Control

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 delivers a mixed bag for Control, a game that clearly favors GPU headroom at higher resolutions. At 1080p, this combo is genuinely capable, but stepping up to 1440p or 4K demands significant settings compromises, and at 4K the system falls short of a playable experience entirely. The measured data, drawn from the database, shows a predictable pattern: as resolution climbs, average frame rates drop sharply, and the gap between Low and Ultra presets widens.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database records average frame rates only, with no minimum or maximum values provided for any resolution or preset. All figures below are average FPS.

1920x1080 (Full HD):

• Low: 99.2 FPS
• Medium: 69.8 FPS
• High: 63.9 FPS
• Ultra: 52.2 FPS

At 1080p, the GTX 1070 still has plenty of room to stretch. The jump from Low to Medium costs about 30% of the frame rate, while moving from Medium to High is a smaller step, roughly a 8% drop. Ultra is the first preset that pushes the average below 60 FPS, landing at 52.2 FPS, which is a 16% reduction from High.

2560x1440 (QHD):

• Low: 71.9 FPS
• Medium: 50.7 FPS
• High: 47.4 FPS
• Ultra: 38.5 FPS

At 1440p, the performance cliff becomes visible. Low is the only preset that stays above 60 FPS, and it does so with a comfortable margin at 71.9 FPS. Medium falls to 50.7 FPS, which is a 29% drop from Low, while High and Ultra continue the slide to 47.4 FPS and 38.5 FPS respectively. The scaling between presets here is less linear than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is becoming the limiting factor.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 51.3 FPS
• Medium: 37.2 FPS
• High: 30.7 FPS
• Ultra: 26.6 FPS

At 4K, the GTX 1070 is clearly out of its depth. Even Low settings only manage 51.3 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. Medium drops to 37.2 FPS, High to 30.7 FPS, and Ultra to 26.6 FPS. The frame rate loss from 1440p Low to 4K Low is about 29%, and from 1080p Low to 4K Low it is nearly 48%. This resolution effectively doubles the pixel count compared to 1440p, and the data shows the GPU cannot compensate.

Best Settings per Resolution

The playable threshold in the database is set at 60 FPS. Based on the measured averages, the most demanding preset that stays at or above that threshold at each resolution is as follows:

• 1920x1080: High preset, averaging 63.9 FPS. This is the best visual quality that maintains 60 FPS. Medium at 69.8 FPS is also playable, but High offers better fidelity for only a small frame rate cost.
• 2560x1440: Low preset, averaging 71.9 FPS. This is the only setting that clears 60 FPS at this resolution. Medium falls to 50.7 FPS, which is below the threshold.
• 3840x2160: No preset reaches 60 FPS. The best recorded average is 51.3 FPS on Low, which is not playable by the database's standard.

For 1080p users, High is the recommended target. For 1440p, Low is the only viable option, and the visual trade-off is substantial. At 4K, the system cannot provide a 60 FPS experience at any setting.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 1080p with high settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 63.9 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. Ultra settings drop to 52.2 FPS, so High is the ceiling for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Low is the only preset that averages above 60 FPS at 2560x1440, with a recorded 71.9 FPS. Medium drops to 50.7 FPS, which is below the playable threshold.

Q: Is 4K playable with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: No. The database shows that even at Low settings, the average FPS at 3840x2160 is 51.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The best recorded 4K result is on Low, and it is not playable.

Q: How big is the performance gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 99.2 FPS while Ultra averages 52.2 FPS. That is a difference of 47 FPS, meaning Ultra runs at roughly 53% of the Low preset's frame rate.

Q: Does the GTX 1070 scale well when lowering settings?

A: The scaling is strong at 1080p and 1440p. At 1080p, moving from Ultra to Low increases the average from 52.2 FPS to 99.2 FPS, a 90% improvement. At 1440p, the same preset change goes from 38.5 FPS to 71.9 FPS, an 87% improvement. At 4K, the gain is smaller, from 26.6 FPS to 51.3 FPS, an 93% improvement, but still not enough to reach 60 FPS.

Q: Which resolution offers the best balance of quality and performance?

A: 1920x1080 with High settings offers a 63.9 FPS average, which is the highest preset that remains playable. This provides better visual fidelity than 1440p Low and a much smoother experience than any 4K setting.

The Verdict

Based on the recorded data, this system can run Control, but only under specific conditions. At 1920x1080, the combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is playable on High, Medium, and Low presets, with High being the best visual option at 63.9 FPS. Ultra at 1080p falls short at 52.2 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the system is playable only on Low settings, which delivers 71.9 FPS. Every other preset at this resolution, Medium at 50.7 FPS, High at 47.4 FPS, and Ultra at 38.5 FPS, fails to reach the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, no preset is playable. The best average is 51.3 FPS on Low, which is below the threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra all record averages in the 26 to 37 FPS range, which is not a smooth experience.

The verdict is straightforward: this PC is a solid 1080p machine for Control, a limited 1440p machine that requires Low settings, and not a 4K machine at all. For users with a 1080p monitor, High settings are the target. For 1440p, expect to sacrifice visual quality for frame rate. For 4K, consider a different GPU or a lower resolution.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution changes. At lower resolutions, the CPU has more influence, while at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the dominant factor.

At 1920x1080, the frame rate differences between presets are large. Low runs at 99.2 FPS, while Ultra drops to 52.2 FPS. This wide spread indicates that the GPU is handling most of the rendering load, but the CPU is able to feed it enough data to keep frame rates high on lower presets. The i5-12400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, has enough single-thread performance to avoid becoming a hard limit at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates compress. Low is 71.9 FPS, Medium is 50.7 FPS, High is 47.4 FPS, and Ultra is 38.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is much larger than the gap between Medium and High, suggesting that the GPU is starting to saturate. The CPU is less of a factor here, as the higher pixel count puts more strain on the GTX 1070's shading units and memory bandwidth.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting component. All frame rates are below 60 FPS, and the scaling between presets is less pronounced in absolute terms. Low at 51.3 FPS and Ultra at 26.6 FPS show that even the lowest settings cannot overcome the pixel throughput demands. The CPU is essentially idle in comparison, as the GPU's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus are overwhelmed by the 4K resolution.

In summary, the CPU matters most at 1080p, where high frame rates on Low and Medium presets rely on solid single-thread performance. The GPU matters most at 1440p and 4K, where its compute and memory bandwidth determine the ceiling. The i5-12400F is not the weak link at any resolution; the GTX 1070 is.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's ranking of tested CPU and GPU combinations for Control, this pairing sits at rank 3068 out of 3720 combos. That places it in the lower third of all tested systems, which is consistent with the measured frame rates: capable at 1080p, marginal at 1440p, and unplayable at 4K.

The CPU itself, the Intel Core i5-12400F, holds a 73rd percentile position among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 19039. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS with a score of 19047 (a 0% delta), the Intel Core 3 201E at 19056 (-0.1% delta), the Intel Core i5-1335U at 18982 (0.3% delta), and the AMD EPYC 7773X at 18979 (0.3% delta). This indicates the processor is well within the expected range for its class, providing solid multi-threaded performance.

The GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, sits at the 47th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 9780. Its nearest rivals are the AMD FirePro W5000 at 9803 (-0.2% delta), the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M at 9832 (-0.5% delta), the NVIDIA Tesla M10 at 9724 (0.6% delta), and the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 at 9716 (0.7% delta). The GTX 1070 is essentially at the median of the GPU distribution, which explains why it struggles with Control's more demanding presets.

The combo rank of 3068 out of 3720 reflects the GPU's age and mid-tier position. The CPU is not holding back the system significantly, but the GPU's 47th percentile standing means it will falter when the game's visual load increases. For comparison, a combo with a higher-ranked GPU would likely see much better results at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU would remain a minor factor. This system is best viewed as a 1080p gaming rig, and the ranking confirms that it is not competitive at higher resolutions.