Control

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Control shows a clear and consistent scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers 115.5 FPS on average. Moving to 1440p at the same Low preset drops the average to 86.6 FPS, a reduction of roughly 25%. At 4K with Low settings, the average falls further to 62.4 FPS, which is about 46% below the 1080p figure. This scaling trajectory indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary constraint as pixel count rises, since the CPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions.

The trend becomes even more pronounced when examining the High preset. At 1080p, the average is 75.3 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 56.1 FPS, a 25% decline. At 4K, the average falls to 36.2 FPS, which is less than half the 1080p result. The gap between 1440p and 4K at High settings is 19.9 FPS, while the gap between 1080p and 1440p is 19.2 FPS. This near-linear drop across resolution steps suggests that the GPU is being saturated progressively, with each pixel count increase imposing a similar relative cost.

The Ultra preset shows the steepest absolute declines. At 1080p, the average is 65.8 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 51.3 FPS, a 22% reduction. At 4K, the average plummets to 31 FPS, which is 53% below the 1080p figure. The delta between 1440p and 4K at Ultra is 20.3 FPS, the largest single-step drop in the entire dataset. This indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and its memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s are being pushed to their limits at 4K with the highest settings.

What does this say about the limiting component? At 1080p, the CPU's role is more significant, as the i9-14900K's 24 cores and 32 threads can feed the GPU efficiently. But as resolution climbs, the GPU's compute throughput becomes the bottleneck. The fact that Low settings at 4K still achieve 62.4 FPS while Ultra at 4K falls to 31 FPS underscores that the GPU's pixel processing capability, not the CPU, governs performance at high resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake-R architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.20 GHz with a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. The CPU's L3 cache is 36 MB shared, with 2 MB of L2 per core and 80 KB of L1 per core. In synthetic benchmarks, this processor scores 49,872 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7,040 in single-core. Its Geekbench scores are 20,370 multi-core and 3,064 single-core. The PassMark multithread score is 58,674, and single-thread is 4,697.

For Control, the CPU's role is largely about maintaining a stable frame delivery floor. At 1080p Low, the 115.5 FPS average indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor. The i9-14900K's single-core performance, reflected in its 7,040 Cinebench R23 single-core score, is more than sufficient for the game's physics and AI workloads. The processor sits in the 97th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79,824. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7413, scores 80,041, a delta of -0.3%, meaning the i9-14900K is essentially on par. The Intel Core i9-14900KF and Core Ultra 7 265KF both score 79,245 and 79,240, respectively, with deltas of 0.7%.

At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 31 is far below what the CPU could theoretically support. The data suggests that even at the most demanding settings, the CPU is not the bottleneck. The difference between 1080p Low (115.5 FPS) and 4K Ultra (31 FPS) is 84.5 FPS, a gap that cannot be attributed to CPU limitations. The i9-14900K's high boost clock of 6.00 GHz and 32 threads ensure that even the most complex scenes in Control, which involve destructible environments and physics-based interactions, do not starve the GPU of draw calls.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with the TU106 chip, fabricated on TSMC's 12 nm process. It features 2,176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. The GPU has 34 ray tracing cores and 272 tensor cores. Its base clock is 1470 MHz with a boost clock of 1650 MHz. Memory is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU's FP32 performance is 7.181 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 105.6 GPixel/s.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's percentile rank among all GPUs is 63, with an average benchmark score of 19,774. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, which scores 19,706, a delta of 0.3%. The RTX 2070 scores 19,680, a delta of 0.5%, meaning the two cards are nearly identical in aggregate performance. This positioning is telling for Control, as the game's demanding visual effects, including ray-traced reflections and volumetric lighting, place significant stress on the GPU.

In the measured data, the GPU's limitations become apparent at higher resolutions and settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average of 65.8 FPS is respectable, but at 4K Ultra, the average of 31 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth. The 8 GB VRAM may also be a factor at 4K, as texture data and render targets can exceed this capacity. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is sufficient for 1440p, but at 4K, the transfer demands increase substantially. The drop from 51.3 FPS at 1440p Ultra to 31 FPS at 4K Ultra — a 39.6% reduction — highlights the GPU's struggle with the higher pixel count.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset provides a comprehensive view of the combination's performance across resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 115.5 FPS. Medium reduces this to 83.3 FPS, a 27.9% drop. High further reduces it to 75.3 FPS, and Ultra brings it down to 65.8 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is the largest single-setting drop at 1080p, amounting to 32.2 FPS. The step from Medium to High is 8.0 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 9.5 FPS. This suggests that the Low preset removes many GPU-intensive effects, while the incremental cost of Medium to High to Ultra is more moderate.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low delivers 86.6 FPS, Medium 63.4 FPS, High 56.1 FPS, and Ultra 51.3 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 23.2 FPS, from Medium to High is 7.3 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 4.8 FPS. The diminishing returns between High and Ultra become more pronounced at this resolution, indicating that the GPU is nearing its limits.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 62.4 FPS, Medium 42.3 FPS, High 36.2 FPS, and Ultra 31 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 20.1 FPS, from Medium to High is 6.1 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 5.2 FPS. At 4K, even the Low preset cannot maintain 60 FPS+ comfortably, and the Ultra preset falls below 32 FPS. The data shows that the RTX 2060 SUPER is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Control, with 4K reserved for lower settings or users tolerant of sub-40 FPS averages.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combination achieves in Control?

A: The highest average FPS is 115.5, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this setup run Control at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: At 4K with Low settings, the average FPS is 62.4, which is playable. At Medium, it drops to 42.3, and at High it falls to 36.2. Ultra at 4K yields 31 FPS, which may be below the playable threshold for many users.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 19,774. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, scores 19,706, a delta of 0.3%. The RTX 2070 scores 19,680, a delta of 0.5%.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking and how does it compare to the AMD EPYC 7413?

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K is in the 97th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79,824. The AMD EPYC 7413 scores 80,041, a delta of -0.3%, meaning the i9-14900K is slightly behind.

Q: Which resolution and settings combination provides the closest to 60 FPS at 4K?

A: At 4K with Low settings, the average FPS is 62.4, which is just above the 60 FPS mark. All other 4K settings fall below 60 FPS.

Q: How much does the average FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the 1080p average is 75.3 FPS, and the 4K average is 36.2 FPS, representing a drop of 39.1 FPS, or about 52%.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER in Control depends heavily on the target resolution.

For 1920x1080, the High preset at 75.3 FPS offers a strong balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. The Ultra preset at 65.8 FPS is also viable, providing the best visual quality while staying above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 83.3 FPS is a good choice for users who prioritize frame rate over visual detail. The Low preset at 115.5 FPS is excessive for most displays, as the extra headroom offers no tangible benefit unless using a high-refresh-rate monitor.

For 2560x1440, the High preset at 56.1 FPS is marginally below 60 FPS, making it a borderline choice. The Medium preset at 63.4 FPS is the better option for maintaining smooth gameplay, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 86.6 FPS provides a comfortable margin for high-refresh-rate 1440p displays. The Ultra preset at 51.3 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced combat.

For 3840x2160, the Low preset at 62.4 FPS is the only setting that achieves a playable average above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 42.3 FPS is playable for less demanding scenes but will feel sluggish during intense action. The High preset at 36.2 FPS and Ultra at 31 FPS are only recommended for users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate and are willing to accept a cinematic, slower experience.

In summary, the best experience per the measured rows is: 1080p Ultra for maximum visual quality, 1440p Medium for a balance of quality and performance, and 4K Low for those who must play at 4K. The data clearly shows that the RTX 2060 SUPER is a capable 1080p and 1440p card for Control, but 4K requires significant compromises in settings.