Control

Control on the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers exceptional frame rates, but the data shows that the Ultra preset is the only one that approaches a true 4K experience at 75.6 FPS. The combination ranks in the top 38 out of 1636 tested combos, placing it in the 97.7th percentile of all systems tested. The measured results indicate that this pairing is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at lower resolutions, while the CPU’s 24 cores and 32 threads provide ample headroom to avoid bottlenecks even at 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data clearly favors the High preset as the optimal balance for this title. At 4K, High delivers 86.6 FPS, which is 11 FPS faster than Ultra’s 75.6 FPS while still maintaining visually demanding settings. The jump from High to Ultra costs 11 FPS at 4K, a 12.7% performance penalty, which is substantial for marginal visual gains. Medium sits between High and Ultra at 96.6 FPS, but High remains the sweet spot because it offers the best frame rate stability without sacrificing the game’s atmospheric lighting and particle effects.

For users targeting 1440p, High delivers 133.9 FPS, which is comfortably above the 120 FPS threshold for high-refresh-rate displays. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 113.5 FPS, still playable but no longer hitting that smoother tier. At 1080p, High achieves 174 FPS, while Low reaches 276 FPS; however, the data suggests that Low is unnecessary even for competitive play, as High provides nearly triple the refresh rate of standard 60 Hz monitors. The measured results indicate that High is the recommended setting across all resolutions, as it provides a consistent 15-20% performance uplift over Ultra while retaining the game’s core visual identity.

GPU Role

The RTX 4090’s 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, is the dominant factor in this game’s performance. The GPU’s 16,384 shading units and 128 RT cores are fully leveraged by Control’s physics-heavy environments and ray-traced reflections. The boost clock of 2520 MHz, up from a 2235 MHz base, ensures sustained performance under load, as evidenced by the 4K Ultra result of 75.6 FPS. The GPU’s 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is clearly sufficient to drive this title, as even the most demanding preset stays above 60 FPS at 4K.

The data shows a predictable scaling pattern tied to GPU load. At 4K, dropping from Ultra to Low increases average FPS from 75.6 to 137.1, a 61.5 FPS swing that demonstrates how heavily the rendering pipeline depends on the GPU’s raw throughput. The 4090’s 1.01 TB/s bandwidth prevents memory bandwidth from becoming a constraint, as the frame rate scaling remains consistent across settings. However, the GPU’s 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473, places it slightly below some workstation-class competitors in raw compute, yet its gaming-specific architecture clearly excels in this Action Adventure title.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings drops average FPS from 174 to 133.9, a 23% reduction. Continuing to 4K at High yields 86.6 FPS, a further 35% drop from 1440p. This pattern indicates that the RTX 4090 is the primary limiting component at all resolutions, as the CPU’s performance headroom is not exhausted until frame rates approach 276 FPS at 1080p Low.

The scaling curve is steeper at lower settings. At Low, the transition from 1080p to 1440p costs 70.2 FPS (from 276 to 205.8), while the 1440p to 4K transition costs 68.7 FPS (from 205.8 to 137.1). This near-linear scaling suggests that the game’s rendering workload scales directly with pixel count when settings are reduced. At Ultra, the same transitions cost 39.5 FPS and 37.9 FPS respectively, indicating that the GPU is already saturated by the complex shading and effects, making resolution a less dominant factor. The data confirms that 4K Ultra at 75.6 FPS is the practical ceiling for this combo, while 1080p Low at 276 FPS represents the absolute maximum frame rate, limited by the game engine rather than the hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 38th out of 1636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 2.3% of all systems. This ranking reflects the synergy between a top-tier CPU and GPU, though the data indicates that the GPU is the more critical component for this game’s performance. The combo’s rank is consistent with the RTX 4090’s 91st percentile standing among all GPUs, suggesting that the CPU is not dragging down the overall result.

Comparing the components individually, the i9-14900K holds a 97th percentile rank among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79824. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7413, which scores 80041 (0.3% higher), and the Intel Core i9-14900KF at 79245 (0.7% lower). The RTX 4090’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, scores 66733, which is 0.4% higher, indicating that the 4090 is not the absolute fastest GPU in every workload. However, in gaming-specific scenarios like Control, the 4090’s architecture proves superior, as the combo’s 38th rank out of 1636 demonstrates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K provides substantial processing headroom with 24 cores and 32 threads, operating at a 3.20 GHz base clock and boosting to 6.00 GHz. The 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache ensure that game logic, physics calculations, and AI routines are handled without stuttering. The CPU’s benchmark scores are formidable: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 49872 and a single-core score of 7040, which are critical for Control’s frame pacing and input responsiveness.

The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 276 FPS, which is near the practical limit for most display technologies. The CPU’s Passmark multithread score of 58674 and single-thread score of 4697 confirm that it can sustain high instruction throughput even when the GPU is underutilized. The 125 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 platform provide stable power delivery, and the CPU’s 97th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates that it outperforms the vast majority of processors in both synthetic and real-world workloads. The nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7413, is only 0.3% faster on average, but the i9-14900K’s higher boost clock gives it an edge in latency-sensitive gaming scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo at 4K?

A: High is the recommended preset, delivering 86.6 FPS at 3840x2160. Ultra drops to 75.6 FPS, while Medium reaches 96.6 FPS, but High offers the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Control?

A: The GPU is the limiting component. Resolution scaling shows that frame rates drop significantly from 1080p to 4K (e.g., 174 to 86.6 FPS at High), while the CPU’s 24 cores and 32 threads provide ample headroom even at 276 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 38th out of 1636 tested, placing it in the top 2.3% of all systems. This is driven primarily by the RTX 4090’s performance, as the GPU holds a 91st percentile rank.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate achievable with this setup?

A: The highest measured average is 276 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 75.6 FPS, which is the lowest measured result.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1440p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the drop is from 133.9 FPS at 2560x1440 to 86.6 FPS at 3840x2160, a 47.3 FPS reduction. At Ultra, the drop is from 113.5 to 75.6 FPS, a 37.9 FPS reduction.

Q: Does the RTX 4090’s 24 GB VRAM affect performance in this game?

A: The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth, ensures that memory capacity is not a constraint. The performance scaling across settings is consistent, indicating no VRAM-related bottlenecks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are as follows: Low delivers 276 FPS, Medium reaches 195.6 FPS, High achieves 174 FPS, and Ultra drops to 153 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 123 FPS, representing a 44.6% reduction in performance when maximizing settings. This resolution shows the greatest spread, as the GPU is not fully saturated and the CPU’s high single-thread performance (7040 in Cinebench R23) helps maintain high frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low at 205.8 FPS, Medium at 146.1 FPS, High at 133.9 FPS, and Ultra at 113.5 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra narrows to 92.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU begins to become the primary constraint as pixel count increases. The High preset still delivers over 130 FPS, making it ideal for 1440p high-refresh-rate displays.

At 3840x2160, the data shows: Low at 137.1 FPS, Medium at 96.6 FPS, High at 86.6 FPS, and Ultra at 75.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra shrinks to 61.5 FPS, confirming that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at 4K. Even at Low settings, the 4090 cannot exceed 137.1 FPS, which is still a strong result for 4K gaming. The Ultra preset at 75.6 FPS is the only setting that dips below 60 FPS thresholds, but it remains playable for a visually demanding title like Control.