Control

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 delivers a clear performance profile for Control, with playability varying sharply by resolution. At 1920x1080, the combination is fully capable of running the game at maximum settings, while 2560x1440 requires a reduction to Medium settings for a stable experience. At 4K, the system is limited to Low settings to reach the 60 FPS threshold, as the data shows a steep drop-off in frame rates as visual fidelity increases.

Best Settings per Resolution

The measured FPS data indicates that the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS differs significantly across the three tested resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the system achieves 65 FPS on Ultra settings, which is the highest preset tested. This makes Ultra the best setting for this resolution, as it clears the 60 FPS playability threshold with a small margin. The frame rate at Ultra is higher than the 56 FPS recorded at 2560x1440 on High, indicating that the 1080p resolution provides enough headroom for maximum visual quality.

For 2560x1440, the best setting that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, which produces an average of 64 FPS. The High preset drops to 56 FPS, falling short of the target. The data shows a clear boundary: Medium is the most demanding preset that remains playable, while High does not meet the threshold.

At 3840x2160, the only setting that reaches the 60 FPS mark is Low, with an average of exactly 60 FPS. Medium manages only 43 FPS, and High falls to 38 FPS, while Ultra is the lowest at 33 FPS. The system is severely constrained at 4K, and Low is the sole viable option for smooth gameplay.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals which component limits performance in Control. At 1920x1080, the GPU is the dominant factor, as frame rates range from 118 FPS on Low to 65 FPS on Ultra. This wide spread—a drop of 53 FPS from Low to Ultra—indicates that the graphics card is fully utilized and becomes the bottleneck as settings increase. The CPU, with 6 cores and 12 threads, has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at lower settings, as evidenced by the high frame rates on Low.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU load intensifies. The average FPS on Low drops from 118 at 1080p to 89, a reduction of 29 FPS, while Medium falls from 84 to 64, and High from 75 to 56. This consistent decrease across all settings points to the GPU being the primary constraint, as the pixel count increases by 78% from 1080p to 1440p. The CPU's role becomes less prominent, as the frame rates are lower and the GPU is spending more time on each frame.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmingly the limiting factor. The frame rates plummet, with Low at 60 FPS, Medium at 43 FPS, and High at 38 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 27 FPS, and even the lowest preset barely reaches the 60 FPS target. This pattern confirms that the RX 7600, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus, cannot sustain high performance at 4K in Control. The CPU's influence is negligible at this resolution, as the GPU is saturated regardless of settings.

The data also shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in any scenario. At 1080p Low, the system hits 118 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate to stress the CPU's single-thread performance. The i5-12400's boost clock of 4.40 GHz and its benchmark scores, such as 947 in Cinebench R20 single-core, support this conclusion. Across all resolutions, the frame rate scaling follows the GPU's capability, not the CPU's.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 1920x1080 on Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 65, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the best preset available at this resolution.

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

A: Medium is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, with an average of 64 FPS. The High preset falls to 56 FPS, which is below the threshold.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware?

A: Only on Low settings, which achieves an average of exactly 60 FPS. Medium drops to 43 FPS, and High runs at 38 FPS, making both unplayable by the 60 FPS standard.

Q: How does the GPU perform relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 7600 has an average benchmark score of 15171. Its closest competitor, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, scores 15199, a delta of -0.2%, meaning they perform nearly identically. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, which is 0.7% higher.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at any resolution?

A: No. The frame rates scale with GPU load across resolutions, and the CPU's performance, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989, is sufficient to keep up with the GPU. The 1080p Low result of 118 FPS shows no CPU limitation.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and Ultra at 1920x1080?

A: Medium runs at 84 FPS average, while Ultra runs at 65 FPS. This 19 FPS gap shows that the Ultra preset is noticeably more demanding, but it still remains playable.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for what other hardware would deliver similar performance in Control. For the Intel Core i5-12400, the closest match is the AMD EPYC 7643, with an average benchmark score of 18697 compared to the i5-12400's 18683, a negligible delta of -0.1%. The Intel Core i7-1355U scores 18730, 0.3% higher, and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 scores 18811, 0.7% higher. The Intel Core i3-14100F scores 18519, which is 0.9% lower. These CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Control, as the game is not heavily CPU-bound.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 7600's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, scoring 15199 versus 15171, a delta of -0.2%. The AMD Radeon Pro 560X scores 15082, 0.6% lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti scores 15063, 0.7% lower. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, 0.7% higher. A system with any of these GPUs paired with a similar CPU would exhibit nearly the same performance metrics at each resolution and preset, meaning the same playability boundaries would apply.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is clear. At 1920x1080, the system can run Control at Ultra settings with an average of 65 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. All four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable at this resolution. At 2560x1440, the playable settings are Low at 89 FPS and Medium at 64 FPS. High and Ultra are not playable, as they drop to 56 FPS and 49 FPS, respectively. At 3840x2160, only Low is playable, achieving exactly 60 FPS.

This PC is a solid 1080p machine for Control, with enough power for maximum settings. For 1440p, it requires a compromise to Medium settings, which still delivers a smooth experience. At 4K, the system is at its limit, and only the lowest settings are viable. The data confirms that the RX 7600 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the i5-12400 provides ample CPU performance across all scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 2608 out of 3720 tested combinations for Control. This places it in the lower half of all tested hardware pairs, reflecting the GPU's mid-range status. The percentile data for individual components supports this: the CPU ranks in the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 57th percentile among all GPUs. The combo's rank is dragged down by the GPU, which is the weaker link in this pairing.

In practical terms, this rank means that while the system is capable of running Control, many other combinations will deliver higher frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions. The rank is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows that the system struggles at 4K and cannot reach the highest settings at 1440p. For a game like Control, which is graphically demanding, this combo is better suited to 1080p gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full measured FPS data provides a detailed view of performance across all resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers the following averages:

• Low: 118 FPS
• Medium: 84 FPS (min 71, max 97)
• High: 75 FPS
• Ultra: 65 FPS

At 2560x1440, the averages are:

• Low: 89 FPS
• Medium: 64 FPS (min 54, max 73)
• High: 56 FPS
• Ultra: 49 FPS

At 3840x2160, the averages are:

• Low: 60 FPS
• Medium: 43 FPS (min 36, max 49)
• High: 38 FPS
• Ultra: 33 FPS

The min and max values for Medium settings show that frame time consistency varies. At 1080p, the range is 71 to 97 FPS, a spread of 26 FPS. At 1440p, the range narrows to 54 to 73 FPS, a spread of 19 FPS. At 4K, the range is 36 to 49 FPS, a spread of 13 FPS. This indicates that as resolution increases, the frame rate becomes more stable in absolute terms, but the average drops significantly. The data shows a clear pattern: performance scales inversely with resolution, and the GPU is the primary determinant of frame rates in Control.