Control

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti presents an intriguing imbalance: a quad-core processor from the Alder Lake generation driving one of the most powerful graphics cards from the Ampere generation. The benchmark data for Control reveals how this pairing performs across resolutions, with the GPU often carrying the load but the CPU occasionally imposing limits at lower settings. The numbers below are drawn directly from measured FPS results, showing that this combination can push high frame rates in most scenarios, though the most demanding preset at 4K remains just outside the playable threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the "Ultra" preset delivers an average of 104.6 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by a wide margin. This is the most demanding preset available, and the data indicates it runs smoothly at this resolution. The "High" preset at 1080p reaches 119.8 FPS, while "Medium" hits 138.4 FPS and "Low" reaches 192.6 FPS, but since Ultra is fully playable, there is no need to compromise on visual quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the "Ultra" preset again remains the best choice, producing an average of 82 FPS. This comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. The "High" preset at this resolution scores 90.4 FPS, "Medium" reaches 106.9 FPS, and "Low" achieves 145.8 FPS. All settings are playable here, but Ultra offers the highest fidelity without dropping below the target.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The "Ultra" preset averages 54.8 FPS, which falls short of the 60 FPS threshold and is therefore not considered playable by the benchmark criteria. The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is "High," which averages 62.5 FPS. The "Medium" preset runs at 69.9 FPS and "Low" at 99.8 FPS, but High represents the sweet spot for maximum visual quality while maintaining playability. The data shows a clear gradient: each step down in settings at 4K yields roughly 7-10 FPS improvement, but only High and below cross the playable line.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals which component dominates Control's performance. At 1080p, the CPU plays a more significant role because the GPU can render frames quickly, often outpacing what the processor can feed it. The jump from "Low" at 192.6 FPS to "Ultra" at 104.6 FPS represents a 45.7% drop, driven largely by increased GPU load. This suggests that at lower settings, the i3-12100F's four cores and eight threads may be the limiting factor, preventing even higher frame rates.

At 1440p, the relationship shifts. The "Ultra" preset at 82 FPS is only 21.6% lower than "Low" at 145.8 FPS, a smaller gap than at 1080p. This indicates the GPU is becoming the bottleneck, as the resolution increase places more demand on the RTX 3080 Ti's rendering capabilities. The CPU still matters, but its influence diminishes as the pixel count rises.

At 4K, the GPU is clearly the dominant component. The difference between "Low" at 99.8 FPS and "Ultra" at 54.8 FPS is a 45.1% reduction, but the absolute numbers are much lower than at 1080p. The RTX 3080 Ti's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 384-bit bus width are being taxed heavily, while the CPU likely has headroom. The fact that "High" at 4K still manages 62.5 FPS demonstrates that the GPU can handle the workload at moderate settings, but the CPU's quad-core architecture is not the primary constraint at this resolution.

The data implies that for this game, the RTX 3080 Ti is the star at higher resolutions, while the i3-12100F's single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 893) keeps it relevant at 1080p. The CPU's 8-thread benchmark score of 4026 and max-thread score of 4023 suggest it saturates quickly, but Control does not appear to require more than four cores based on the scaling patterns.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Control at 4K with ray tracing on Ultra?*

A: No. The measured data shows the "Ultra" preset at 3840x2160 averages 54.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable setting at 4K is "High," averaging 62.5 FPS.

*Q: What is the highest FPS this combo achieves in Control?*

A: The highest measured average is 192.6 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the "Low" preset. At 1440p, the maximum is 145.8 FPS on "Low," and at 4K it is 99.8 FPS on "Low."

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important at 1440p in this game?

A: The GPU becomes more important at 1440p. The delta between "Low" and "Ultra" at this resolution is 63.8 FPS (145.8 to 82), but the proportion of that gap attributable to GPU load increases compared to 1080p, where the CPU is more likely to bottleneck.

Q: Does the i3-12100F hold back the RTX 3080 Ti in this game?

A: At 1080p, yes, likely. The "Low" preset only reaches 192.6 FPS, which is high but not extreme for this GPU. At 4K, the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the GPU's rendering demands dominate performance.

Q: What settings should be used for a 60 FPS target at 4K?

A: The "High" preset is recommended, as it averages 62.5 FPS. "Medium" at 69.9 FPS and "Low" at 99.8 FPS also work, but "Ultra" at 54.8 FPS does not meet the threshold.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K at the same settings?

A: At "High" settings, 1080p averages 119.8 FPS versus 62.5 FPS at 4K, a 91.7% increase. At "Low," 1080p hits 192.6 FPS versus 99.8 FPS at 4K, a 93% increase. At "Medium," 138.4 FPS versus 69.9 FPS is a 98% difference, and at "Ultra," 104.6 versus 54.8 is a 90.9% gap.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494. The Intel Core 3 N355 scores 13492, a 0% delta, meaning it would perform nearly identically in CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13452, which is 0.3% lower, so it would behave similarly in Control at 1080p where the CPU matters more. The Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13594, 0.7% higher, and the Intel Core i7-1250U scores 13351, 1.1% lower. These small deltas suggest that swapping the i3-12100F for any of these processors would not change the game's performance in a meaningful way, as the RTX 3080 Ti's GPU power is the dominant factor at most settings.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41187. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300 scores 40870, a 0.8% delta, indicating near-identical performance. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB scores 41707, 1.2% higher, and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 scores 41897, 1.7% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 scores 40377, 2% lower. These rivals would produce similar FPS numbers in Control, with the RTX 5070 being slightly slower and the Tesla M40 being slightly faster. However, the Tesla cards are workstation-oriented and lack the same driver optimizations for gaming, so real-world results could differ.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 888 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places it in the top 23.9% of all configurations tested, which is a strong showing given the CPU's relatively modest specifications. The rank reflects that while the CPU is not top-tier, the GPU's high-end performance compensates in a game that scales well with graphics hardware. The RTX 3080 Ti's percentile versus all GPUs is 83, meaning it outperforms 83% of GPUs, while the CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 68. The combination's rank is closer to the GPU's percentile, reinforcing the analysis that the GPU drives overall performance in this game.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Control at playable frame rates in most scenarios. The verdict by resolution is clear: at 1920x1080, all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) clear 60 FPS, with the best setting being "Ultra" at 104.6 FPS. At 2560x1440, all presets are also playable, with "Ultra" at 82 FPS being the best choice. At 3840x2160, the "Ultra" preset fails to reach 60 FPS (averaging 54.8 FPS), but "High" at 62.5 FPS, "Medium" at 69.9 FPS, and "Low" at 99.8 FPS all pass the threshold. The data indicates that for 4K gaming, users must drop to High settings to maintain smooth performance, but this is a minor concession given the visual fidelity available. The RTX 3080 Ti's raw power ensures that even at 4K, the game remains highly playable, and the CPU does not prevent a positive experience at any resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS by settings is as follows: Low draws 192.6 FPS, Medium draws 138.4 FPS, High draws 119.8 FPS, and Ultra draws 104.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 88 FPS, showing the GPU's scaling under load.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 145.8 FPS, Medium averages 106.9 FPS, High averages 90.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 82 FPS. The spread is narrower than at 1080p, with a 63.8 FPS difference between the extremes.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 99.8 FPS, Medium averages 69.9 FPS, High averages 62.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 54.8 FPS. This resolution shows the steepest drop-off, with Ultra falling 45 FPS below Low. The data also reveals that the step from High to Ultra at 4K incurs a 7.7 FPS penalty, which is why High is the recommended setting for that resolution. Across all resolutions, the delta between Medium and High averages around 15-20 FPS, while the delta between High and Ultra is smaller, around 8-9 FPS, indicating diminishing returns at the highest preset.