Control

Control on the Intel Core i3-12100F + AMD Radeon RX 7600 combo delivers a solid 1080p experience, but the data reveals a clear GPU-bound ceiling as resolution climbs. At 1080p Low, the pair reaches 118.6 FPS, which drops to 66.2 FPS at Ultra—a 44% performance cost for maximum fidelity. The 4K Ultra result of 32.5 FPS confirms that this configuration is not designed for native 4K gaming in this title, as even Low settings at 4K only manage 63.1 FPS. The benchmark pattern strongly indicates that the Radeon RX 7600 is the primary limiter, with the CPU having ample headroom to feed frames at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS across resolutions shows a predictable but steep decline as pixel count increases. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, average FPS falls from 74.4 to 59.8—a 19.6% reduction. The jump to 3840x2160 at High is more punishing, landing at 38.7 FPS, which is 48% below the 1080p result. This scaling behavior is typical of a GPU-limited scenario: the RX 7600’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus, paired with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, struggle to sustain frame rates as the fill-rate demand quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

The Low settings curve reveals the same trend but with higher absolute numbers. At Low, 1080p produces 118.6 FPS, 1440p drops to 89.8 FPS, and 4K still holds 63.1 FPS—the latter being barely playable. Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra widens at higher resolutions: at 1080p the delta is 52.4 FPS, at 1440p it is 41.6 FPS, and at 4K it shrinks to 30.6 FPS. This compression suggests that at 4K, even the lowest settings cannot escape the GPU’s raw throughput limits, whereas at 1080p the settings have more room to influence the outcome. The 4K Medium result of 42.6 FPS reinforces that playable 4K is out of reach for this combo, as it hovers below the 60 FPS threshold even at mid-range presets.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 1636 tested combos for Control, this configuration ranks 1107th. That places it in the lower third of all tested pairings, which is a sobering stat for a modern GPU. The rank reflects the combination’s overall performance across all measured settings, not just peak FPS. Given that the RX 7600 alone sits at the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, the combo’s rank is dragged down by the i3-12100F’s more modest standing—the CPU is at the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, but its 4-core/8-thread design limits sustained multi-threaded workloads.

The ranking suggests that while this combo is far from the bottom, it does not compete with high-end pairings in this action-adventure title. The CPU’s nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (delta -0.1%) and the Intel Core i7-7700K (delta 1.8%), indicating that the i3-12100F punches near older enthusiast parts in synthetic tests. However, in a real-time game like Control, the GPU’s 16,634 Passmark G3D score and 21.75 TFLOPS FP32 throughput become the deciding factors, and those numbers are not enough to push the combo into a higher rank tier.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured frame rates. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, the card offers 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth—sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but inadequate for 4K Ultra textures in a game like Control, which is known for heavy visual effects. The boost clock of 2655 MHz and game clock of 2250 MHz provide the raw compute, but the FP32 throughput of 21.75 TFLOPS is the theoretical peak, and real-world results show a 43.5% drop from 1080p High to 4K High.

The GPU’s 32 ray accelerators and RDNA 3.0 architecture support DirectX 12 Ultimate, but the benchmark data does not isolate ray tracing performance. The Passmark DirectX 12 score of 58 is low, which may indicate driver overhead or architectural inefficiencies in this specific API test. More relevantly, the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2310 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 90,825 suggest the card is capable in modern APIs, yet the in-game results at 4K Ultra (32.5 FPS) show that memory bandwidth—not raw compute—is the limiting factor. The 8 GB VRAM is also a potential bottleneck at 4K, as texture-heavy scenes can exceed that capacity, causing stutters or reduced frame pacing.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Ultra?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 66.2 FPS, which is the lowest 1080p result in the dataset.

Q: Can this combo handle 1440p gaming?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 1440p High, the average FPS is 59.8, and at Medium it is 65.3. Low settings reach 89.8 FPS, making 1440p viable for competitive play, while Ultra drops to 48.2 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The GPU is clearly the bottleneck. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 63.1, but at 4K Ultra it falls to 32.5. The CPU’s 4-core/8-thread design with a 4.30 GHz boost clock is sufficient to feed frames, as evidenced by the 1080p Low result of 118.6 FPS, which would require strong single-thread performance.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 60 FPS at 1080p?

A: Medium settings produce 86.9 FPS, and High yields 74.4 FPS, both exceeding 60 FPS. Ultra is the only 1080p preset that dips below 70 FPS, at 66.2.

Q: How does the RX 7600 compare to its nearest rival in benchmarks?

A: The RX 7600’s average benchmark score is 20,258, which is 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT and 1.5% higher than the Intel Arc B570. In Control specifically, the combo’s rank of 1107 out of 1636 reflects this mid-tier positioning.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: The data suggests yes. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 32.5, and even at 4K Medium it is only 42.6. The 128-bit memory bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K’s higher memory pressure, likely causing the GPU to hit VRAM limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, Low settings deliver 118.6 FPS, Medium 86.9 FPS, High 74.4 FPS, and Ultra 66.2 FPS. This spread of 52.4 FPS between Low and Ultra shows that settings have a significant impact at 1080p, allowing users to prioritize frame rate or visual fidelity. The 1440p results are tighter: Low 89.8 FPS, Medium 65.3 FPS, High 59.8 FPS, and Ultra 48.2 FPS. Here, the drop from Low to Ultra is 41.6 FPS, and the High preset barely misses the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly below 60 FPS: Low 63.1 FPS, Medium 42.6 FPS, High 38.7 FPS, and Ultra 32.5 FPS. The 4K Low result is the only one that approaches playability, but it still falls short of a smooth 60 FPS. The data shows a consistent pattern where the percentage difference between Low and Ultra grows with resolution: 44.2% at 1080p, 46.3% at 1440p, and 48.5% at 4K. This indicates that the GPU’s fixed resources are stretched thinner as pixel count increases, making settings adjustments less effective at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F provides the foundation for this combo, and its specifications are well-matched to the GPU at lower resolutions. With 4 cores and 8 threads, the CPU has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, which delivers strong single-thread performance—evidenced by a Passmark single-thread score of 3,444 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2,224. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency, which is critical for game logic and physics in Control.

However, the CPU’s multi-threaded performance is more modest. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11,912 and Geekbench multicore score of 7,413 show that while the 8-thread design handles concurrent tasks adequately, it cannot match higher-core-count processors in heavily threaded scenarios. In Control, which is not a CPU-intensive game by modern standards, the i3-12100F does not appear to bottleneck the RX 7600 at 1080p or 1440p, as the FPS scaling between resolutions follows the GPU’s expected curve. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4,051 further indicates that the CPU’s thread scaling saturates around 8 threads, but this is sufficient for the game’s engine.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution and frame rate priority. For 1080p, Medium settings (86.9 FPS) offer the best balance, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while retaining visual quality. High settings (74.4 FPS) are also viable for users who prefer sharper textures, but Ultra (66.2 FPS) is not recommended for competitive play due to its proximity to the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, Medium (65.3 FPS) is the only preset that clears 60 FPS, making it the default choice; Low (89.8 FPS) is better for high-refresh-rate monitors, while High (59.8 FPS) and Ultra (48.2 FPS) are playable but not ideal for fast-paced action.

At 4K, no preset achieves 60 FPS, so users should either lower the resolution or accept a sub-60 experience. Low settings (63.1 FPS) are the only option that stays above 60 FPS, but the visual compromise may not be worth it. For the best overall experience, this combo is best utilized at 1080p Medium or 1440p Medium, where it delivers playable frame rates without sacrificing too much detail. The Ultra preset at any resolution is the least efficient, offering marginal visual gains for a significant FPS hit—at 4K, the drop from Low to Ultra is 30.6 FPS, a 48.5% reduction.