Control

The pairing of an Intel Core i5-12400 with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 creates an extreme performance disparity for Control, a 2019 Action Adventure title. The benchmark data indicates that this combination produces exceptionally high frame rates across all tested resolutions, with the CPU positioning at the 72nd percentile among all tested processors and the GPU at the 88th percentile among all tested graphics cards. The measured average scores show a clear pattern: the i5-12400's 18,683 average benchmark score places it within 1% of its nearest rivals, while the RTX 4090's 60,347 average score demonstrates its position at the top of the performance hierarchy. This analysis examines how these components interact specifically within Control's engine across three resolutions and four quality presets.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i5-12400 sits in a tightly contested performance bracket based on its average benchmark score of 18,683. The closest rival is the AMD EPYC 7643, which scores 18,697, a delta of only -0.1%, meaning the i5-12400 is essentially performance-equivalent to that server-class processor. The Intel Core i7-1355U trails by 0.3% with a score of 18,730, while the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 is 0.7% behind at 18,811. The only rival that actually falls behind the i5-12400 is the Intel Core i3-14100F, which scores 18,519 for a delta of 0.9% in favor of the i5. For gaming purposes, any of these four CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Control when paired with the same GPU, as the differences are all under a single percentage point.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4090's average benchmark score of 60,347 places it in rare company. The Intel Arc Pro A60 matches almost exactly, scoring 60,326 for a delta of 0%, making it a statistical tie. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 is marginally ahead at 60,140, a 0.3% delta, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M leads by 2.5% with a score of 61,896. The AMD Radeon PRO V710 falls 2.9% behind at 58,657. These deltas indicate that for Control specifically, swapping the RTX 4090 for any of these rivals would produce nearly imperceptible differences in average FPS, though the RTX 4090's 24 GB GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth provide architectural advantages that these benchmark scores may not fully capture in synthetic tests.

The practical implication for this combination is that the CPU, not the GPU, represents the more replaceable component. The i5-12400's rivals are all within 1% of its performance, meaning a system builder could substitute any of those four CPUs without materially affecting Control's frame rates. Conversely, the GPU's nearest rivals span a 5.4% total range, with the Radeon PRO V710 being the slowest option and the W6600M being the fastest, though all remain in the same performance class.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals that Control scales heavily with resolution, which indicates the RTX 4090 is the dominant performance driver at higher settings. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 77.8 at Ultra settings to 137.8 at Low settings, a span of 60 FPS. This wide gap between presets demonstrates that the GPU's workload increases substantially with visual quality, while the CPU's role remains relatively static. At 2560x1440, the range narrows to 88.3 FPS (from 116.8 at Ultra to 205.1 at Low), and at 1920x1080 the range tightens further to 82.4 FPS (from 151.2 at Ultra to 233.6 at Low).

The resolution scaling provides clear evidence of GPU limitation. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Ultra settings reduces average FPS from 151.2 to 116.8, a 22.7% drop. Moving again to 3840x2160 at Ultra brings the average down to 77.8, another 33.4% reduction. This consistent degradation as pixel count increases confirms that the RTX 4090 is the bottleneck at all three resolutions. The CPU, with its six cores and twelve threads running at a 4.40 GHz boost clock, provides ample headroom for Control's engine, which is reflected in the fact that even at 1080p Ultra the system maintains over 150 FPS.

The preset scaling further reinforces the GPU-centric nature of this workload. At 3840x2160, Low settings produce 137.8 FPS while Ultra produces 77.8 FPS, a 77.2% performance penalty for maxing out visual quality. The same comparison at 2560x1440 shows 205.1 FPS at Low versus 116.8 at Ultra, a 75.6% penalty. At 1920x1080, the penalty is 54.6% (233.6 versus 151.2). The diminishing penalty at lower resolutions suggests that while the GPU still carries most of the load, the CPU begins to exert more influence at 1080p where the absolute frame rates approach the i5-12400's practical limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 233.6 FPS, which is the single fastest result in the entire dataset. Medium settings reduce that to 195 FPS, while High averages 174.8 FPS. Ultra settings still manage 151.2 FPS, which is more than double the 60 FPS playable threshold. The spread from Low to Ultra is 82.4 FPS, indicating that even at the most demanding preset, the hardware combination never comes close to dropping below playable territory.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally strong. Low settings average 205.1 FPS, Medium 147.3 FPS, High 128.4 FPS, and Ultra 116.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 88.3 FPS, slightly wider than at 1080p, which reflects the increased GPU workload at higher pixel counts. Every preset at this resolution clears 100 FPS, confirming that 1440p presents no challenge to this combination.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4090's capabilities are more thoroughly exercised. Ultra settings produce 77.8 FPS, which is the lowest average in the entire dataset but still comfortably above 60 FPS. High settings improve to 87.4 FPS, Medium to 100 FPS, and Low to 137.8 FPS. The 60 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is identical to the 1080p gap, but the absolute numbers are lower across the board. The min and max FPS values are not provided in the data, so the analysis relies solely on average frame rates, which present a uniformly positive picture.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control at all tested settings and resolutions, and the verdict data confirms that every single preset combination exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 3840x2160, the playable settings include High, Low, Medium, and Ultra, with the best settings being Ultra at an average of 77.8 FPS. This means a 4K display can run with maximum visual quality while maintaining a frame rate that is nearly 30% above the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, and the best settings are again Ultra, delivering 116.8 FPS. This provides a substantial margin over the 60 FPS threshold, making 1440p Ultra a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors. At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra with 151.2 FPS, which is more than sufficient for even 144 Hz displays. The data shows no configuration that falls below 60 FPS, so the verdict is unambiguous: the combination is fully playable at every resolution and preset included in the measurements.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combination achieves in Control?

A: The highest average FPS is 233.6, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this system run Control at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings the average FPS is 77.8, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold by 29.7%.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 scores 18,683 on average, which is within 0.9% of all four nearest rivals, ranging from the AMD EPYC 7643 at 18,697 to the Intel Core i3-14100F at 18,519.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between presets at any single resolution?

A: The largest gap is 88.3 FPS at 2560x1440, where Low settings average 205.1 FPS and Ultra settings average 116.8 FPS.

Q: Which resolution shows the smallest frame rate drop from Low to Ultra?

A: At 1920x1080, the drop from Low to Ultra is 82.4 FPS (from 233.6 to 151.2), which is the smallest absolute difference among the three tested resolutions.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's closest rival compare in benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Arc Pro A60 scores 60,326, which is a 0% delta from the RTX 4090's 60,347, making them statistically equivalent in average benchmark performance.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all 3,720 tested combinations for Control, this pairing of Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 146th. This places it in the top 3.9% of all tested configurations, which is a strong result given that the CPU is a mid-range six-core processor while the GPU is a flagship-class card. The ranking reflects the GPU's dominant role in this game, as the RTX 4090's performance carries the combination to near-top-tier status despite the CPU's relatively modest position at the 72nd percentile among all processors.

The rank of 146 out of 3,720 indicates that there are 145 combinations that perform better in Control, but the vast majority of those likely feature even more powerful CPUs paired with the same RTX 4090 or other top-tier GPUs. The data does not specify which combos rank higher, but the CPU's benchmarking position suggests that upgrading to a stronger processor would yield only marginal improvements in frame rates, given that the i5-12400 already delivers over 77 FPS at 4K Ultra. The combination's percentile ranking of 88 for the GPU versus 72 for the CPU further confirms that the graphics card is the primary driver of this strong overall position.