Control

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a measured performance spread in Control that ranges from 60 FPS at 4K Ultra to 208.3 FPS at 1080p Low. This combination ranks 301st out of 1636 tested combos for the game, placing it in the upper tier of systems. The data below examines how the CPU and GPU interact across resolutions and presets, and what the measured frame rates mean for practical settings choices.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 4K play?

A: At 3840x2160, the Medium preset averages 77.1 FPS, while High averages 67.2 and Ultra averages exactly 60 FPS. Medium is the only preset that clears 60 FPS with a comfortable margin, making it the recommended choice for 4K.

Q: Does the RTX 5070's VRAM matter for Control?

A: The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR7 memory with 672.0 GB/s bandwidth. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS holds at 60, indicating the memory capacity and bandwidth are sufficient for the game's highest settings.

Q: Is the i3-12100F a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 208.3 FPS, the highest measured value in the dataset. This suggests the CPU can feed the GPU effectively at lower resolutions, though the 4-core/8-thread design may limit extreme frame rates in other scenarios.

Q: What are the launch MSRPs of these components?

A: The CPU has a launch MSRP of $97, and the GPU has a launch MSRP of 549 USD.

Q: How does the i3-12100F compare to other CPUs in the benchmark database?

A: The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516, which is 0.1% below the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534) and 0.4% above the Intel Core i7-1250U (13462). It also sits 0.6% above the Intel Core i3-10105 (13430).

Q: What resolution offers the best balance for this combo?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset yields 99.7 FPS, and Medium yields 109.5 FPS. Both are well above 60 FPS, making 1440p a strong choice for a high-refresh experience without the steep 4K performance cost.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured frame rates. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz, which allows it to sustain high throughput across all settings. Its 12 GB GDDR7 memory, paired with a 192-bit bus and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth, provides ample headroom for Control's texture-heavy environments. The data confirms this: at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is exactly 60, indicating the GPU is fully utilized and the memory subsystem is not a limiting factor.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 41687 places it 0.6% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (41441) and 0.2% above the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41610). It sits 0.5% below the NVIDIA Tesla M40 (41897) and 0.7% below the AMD Radeon Pro 580X (41991). These comparisons show that the RTX 5070 is a high-end card, and its performance in Control reflects that. The 12 GB VRAM is particularly relevant for 4K, where the game's assets can easily exceed 8 GB; the measured 4K results show no signs of memory pressure, as even the Low preset at 4K reaches 108.6 FPS.

The GPU's clock speeds and memory bandwidth work together to keep frame rates high at 1440p and 1080p. At 1080p Low, the card pushes 208.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU is not the bottleneck at that resolution. Instead, the CPU becomes the limiting factor, but the i3-12100F's performance is sufficient to keep the GPU well-fed, as the 208.3 FPS figure demonstrates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear scaling pattern as resolution increases. For each preset, the average FPS drops consistently from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the averages are 131.4 FPS at 1080p, 99.7 FPS at 1440p, and 67.2 FPS at 4K. The Low preset scales from 208.3 to 158.7 to 108.6, Medium from 152 to 109.5 to 77.1, and Ultra from 114.9 to 85.7 to 60. The pattern is uniform: each resolution step reduces the frame rate by a significant amount, and the gap between 1080p and 4K is substantial across all presets.

This scaling points to the GPU as the primary limiter at higher resolutions. The RTX 5070's compute and memory bandwidth are being taxed more as pixel count increases, and the CPU's role diminishes. At 1080p, the GPU has more headroom, allowing the CPU to push frame rates higher. At 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, as the frame rate drops to 60 FPS at Ultra, which is a typical target for high-end gaming. The consistent scaling across presets indicates that the game's rendering load scales predictably with resolution, and the RTX 5070's performance is well-matched to Control's engine.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table lists the exact average FPS for each resolution and preset combination:

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 67.2 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 108.6 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 77.1 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 60 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 99.7 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 158.7 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 109.5 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 85.7 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 131.4 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 208.3 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 152 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 114.9 |

At 1080p, the range from Low to Ultra spans 208.3 down to 114.9 FPS, meaning even the highest preset remains above 114 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 158.7 to 85.7 FPS, with Ultra still clearing 85 FPS. At 4K, the range narrows to 108.6 to 60 FPS, and Ultra sits exactly at 60 FPS. The data shows that the RTX 5070 can handle 1440p Ultra with ease, but 4K Ultra leaves no margin for frame drops.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS values suggest a clear set of recommendations based on resolution. For 1080p, the Medium preset offers 152 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. High delivers 131.4 FPS, and Ultra still provides 114.9 FPS, so any preset is playable. For 1440p, Medium gives 109.5 FPS, High gives 99.7 FPS, and Ultra gives 85.7 FPS. The Medium preset is the best choice for 1440p if you want to stay above 100 FPS, while High is also a strong option. For 4K, Medium is the only preset that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, with 77.1 FPS. High is playable at 67.2 FPS, but Ultra at exactly 60 FPS leaves no headroom for frame-time spikes. Therefore, the Medium preset is the recommended setting for 4K, and High is a viable alternative for those who prefer higher quality.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It has 12 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory. Its benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance: Cinebench R23 single-core 1681, Geekbench single-core 2224, and 3DMark single-thread 893. Multi-thread scores are also respectable, with Cinebench R23 multi-core 11912 and Geekbench multi-core 7413. The CPU's average benchmark score of 13516 places it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, and it is within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534) and 0.4% above the Intel Core i7-1250U (13462).

In Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (208.3) indicates that the CPU can drive the GPU to high frame rates, but the 4-core/8-thread design may limit performance in more CPU-intensive scenes. However, the game's engine appears to scale well with the i3-12100F's single-thread performance, as the boost clock of 4.30 GHz helps maintain consistent frame times. The CPU's 12 MB L3 cache is sufficient for the game's data, and the 4 cores are enough to handle Control's physics and AI without becoming a bottleneck at the tested settings. The combination's rank of 301st out of 1636 combos suggests that this pairing is well-balanced for the game, with the GPU being the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions and the CPU handling the lower-resolution scenarios without issue.