Control

The data for Control, captured with an Intel Core i9-14900K and an Intel Arc B580, reveals a configuration where the graphics card is the definitive performance bottleneck across all tested resolutions. The CPU, a 24-core, 32-thread Raptor Lake part with a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, is never the limiting factor; instead, the Arc B580's rendering throughput dictates the frame rates, as evidenced by the scaling patterns from 1080p to 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable and steep decline as resolution increases, which is a clear indicator of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 69.4 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that average to 54.4 FPS, a reduction of 15 FPS. The jump to 4K is more punishing, with the average falling to 38.6 FPS. This pattern is consistent across all quality presets, confirming that the i9-14900K has ample headroom to feed the GPU with draw calls, but the Arc B580 cannot maintain its fill rate as pixel count balloons.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings (54.4 to 38.6 FPS) represents a 29% performance loss, which is substantial but not catastrophic. This suggests that the GPU is hitting memory bandwidth or shader limits rather than a hard architectural wall. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution further illustrates this point. At 1080p, the spread from Low (113.9 FPS) to Ultra (59.7 FPS) is a massive 54.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s compute units are heavily taxed by the higher-fidelity effects. At 4K, the Low-to-Ultra spread narrows to 27.5 FPS (59.8 down to 32.3), showing that at higher resolutions, the fixed cost of pixel shading becomes the primary bottleneck, leaving less relative headroom for settings-based effects to differentiate.

This means that users seeking higher frame rates will see the most significant gains from lowering resolution rather than tweaking in-game settings. For example, dropping from 4K Ultra (32.3 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (44.6 FPS) yields a 12.3 FPS improvement, whereas dropping from 4K High to 4K Medium (38.6 to 42.3 FPS) only nets 3.7 FPS. The i9-14900K’s role here is purely supportive; its 36 MB of shared L3 cache and high single-thread performance ensure that frame times are consistent, but it cannot compensate for the GPU’s pixel throughput limits.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580, based on the Xe2-HPG architecture, is the sole determinant of performance in Control. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game’s textures at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results suggest the bus width becomes a limiting factor. The GPU’s boost clock is locked at 2670 MHz, and its FP32 throughput is rated at 13.67 TFLOPS, which aligns with the measured results that place it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs.

The VRAM capacity is ample for Control, which released in 2019 and does not require the 12 GB allocation to be exceeded at these settings. However, the performance deltas relative to its nearest rivals are telling. The Arc B580’s average benchmark score is 23021, which is just 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon 760M and 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060. In Control specifically, the measured FPS at 1080p High (69.4 FPS) shows that the card performs adequately for 60 Hz displays, but at 4K High, the 38.6 FPS average falls below the 40 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for playable action-adventure titles.

The GPU’s architecture, with 2560 shading units and 80 ROPs, shows a clear weakness in pixel-heavy scenarios. The 4K Medium (42.3 FPS) and 4K Low (59.8 FPS) results indicate that the card can break 60 FPS at 4K only when most visual features are disabled. The disparity between the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3068 and the PassMark G3D score of 15748 suggests the card is optimized for modern APIs but may struggle with legacy rendering paths. In Control, which uses DirectX 12, the card’s 12 Ultimate support (12_2) is fully utilized, but the raw rasterization throughput is the limiting factor, not the API feature set.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 54.4. This is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay, indicating that the Arc B580 is not fully saturating a 1440p 60 Hz display at this quality preset.

Q: How does the Intel Core i9-14900K affect the frame rate in Control?

A: The CPU’s benchmark scores (e.g., 49872 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) and 97th percentile ranking versus all CPUs indicate it has far more processing power than Control requires. The FPS scaling with resolution confirms the GPU is the bottleneck; the CPU is not limiting performance.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where the average is 59.8 FPS. At Medium settings, the average drops to 42.3 FPS, and at High it falls to 38.6 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS experience at 4K, lower resolutions or reduced settings are required.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The average FPS at Medium is 79.6, while Ultra averages 59.7. This represents a 19.9 FPS drop (approximately 25%) for the highest quality preset, which is a significant cost that may not be visually justified on all displays.

Q: How does the Arc B580’s performance compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 4060?

A: In aggregate benchmarks, the Arc B580 scores 23021, which is 0.7% lower than the RTX 4060’s average score of 23181. In Control, this places the B580 in a competitive position, but the exact FPS delta varies by resolution and settings.

Q: Is the 12 GB VRAM sufficient for Control?

A: Yes, the 12 GB GDDR6 memory with 456.0 GB/s bandwidth is more than adequate for Control’s assets, as the game’s release date and texture sizes do not approach memory limits. The performance bottlenecks are in compute and ROP throughput, not VRAM capacity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average FPS values provides a granular view of the combo’s capabilities.

At 1920x1080, the results are:

• Low: 113.9 FPS
• Medium: 79.6 FPS
• High: 69.4 FPS
• Ultra: 59.7 FPS

This resolution is where the Arc B580 is most comfortable, with Low settings providing a high-refresh experience. The drop from Low to Medium (34.3 FPS) is the largest single-setting penalty, indicating that medium-quality shadows and post-processing effects have a notable cost.

At 2560x1440, the results are:

• Low: 84.8 FPS
• Medium: 62.1 FPS
• High: 54.4 FPS
• Ultra: 44.6 FPS

The 1440p data shows a more balanced scaling, with each setting tier costing roughly 8-10 FPS. The Ultra preset at 44.6 FPS is playable but not optimal for fast-paced action. The Low preset at 84.8 FPS is the sweet spot for 1440p users with 75 Hz or 100 Hz monitors.

At 3840x2160, the results are:

• Low: 59.8 FPS
• Medium: 42.3 FPS
• High: 38.6 FPS
• Ultra: 32.3 FPS

4K is challenging for this GPU. The Low preset just barely hits 60 FPS, but the Medium preset falls below 45 FPS. The Ultra preset at 32.3 FPS is borderline unplayable for a game that requires precise timing, such as Control’s combat encounters. The incremental cost of each setting tier at 4K is smaller than at 1080p, confirming that the GPU is saturated at the base pixel load.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested configurations for Control, this pairing of the Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B580 holds a rank of 1290 out of 1636 combos. This places it in the lower 21% of all tested systems, which is a direct consequence of the GPU’s performance tier. The CPU’s high rank (97th percentile) does not compensate for the GPU’s mid-range standing (66th percentile) in this game’s benchmark results.

The rank of 1290 is not a verdict on the components’ quality, but rather a reflection of the balance in this specific pairing. The i9-14900K is a top-tier processor (e.g., its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49872 is 30% higher than some rivals), but Control is not a CPU-intensive title. The combo’s rank is dominated by the Arc B580’s raw rasterization performance, which the data shows is competitive with the RTX 4060 but not sufficient for high refresh rates at 4K. For users building a system for this game, the data suggests that the GPU is the component to upgrade first, as the CPU’s capabilities are largely untapped in this workload. The measured FPS at 1080p High (69.4 FPS) and 1440p High (54.4 FPS) confirm that the B580 is the limiting factor; a more powerful GPU would yield significant improvements without any CPU bottleneck.