Control

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a decisive performance profile for Control, with benchmark data showing every tested resolution and preset combination clearing the 60 FPS playable threshold. Across 4K, 1440p, and 1080p, the average frame rates range from a low of 62.4 FPS at 4K Ultra to a high of 217.4 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this combination is not merely capable but provides substantial headroom for high-refresh-rate displays at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the measured averages show a clear scaling pattern tied to graphical settings. The Low preset produces an average of 110.2 FPS, which is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay. Moving to Medium drops the average to 78.9 FPS, while High yields 68.3 FPS. The Ultra preset brings the average down to 62.4 FPS, which still clears the 60 FPS playable threshold but leaves minimal margin for demanding scenes. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is 47.8 FPS, indicating that the RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for the game’s textures at this resolution, though the frame rate impact of each step up in quality is substantial.

At 2560x1440, the performance headroom expands considerably. The Low preset averages 160.6 FPS, making it ideal for competitive play on high-refresh monitors. Medium delivers 117.6 FPS, High reaches 104.2 FPS, and Ultra still maintains 89.3 FPS. Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 71.3 FPS, larger than at 4K, which suggests that at this resolution the GPU has more spare capacity to absorb the cost of higher-quality settings. Every setting here provides well over double the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring that even the most chaotic combat sequences with particle effects and physics interactions remain fluid.

At 1920x1080, the combination becomes exceptionally fast. The Low preset averages 217.4 FPS, which is ideal for 240 Hz monitors. Medium drops to 153.5 FPS, High to 133.9 FPS, and Ultra to 117 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 100.4 FPS, showing that the CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads boosting to 4.40 GHz, is not bottlenecking the GPU even at these high frame rates. The 1080p Ultra average of 117 FPS is nearly double the 4K Ultra result, confirming that resolution is the dominant factor in frame rate for this pairing.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. The measured average at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset is 62.4 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. However, the margin is slim, so expect occasional dips in visually intensive scenes.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144 Hz monitor?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 104.2 FPS and Ultra averages 89.3 FPS, both of which are well suited for a 144 Hz display. For a 240 Hz monitor, the 1920x1080 Low preset at 217.4 FPS is the only setting that consistently exceeds that refresh rate.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from Low to Ultra at 1440p?

A: The average frame rate drops from 160.6 FPS on Low to 89.3 FPS on Ultra at 2560x1440, a reduction of 71.3 FPS. This represents a 44.4% decrease in average frame rate, so the visual upgrade comes at a significant cost.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: Benchmark results suggest the GPU is still the primary driver. The 1080p Ultra average of 117 FPS is lower than the 1440p Low average of 160.6 FPS, indicating that increasing resolution has a predictable impact. The CPU’s single-thread performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 909, appears sufficient to feed the GPU at these frame rates.

Q: Does the game favor the CPU or GPU more heavily?

A: The data shows GPU-bound behavior. Across all three resolutions, the frame rate scales consistently with preset quality, and the 4K Ultra average of 62.4 FPS is only 53.3% of the 1080p Ultra average of 117 FPS. This indicates that the GPU’s rendering workload is the dominant factor, not the CPU’s processing capabilities.

Q: What settings should be used for a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K?

A: All four presets at 3840x2160 exceed 60 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 62.4 FPS, which is the closest to the threshold, while High at 68.3 FPS provides a slightly larger safety margin. For the most stable experience, the Medium preset at 78.9 FPS offers a comfortable buffer.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Intel Core i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19039, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. The closest comparable hardware includes the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS with an average score of 19047, which is effectively identical with a 0% delta. The Intel Core 3 201E scores 19056, a negligible 0.1% difference. The Intel Core i5-1335U and AMD EPYC 7773X both trail by 0.3%, with scores of 18982 and 18979 respectively. For gaming purposes, any of these CPUs would deliver near-identical frame rates in Control, as the game’s performance is dominated by the GPU.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 43223, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB with a score of 43262 (0.1% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile at 43268 (0.1% faster), and the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 at 43301 (0.2% faster). The RTX 4090 Mobile scores 43667, which is 1% higher. In practice, swapping the RTX 4070 SUPER for any of these alternatives would produce nearly identical frame rates in Control, as the differences are within a single percentage point. The Quadro cards are workstation-oriented, but their raw performance metrics align closely with the RTX 4070 SUPER for this title.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Control, and it does so with authority. The verdict data shows that all three tested resolutions — 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080 — have every preset (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) listed as playable, meaning all average frame rates exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 4K, the Ultra preset averages 62.4 FPS, which is the minimum performance envelope; this is technically playable but leaves little room for frame time spikes. At 1440p, the Ultra preset averages 89.3 FPS, providing a comfortable margin for smooth gameplay. At 1080p, the Ultra preset averages 117 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. The best settings for a 60 FPS lock at each resolution are the Ultra preset, with the average frame rates at 62.4 FPS (4K), 89.3 FPS (1440p), and 117 FPS (1080p). For users seeking a consistently smooth experience beyond 60 FPS, the 1440p High preset at 104.2 FPS or the 1080p High preset at 133.9 FPS are strong choices.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals that the GPU is the dominant component for Control at all tested resolutions. The evidence is in the scaling between settings: at 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 47.8 FPS (from 110.2 to 62.4), while at 1440p it is 71.3 FPS (from 160.6 to 89.3), and at 1080p it is 100.4 FPS (from 217.4 to 117). This widening gap as resolution decreases indicates that the GPU has more headroom to be taxed by higher-quality settings at lower resolutions, whereas at 4K the GPU is already heavily loaded, compressing the relative impact of preset changes.

The CPU’s role becomes more apparent at low resolutions and settings. The 1080p Low average of 217.4 FPS is the highest measured value, and the fact that it reaches this level with a 6-core, 12-thread processor suggests that the i5-12400F’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz and 18 MB of shared L3 cache are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 4070 SUPER. The single-thread 3DMark score of 909 and multi-thread score of 5912 indicate strong per-core performance, which is critical for a game like Control that relies on physics and AI updates. At 4K, the GPU’s workload is so high that the CPU is unlikely to be the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 68.3 FPS High average versus the 62.4 FPS Ultra average — a modest 5.9 FPS drop that reflects pure GPU rendering cost.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested hardware combinations for Control, the Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER pairing ranks 626th out of 3720 total combinations. This places it in the top 16.8% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing for a mainstream 6-core processor paired with a high-end consumer GPU. The CPU itself sits in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, meaning the GPU is the stronger component in this pairing. The combination’s rank of 626 indicates that there are 625 other systems that produce higher average frame rates in Control, likely featuring more powerful GPUs such as the RTX 4090 or higher-end workstation cards. However, given that this combo clears 60 FPS at 4K Ultra, it occupies a performance tier that is more than adequate for the game, and the gap to the top 625 systems is unlikely to be visible in practical gameplay outside of extreme refresh rate scenarios. For a builder targeting 1440p high-refresh or 4K 60 FPS, this rank confirms the pairing is well above the median for Control, with the GPU’s 12 GB memory and 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance providing ample raw power.