Control

Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers overwhelming performance in Control, a 2019 Action Adventure title. The benchmark data shows this combination ranks 68th out of 3,720 tested hardware combos in this game, placing it in the top 2% of systems. At every resolution tested, from 1920x1080 up to 3840x2160, the system clears the 60 FPS playability threshold with substantial headroom, even at the highest Ultra preset. The measured FPS figures reveal a system that is never stressed by this title, making it a candidate for maximum settings or high-refresh-rate displays.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have nearby rivals according to aggregate benchmark scores. For the Intel Core i5-12600KF, the nearest comparable processors are clustered within a fraction of a percent. The Intel Core i9-10900K scores 27,872, a delta of -0.3% versus the i5-12600KF's 27,799 average benchmark score. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D also sits at -0.3% with a score of 27,896, meaning these two CPUs are effectively interchangeable in terms of raw compute performance. On the positive side, the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27,712, a 0.3% delta, while the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U scores 27,887, also a 0.3% delta. In practical terms, swapping the i5-12600KF for any of these four processors would produce nearly identical frame rates in Control, since the game is far more dependent on GPU throughput than CPU muscle.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, the nearest rivals in the benchmark database are unexpected: enterprise and mobile parts rather than consumer desktop GPUs. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605, a 0.3% delta from the RTX 5090's 79,842 average. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB sits at 79,396, a 0.6% delta, while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78,940, a 1.1% delta. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X comes in at 80,959, a -1.4% delta. These numbers suggest that while the RTX 5090 dominates in raw gaming benchmarks like 3DMark Steel Nomad, its aggregate score places it near these workstation and mobile parts in general compute tasks. In Control specifically, the RTX 5090's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs means any of these rivals would deliver broadly similar frame rates, though gaming-specific tests would likely favor the RTX 5090 more heavily.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data from Control shows a clear GPU-bound scenario across all tested resolutions and presets. The Intel Core i5-12600KF, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, provides ample processing power, but the frame rate scaling patterns indicate the RTX 5090 is the limiting factor. At 1920x1080, dropping from Ultra to Low increases average FPS from 158.7 to 259.8, a 101.1 FPS swing that demonstrates how much headroom the CPU has at lower settings. This 63.7% improvement from Ultra to Low shows that the GPU is doing most of the work even at 1080p, as the CPU can feed frames faster than the RTX 5090 can render them at higher presets.

The scaling between resolutions reinforces the GPU-bound nature. At High settings, moving from 1920x1080 (178.2 FPS) to 2560x1440 (135.5 FPS) represents a 24% performance drop, and further to 3840x2160 (91.2 FPS) adds another 32.7% reduction. This consistent degradation as pixel count increases is the hallmark of a GPU-limited workload. The CPU's role becomes more visible at lower resolutions and settings, where the 259.8 FPS at 1080p Low approaches the practical limits of the i5-12600KF's single-thread performance, but even there, the system stays far above any CPU bottleneck threshold. At 4K Ultra, the 77.1 FPS average confirms that the RTX 5090 is the sole determinant of performance, with the CPU contributing virtually no constraint.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 60 FPS on a 4K display with maximum settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 77.1, which exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold by 28.5%. The RTX 5090 provides enough margin that even the most demanding preset at 4K remains comfortably playable.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 178.2 at 1920x1080 to 91.2 at 3840x2160, representing a 48.8% reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 158.7 to 77.1, a 51.4% reduction. The performance penalty scales roughly linearly with pixel count, confirming GPU-bound behavior.

Q: Which setting preset provides the largest FPS jump at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the jump from Ultra (118 FPS) to High (135.5 FPS) adds 17.5 FPS, while moving from High to Medium (153.3 FPS) adds another 17.8 FPS. The largest single gain is from Medium to Low (213.3 FPS), which adds 60 FPS, a 39.1% improvement.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12600KF holding back the RTX 5090 in this game?

A: The data indicates no meaningful CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 259.8 FPS, which approaches the practical limit for most CPUs, but the i5-12600KF's 3,302 single-core Cinebench R23 score and 79th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggest it has sufficient headroom. The frame rate scaling patterns show the GPU is the primary constraint.

Q: How does this system compare to other tested configurations in Control?

A: The combination ranks 68th out of 3,720 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.8% of all systems. This ranking reflects the RTX 5090's 92nd percentile GPU score combined with the i5-12600KF's 79th percentile CPU score, making it a top-tier configuration for this title.

Q: What is the most demanding setting that maintains 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Ultra settings at 3840x2160 deliver 77.1 FPS average, which is the highest preset and still exceeds 60 FPS. All four tested presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) at 4K clear the playability threshold, with Low reaching 146.7 FPS.

The Verdict

This system can run Control at 60 FPS or higher at every resolution and preset combination tested. The verdict by resolution shows all three display resolutions—1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160—list High, Low, Medium, and Ultra all as playable settings. At 1080p, the best settings are Ultra with an average of 158.7 FPS, providing a 164.5% margin above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, Ultra settings deliver 118 FPS average, a 96.7% margin. Even the most demanding scenario, 4K Ultra, achieves 77.1 FPS, which is 28.5% above the playability threshold. The RTX 5090's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for Control's demands, while the i5-12600KF's 20 MB of L3 cache and 4.90 GHz boost clock ensure the CPU never becomes a limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 259.8 FPS average at Low settings, 203.6 FPS at Medium, 178.2 FPS at High, and 158.7 FPS at Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 101.1 FPS, representing a 63.7% performance difference. At 2560x1440, the averages are 213.3 FPS at Low, 153.3 FPS at Medium, 135.5 FPS at High, and 118 FPS at Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is 95.3 FPS, a 80.8% difference. At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 146.7 FPS at Low, 103.2 FPS at Medium, 91.2 FPS at High, and 77.1 FPS at Ultra. The 4K Low to Ultra spread is 69.6 FPS, a 90.3% difference. Notably, the gap between Medium and High is relatively small at all resolutions: 25.4 FPS at 1080p, 17.8 FPS at 1440p, and 12 FPS at 4K. The largest incremental drop occurs between Low and Medium at every resolution, suggesting Medium settings introduce significant rendering effects that impact GPU throughput.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers 158.7 FPS average. This provides a 164.5% margin over the 60 FPS threshold, meaning the system has substantial headroom for future patches or background processes. At 2560x1440, Ultra settings remain the best choice, achieving 118 FPS average, a 96.7% margin. The 1440p Ultra preset loses 40.7 FPS compared to 1080p Ultra, but still maintains a comfortable buffer. At 3840x2160, Ultra settings deliver 77.1 FPS average, a 28.5% margin above the 60 FPS threshold. While this is the smallest margin of any resolution, it remains playable with room for transient frame drops. For players prioritizing maximum visual fidelity, Ultra at 4K is viable, but for those wanting more headroom, High settings at 91.2 FPS would provide a safer experience with a modest visual compromise. The data shows that this system is effectively overqualified for Control, as even the weakest tested configuration—4K Ultra at 77.1 FPS—exceeds the playability threshold by a significant margin.