Control

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 produces a severely GPU-limited experience in Control. Benchmark results show that the framerate collapses as resolution climbs, confirming that the RX 570 is the primary constraint across all tested settings. At 4K Ultra, the combo delivers only 14.5 FPS, which is unplayable, while even at 1080p Low it barely reaches 55.8 FPS, indicating that this pairing cannot deliver a smooth experience at any resolution in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep and consistent performance drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average framerate falls from 34.9 FPS at 1080p to 27.7 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 7.2 FPS, and then plummets to 18.9 FPS at 4K, which is a 16.0 FPS loss from the 1080p baseline. This pattern is consistent across all quality presets. For instance, at Medium settings, the drop from 1080p to 4K is 18.8 FPS (39.3 to 20.5), and at Low settings, the drop is 25.2 FPS (55.8 to 30.6).

This behavior is a classic signature of a GPU bottleneck. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less severe than the jump to 4K, but the overall trend is clear: the rendering load on the RX 570 increases faster than its compute resources can handle. The data shows that the limiting component is not the CPU, as a more capable processor would show smaller framerate differences between resolutions. Instead, the RX 570's fixed 4 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are insufficient for the higher pixel counts and texture loads, causing the framerate to collapse. The 4K Ultra result of 14.5 FPS is the final proof that the GPU is overwhelmed, as it represents a 73.9% reduction from the 1080p Low result.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark database places this specific CPU-GPU combination at rank 1577 out of 1636 tested combos for Control. This places it in the bottom 3.6% of all tested systems, a position that reflects the extreme mismatch between the high-end processor and the entry-level graphics card. The rank is a direct result of the GPU's limitations; the i9-14900K's substantial compute power is left largely unused because the RX 570 cannot feed it enough frames.

To contextualize this rank, the GPU's average benchmark score places it at the 74th percentile among all GPUs, but its nearest rivals in that metric are modern cards like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, which are 0.2% faster in synthetic tests. However, those rivals are not the same class of hardware in real-world gaming, and the RX 570's performance in Control places it far below what these modern cards would achieve. The CPU, in contrast, ranks at the 97th percentile among all CPUs, showing that the processor is not the weak link. The combination rank of 1577 is therefore almost entirely attributable to the GPU, which is the bottleneck in every measured scenario.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. It is built on the Raptor Lake architecture using a 10 nm process. Its benchmark scores are exceptional, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49872 and a single-core score of 7040. In the database, it holds a 97th percentile rank among all CPUs, and its nearest rivals are the AMD EPYC 7413, which is 0.3% slower, and the Intel Core i9-14900KF, which is 0.7% slower.

For Control, the CPU's role is to manage game logic, physics, and draw calls. The data indicates that the i9-14900K is more than capable of handling these tasks, as the framerate does not improve significantly when the resolution is lowered, which would typically relieve CPU pressure. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 55.8 FPS, but at 1080p High, it drops to 34.9 FPS. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the framerate would stay relatively constant across settings at a given resolution. Instead, the framerate scales with the GPU load, proving that the CPU is not the limiting factor. The CPU's high single-core performance, as evidenced by its Geekbench single-core score of 3064, ensures that it can keep up with the GPU's requests, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's lack of raw throughput.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low settings average 55.8 FPS, Medium averages 39.3 FPS, High averages 34.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 33.3 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 22.5 FPS, showing that the GPU's limited resources are heavily taxed by higher quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the framerates drop significantly: Low averages 45.3 FPS, Medium averages 29.1 FPS, High averages 27.7 FPS, and Ultra averages 21.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 24.0 FPS, but the absolute numbers are all below the ideal 60 FPS target. At 3840x2160, the results are mostly unplayable: Low averages 30.6 FPS, Medium averages 20.5 FPS, High averages 18.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 14.5 FPS. The 4K Low result is the only one that approaches a playable framerate, but it is still below the standard 30 FPS console-like experience.

The data shows that the best measured result is 55.8 FPS at 1080p Low, which is the only configuration that comes close to a smooth experience. All other settings and resolutions fail to reach 60 FPS, with the majority falling below 40 FPS. The 1080p Medium result of 39.3 FPS is more than 16 FPS lower than the Low preset, highlighting the sensitivity of the RX 570 to texture and shading quality changes.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is a 14 nm Polaris 20 chip with 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operations units. It operates at a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz, with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. Its FP32 performance is 5.095 TFLOPS. In the database, it holds a 74th percentile rank among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30158, placing it near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (0.2% faster) and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (0.2% faster) in synthetic tests.

In Control, the GPU's role is dominant. The measured FPS values directly reflect the RX 570's capabilities and limitations. The 4 GB VRAM is likely a primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings, as the game's textures and effects consume memory faster than the GPU can manage. The 224.0 GB/s bandwidth is also insufficient for 4K rendering, leading to the significant framerate drops observed. The GPU's 32 ROPs limit pixel fill rate, which explains why the pixel-heavy 4K resolution results in catastrophic framerates. The data suggests that the GPU is operating at its absolute limit at 1080p Low, and any increase in resolution or quality pushes it beyond its comfortable operating range. The GPU's end-of-life production status and 2017 release date further explain its inability to handle a 2019 game at high settings.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in Control?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 55.8, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

*Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K?*

A: Yes, but not well. The best 4K result is 30.6 FPS at Low settings, which is borderline playable. At 4K Ultra, it drops to 14.5 FPS, which is unplayable.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this combination?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The framerate scales heavily with resolution and settings, which is a GPU-dependent behavior. The CPU's high benchmark scores (97th percentile) and the lack of CPU-related framerate caps confirm this.

*Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems for Control?*

A: It ranks 1577 out of 1636 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 3.6% of all systems for this game.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The average FPS drops from 55.8 at Low to 33.3 at Ultra, a reduction of 22.5 FPS. This shows that the RX 570 struggles to maintain performance when quality settings are increased.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The GPU has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. This is a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only viable settings for a playable experience are at 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which delivers an average of 55.8 FPS. This is the only configuration that approaches a smooth 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 39.3 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced action but may feel stuttery in combat. High and Ultra presets at 1080p produce 34.9 FPS and 33.3 FPS respectively, which are below the threshold for comfortable play.

For 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only option that reaches 45.3 FPS, but even this is below the ideal framerate. All other settings at 1440p fall below 30 FPS, with Ultra at 21.3 FPS, making them unplayable. At 3840x2160, no preset is recommended, as even Low averages only 30.6 FPS, and the rest fall below 21 FPS. The data strongly suggests that users should stick to 1080p Low to get the best experience from this combo. If higher quality is desired, the player must accept a significant framerate penalty, with the 1080p Medium preset being the only compromise worth considering, despite its 39.3 FPS average.