Control

Control with the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is a pairing that delivers a wide spread of performance across resolutions, and the data shows exactly where its strengths and limits lie. The measured frames per second (FPS) figures reveal a system that is clearly capable of high-refresh 1440p gaming, but also one where the demands of 4K Ultra will push it to its limits. This analysis breaks down the measured results to help you understand what to expect from this specific configuration in Remedy’s action-adventure title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic, clearly indicating that the rendering load scales heavily with pixel count. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 226 FPS, but this falls to 171 FPS at 1440p and further to 115 FPS at 4K. This represents a 49% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, showing that even at lower graphical presets, the resolution increase places a significant burden on the GPU.

Moving to High settings, the trend continues. The average FPS at 1080p is 143, which drops to 108 at 1440p and 73 at 4K. This is a 49% drop from 1080p to 4K, mirroring the scaling seen at Low settings. The consistency of this percentage drop across different settings suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti is the primary limiting factor when increasing resolution, as the CPU has enough headroom to maintain frame rates until the GPU becomes saturated with pixel work.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep, with a 32% reduction in average FPS at High settings (108 to 73). At Ultra settings, the 4K average of 63 FPS is 33% lower than the 94 FPS average at 1440p. This indicates that the jump to 4K is the most demanding transition for this hardware, and the data suggests that achieving a smooth 60+ FPS experience at 4K will require careful settings management, as the GPU is clearly the bottleneck at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 496th out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places the system in the top 13.3% of all tested configurations, a strong showing that underscores the overall capability of the hardware for this title. The high rank is a result of the CPU's exceptional multi-core performance and the GPU's ability to handle the game’s rendering demands at most settings.

The CPU's benchmark scores contribute significantly to this ranking. With a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 21697, the i9-14900K provides a massive amount of processing power that ensures it will not hold back the GPU in most scenarios. This is reinforced by its 95th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 95% of all processors in the database, a signal of its top-tier status.

The GPU also performs well, sitting in the 84th percentile versus all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 44795 places it close to rivals like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, which has a deltaPct of -0.8%, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT at -1.3%. This indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti is a high-performing card, but its ranking in the overall combo is likely elevated by the i9-14900K’s exceptional CPU scores, ensuring that the system's total performance is greater than the sum of its parts.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the High preset emerges as the most versatile choice across all resolutions. At 1080p, High yields 143 FPS, which is only 18 FPS less than Medium but a substantial 19 FPS more than Ultra, offering a significant performance headroom while still providing a high level of graphical detail. At 1440p, High produces 108 FPS, which is an excellent target for high-refresh-rate monitors, and it is 13 FPS faster than the 94 FPS seen at Ultra. This makes High the clear sweet spot for 1440p gaming.

At 4K, the choice becomes more critical. High settings deliver an average of 73 FPS, which is playable but may not be consistently smooth on all displays. Medium settings at 4K provide an average of 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 FPS, making it a safer option for those who prioritize a locked frame rate over maximum visual quality. The 19 FPS difference between High and Medium at 4K is substantial, and for a game like Control with its fast-paced action, the smoother experience at Medium may be preferable.

The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1440p and 1080p gaming where the hardware has ample headroom. At 1440p, it achieves 94 FPS, and at 1080p, it reaches 124 FPS. However, at 4K, Ultra drops to 63 FPS, which is below the 70 FPS minimum seen at Medium settings. Therefore, for a consistent 4K experience, Medium is the recommended preset, while High is the best all-around choice for lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a clear picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from a high of 226 on Low to a low of 124 on Ultra. The Medium preset offers an average of 161 FPS with a minimum of 136 and a maximum of 185, while High sits at 143 FPS. This shows that at 1080p, the system is rarely stressed, and even the most demanding settings are easily playable.

At 1440p, the average FPS scales down predictably. Low settings produce 171 FPS, Medium delivers 121 FPS with a minimum of 103 and a maximum of 140, High yields 108 FPS, and Ultra drops to 94 FPS. The 27 FPS gap between Medium and High is notable, but all presets remain above 90 FPS, making 1440p an excellent resolution for this combo, offering a great balance between image clarity and high frame rates.

At 4K, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings achieve 115 FPS, which is still very fast, but Medium drops to 82 FPS with a minimum of 70. High settings average 73 FPS, and Ultra falls to 63 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 33 FPS, highlighting the significant GPU load increase at this resolution. The data shows that 4K gaming is only truly viable with lower to medium settings, as the higher presets fail to maintain a comfortable frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the primary driver of the FPS differences seen across resolutions. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game’s textures at 1440p and 4K, but the data suggests it is the bottleneck at the highest settings. The fact that the FPS drops significantly when moving from Medium to High and Ultra at 4K points to the GPU’s shading and rasterization limits rather than memory capacity.

The GPU's boost clock of 2610 MHz and its Ada Lovelace architecture, which includes 7680 shading units and 80 ROPs, deliver the raw compute power needed for the game. The measured pixel rate of 208.8 GPixel/s and texture rate of 626.4 GTexel/s are high, but the 4K Ultra result of 63 FPS shows that the card is working near its maximum capacity. The GPU’s 84th percentile ranking versus all GPUs confirms it is a strong performer, but it is not in the top tier needed to dominate at 4K with all settings maxed.

The GPU's compute capabilities, as shown by its 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 performance, are substantial, yet the game’s demands at 4K Ultra still prove too much. The memory clock of 1313 MHz and the 21 Gbps effective speed are fast, but the 192-bit bus width limits total bandwidth compared to wider-memory-bus cards. This indicates that while the RTX 4070 Ti has ample memory capacity, the bandwidth and compute throughput are the defining factors in this game’s performance at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K plays a supporting role, ensuring that the GPU is fed with enough data to maintain high frame rates. With 24 cores and 32 threads, its multi-core performance is exceptional, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and a Passmark multithread score of 58674. This processing power ensures that the CPU is rarely a limiting factor, even at 1080p where frame rates are very high.

The CPU's boost clock of 6.00 GHz and base clock of 3.20 GHz provide excellent single-thread performance, which is crucial for game logic and physics. Its Geekbench single-core score of 2655 and Passmark single-thread score of 4697 place it at the top of the charts, minimizing any potential CPU-side bottlenecks. The data supports this, as the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p and 4K is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, not a CPU-bound one.

The i9-14900K’s 36 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide a robust platform. Its 95th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, and its close benchmark scores to rivals like the Intel Core i9-14900KF (deltaPct of -0.3%), confirm that it is a top-tier processor. In this game, its role is to provide a stable foundation, and the measured FPS indicates it does so flawlessly, allowing the RTX 4070 Ti to be the sole determinant of performance scaling.