Control

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Control with the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 reveals a clear scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 183.5 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 140.4 FPS, a 23.5% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 91.9 FPS, which is 49.9% below the 1080p Low figure. This steep decline suggests the GPU becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

The Ultra preset tells a similar story. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 103.7 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, that drops to 76 FPS, a 26.7% decrease. At 4K Ultra, the average is 51.1 FPS, which is 50.7% lower than the 1080p Ultra result. The consistency of these percentage drops across settings indicates that resolution scaling is primarily GPU-bound, with the RTX 3080's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth handling the increased load.

The data shows that the CPU is not the primary constraint at higher resolutions. At 4K, the difference between Low (91.9 FPS) and Ultra (51.1 FPS) is 40.8 FPS, demonstrating that graphical settings have a substantial impact on performance. The i3-12100F with its 4 cores and 8 threads appears sufficient to feed the RTX 3080 at 4K, as the frame rate scales consistently with resolution rather than showing CPU-related plateaus.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Control?

A: The highest average FPS is 183.5, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Low?

A: The 4K Ultra average is 51.1 FPS, while 1080p Low averages 183.5 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is 72.2% lower than the 1080p Low result.

Q: Is the RTX 3080 the limiting component at 4K?

A: Yes. The frame rate drops consistently with resolution increases, and the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K (40.8 FPS) shows the GPU is handling the graphical load.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combos in Control?

A: The combo ranks 491 out of 1636 tested combinations, placing it in the 70th percentile of tested systems.

Q: How does the i3-12100F compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516, which is 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534) and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i7-1250U (13462).

Q: What is the 1440p Medium average FPS?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 101.8.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F combined with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 491 out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This places the pairing in the upper 30% of all tested systems, which is notable given the CPU's modest specifications. The i3-12100F has a percentile ranking of 72 among all CPUs, while the RTX 3080 sits at the 80th percentile among GPUs. The combination of a mid-tier CPU with a high-tier GPU produces results that exceed what either component might achieve in isolation.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance ceiling. The i3-12100F's average benchmark score of 13516 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534, delta -0.1%). It also edges out the Intel Core i7-1250U (13462, delta 0.4%) and the Intel Core i3-10105 (13430, delta 0.6%). The largest gap among its nearest rivals is against the Intel Core i7-7700K (13280, delta 1.8%). These close margins indicate that the i3-12100F delivers performance consistent with its class.

For the GPU, the RTX 3080's average benchmark score of 35787 places it just behind the AMD Radeon Pro Duo (35860, delta -0.2%) and ahead of the AMD Radeon 880M (35646, delta 0.4%). The RTX 3080 also trails the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (36101, delta -0.9%) but leads the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile (35435, delta 1%). The 80th percentile GPU ranking confirms this is a strong graphics card for Control.

The rank of 491 out of 1636 suggests that while this combo is capable, it is not at the very top of the performance hierarchy. The 4-core, 8-thread CPU may limit performance in CPU-intensive sections of Control, even though the resolution scaling data shows the GPU is the primary bottleneck in most scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 183.5 FPS average, Medium drops to 131.5 FPS, High reaches 118.5 FPS, and Ultra settles at 103.7 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 79.8 FPS, indicating that graphical settings have a major impact on performance at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages shift downward. Low settings yield 140.4 FPS, Medium produces 101.8 FPS, High delivers 90.4 FPS, and Ultra manages 76 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 64.4 FPS at 1440p, suggesting the GPU is starting to become more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve flattens further. Low settings average 91.9 FPS, Medium drops to 65.7 FPS, High produces 60.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 51.1 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 40.8 FPS, which is roughly half the delta seen at 1080p. This compression of frame rates at 4K reinforces the conclusion that the RTX 3080 is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions.

The data also shows that the jump from 1080p to 1440p has a smaller relative impact than the jump from 1440p to 4K. For High settings, 1080p to 1440p costs 28.1 FPS (118.5 to 90.4), while 1440p to 4K costs 29.7 FPS (90.4 to 60.7). This indicates that the scaling is roughly linear across resolutions for this combo.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests different optimal presets depending on the target resolution. At 1080p, Ultra settings provide 103.7 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Players with 1080p displays can comfortably use Ultra settings without sacrificing frame rate.

At 1440p, High settings deliver 90.4 FPS average, which remains smooth for most displays. Ultra at 1440p drops to 76 FPS, which is still playable but closer to the edge of comfort for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium at 1440p yields 101.8 FPS, offering a balanced option for those who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity.

At 4K, the choices become more constrained. High settings produce 60.7 FPS average, which barely meets the 60 FPS standard. Medium settings at 4K deliver 65.7 FPS, providing a small margin above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra at 4K averages 51.1 FPS, which will result in noticeable stuttering on standard 60 Hz displays. Low settings at 4K achieve 91.9 FPS, but the visual compromise may not be worthwhile for most players.

The data indicates that High settings offer the best balance between visual quality and performance across all three resolutions. At 1080p High yields 118.5 FPS, at 1440p High gives 90.4 FPS, and at 4K High produces 60.7 FPS. This preset provides consistent frame rates that scale predictably with resolution, making it the recommended starting point for most users.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz can boost to 4.30 GHz, and it features a 12 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 11912 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1681 in single-core. The Geekbench multicore score is 7413, while single-core reaches 2224.

In Control, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions. The resolution scaling data shows that frame rates drop consistently as pixel count increases, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The RTX 3080's 8704 shading units and 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are likely the primary drivers of frame generation in this title.

However, the CPU's 4-core, 8-thread configuration could become a bottleneck in specific scenarios. Control is an action-adventure game that may have CPU-intensive physics or AI calculations, and the i3-12100F's 4 physical cores might struggle in tightly packed scenes. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4051 and max-thread score of 4023 indicate that the CPU's multithreaded performance is consistent, but limited by its core count.

The 8 MB of L3 cache (listed as 12 MB shared) and 80 KB L1 per core provide adequate capacity for game workloads. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, though the measured results do not specify which memory type was used. The lack of integrated graphics means the RTX 3080 handles all display output, which is expected for this configuration.

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score are all within 1.8% of its performance, suggesting that the i3-12100F delivers competitive results for its class. In Control, the measured frame rates indicate that the CPU is not the primary limiting factor at 1440p or 4K, but at 1080p with Low settings (183.5 FPS), the CPU may be approaching its limit in feeding the GPU. The data does not include separate CPU and GPU utilization metrics, so the exact balance cannot be determined from the available information.