Control

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT sits at rank 1216 out of 1636 tested combinations for Control. That places this pairing in the lower-middle tier of the database, which is striking given the CPU's pedigree. The i9-14900K itself ranks in the 97th percentile among all CPUs, yet this combination's overall position suggests the GPU is the dominant constraint in this game. The gap between the CPU's elite standing and the combo's modest rank indicates a significant bottleneck that becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions and settings.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU's average score of 79824 places it nearly level with the AMD EPYC 7413 (deltaPct -0.3) and just ahead of the Intel Core i9-14900KF (deltaPct 0.7) and Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF (deltaPct 0.7). The GPU's average benchmark score of 24731 puts it in the 68th percentile, with its nearest rivals being the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (deltaPct -0.1), Intel Arc A350M (deltaPct 0.3), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (deltaPct 0.6), and NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 (deltaPct 0.9). These margins are razor-thin, showing the RX 5700 XT is competitive with those parts in general compute, but Control's specific workload may not align perfectly with its strengths.

The rank disparity between the components and the whole is telling. A top-tier CPU like the i9-14900K should theoretically push a mid-range GPU to its limits, but the data shows the combo cannot break into the upper echelon of tested systems. This suggests that for Control, the experience is fundamentally GPU-bound, and the CPU's massive computational headroom goes largely unused in most scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K brings 24 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. This is a Raptor Lake architecture part on a 10 nm process, featuring 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration, and its benchmark scores are extraordinary: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49872 and single-core score of 7040, plus a Geekbench multi-core score of 20370 and single-core score of 3064.

For Control, an action-adventure game from 2019, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining consistent frame pacing and handling the game's physics and AI systems. The game was released in August 2019, and the CPU came out in October 2023, meaning this processor is far more powerful than anything available at the game's launch. The data shows that even at 1080p Low settings, where the CPU would be most stressed relative to the GPU, the combo only achieves 119 FPS average. This is not a limitation of the CPU — its Passmark single-thread score of 4697 and multi-thread score of 58674 indicate it can handle far more demanding workloads.

The benchmark results indicate that Control does not scale with the CPU's available resources beyond a certain point. The 24-core configuration provides massive parallel processing capability, but the game's engine likely doesn't utilize all of it effectively. The CPU's 97th percentile ranking among all CPUs means it outperforms nearly every other processor in synthetic tests, yet the measured FPS in Control at 4K Ultra is just 34.7 FPS. This enormous gap between CPU capability and game performance reinforces the conclusion that the GPU is the limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: Why does this high-end CPU produce such modest frame rates in Control?

A: The combo ranks 1216 out of 1636, and the GPU sits in the 68th percentile while the CPU is in the 97th. The data strongly indicates the RX 5700 XT is the bottleneck, as the CPU's immense compute power cannot translate to higher FPS when the GPU cannot render frames fast enough.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60+ FPS?

A: At 1080p, the combo achieves 61.6 FPS at Ultra and 76.5 FPS at High. At 1440p, only Low settings reach 89.6 FPS, while High dips to 55.6 FPS. For 4K, no settings preset reaches 60 FPS, with Low being the highest at 59.2 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average score of 24731 is within 0.9% of its nearest rivals. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile scores 24763 (deltaPct -0.1), the Intel Arc A350M scores 24647 (deltaPct 0.3), and the NVIDIA RTX 5060 Mobile scores 24592 (deltaPct 0.6). These are all statistically equivalent scores.

Q: Is the CPU's 125 W TDP relevant to gaming performance?

A: The TDP figure describes power consumption, not gaming capability. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as Cinebench R23 multi-core at 49872, demonstrate its processing power, but in Control the measured FPS shows the GPU limits performance regardless of CPU power envelope.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM on the GPU affect 4K performance?

A: The 4K results show 37.1 FPS at High and 34.7 FPS at Ultra. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is likely insufficient for 4K Ultra textures, contributing to the low frame rates at that resolution.

Q: What does the combo's rank of 1216 out of 1636 imply about upgrade priorities?

A: Given the CPU's top-tier status and the GPU's mid-range position, the data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield the most significant FPS improvements in Control. The CPU has substantial headroom that is not being utilized.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers its strongest performance. Low settings produce 119 FPS average, which is the highest measured value across all configurations. Medium settings drop to 81 FPS, High to 76.5 FPS, and Ultra maintains 61.6 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 48.2% reduction in frame rate, which is substantial but still leaves Ultra playable at over 60 FPS.

Moving to 1440p, the performance drops become more pronounced. Low settings yield 89.6 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium falls to 65.1 FPS and High to 55.6 FPS. Ultra dips to 48.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider ideal for action games. The transition from Low to Ultra at this resolution costs 46.2% of the frame rate.

At 4K, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings produce 59.2 FPS, which is just under the 60 FPS mark. Medium drops to 43.9 FPS, High to 37.1 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 34.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 41.4%, but even the best-case scenario barely reaches 60 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K gaming is only feasible with Low settings, and even then it's borderline.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the frame rate falls from 119 FPS at 1080p to 89.6 FPS at 1440p (a 24.7% reduction), then to 59.2 FPS at 4K (a 50.3% reduction from 1080p). At Ultra settings, the progression is 61.6 FPS at 1080p to 48.2 FPS at 1440p (21.8% reduction) and 34.7 FPS at 4K (43.7% reduction).

This scaling pattern reveals that the GPU is heavily stressed by resolution increases. The RX 5700 XT's 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 64 ROPs are simply not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K, particularly with higher quality settings. The pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s provides theoretical context for why 4K is challenging, as rendering four times the pixels of 1080p requires proportionally more fill rate.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in resolution scaling. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect similar frame rates across resolutions at the same settings, since the CPU workload doesn't change with resolution. Instead, we see significant FPS drops as resolution increases, confirming that the GPU's rendering capabilities dictate performance.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data points to 1080p High as the optimal configuration. At 76.5 FPS average, it provides smooth gameplay with good visual fidelity. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p costs 14.9 FPS (from 76.5 to 61.6), which is a meaningful sacrifice for marginal visual improvements. Medium at 1080p offers 81 FPS, but the difference between Medium and High is only 4.5 FPS, making High the better choice.

At 1440p, the situation is more constrained. Low settings at 89.6 FPS are the only configuration that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Medium at 65.1 FPS is playable, but High at 55.6 FPS and Ultra at 48.2 FPS fall short of the 60 FPS target. For players prioritizing frame rate, 1440p Low is the recommended preset. Those who prefer visual quality over frame rate might accept 1440p Medium, but the data shows a clear trade-off.

For 4K, the recommendation is straightforward: Low settings at 59.2 FPS is the only viable option, and it still barely misses the 60 FPS threshold. Medium at 43.9 FPS, High at 37.1 FPS, and Ultra at 34.7 FPS all provide sub-optimal experiences for an action game that benefits from responsive controls. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo is not recommended unless players are willing to accept frame rates in the 30-40 range.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture using a 7 nm process at TSMC, with 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die. It features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1605 MHz, a game clock of 1755 MHz, and a boost clock of 1905 MHz. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Control, the GPU's performance is clearly the limiting factor for this combo. The measured FPS scales predictably with resolution and settings, showing classic GPU-bound behavior. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 16277 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2134 place it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, which aligns with the mid-range positioning suggested by its gaming performance.

The GPU's memory configuration is particularly relevant at higher resolutions. The 8 GB VRAM capacity, while adequate for 1080p and 1440p, may struggle with 4K textures. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth provides enough throughput for most scenarios, but the data shows that 4K Ultra at 34.7 FPS is severely constrained. The GPU's FP32 performance of 9.754 TFLOPS and texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s provide context for why the card cannot maintain higher frame rates at 4K.

The RX 5700 XT's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all within 0.9% of its average score, yet the gaming performance in Control shows it cannot deliver the high frame rates that a 97th percentile CPU would suggest. This reinforces the conclusion that the GPU is the definitive bottleneck, and any performance improvements in Control would require a more powerful graphics card.