Control

The Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination is a study in contrasts: a budget quad-core processor paired with a flagship GPU. In Control, this pairing produces surprisingly robust frame rates across all tested resolutions, with the GPU clearly dominating the workload. The data shows this combo ranks 328th out of 3,720 tested combinations, placing it in the top 9% of all systems benchmarked for this game. The i3-12100F's 4-core/8-thread configuration, with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, proves sufficient to feed the RTX 4080 SUPER's 10,240 shading units at every resolution tested, from 1080p through 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers triple-digit averages at every preset. Low settings produce an average of 230 FPS, which drops to 174 FPS at Medium with a minimum of 148 FPS and a maximum of 200 FPS. High settings yield 155 FPS average, while Ultra still maintains a strong 134 FPS average. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the RTX 4080 SUPER is never the bottleneck; even the most demanding preset leaves ample headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern continues with excellent performance. Low settings average 185 FPS, Medium hits 132 FPS (with a 112 FPS minimum and 152 FPS maximum), High settles at 117 FPS, and Ultra still clears 100 FPS with a 102 FPS average. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 83 FPS, showing that the GPU has enough compute headroom that even the highest quality settings cannot push it below the playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4080 SUPER finally starts to feel the pressure, but the results remain impressive. Low settings average 125 FPS, Medium drops to 89 FPS (minimum 76 FPS, maximum 102 FPS), High yields 79 FPS, and Ultra produces 69 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 56 FPS, with the Ultra preset still maintaining a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The minimum FPS data at 4K Medium (76 FPS) suggests that frame pacing remains stable even when the GPU is under heavier load.

The lack of min/max data for several presets (notably all Low and Ultra configurations, plus 1440p High and 1080p High/Ultra) means the analysis relies primarily on average FPS for those settings. However, the available min/max figures at Medium presets show consistent frame delivery: 1080p Medium ranges from 148 to 200 FPS, 1440p Medium from 112 to 152 FPS, and 4K Medium from 76 to 102 FPS. These ranges indicate no severe frame-time spikes that would cause stuttering.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is Ultra, which averages 134 FPS. This is the most demanding preset available, and it still delivers more than twice the 60 FPS playable threshold. Given the headroom, users could even enable additional GPU load without concern, though the data only supports the tested presets.

For 2560x1440, Ultra again is the best setting, with an average of 102 FPS. This provides a comfortable 42 FPS margin above the playable threshold, making it an ideal choice for users with 144Hz monitors who want maximum visual quality.

At 3840x2160, Ultra remains the best setting, averaging 69 FPS. This is the tightest margin across all resolutions, but it still clears the 60 FPS threshold by 9 FPS. For 4K gaming, this is the recommended choice if visual fidelity is the priority, though users sensitive to frame drops might prefer High (79 FPS average) for additional buffer.

In all three resolutions, the combination of the i3-12100F and RTX 4080 SUPER can handle the maximum Ultra preset without falling below the playable threshold. The verdict data confirms this, listing all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) as playable at every resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 328th out of 3,720 tested combinations for Control, placing it in the 91st percentile of all systems tested. This is a strong result, though it reflects the CPU's limitations more than the GPU's capabilities. The RTX 4080 SUPER alone sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, while the i3-12100F ranks in the 68th percentile of all CPUs. The gap between these percentiles suggests that the processor is the limiting factor in this pairing, even though the measured FPS figures show no obvious CPU bottleneck at 4K.

The ranking indicates that most of the 327 combinations above this one likely feature more powerful processors paired with similar or slightly less capable GPUs. In Control, the game's engine appears to scale well with GPU resources, which favors the RTX 4080 SUPER. However, the quad-core i3-12100F could constrain performance in scenes with heavy physics or AI calculations, even if the average FPS data does not reveal this directly.

The combo's position in the top 9% of all tested systems means it outperforms the vast majority of configurations for this specific game. For a budget CPU paired with a flagship GPU, this is an unusually favorable outcome, suggesting that Control is not particularly CPU-intensive at the tested settings.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Core 3 N355 (avg score 13,492, 0% delta) and Intel Core i5-9500 (avg score 13,452, 0.3% delta) would perform nearly identically to the i3-12100F in Control. The i5-9500, despite being an older architecture, offers similar average benchmark scores, meaning users with that processor could expect comparable frame rates when paired with the RTX 4080 SUPER. The Intel Core 5 120UL (avg score 13,594, -0.7% delta) and Intel Core i7-1250U (avg score 13,351, 1.1% delta) are also close, though the i7-1250U's 1.1% higher score might translate to marginally better minimum FPS in CPU-bound scenes.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4080 (avg score 54,247, -0.1% delta) is nearly identical in performance, meaning a system with the standard RTX 4080 would produce almost exactly the same FPS numbers as the RTX 4080 SUPER in this game. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (avg score 54,828, -1.1% delta) is slightly faster on average, which could yield 1-2 FPS higher in Control. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (avg score 55,698, -2.7% delta) and AMD Radeon 8060S (avg score 55,757, -2.8% delta) both show higher average benchmark scores, suggesting they might deliver slightly better performance in this title, though the differences are small enough to be within measurement noise.

For users considering alternatives, the data suggests that swapping the i3-12100F for an i5-9500 would result in virtually identical performance, while upgrading to an i7-1250U might offer a tiny improvement. On the GPU side, the standard RTX 4080 is the closest match, with the AMD options providing marginal performance gains that would not be noticeable in real-world gameplay.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K Ultra settings?*

A: Yes. The measured data shows an average of 69 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold by 9 FPS.

Q: What is the highest FPS this combo achieves?

A: The highest measured average is 230 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The maximum FPS recorded for any preset is 200 FPS, observed at 1080p Medium.

*Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in Control?*

A: The data does not indicate a significant CPU bottleneck. The i3-12100F ranks in the 68th percentile of all CPUs, while the combo still achieves 134 FPS at 1080p Ultra, suggesting the GPU is well-utilized.

Q: How does this combo compare to the RTX 4080 (non-SUPER)?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER's average benchmark score is 54,209, while the RTX 4080 scores 54,247 (a -0.1% delta). In practical terms, both GPUs would produce nearly identical FPS in Control.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 76 FPS, observed at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. No other presets provided min FPS data, but this figure is well above the playable threshold.

Q: How many total combinations were tested, and where does this one rank?

A: This combo ranks 328th out of 3,720 tested combinations for Control, placing it in the top 9% of all systems benchmarked.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Control at every resolution and preset tested. The verdict data confirms that all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160. The best settings per resolution are Ultra at all three, with average FPS of 134, 102, and 69 respectively. Every configuration clears the 60 FPS playable threshold, meaning users can select the highest visual quality at their native resolution without compromise.

At 1080p and 1440p, the system offers substantial headroom above 60 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays up to 144Hz or even 165Hz at 1080p. At 4K, the 69 FPS average at Ultra provides a smooth experience for standard 60Hz displays, though users with 120Hz+ 4K monitors would need to drop to High (79 FPS) or Medium (89 FPS) to fully utilize their display's refresh rate.

The i3-12100F's modest 4-core/8-thread configuration does not appear to limit performance in Control at these settings, likely because the game's engine distributes load effectively across available threads. The RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth provide ample resources for the game's textures and effects at 4K Ultra. This combination, while unconventional, delivers a fully playable and visually impressive experience across the board.