Control

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers a playable, though not flawless, 4K experience in Control, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear scaling pattern where performance drops sharply as resolution increases, indicating that the RTX 5060’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory interface are the limiting factors in this title, rather than the CPU’s substantial 24-core/32-thread configuration.

Resolution Scaling

Resolution scaling in Control reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings reduces average FPS from 92.4 to 71.5, a drop of roughly 23%. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is even more punishing: at 3840x2160 High, the average FPS falls to 47.9, representing a 33% decline from the 1440p figure. This steep degradation indicates that the RTX 5060’s memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s and 8 GB GDDR7 frame buffer are saturated at 4K, forcing the GPU to work far harder per frame.

The pattern holds across all settings presets. At Low settings, 1080p yields 147.4 FPS, but 4K Low drops to 76.9 FPS—a 48% reduction. Medium settings show a similar trajectory: 102.9 FPS at 1080p falls to 54.2 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 81.5 FPS at 1080p plummeting to 41.3 FPS at 4K. The consistent ~50% performance loss from 1080p to 4K across presets confirms that pixel throughput, not CPU logic, is the deciding factor. The i9-14900K’s 6.00 GHz boost clock and 36 MB of shared L3 cache are more than sufficient to feed frames at these rates; the RTX 5060 simply runs out of headroom as resolution climbs.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 1440p in Control?*

A: Yes, at Medium and High settings. The measured average FPS is 79.6 at Medium and 71.5 at High, both comfortably above 60. At Ultra, the average drops to 62.7 FPS, which is still playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with the RTX 5060?

A: Only at Low settings. The 4K Low preset averages 76.9 FPS, which is smooth. High and Medium average 47.9 and 54.2 FPS respectively, which are below the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra at 4K averages 41.3 FPS, making it the least suitable option.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5060’s average benchmark score is 30109, placing it within 0.2% of the AMD Radeon RX 570 (30158) and 0% of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30097). It sits 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M60 (29969) and 0.6% ahead of the RTX 5070 Mobile (29928). These are statistical ties, not meaningful performance gaps.

Q: What is the CPU’s benchmark standing relative to other processors?

A: The i9-14900K ranks in the 97th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 79824 is 0.7% higher than the Intel Core i9-14900KF (79245) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF (79240), and 0.9% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (79102). It trails the AMD EPYC 7413 by just 0.3% (80041).

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM cause issues at 4K?

A: The data suggests it does. The 4K Ultra preset averages only 41.3 FPS, while 4K High averages 47.9 FPS. The steep scaling from 1440p to 4K—where High drops from 71.5 to 47.9 FPS—implies the GPU is hitting memory capacity or bandwidth limits, forcing lower occupancy and reduced throughput.

Q: Which settings preset offers the best balance at 1080p?

A: High settings at 1080p provide a strong balance, averaging 92.4 FPS. This is 10.5 FPS lower than Medium (102.9 FPS) but delivers higher visual fidelity. Low settings reach 147.4 FPS, but that sacrifices too much quality for the extra headroom.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, High settings at 1920x1080 or 2560x1440 are the sweet spot. At 1080p, High averages 92.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target and retains most of the visual quality. At 1440p, High averages 71.5 FPS, still smooth and visually rich. Medium settings at 4K (54.2 FPS) are borderline; they are playable but may feel less responsive. Low settings at 4K (76.9 FPS) are the only 4K preset that consistently exceeds 60 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant. Ultra settings are only recommended for 1080p (81.5 FPS) or 1440p (62.7 FPS), where the frame rate remains acceptable. The data clearly shows that Ultra at 4K (41.3 FPS) should be avoided, as the GPU cannot sustain a fluid experience at that combination.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 799th out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This places it in the lower-middle tier of the database, reflecting the GPU’s mid-range positioning rather than the CPU’s high-end pedigree. The i9-14900K is a top-tier processor, ranking in the 97th percentile of all CPUs, but the RTX 5060 only reaches the 73rd percentile of all GPUs. The combo’s rank is thus dragged down by the graphics card, which is a statistical near-equal to older cards like the RX 570. The ranking suggests that users seeking higher positions in Control would benefit more from a stronger GPU than a stronger CPU, as the current processor is not the limiting factor in this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K brings formidable specifications to this pairing: 24 cores, 32 threads, a base clock of 3.20 GHz, and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. Its 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache are ample for feeding the GPU. In synthetic testing, it scores 49872 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7040 in single-core, alongside a Passmark multithread score of 58674. These figures place it in the 97th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79824. However, in Control, the CPU’s role is secondary. The FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU is most likely to bottleneck, the combo achieves 147.4 FPS—a figure that barely stresses the i9-14900K’s capabilities. The processor’s nearest rivals, including the i9-14900KF and Core Ultra 7 265KF, all score within 0.9% of it, meaning any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in this game. The CPU is effectively over-provisioned for Control, leaving the GPU as the sole arbiter of performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, Low averages 147.4 FPS, Medium 102.9 FPS, High 92.4 FPS, and Ultra 81.5 FPS. At 2560x1440, the averages are 113.8 FPS (Low), 79.6 FPS (Medium), 71.5 FPS (High), and 62.7 FPS (Ultra). At 3840x2160, the averages fall to 76.9 FPS (Low), 54.2 FPS (Medium), 47.9 FPS (High), and 41.3 FPS (Ultra). The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 65.9 FPS, which narrows to 51.1 FPS at 1440p and 35.6 FPS at 4K. This compression at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes the bottleneck earlier, reducing the relative impact of settings changes. Notably, the jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs 8.1 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs 8.8 FPS, showing a consistent cost for each quality tier. At 4K, the same steps cost 6.3 FPS and 6.6 FPS respectively, further confirming the GPU’s diminished headroom.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the decisive component in this combo. Its 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p but strained at 4K. The GPU’s 3840 shading units and 30 RT cores are paired with a boost clock of 2497 MHz, yielding 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 20891 in Passmark G3D and 120785 in Geekbench OpenCL, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs with an average score of 30109. Its nearest rivals are statistical ties: the RX 7700 XT (30097) and RX 570 (30158) are within 0.2%, while the Tesla M60 (29969) and RTX 5070 Mobile (29928) are within 0.6%. The 4K performance data reveals the GPU’s limitation: at High settings, the frame rate drops from 71.5 FPS at 1440p to 47.9 FPS at 4K, a 33% reduction. This is consistent with a GPU that lacks the memory bandwidth to handle 4K’s pixel count efficiently. The RTX 5060 is a capable 1080p and 1440p card for Control, but its 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are not designed for sustained high-refresh 4K gaming, as evidenced by the sub-60 FPS averages at High and Ultra settings in this resolution.