Control

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread desktop processor from the Alder Lake generation, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with a 58 W TDP. The CPU's cache layout includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and its PCIe implementation is Gen 5 with 16 lanes from the CPU.

The processor's benchmark data reveals a design that prioritizes single-thread responsiveness over raw multi-core throughput. In Cinebench R23, the chip scores 1681 in single-core and 11912 in multi-core. The 3DMark tests show a score of 893 in single-thread, 2859 in 4-threads, and 4023 in max-threads. This pattern — where the 4-thread score is substantially higher than the single-thread score, but the max-thread score barely exceeds the 4-thread score — indicates that the processor's performance scaling effectively plateaus after four threads. The 8-thread score of 4026 is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 4023, confirming that the chip's four physical cores with Hyper-Threading do not offer meaningful additional headroom beyond the first eight threads.

Relative to other CPUs in the benchmark database, the i3-12100F sits at the 72nd percentile, with an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (avg score 13534, deltaPct -0.1), the Intel Core i7-1250U (avg score 13462, deltaPct 0.4), the Intel Core i3-10105 (avg score 13430, deltaPct 0.6), and the Intel Core i7-7700K (avg score 13280, deltaPct 1.8). The data shows that the i3-12100F is essentially tied with a high-end Threadripper in this aggregate metric, trailing by just 0.1%, and slightly ahead of the other competitors. This suggests that for the workloads captured in these synthetic benchmarks, the 4-core/8-thread configuration is competitive with much larger and more expensive processors, likely due to the strong single-core performance of the Alder Lake architecture.

In the context of Control, a game that typically benefits from strong per-core performance, the CPU's capabilities are sufficient to feed the GPU at most settings. The measured frame rates show that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 225.5 FPS, which is an extremely high value that would strain even capable CPUs. However, the data does not isolate CPU-bound scenarios from GPU-bound ones. The fact that the CPU's max-thread score (4023) is not much higher than its 4-thread score (2859) suggests that the game is unlikely to leverage more than four cores effectively, making the i3-12100F's core count a non-issue for this title.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process. The chip, designated AD103, contains 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2340 MHz and a boost clock of 2610 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). It features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s. The GPU has 8448 shading units, 264 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, along with 66 RT cores and 264 tensor cores. Its compute capabilities include 44.10 TFLOPS for FP32 and FP16 operations.

The memory configuration is notable for this game. Control is known for its demanding visual effects, and the 16 GB VRAM capacity ensures that the GPU will not be constrained by memory limits even at 4K Ultra settings. The memory bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s is substantial, and the data shows that the GPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks places it at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48704. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA CMP 50HX (avg score 49071, deltaPct -0.7), the NVIDIA RTX A2000 (avg score 47915, deltaPct 1.6), the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile (avg score 47743, deltaPct 2), and the Intel Arc A550M (avg score 49737, deltaPct -2.1). The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER trails the CMP 50HX by 0.7% and the Arc A550M by 2.1%, while leading the RTX A2000 by 1.6% and the RTX A1000 Mobile by 2.0%.

The GPU's role in Control is clearly dominant. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 225.5 FPS, which is an extraordinarily high frame rate. The data shows that the GPU's performance scales with resolution, but the CPU's influence becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 2610 MHz and its high FP32 throughput of 44.10 TFLOPS are likely the primary drivers of the high frame rates observed. The GPU's production status is listed as end-of-life, with a release date of 2024-01-07, and it succeeded the GeForce 30 series.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data provides four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) at three resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rates are: Low 225.5 FPS, Medium 161.3 FPS, High 146.9 FPS, and Ultra 125.5 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs 64.2 FPS (a 28.5% drop), while the jump from Medium to High costs 14.4 FPS (a 8.9% drop), and from High to Ultra costs 21.4 FPS (a 14.6% drop). The data indicates that the Medium preset offers a significant visual improvement over Low while still maintaining a frame rate above 160 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most displays.

At 1440p, the pattern shifts. The frame rates are: Low 169.9 FPS, Medium 124 FPS, High 111.3 FPS, and Ultra 97.6 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 45.9 FPS (27.0%), from Medium to High is 12.7 FPS (10.2%), and from High to Ultra is 13.7 FPS (12.3%). Here, the High preset at 111.3 FPS provides a balanced experience, maintaining a frame rate above 110 FPS while offering the visual fidelity improvements that the High preset typically includes.

At 4K, the frame rates are: Low 118.6 FPS, Medium 80.5 FPS, High 73.6 FPS, and Ultra 62.6 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 38.1 FPS (32.1%), from Medium to High is 6.9 FPS (8.6%), and from High to Ultra is 11.0 FPS (14.9%). At this resolution, the High preset at 73.6 FPS is likely the best choice for a smooth experience, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold while delivering better visual quality than Medium. The Ultra preset dips to 62.6 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

Across all resolutions, the data shows that the Medium preset at 1080p (161.3 FPS) and the High preset at 1440p (111.3 FPS) offer the best balance of frame rate and visual quality. At 4K, the High preset (73.6 FPS) is the recommended starting point, with the option to drop to Medium (80.5 FPS) if additional headroom is needed. The Low preset at any resolution provides an excessive frame rate that is unlikely to be perceptible on standard displays, making it a suboptimal choice for visual fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER achieves a rank of 177 out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This places the combo in the top 10.8% of all tested configurations. The rank is determined by the measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings, aggregated into a single metric.

Given the CPU's modest core count and the GPU's high-end positioning, the rank reflects a system that is well-balanced for this particular game. The CPU's 72nd percentile standing among all CPUs and the GPU's 86th percentile standing among all GPUs suggest that the GPU is the stronger component, but the CPU is not holding it back to a significant degree. The rank of 177 out of 1636 is a strong result, indicating that this combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems.

The data shows that the combo's performance is particularly strong at 1080p, where it achieves frame rates above 125 FPS even at Ultra settings. At 1440p, the combo maintains frame rates above 97 FPS across all presets. At 4K, the combo drops below 80 FPS at Medium and above, but the High preset at 73.6 FPS and the Low preset at 118.6 FPS show that the system remains capable at this resolution. The rank of 177 suggests that the combo is competitive with systems that include more powerful CPUs, likely because Control's engine does not heavily tax the CPU beyond four to eight threads.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data shows how the combo's performance scales from 1080p to 4K at each settings preset. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 225.5 FPS at 1080p to 169.9 FPS at 1440p (a 24.7% drop) and then to 118.6 FPS at 4K (a 30.2% drop from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 106.9 FPS, representing a 47.4% reduction.

At Medium settings, the frame rate drops from 161.3 FPS at 1080p to 124 FPS at 1440p (a 23.1% drop) and then to 80.5 FPS at 4K (a 35.1% drop from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 80.8 FPS, a 50.1% reduction. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 146.9 FPS at 1080p to 111.3 FPS at 1440p (a 24.2% drop) and then to 73.6 FPS at 4K (a 33.9% drop from 1440p). The total drop is 73.3 FPS, a 49.9% reduction. At Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 125.5 FPS at 1080p to 97.6 FPS at 1440p (a 22.2% drop) and then to 62.6 FPS at 4K (a 35.9% drop from 1440p). The total drop is 62.9 FPS, a 50.1% reduction.

The pattern is consistent: the drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 22-25%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is roughly 30-36%. The larger drop from 1440p to 4K indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. This is expected, as the number of pixels quadruples from 1080p to 4K, placing a proportionally larger load on the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth. The CPU's influence is more evident at 1080p, where the frame rates are extremely high (225.5 FPS at Low), suggesting that the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output at this resolution. The fact that the frame rate drops by approximately half from 1080p to 4K across all settings suggests that the scaling is roughly linear with the pixel count, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested configurations in Control?

A: The combo ranks 177 out of 1636 tested combos, placing it in the top 10.8% of all configurations.

Q: Which settings preset provides the highest frame rate at 4K?

A: The Low preset at 4K achieves 118.6 FPS, which is the highest measured frame rate at that resolution. The Medium preset achieves 80.5 FPS, High achieves 73.6 FPS, and Ultra achieves 62.6 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in the benchmark database?

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

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48704.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the frame rate drops from 146.9 FPS at 1080p to 111.3 FPS at 1440p, and then to 73.6 FPS at 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 73.3 FPS, a 49.9% reduction.

Q: Does the CPU support DDR4 and DDR5 memory?

A: Yes, the Intel Core i3-12100F supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration.