Control

The Intel Core i9-14900K and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination ranks 1632nd out of 2888 tested combos in Control. This places the pairing in the lower-middle portion of the database, indicating that while the system is far from the bottom of the performance stack, it does not reach the top tier of results for this title. The rank reflects a balanced pairing where neither component is the primary bottleneck across all settings, but the overall capability is constrained by the GPU's mid-range positioning relative to the CPU's high-end standing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1632 out of 2888 tested combinations places this system in the 56th percentile of all tested hardware pairings for Control. This is a middling result that aligns with the GPU's overall percentile ranking of 59 against all GPUs in the database. The CPU, by contrast, sits in the 95th percentile against all CPUs, showing a significant gap between the two components' standalone capabilities. Benchmark results indicate that this pairing performs below what the CPU alone might suggest, with the GPU acting as the limiting factor in most scenarios. The data shows a system that is competitive at 1080p and 1440p but struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K, particularly at higher quality presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K brings substantial processing power to this combination. With 24 cores and 32 threads, the processor has a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, running on the Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node. The CPU features 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core, which supports high-throughput workloads. In synthetic benchmarks, the i9-14900K achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and a single-core score of 2262.5, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 21697 and single-core score of 2655. These numbers place the CPU at 95th percentile versus all CPUs, with its nearest rival being the Intel Core i9-14900KF at a 0.3% lower average score.

In Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The 6.00 GHz boost clock provides strong single-threaded performance, which is relevant for a game that relies on consistent frame pacing. However, benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this pairing. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 130 FPS, but as resolution increases, the frame rate drops in a pattern that points to GPU limitations rather than CPU constraints. The CPU's high multi-threaded performance, as shown by the Cinebench R20 multi-core score of 20793, ensures that even at lower resolutions where the GPU has less work, the processor can keep up with the game's demands without introducing frame drops. The data suggests that the i9-14900K is overprovisioned for this title, as even the most demanding CPU scenarios in Control do not approach the processor's limits.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the more constrained component in this pairing. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, running at a boost clock of 2990 MHz and a game clock of 2400 MHz. The RDNA 4.0 architecture with Navi 44 chip provides 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The GPU's FP32 performance is rated at 21.43 TFLOPS, with a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s. In the database, the RX 9060 holds the 59th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16014.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which scores 0.7% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700, which scores 1% higher. This places the RX 9060 in solid mid-range territory. In Control, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory interface become relevant at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance across all settings. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 130 FPS, but this drops to 71 FPS at Ultra settings, showing a 45% reduction from low to ultra. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3322 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 39476 indicate that the card has adequate DirectX 12 and Vulkan support, which is important for a game like Control that uses modern rendering techniques. The data shows that the RX 9060 provides playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p but falls short of 60 FPS at 4K on higher presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four quality settings, providing a comprehensive view of performance. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 130 FPS on Low, 92 FPS on Medium, 82 FPS on High, and 71 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1080p shows a minimum FPS of 78 and maximum of 106, indicating some frame variability but generally stable performance. At 2560x1440, frame rates drop to 98 FPS on Low, 70 FPS on Medium, 62 FPS on High, and 54 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p Medium preset shows a minimum of 59 FPS and maximum of 80 FPS, which is close to the edge of smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the system delivers 66 FPS on Low, 47 FPS on Medium, 42 FPS on High, and 36 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Medium preset shows a minimum of 40 FPS and maximum of 54 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The data shows a clear pattern: the system maintains high frame rates at 1080p across all settings, with even Ultra exceeding 70 FPS. At 1440p, the system remains playable at High and below, but Ultra dips to 54 FPS. At 4K, only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 36 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users. The progression from 1080p Low to 4K Ultra shows a frame rate reduction from 130 FPS to 36 FPS, a 72% drop, indicating the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Is this combination capable of running Control at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, at 1080p all settings exceed 60 FPS, with Low reaching 130 FPS and Ultra at 71 FPS. At 1440p, Low and Medium presets remain above 60 FPS at 98 FPS and 70 FPS respectively, while High drops to 62 FPS. At 4K, only the Low preset achieves 66 FPS, with all other presets falling below 60 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K scores 79097 in average benchmark score, which is 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i9-14900KF at 79371. The CPU also trails the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus by 0.6% and the AMD EPYC 7413 by 1.2%, while leading the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 by 1.7%.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9060 holds the 59th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16014. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, scores 0.7% higher at 16129, while the AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 1% lower at 15862.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination in Control?

A: The data shows that 1440p provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1440p High, the system achieves 62 FPS, which is acceptable for most players. For higher frame rates, 1080p High delivers 82 FPS, while 4K High drops to 42 FPS, making 4K impractical for quality settings above Low.

Q: How does the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the frame rate drops from 82 FPS at 1080p to 62 FPS at 1440p, a 24% reduction, and then to 42 FPS at 4K, a further 32% reduction from 1440p. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 49%, indicating the GPU becomes increasingly stressed at higher resolutions.

Q: Does the CPU's high core count benefit Control specifically?

A: The i9-14900K's 24 cores and 32 threads provide ample processing headroom, as evidenced by the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5. However, the measured FPS data shows that performance scales primarily with GPU load, with the CPU not acting as a limiting factor at any resolution or setting in this title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 71 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended choice for players with 1080p displays. The High preset at 1080p offers 82 FPS, providing a smoother experience with only a slight reduction in visual quality. For players prioritizing frame rate, the Medium preset at 1080p delivers 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS, ensuring consistent performance.

At 1440p, the High preset achieves 62 FPS, which is acceptable for most players, while the Medium preset delivers 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 54 FPS, which may be noticeable in fast-paced action sequences. The data suggests that Medium or High at 1440p provides the best balance, with Medium offering a safer margin above 60 FPS. At 4K, the only playable option is the Low preset at 66 FPS, as all other presets fall below 60 FPS. Players with 4K displays should consider the Low preset for playable frame rates, though the visual compromise is significant.

The best overall experience per the measured rows is the High preset at 1440p, which achieves 62 FPS while maintaining quality settings that are likely to be visually pleasing in a game like Control, which features detailed environments and effects. For players who prefer smoother frame rates, the Medium preset at 1440p at 70 FPS or High at 1080p at 82 FPS are strong alternatives.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals how the GPU becomes the limiting component as resolution increases. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 130 FPS at 1080p to 98 FPS at 1440p, a 25% reduction, and then to 66 FPS at 4K, a further 33% reduction from 1440p. This pattern shows a roughly linear scaling with pixel count, indicating that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints. At Medium settings, the frame rates are 92 FPS at 1080p, 70 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K, with the 4K figure representing a 49% drop from 1080p.

At High settings, the progression is 82 FPS at 1080p, 62 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K, showing a consistent 24-32% reduction at each step. At Ultra settings, the frame rates are 71 FPS at 1080p, 54 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K, with the 4K Ultra setting representing only 51% of the 1080p Ultra performance. The data shows that the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory interface with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly strained as resolution increases, particularly at higher quality presets that require more memory and bandwidth. The CPU's high single-thread performance, as shown by the Geekbench single-core score of 2655, ensures that the processor does not contribute to the frame rate drops, confirming that the RX 9060 is the sole limiting factor in this pairing at higher resolutions.