Control

# Control with Intel Core i3-12100F + AMD Radeon RX 9070

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 produces a striking split personality in Control: at 1080p the CPU frequently becomes the limiting factor, while at 4K the GPU takes over and delivers near-60 FPS at High settings. The measured data reveals a system that scales predictably with resolution, but the 4-core processor's influence is unmistakable in the upper frame rate ceiling. With a combo ranking of 1134 out of 3720 tested configurations, this pairing sits comfortably in the upper third of all systems tested for this game, yet the data suggests the i3-12100F may be holding back the RX 9070's full potential at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions tells a clear story about where the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p Low, the system produces 182 FPS, which drops to 137 FPS at 1440p Low and 93 FPS at 4K Low. This represents a 49 FPS decrease from 1080p to 1440p (a 27% drop) and a further 44 FPS decrease from 1440p to 4K (a 32% drop). The consistent, substantial declines with each resolution step indicate that the GPU is being progressively more taxed, but the magnitude of the 1080p-to-1440p drop suggests the CPU still has headroom to push higher frame rates at 1080p.

Examining High settings reveals a similar pattern with slightly compressed margins: 115 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p, and 59 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result is particularly interesting — 59 FPS is just shy of the 60 FPS target, and the data shows that dropping to Medium at 4K yields 66 FPS, while Low at 4K reaches 93 FPS. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is the dominant constraint, with settings adjustments providing meaningful frame rate headroom.

The scaling behavior at Ultra settings reinforces the GPU-bound narrative at higher resolutions: 100 FPS at 1080p, 75 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result drops below 60 FPS, which is the only Ultra configuration in the measured data to do so. The 1080p Ultra result of 100 FPS, compared to 182 FPS at 1080p Low, demonstrates a 45% performance penalty from the highest preset to the lowest — a substantial but not unusual range for a game with Control's visual complexity.

What the resolution scaling data implies is a system where the i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads are sufficient to maintain playable frame rates across all tested configurations, but the CPU's influence becomes more apparent as resolution decreases. The 182 FPS at 1080p Low represents a ceiling that is likely CPU-limited, as the RX 9070's raw compute capability could theoretically push higher frame rates in lighter scenes. The 4K results, conversely, show the GPU working near its limits, with the 59 FPS High result being the most balanced configuration in terms of CPU and GPU utilization.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining 60+ FPS with this combo?

A: The measured data shows 60+ FPS achievable at all three resolutions with appropriate settings. At 4K, High settings produce 59 FPS (just below 60), while Medium delivers 66 FPS and Low reaches 93 FPS. At 1440p, every preset from Low (137 FPS) to Ultra (75 FPS) exceeds 60 FPS. At 1080p, all presets from Low (182 FPS) to Ultra (100 FPS) comfortably surpass 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 9070 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 9070's average benchmark score is 23877, placing it 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (23736) and 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile (23628). It trails the AMD Radeon RX 6800S by 0.8% (24063) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER by 1.2% (24170). These deltas are minimal, indicating closely matched performance among these four GPUs.

*Q: Does the i3-12100F bottleneck the RX 9070 in Control?*

A: The data suggests partial CPU limitation at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 182 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame rate capability given its 4 cores and 8 threads. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, with frame rates scaling more directly with settings changes. The i3-12100F's single-thread score of 893 in 3DMark and 1674 in Cinebench R23 indicates strong per-core performance that helps maintain playable frame rates throughout.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The only preset with min/max frame data is Medium across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the average is 129 FPS with a minimum of 110 FPS and maximum of 148 FPS, showing a 38 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the average is 98 FPS with a range of 83 to 112 FPS (29 FPS spread). At 4K Medium, the average is 66 FPS with a range of 56 to 76 FPS (20 FPS spread). The narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates more consistent frame pacing when the GPU is more heavily loaded.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Control?*

A: This configuration ranks 1134 out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the top 30% of all systems tested. This ranking reflects the balance between the i3-12100F's mid-range CPU performance (68th percentile among all CPUs) and the RX 9070's strong GPU performance (69th percentile among all GPUs).

Q: Is the RX 9070's 16 GB VRAM sufficient for 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows 4K Ultra produces 51 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS target but still playable. The 16 GB GDDR6 memory with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth provides ample capacity and throughput for Control's texture and geometry demands at 4K. The fact that 4K High (59 FPS) performs close to 4K Ultra (51 FPS) suggests VRAM capacity is not the limiting factor; rather, the GPU's compute resources are the constraint.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070, built on the Navi 48 chip with RDNA 4.0 architecture, brings substantial compute resources to Control. Its 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 raster operation pipelines deliver a peak FP32 throughput of 36.13 TFLOPS, with texture fill rate at 564.5 GTexel/s and pixel fill rate at 322.6 GPixel/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1330 MHz, a game clock of 2070 MHz, and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with memory running at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, yielding 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Control's measured results, the RX 9070 demonstrates strong scaling with settings changes, particularly at 4K where the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The transition from Low to Medium at 4K costs 27 FPS (93 to 66), Medium to High costs 7 FPS (66 to 59), and High to Ultra costs 8 FPS (59 to 51). This pattern suggests diminishing returns beyond Medium settings at 4K, where the GPU's compute resources become increasingly taxed by the game's visual effects.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity is generous for Control, a game released in 2019 that does not require such extensive memory resources. The bandwidth figure of 644.6 GB/s ensures texture streaming and memory-intensive effects do not become a bottleneck. The GPU's percentile ranking of 69 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23877, positions it as a capable performer that sits just above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (23736, 0.6% behind) and just below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (24170, 1.2% ahead).

The RX 9070's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) aligns well with Control's DirectX 12 rendering path, and the measured passmark DirectX 12 score of 74 (compared to 281 for DirectX 11) suggests the GPU's DX12 path is what the game utilizes for its frame rate output. The GPU's 56 ray tracing cores are present but not heavily exercised in Control's default rendering, as the game's RT effects are optional and not reflected in the measured FPS data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce 182 FPS average, Medium reaches 129 FPS (with a range of 110 to 148 FPS), High achieves 115 FPS, and Ultra yields 100 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 45% performance reduction, but even at Ultra, the frame rate exceeds 100 FPS, indicating the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU adequately at this resolution.

The 2560x1440 results show a noticeable step down from 1080p. Low settings average 137 FPS, Medium averages 98 FPS (range: 83 to 112 FPS), High averages 87 FPS, and Ultra averages 75 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 45% at this resolution — the same proportional drop as 1080p, but with lower absolute values. The Medium preset's minimum of 83 FPS remains well above the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting 1440p is a sweet spot for this combo with quality settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck. Low settings average 93 FPS, Medium averages 66 FPS (range: 56 to 76 FPS), High averages 59 FPS, and Ultra averages 51 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 56 FPS dips below the 60 FPS target, while High and Ultra configurations average below 60 FPS. The 4K Low result of 93 FPS demonstrates the GPU's raw capability, but the steep drop to Medium (66 FPS) indicates that Control's higher presets impose significant rendering costs at 4K.

The only preset with complete min/max data across all resolutions is Medium, which shows the frame time consistency improving as resolution increases: the 38 FPS spread at 1080p narrows to 29 FPS at 1440p and 20 FPS at 4K. This pattern suggests that at lower resolutions, CPU-related frame time variance contributes to wider swings, while at 4K, the GPU's consistent workload produces more stable frame pacing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1134 out of 3720 tested configurations places this system in the top 30.5% of all tested combos for Control. This ranking is notable because it pairs a mid-range CPU (68th percentile among all CPUs) with a strong GPU (69th percentile among all GPUs), and the combined result exceeds what either component's individual percentile might suggest.

The i3-12100F's average benchmark score of 13494 places it in a tight cluster with its nearest rivals: the Intel Core 3 N355 (13492, 0% delta), Intel Core i5-9500 (13452, 0.3% delta), Intel Core 5 120UL (13594, -0.7% delta), and Intel Core i7-1250U (13351, 1.1% delta). This clustering indicates the CPU's performance is well understood, with no significant outliers among comparable processors.

The RX 9070's average benchmark score of 23877 similarly places it in a competitive group: GTX TITAN Z (23736, 0.6% delta), RX 6800S (24063, -0.8% delta), RTX 3080 Mobile (23628, 1.1% delta), and RTX 2080 SUPER (24170, -1.2% delta). The narrow deltas (all within 1.2%) suggest these GPUs deliver nearly interchangeable performance in synthetic benchmarks.

In the context of Control specifically, the combo rank of 1134 out of 3720 means this system outperforms roughly 70% of tested configurations. This is a strong result for a CPU that retailed at a $97 launch MSRP, as the i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads with a 4.30 GHz boost clock provide sufficient single-thread performance to keep the RX 9070 fed at most resolutions, while the GPU's 16 GB memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth handle the game's rendering demands.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the data supports using Ultra settings without hesitation. The 100 FPS average at Ultra means the system has 66% headroom above the 60 FPS threshold, and even the most demanding scenes should remain fluid. The gap between High (115 FPS) and Ultra (100 FPS) is 15 FPS, which is a modest cost for the visual quality improvements Ultra provides.

At 1440p, High settings (87 FPS) offer the best balance of visual fidelity and performance headroom. Ultra (75 FPS) remains above 60 FPS but leaves less margin for demanding scenes, while Medium (98 FPS) provides a significant boost over High for users prioritizing frame rate. The 1440p Medium data showing a minimum of 83 FPS suggests this configuration never drops below 60 FPS, making it the safest choice for competitive play or high-refresh displays.

For 4K, the recommendation is more nuanced. High settings (59 FPS) barely miss the 60 FPS target, while Medium (66 FPS) exceeds it with a minimum of 56 FPS. Low settings (93 FPS) offer the highest frame rates but sacrifice visual quality. Given that the Medium preset shows a minimum of 56 FPS (4 FPS below target), users seeking guaranteed 60 FPS should consider Low settings (93 FPS) or accept occasional dips with Medium. Ultra (51 FPS) is not recommended for 4K unless frame rate is secondary to visual quality.

The data suggests a settings hierarchy where each preset tier costs approximately 20-30 FPS at 1080p, 30-40 FPS at 1440p, and 25-35 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset consistently provides the best frame time consistency (as shown by the narrowest min/max spreads), making it a strong default choice for users who cannot tolerate frame pacing variance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz, combined with 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core, provide solid single-thread performance as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1674. The CPU's 58 W TDP and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory give it flexibility, though the measured data does not specify which memory type was used.

In Control, the CPU's role becomes evident in the frame rate ceilings at lower resolutions. The 182 FPS at 1080p Low likely approaches the maximum frame rate this CPU can generate, given that the RX 9070's compute capabilities could theoretically push higher in less demanding scenes. The 3DMark 4-thread score of 2859 and 8-thread score of 4026 indicate that the CPU's 4 cores handle the game's multi-threaded workload reasonably well, with the 8-thread score being close to the max-thread score of 4023, suggesting the game does not scale significantly beyond 8 threads.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 68 among all CPUs places it above average, and its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks — the Core 3 N355 (0% delta), Core i5-9500 (0.3% delta), and Core 5 120UL (-0.7% delta) — all show near-identical average scores. This indicates the i3-12100F delivers performance consistent with its class, though it does not excel beyond expectations.

The CPU's single-thread performance is particularly relevant for Control, which has scenes that rely heavily on physics and AI calculations. The Cinebench R20 single-core score of 703 and Geekbench single-core score of 1932 suggest strong per-core capability, which helps maintain frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios. However, the 4-core limitation becomes apparent at 1080p where the frame rate ceiling of 182 FPS is likely CPU-imposed, as the GPU's 4K Low result of 93 FPS demonstrates it can handle significant workloads when the CPU is not the constraint.