Control

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 delivers a robust Control experience across all three tested resolutions, with the data showing that only the most demanding 4K Ultra preset fails to clear the 60 FPS threshold. Benchmark results indicate a system that scales cleanly from high-refresh 1080p gaming to playable 4K, with the CPU and GPU roles shifting predictably as resolution increases.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is Medium, which produces 65.2 FPS. The High preset drops to 58.6 FPS, just below the playable threshold, while Ultra falls further to 48.4 FPS. Low settings yield 93.7 FPS, but Medium offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance for 4K displays.

For 2560x1440, the data shows that Ultra settings are fully playable at 73.3 FPS. This is the highest preset available, and it clears the 60 FPS bar with a comfortable margin. High settings reach 84.8 FPS, Medium hits 98.4 FPS, and Low tops out at 140.2 FPS. Since Ultra is both the maximum quality option and playable, it is the recommended choice at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings average 98 FPS, which is again the best preset and well above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings produce 116.8 FPS, Medium delivers 130.1 FPS, and Low reaches 182.4 FPS. The system has enough headroom at 1080p to run the game at maximum quality without any concern for frame rate dips.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU dominance at higher settings. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset drops from 98 FPS to 73.3 FPS, a 25.2% reduction. Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at Ultra drops performance from 73.3 FPS to 48.4 FPS, a 34% reduction. These steep declines indicate that the RX 9070 is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the i5-12400F's workload does not increase proportionally with pixel count.

The CPU's role is more visible at lower resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080 Low, the game hits 182.4 FPS, and at 2560x1440 Low it reaches 140.2 FPS, a 23.1% decrease. At 3840x2160 Low, performance falls to 93.7 FPS, another 33.2% drop. The fact that Low settings at 1440p still deliver 140 FPS suggests the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at high frame rates, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor once pixel count rises.

Across presets at a fixed resolution, the scaling is steep. At 3840x2160, going from Low to Medium costs 28.5 FPS, while Medium to High costs another 6.6 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 10.2 FPS. This non-linear scaling indicates that the GPU's compute resources are taxed heavily by the higher-quality effects in Control, particularly at 4K. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to keep up with the GPU's demands across all tested configurations, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates at lower resolutions where CPU overhead would be more apparent.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a full range of playable settings. Low settings average 182.4 FPS, Medium averages 130.1 FPS, High averages 116.8 FPS, and Ultra averages 98 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 84.4 FPS, indicating that the graphics card has substantial headroom at this resolution, and even the most demanding preset leaves room for high refresh rate displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong across the board. Low settings average 140.2 FPS, Medium averages 98.4 FPS, High averages 84.8 FPS, and Ultra averages 73.3 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra shrinks to 66.9 FPS, showing that the GPU is beginning to feel the load of additional pixels, but every preset still clears the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes significantly. Low settings average 93.7 FPS, Medium averages 65.2 FPS, High averages 58.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 48.4 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 45.3 FPS, and notably, the High preset falls just short of playable at 58.6 FPS. The data shows that 4K requires a settings compromise, with only Low and Medium maintaining an average above 60 FPS.

The measured FPS values follow a consistent pattern: each resolution step down from 1080p to 1440p to 4K costs roughly 20-30% performance at equivalent settings. The exception is at 4K Ultra, which drops below the playable threshold, making Medium the sensible ceiling for 4K owners.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is clear: this PC can run Control at 60 FPS or above in most configurations. At 1920x1080, all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable, with Ultra averaging 98 FPS and Low reaching 182.4 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same is true, with Ultra at 73.3 FPS and Low at 140.2 FPS, giving users full freedom to choose their preferred quality level.

At 3840x2160, the system is partially playable. Low settings average 93.7 FPS and Medium averages 65.2 FPS, both clearing the 60 FPS threshold. However, High falls to 58.6 FPS and Ultra to 48.4 FPS, which are below the playable threshold. The recommendation for 4K is Medium settings, which delivers the best visual quality while maintaining an average of 65.2 FPS.

Overall, the i5-12400F and RX 9070 combination is well-suited for Control. The system ranks 1166 out of 3720 tested combos in this game, placing it in the upper third of all hardware pairings. The data confirms that 1080p and 1440p users can max out the game without issue, while 4K users should target Medium settings for a smooth experience. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on the RX 9070 provides ample headroom for the game's textures at all resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, which posts an average benchmark score of 19047 compared to the i5-12400F's 19039, a delta of 0%. This means the Ryzen 5 7535HS would behave nearly identically in CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Core 3 201E scores 19056, a 0.1% advantage, while the Intel Core i5-1335U scores 18982, a 0.3% deficit, and the AMD EPYC 7773X scores 18979, also 0.3% lower. All four rivals fall within a 0.4% performance band, indicating that any of them would produce similar frame rates in Control when paired with the RX 9070.

On the GPU side, the AMD Radeon RX 9070's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6800S, which scores 24063 versus the RX 9070's 23877, a 0.8% difference. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z scores 23736, a 0.6% deficit, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile scores 23628, a 1.1% deficit, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170, a 1.2% advantage. These small deltas mean that swapping in any of these GPUs would yield nearly identical performance in Control, with the RTX 2080 SUPER being the strongest alternative by a slim margin.

The practical takeaway is that users with any of these near-identical components should expect the same playable settings: Ultra at 1080p and 1440p, and Medium at 4K. The performance differences are within the margin of measurement error, so no single rival would push 4K High above the 60 FPS threshold.

FAQ

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

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 48.4 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best 4K preset is Medium, which averages 65.2 FPS.

Q: What is the highest preset that stays above 60 FPS at 2560x1440?

A: Ultra settings are playable at 1440p, averaging 73.3 FPS. This is the maximum preset available, so users can run the game at full quality without compromising frame rate.

Q: How much performance drops when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 98. At 3840x2160 Ultra, it falls to 48.4 FPS, a 49.6 FPS reduction. The drop from 1440p Ultra (73.3 FPS) to 4K Ultra (48.4 FPS) is 24.9 FPS.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K. The steep performance declines from 1440p to 4K at every preset indicate that the RX 9070's compute resources are the limiting factor, while the i5-12400F provides sufficient CPU throughput.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400F strong enough for high frame rates at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080 Low, the system averages 182.4 FPS, and at Ultra it averages 98 FPS. The CPU keeps up with the GPU at these frame rates, as evidenced by the lack of a CPU-induced plateau.

Q: What settings should a 4K monitor owner use for Control?

A: Medium settings at 3840x2160, which averages 65.2 FPS. This is the highest preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold. Low settings are also playable at 93.7 FPS, but Medium offers better visual quality while remaining playable.