Control

Best Settings per Resolution

The recorded data for this combination in Control shows that playable performance, defined as maintaining an average of at least 60 FPS, is only achievable at certain resolution and preset pairings. At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of 68.5 FPS. High settings at this resolution fall short of the threshold at 58.4 FPS average. At 2560x1440, the only preset that clears the 60 FPS line is Low, producing an average of 75.4 FPS. Medium at 1440p drops to 53.1 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. At 3840x2160, no tested preset reaches 60 FPS. The best result at 4K is Low settings with an average of 52.1 FPS, followed by Medium at 35.2 FPS, High at 30.4 FPS, and Ultra at 30.1 FPS. The verdict data confirms this pattern: the database lists no playable settings at 3840x2160, only Low at 2560x1440, and Low plus Medium at 1920x1080. The best playable experience at 1080p is Medium, while at 1440p it is Low.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU in this combo each have close rivals according to the database's average benchmark scores. The Intel Core i3-12100F sits at the 68th percentile among all tested CPUs with an average benchmark score of 13494. Its nearest rival is the Intel Core 3 N355, which scores 13492, a delta of 0 percent. The Intel Core i5-9500 is 0.3 percent behind, and the Intel Core 5 120UL is 0.7 percent ahead. The Intel Core i7-1250U is 1.1 percent ahead. For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 ranks at the 47th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 9780. Its nearest rival is the AMD FirePro W5000 at 9803, which is 0.2 percent ahead. The NVIDIA Quadro M2000M is 0.5 percent ahead, the NVIDIA Tesla M10 is 0.6 percent behind, and the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 is 0.7 percent behind. In practical terms for Control, these rival components would produce very similar frame rates. A system built with an Intel Core 3 N355 instead of the i3-12100F would behave nearly identically in CPU-bound scenes, while swapping the GTX 1070 for a Quadro M2000M or FirePro W5000 would yield GPU performance within a fraction of a percent. The aggregate benchmark scores indicate that this combo sits in a narrow performance band, with all nearby alternatives clustering within roughly 1 percent of each other.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, with average frame rates recorded for each configuration. At 1920x1080, Low settings produce an average of 96.6 FPS, Medium averages 68.5 FPS, High averages 58.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 50.9 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low settings average 75.4 FPS, Medium averages 53.1 FPS, High averages 44.3 FPS, and Ultra averages 41.9 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low settings average 52.1 FPS, Medium averages 35.2 FPS, High averages 30.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 30.1 FPS. The database did not record minimum or maximum FPS values for any of these configurations, so the analysis relies on average frame rates. The scaling pattern is consistent across resolutions: each step up in settings costs a meaningful share of performance. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium reduces the average by 28.1 FPS, from Medium to High by 10.1 FPS, and from High to Ultra by 7.5 FPS. At 1440p, the drop from Low to Medium is 22.3 FPS, Medium to High is 8.8 FPS, and High to Ultra is 2.4 FPS. At 4K, Low to Medium costs 16.9 FPS, Medium to High costs 4.8 FPS, and High to Ultra costs only 0.3 FPS. The diminishing returns at higher settings and resolutions suggest that the GPU is increasingly saturated, particularly at 4K where High and Ultra nearly converge. Resolution scaling is also steep: at Low settings, 1080p to 1440p costs 21.2 FPS, and 1440p to 4K costs 23.3 FPS. At Medium settings, the same resolution steps cost 15.4 FPS and 17.9 FPS respectively. At High settings, 1080p to 1440p costs 14.1 FPS, and 1440p to 4K costs 13.9 FPS. At Ultra, 1080p to 1440p costs 9.0 FPS, and 1440p to 4K costs 11.8 FPS.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control at 60 FPS or above only under specific conditions. At 1920x1080, the combination clears the playable threshold on Low settings with 96.6 FPS and on Medium settings with 68.5 FPS. High settings at 1080p miss the mark at 58.4 FPS, and Ultra falls further behind at 50.9 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low settings are playable, with 75.4 FPS. Medium at 1440p is not playable at 53.1 FPS. At 3840x2160, the system cannot reach 60 FPS at any preset. The best 4K result is 52.1 FPS on Low, which is still 7.9 FPS short of the playable threshold. The database's verdict by resolution confirms this: no settings are listed as playable at 4K, Low is the sole playable setting at 1440p, and Low plus Medium are playable at 1080p. For a 60 FPS target, the practical ceiling is Medium at 1080p or Low at 1440p. Players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate can run High at 1080p or 1440p, but they will be below 60 FPS. At 4K, even Low settings cannot sustain the playable threshold, so this resolution is not viable for smooth gameplay with this hardware.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured data indicates that the GPU is the dominant constraint in Control for this combination, particularly as resolution increases. The CPU, an Intel Core i3-12100F with 4 cores and 8 threads, has a strong single-thread score of 893 in 3dmark single-thread and 1674 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which places it at the 68th percentile among all CPUs. The GPU, a GTX 1070, sits at the 47th percentile among all GPUs, a lower relative standing. The frame rate scaling across resolutions reinforces the GPU-bound nature of this game. At Low settings, dropping from 1080p to 1440p reduces average FPS from 96.6 to 75.4, a 21.9 percent decrease, and dropping from 1440p to 4K reduces it from 75.4 to 52.1, a 30.9 percent decrease. This steep decline with pixel count is characteristic of a GPU-limited workload. The CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but as resolution climbs, the GPU becomes the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 96.6 FPS, which is close to what the CPU can deliver in lightly threaded game logic. At 4K, the frame rates collapse to the 30 to 52 FPS range regardless of settings, indicating that the GTX 1070's raw throughput is the limiting factor. The settings scaling also points to GPU dominance: at 4K, the difference between High and Ultra is only 0.3 FPS, while at 1080p the difference is 7.5 FPS. The GPU is so saturated at 4K that raising settings has almost no additional impact. Conversely, the CPU matters more at 1080p, where the higher frame rates place more demands on the processor. The i3-12100F's 3dmark 8-thread score of 4026 and max-thread score of 4023 indicate that its multithreaded performance is consistent, but the game's frame rates at 1080p suggest that even this mid-range CPU is adequate for the title. The data shows that upgrading the GPU would yield the largest frame rate gains, especially at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU would remain sufficient.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 60 FPS on 1080p?

A: Yes, on Low settings at 96.6 FPS average and on Medium settings at 68.5 FPS average. High and Ultra settings fall below 60 FPS at 58.4 FPS and 50.9 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: Low settings are the only playable option at 1440p, with an average of 75.4 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra all average below 60 FPS at 53.1, 44.3, and 41.9 FPS respectively.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. The best 4K result is Low settings at 52.1 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra average 35.2, 30.4, and 30.1 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494, which is essentially tied with the Intel Core 3 N355 at 13492. The Intel Core i5-9500 is 0.3 percent slower, the Intel Core 5 120UL is 0.7 percent faster, and the Intel Core i7-1250U is 1.1 percent faster.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 9780. The AMD FirePro W5000 is 0.2 percent faster, the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M is 0.5 percent faster, the NVIDIA Tesla M10 is 0.6 percent slower, and the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 is 0.7 percent slower.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: Low settings average 96.6 FPS, while Ultra averages 50.9 FPS. The difference is 45.7 FPS between the two presets.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's ranking for Control, this combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 ranks 3074 out of 3720 tested combos. This places the system in the lower 18 percent of all tested configurations for this game. The CPU ranks at the 68th percentile among all CPUs, which is a solid mid-range position, while the GPU ranks at the 47th percentile among all GPUs, which is near the middle of the distribution. The gap between the CPU's relative standing and the GPU's relative standing explains the overall combo rank: the GTX 1070 holds the system back in Control, a GPU-intensive title. The measured frame rates support this interpretation. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 68.5 FPS, which is playable but not exceptionally high. At 1440p, only Low settings are playable. At 4K, no settings are playable. The combo rank of 3074 out of 3720 indicates that a substantial majority of tested systems deliver better performance in this game. Systems with higher-ranked GPUs would show higher average FPS at the same settings, and the CPU's strong single-thread and multithread scores would allow such GPUs to stretch their legs without becoming CPU-bound. The data suggests that this combo is positioned for 1080p gaming at medium presets, with limited headroom for higher resolutions or more demanding settings.