Control

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a high-performance experience in Control, with measured frame rates that comfortably exceed the 60 FPS playability threshold across most settings at 1440p and 1080p, while 4K requires a slight reduction from the Ultra preset. The data indicates this combination is well-suited for high-refresh-rate displays at standard resolutions, with the GPU emerging as the primary performance driver as resolution increases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination produces triple-digit average frame rates across all four tested presets. The Low preset averages 207.6 FPS, while Medium reaches 148.4 FPS and High achieves 134.3 FPS. The most demanding Ultra preset still maintains a robust 111.4 FPS average, demonstrating substantial headroom above the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain consistently high. The Low preset averages 158.2 FPS, followed by High at 101.6 FPS and Medium at 110.5 FPS. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding setting tested, delivers an average of 84.6 FPS, still well above the playability threshold and suitable for smooth gameplay on higher refresh rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the performance scaling becomes more pronounced. The Low preset produces an average of 108.9 FPS, while Medium averages 74.1 FPS and High averages 66.3 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to an average of 56.2 FPS, which falls just below the 60 FPS playability threshold, indicating that the highest visual quality settings at 4K require a performance trade-off.

The data shows a clear pattern of diminishing returns as settings increase at every resolution. The gap between Low and Ultra presets narrows from approximately 96 FPS at 1080p to roughly 53 FPS at 4K, suggesting that the GPU becomes more saturated at higher resolutions, limiting the impact of preset changes on absolute frame rate differences.

CPU and GPU Roles

Benchmark results indicate that the GPU plays an increasingly dominant role as resolution scales upward. At 1920x1080, the frame rate spread between Low and Ultra presets is 96.2 FPS, reflecting lower GPU utilization at lower settings and greater sensitivity to CPU-bound performance. However, even at this resolution, the i7-12700K's 12 cores and 20 threads provide sufficient processing power, as evidenced by the high average frame rates across all presets.

At 2560x1440, the frame rate differences between presets compress to a 73.6 FPS spread between Low and Ultra, indicating that the GPU is beginning to become the more significant bottleneck. The transition from 1080p to 1440p results in a 23.9% reduction in average FPS across all presets, confirming that resolution scaling has a substantial impact on performance.

The shift becomes even more apparent at 3840x2160, where the frame rate spread between Low and Ultra narrows to 52.7 FPS. The average FPS drops by approximately 31% when moving from 1440p to 4K, which aligns with the GPU's memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s and its 20 GB GDDR6 memory configuration. The RX 7900 XT's rendering capabilities, including its 5376 shading units and 192 ROPs, are the limiting factor at this resolution, while the CPU's role diminishes relative to the GPU's workload.

The scaling between presets at each resolution reinforces this analysis. At 1080p, Ultra settings deliver 53.7% of the Low preset's frame rate, while at 4K, Ultra achieves 51.6% of Low's performance. This consistency indicates that the GPU's architecture handles the increased graphical load uniformly, with the CPU providing adequate support across all tested configurations.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is High, which delivers 66.3 FPS. The Ultra preset falls short at 56.2 FPS, making High the optimal choice for 4K gameplay with this combination.

For 2560x1440, all four presets remain playable, with the Ultra preset achieving an average of 84.6 FPS. This allows users to select the highest visual quality settings without compromising the 60 FPS threshold, making Ultra the recommended configuration at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 111.4 FPS, which is over 85% higher than the playability threshold. This provides significant headroom for maintaining high frame rates even during demanding scenes, making Ultra the clear choice for 1080p gaming.

The data indicates that this combination is capable of running Control at its highest settings on 1440p and 1080p displays, while 4K users must accept High settings to stay above 60 FPS. The verdict by resolution confirms these findings, listing High, Low, and Medium as playable at 4K, with all four presets playable at both 1440p and 1080p.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-12700K, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core i5-13600T with an average score of 35305 and a delta of -0.1%, the Intel Core i7-12700KF at 35365 with a delta of -0.2%, and the Intel Core i7-13700T at 35403 with a delta of -0.3%. These processors would produce nearly identical frame rates in Control, with performance differences of less than one percent.

On the GPU side, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT's nearest rivals show more varied deltas. The AMD Radeon 660M has an average score of 13812 with a delta of -0.5%, while the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile scores 13821 with a delta of -0.5%. The AMD Radeon RX 570X achieves 13871 with a delta of -0.9%, and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT scores 13543 with a delta of 1.5%. These GPUs would produce similar average frame rates, though the RX 9070 XT shows a slightly higher score, suggesting marginally better performance.

For users considering alternative hardware, the combination of an i7-12700KF (which is essentially the same processor without integrated graphics) and any of these rival GPUs would yield nearly identical benchmark results. The performance differences between these alternatives are negligible in practical gaming scenarios, with deltas under 2% for both CPU and GPU comparisons.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT combination ranks 731 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 19.7% of all configurations. This rank reflects the combination's strong performance, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU's capabilities are fully utilized.

The CPU itself ranks in the 84th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 55th percentile among all GPUs. This disparity highlights that the RX 7900 XT's percentile ranking is lower than the CPU's, suggesting that the GPU is the more limiting factor in this pairing. The combo's overall rank of 731 indicates that despite the GPU's relatively lower percentile, the combination still outperforms the majority of tested systems in this game.

The average benchmark scores support this positioning. The CPU's average benchmark score is 35287, while the GPU's average is 13745. These scores, combined with the measured FPS data, demonstrate that the combination provides a balanced performance profile suitable for high-end gaming, with the 4K Ultra preset being the only tested configuration that fails to meet the 60 FPS threshold.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control with playable frame rates across all tested resolutions and presets, with one exception. At 3840x2160, the High, Low, and Medium presets all exceed 60 FPS, but the Ultra preset averages 56.2 FPS, falling just below the playable threshold. The best playable setting at 4K is High, which produces 66.3 FPS.

At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, with the Ultra preset achieving 84.6 FPS and representing the best settings for this resolution. Similarly, at 1920x1080, every preset clears 60 FPS, with Ultra delivering 111.4 FPS and providing the highest visual quality at the fastest frame rates.

The data supports a clear verdict: this combination is fully capable of running Control at high settings on 1440p displays and at maximum settings on 1080p displays, while 4K users should select High settings for a smooth experience. The system's performance headroom at lower resolutions also makes it suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors, with frame rates exceeding 100 FPS in most configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest preset that maintains 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers an average of 66.3 FPS, making it the most demanding playable setting. The Ultra preset falls below the threshold at 56.2 FPS.

Q: Can this combination run the game at Ultra settings on a 1440p monitor?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 84.6 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

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

A: Across all presets, the average frame rate drops by approximately 31% when transitioning from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, based on the measured FPS values.

Q: Which component has a higher percentile ranking among its peers?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K ranks in the 84th percentile among all CPUs, while the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT ranks in the 55th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in this game?

A: This combination ranks 731 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 19.7% of all configurations.

Q: Are there any presets at 1080p that fall below 60 FPS?

A: No. At 1920x1080, even the most demanding Ultra preset averages 111.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold.