Control

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Control with the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 shows a clear pattern: this combination struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at every resolution and preset tested. The measurements were taken at three resolutions, with four settings levels each, and the results are uniformly below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

At 3840x2160, the performance is severely limited. The High preset delivers an average of 15.8 FPS, which is barely a slideshow. Dropping to Medium improves things to 21.6 FPS, while Ultra sits at 16.2 FPS. The Low preset provides the best result in this resolution at 31.9 FPS, but even that falls far short of a playable experience. No min or max FPS values were recorded for this resolution, so the data reflects only average performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation improves somewhat but remains firmly in unplayable territory. The High preset averages 28.6 FPS, Medium averages 28 FPS, and Ultra drops to 20.8 FPS. The Low preset is the standout here with 45 FPS, which is approaching playability but still 15 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold. The consistency between High and Medium scores is notable, suggesting that the GPU is the limiting factor rather than the settings themselves.

At 1920x1080, the most favorable results appear. The Low preset averages 55.6 FPS, which is the single highest score recorded for this combination across all tests. Medium follows at 42.3 FPS, High at 35.7 FPS, and Ultra at 33.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is significant, but even the best result fails to reach 60 FPS. The data indicates that this hardware pair cannot deliver a locked 60 FPS experience in Control at any resolution or preset combination tested.

How This Combo Ranks

The database places this specific CPU and GPU combination at rank 3537 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. That puts it in the bottom 5 percent of all configurations evaluated, which aligns with the measured FPS results. The GPU sits at the 40th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the CPU ranks higher at the 84th percentile among all CPUs. This disparity is telling: the processor is far more capable than the graphics card, and the overall ranking reflects the bottleneck created by the GTX 1650.

The combination rank of 3537 out of 3720 means that roughly 183 other configurations performed worse in this game. That is a narrow margin, and it underscores how poorly suited this pairing is for Control at higher settings. The game was released in 2019, and the GPU was released in the same year, but the performance gap between this combo and more capable alternatives is substantial.

When compared to other tested combos in the database, the i7-12700K plus GTX 1650 pairing lands in the lower tail of the distribution. The CPU's strong benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784 and a single-core score of 1850.5, do not translate into playable frame rates because the GPU cannot keep up with the rendering demands. The combo rank is a direct reflection of the GPU's limitations in this title.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear division of labor in this configuration. The Intel Core i7-12700K is a high-end desktop processor with 12 cores and 20 threads, boosting to 5.00 GHz, and it performs admirably in synthetic benchmarks. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784 and Geekbench multi-core score of 15790 place it well above the 84th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU, however, is a GeForce GTX 1650 with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and a 128-bit memory bus, delivering 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. Its Passmark G3D score of 7880 puts it at the 40th percentile of all GPUs, which is a mid-to-low tier position.

The scaling between resolutions reveals the GPU's dominance as the limiting factor. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 31.9 FPS, while at 2560x1440 Low it averages 45 FPS, and at 1920x1080 Low it averages 55.6 FPS. This progression shows that the GPU is the primary constraint: as pixel count decreases, frame rates rise proportionally. The CPU is not the bottleneck here, because even at the lowest resolution and settings, the combo still fails to hit 60 FPS. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see less variation across resolutions.

The presets tell a similar story. At 1920x1080, dropping from Ultra to Low improves the average from 33.7 FPS to 55.6 FPS, a gain of roughly 65 percent. This is a substantial improvement that comes from reducing the GPU workload, not from easing CPU demands. The i7-12700K has ample headroom in this game, as evidenced by its strong single-thread performance, but the GTX 1650 simply cannot render Control's scenes fast enough.

At higher resolutions, the gap between presets narrows. At 3840x2160, the difference between Ultra and Low is only about 15 FPS (16.2 versus 31.9), while at 1920x1080 the same preset gap is nearly 22 FPS (33.7 versus 55.6). This pattern indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so overwhelmed that even the lowest settings cannot compensate, while at 1080p, the GPU has enough headroom for settings changes to matter more. In all cases, the GPU role is decisive, and the CPU contribution is secondary.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Control? Based on the recorded measurements, the answer is no, not at a playable level by the database's standard of 60 FPS. The verdictByResolution data shows no playable settings at any resolution. At 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080, the playable settings list is empty, and no best settings or average FPS values were recorded for any resolution.

The closest result to playability is 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which averages 55.6 FPS. That is 4.4 FPS short of the 60 FPS threshold. While some players might tolerate frame rates in the 50s, the database's playability threshold is firm at 60 FPS, and this combo does not meet it. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 42.3 FPS, and High averages 35.7 FPS, both of which are well below the mark.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 45 FPS, which is 15 FPS below the threshold. At 3840x2160, even the best result, the Low preset at 31.9 FPS, is roughly half of what would be needed for a smooth experience. The verdict is clear: this hardware combination is not suitable for Control at any resolution or preset, and users seeking to play this game would need a more capable GPU.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU provide context for how the i7-12700K compares to similar processors. The Intel Core i5-13600T has an average benchmark score of 35305, which is 0.1 percent higher than the i7-12700K's average of 35287. The Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35365, 0.2 percent higher, and the Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35403, 0.3 percent higher. The Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428, 0.4 percent higher. These differences are minimal, all within a fraction of a percent, meaning that swapping the i7-12700K for any of these processors would yield nearly identical frame rates in Control. The CPU is not the constraint, so these alternatives would not change the playability picture.

On the GPU side, the nearest rivals to the GTX 1650 are all lower-performing parts. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M scores 7447, which is 0.3 percent lower than the GTX 1650's average of 7472. The Intel UHD Graphics 750 scores 7441, 0.4 percent lower, and the AMD Radeon R7 350 scores 7425, 0.6 percent lower. The Intel Arc A310 scores 7550, which is 1 percent higher than the GTX 1650. These are all integrated or legacy parts that would perform similarly or worse in Control. The Arc A310 is the only rival that might offer a marginal improvement, but 1 percent is negligible in real-world frame rates. None of these alternatives would bring the combo closer to 60 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

Given the verdict that no settings achieve 60 FPS at any resolution, there is no "best settings" recommendation that meets the playability standard. The database records no best settings for any resolution, as the playable settings list is empty for 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080.

For users who must play at 1920x1080 despite the shortfall, the Low preset is the only option that approaches the threshold, delivering 55.6 FPS on average. This is the most demanding preset that comes closest to 60 FPS, but it is still below the line. At 2560x1440, the Low preset at 45 FPS is the best available, and at 3840x2160, the Low preset at 31.9 FPS is the top result. In all cases, the Low preset provides the highest measured average FPS, but none reach the 60 FPS target.

The practical advice is to run Control at 1920x1080 with the Low preset if forced to use this hardware, accepting that frame rates will fluctuate in the 50s. For a locked 60 FPS experience, this CPU and GPU combination is not sufficient, and a stronger graphics card is required. The CPU has the headroom to support a much faster GPU, so upgrading the graphics card alone would likely resolve the performance shortfall.