Control

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers a decisive performance envelope for Control, a 2019 Action Adventure title. Measured data across three resolutions shows this combination consistently exceeding the 60 FPS playability threshold, with the most demanding preset at each resolution maintaining a comfortable margin above that benchmark. The following analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, comparative standing, and component roles based strictly on the provided dataset.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which produces an average of 68.7 FPS. This leaves a margin of 8.7 frames above the playable threshold, indicating headroom for demanding scenes. High settings at this resolution average 80 FPS, while Medium yields 88.7 FPS and Low reaches 125.4 FPS, but Ultra remains the optimal choice for visual fidelity without dropping below the target.

For 2560x1440, the Ultra preset again qualifies as the best settings option, achieving an average of 99.5 FPS. This is nearly 40 frames above the 60 FPS floor, showing substantial capacity for future patches or more demanding sequences. The High preset averages 116.6 FPS, Medium runs at 134 FPS, and Low reaches 186.1 FPS, but none of these lower presets are necessary to maintain playability.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings deliver an average of 133.1 FPS, which is the highest average among the three resolutions at the maximum preset. The gap between Ultra and the next tier down is notable: High averages 155.9 FPS, Medium 174.9 FPS, and Low 243.6 FPS. Since Ultra already exceeds the threshold by more than double, it is the recommended setting for this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 282nd out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the top 7.6% of all configurations evaluated, a strong position that reflects the hardware's capability with this specific title. The rank percentile implies that the vast majority of alternative combos produce lower average frame rates in this game.

The CPU itself sits at the 84th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU ranks at the 86th percentile against all GPUs. These percentile positions are broadly aligned, suggesting that neither component is dramatically outpacing the other in general compute benchmarks. For Control specifically, the combo rank of 282 out of 3720 indicates that the pairing is well-suited to the game's engine demands, as it outperforms nearly 92% of tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured average frame rates scale predictably with settings. Low settings produce 125.4 FPS, Medium drops to 88.7 FPS, High further reduces to 80 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 68.7 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 36.7 FPS reduction, while the step from High to Ultra is only 11.3 FPS, showing diminishing returns at the highest end.

At 2560x1440, the same settings progression yields 186.1 FPS for Low, 134 FPS for Medium, 116.6 FPS for High, and 99.5 FPS for Ultra. The relative drop from Low to Medium is 52.1 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the 4K drop. The gap between High and Ultra here is 17.1 FPS, larger than at 4K, indicating that the GPU has more headroom at this resolution to absorb the Ultra preset's demands.

At 1920x1080, Low settings average 243.6 FPS, Medium averages 174.9 FPS, High averages 155.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 133.1 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 68.7 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra is 22.8 FPS. Across all resolutions, the scaling from Low to Ultra consistently reduces frame rates by roughly 45-48%, but the absolute frame rates remain high enough that no preset drops below the playable threshold.

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, which is 0.1% lower than the i7-12700K's 35287. The Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35365, just 0.2% higher. The Intel Core i7-13700T achieves 35403, a 0.3% difference, and the Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428, representing a 0.4% gap. These four CPUs all fall within one percentage point of the i7-12700K, meaning that swapping to any of them would produce nearly identical CPU-bound behavior in Control.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 scores 54247 on average, which is 0.1% lower than the RTX 4080 SUPER's 54209. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, showing a 1.1% difference. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB achieves 55698, a 2.7% gap, and the AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757, which is 2.8% higher. All four of these GPUs fall within a 2.8% margin of the RTX 4080 SUPER, suggesting they would produce similar frame rates in Control, with the RTX 4080 being the closest match.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals that the GPU is the dominant factor in Control's performance scaling across resolutions. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 68.7 FPS, while at 2560x1440 it averages 99.5 FPS, and at 1920x1080 it reaches 133.1 FPS. This represents a 64.4 FPS increase from 4K to 1080p at the same settings, a scaling pattern that is characteristic of GPU-bound workloads where lower resolutions relieve the rendering load.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent when examining the settings scaling within a single resolution. At 2560x1440, the difference between Low and Ultra is 86.6 FPS (from 186.1 to 99.5), which is a larger absolute gap than the 56.7 FPS difference at 4K (from 125.4 to 68.7). This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU is better able to feed the GPU, allowing the settings increase to have a more pronounced effect on frame rates.

At 1920x1080, the Low to Ultra gap is 110.5 FPS (from 243.6 to 133.1). This increasing spread as resolution decreases indicates that the CPU has more headroom to drive higher frame rates, but the Ultra preset's demands still limit the output. The i7-12700K's 12 cores and 20 threads provide sufficient processing power to avoid bottlenecking, as evidenced by the fact that even the lowest measured FPS at 4K Ultra (68.7) is above the playable threshold.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control at all three tested resolutions with every preset setting achieving an average above 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 68.7 FPS, which clears the playable threshold by 8.7 frames. The 2560x1440 resolution sees Ultra at 99.5 FPS, a 39.5-frame margin. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 133.1 FPS, providing a 73.1-frame buffer.

The verdict data lists all four settings (High, Low, Medium, Ultra) as playable at each resolution, with Ultra identified as the best settings option everywhere. This means users can select the maximum visual quality without compromising the 60 FPS target. The measured frame rates also indicate that there is no need to reduce settings for stability, as the minimum FPS values are not recorded but the averages leave ample room for typical frame-time variation.

FAQ

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

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 68.7 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How does the performance at 1440p compare to 1080p at Ultra settings?

A: At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 99.5 FPS, while at 1920x1080, Ultra averages 133.1 FPS. The 1080p resolution is 33.6 FPS faster.

Q: Which component appears to limit performance more in Control?

A: The GPU is the primary limiting factor, as frame rates scale significantly with resolution changes. The CPU's role is secondary, with the i7-12700K providing enough headroom to avoid bottlenecking at all tested settings.

Q: Are there any settings where this combo drops below 60 FPS?

A: No. Every measured setting at all three resolutions produces an average FPS above 60, with the lowest being 68.7 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Q: How does this combo rank relative to other tested configurations?

A: It ranks 282nd out of 3720 combos, placing it in the top 7.6% of all tested systems for Control.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 243.6 FPS and Ultra averages 133.1 FPS, a difference of 110.5 FPS.