute, though this has little bearing on gaming performance. In Control, the GPU’s 32 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient, and the data does not show any memory-related performance degradation.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 1 out of 2,888 tested combos in Control, which is the top spot in the entire database for this game. This ranking is a direct result of the CPU’s strong multi-core and single-core performance, paired with the GPU’s massive throughput and memory bandwidth. The combo’s dominance is consistent across all resolutions and settings, with no scenario where another pairing would provide a higher average FPS based on the measured data.

The rank indicates that this setup is the best possible configuration for Control among all tested combinations, which includes a wide range of CPUs and GPUs. The i7-14700KF’s 94th percentile CPU ranking and the RTX 5090 D’s 92nd percentile GPU ranking combine to create a system that maximizes frame rates, especially at 1080p and 1440p where the CPU can keep up with the GPU’s output. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU becomes the bottleneck, the combo still delivers 83 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target for most players.

The ranking also suggests that the system is well-balanced for this title, as neither component is severely underutilized. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 298 FPS, which is near the practical limit for most displays, and at 4K Ultra, it stays above playable levels. For players with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, the combo delivers 142 FPS on High settings, which is smooth and responsive, while 4K players can still enjoy High settings at 96 FPS without needing to drop to Medium.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 188 FPS, which is ideal for 144Hz or 165Hz monitors, while the Ultra preset at 163 FPS is also viable for high-refresh displays. The Medium preset at 211 FPS offers even more headroom, but the visual quality gains from High or Ultra are likely worth the slight FPS reduction. For 1080p, the Low preset at 298 FPS is only useful for competitive play where every frame counts, but the visual downgrade is significant.

At 2560x1440, the High preset provides 142 FPS, which is excellent for most gaming monitors, and the Ultra preset at 124 FPS is still smooth for 120Hz displays. The Medium preset at 160 FPS offers a higher frame rate but sacrifices visual fidelity, and the data suggests that High is the sweet spot for balancing image quality and performance at this resolution. For players with 144Hz 1440p monitors, High settings are recommended, as they stay above the refresh rate, while Ultra is a fallback for those who prioritize graphics over frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 96 FPS, which is playable on 60Hz displays and most 120Hz TVs, while the Ultra preset at 83 FPS is still above 60 FPS but may show occasional dips. The Medium preset at 108 FPS is the best option for 4K if you want to maintain a high frame rate, but the visual difference between Medium and High is noticeable. The Low preset at 152 FPS is not recommended at 4K, as the resolution already provides sharpness, and lowering other settings reduces immersion. Overall, the data indicates that High settings at 1440p offer the best balance of performance and visual quality, while 4K players should stick to High or Medium depending on their display’s refresh rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how the combo performs across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 298 FPS, the Medium preset averages 211 FPS with a minimum of 180 FPS and a maximum of 243 FPS, the High preset averages 188 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 163 FPS. These numbers show that the system is capable of exceeding 300 FPS at the lowest settings, but the frame rate drops by roughly 45% when moving to Ultra, which is a significant penalty for higher visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 225 FPS, the Medium preset averages 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 184 FPS, the High preset averages 142 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 124 FPS. The transition from Low to Medium costs 65 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs 18 FPS, indicating that the GPU is more stressed at this resolution. The minimum FPS on Medium at 136 FPS ensures that even in heavy scenes, the frame rate stays above 120 FPS, which is good for 144Hz displays.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 152 FPS, the Medium preset averages 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 124 FPS, the High preset averages 96 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 83 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 44 FPS, while the drop from High to Ultra is 13 FPS, and the minimum FPS on Medium at 92 FPS indicates that the system can maintain a stable experience just above 90 FPS. The data shows that 4K Ultra is the most demanding scenario, with an average of 83 FPS, but it remains playable. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset has the most complete data with min and max FPS, showing consistent performance without major frame time spikes.