Control

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the Intel Arc B570 ranks 2307th out of 2888 tested combinations for Control. This places the combo in the lower half of all tested systems, indicating that this pairing is not optimized for this title. The rank reflects a configuration that delivers playable but not exceptional frame rates, with the system positioned well below the median performer. Given the CPU's 68th percentile ranking among all processors and the GPU's 65th percentile among all graphics cards, the underwhelming combo rank suggests that the pairing's overall performance in Control is constrained by factors beyond raw component potential, such as architectural efficiency or driver overhead in this specific game.

The data shows a substantial gap between this combo and top-tier systems. Being in the 2307th position out of 2888 means roughly 80% of tested combinations outperform it. However, this does not mean the experience is poor; rather, it indicates that Control is a demanding title where this mid-range pairing must make compromises. The combo's ranking is consistent with its hardware tier, and users should expect settings adjustments to achieve smoother gameplay. The measured FPS data confirms this assessment, with performance scaling predictably across resolutions and settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, with a die size of 272 mm² and 19,600 million transistors. Its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical factor for Control's asset streaming. The GPU operates at a fixed 2500 MHz base and boost clock, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). This clock configuration is unusual in that there is no dynamic boost range, meaning the GPU runs at a constant frequency, which can lead to consistent but not adaptive performance.

The B570's 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines deliver a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s. Its FP32 throughput is 11.52 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 23.04 TFLOPS (2:1). The 18 ray tracing cores are present but not heavily utilized in Control, which relies more on traditional rasterization. For this game, the GPU's VRAM capacity and bandwidth are more relevant than its compute capabilities. The 10 GB frame buffer is sufficient for Control at the tested resolutions, but the 160-bit bus width may limit performance in scenes with heavy texture streaming.

Benchmark results show the B570 scores 14195 in Passmark G3D and 7281 in Passmark GPU Compute. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 96844 and OpenCL score of 83514 indicate strong compute performance. The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (avg score 20534, delta 0.1%), Intel Arc A750 (avg score 20582, delta -0.1%), NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (avg score 20480, delta 0.4%), and AMD Radeon R9 M390X (avg score 20662, delta -0.5%). These close deltas suggest the B570 performs within a tight band of these competitors, with no significant advantage or disadvantage in synthetic benchmarks. For Control specifically, the GPU's role is to manage the game's physics-heavy environments and particle effects, which the B570 handles adequately at lower resolutions but struggles with at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 101 FPS, which drops to 51 FPS at 4K Low — a 49.5% reduction. This scaling is steeper than expected for a GPU-bound scenario, indicating that the Arc B570's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput become limiting factors at higher resolutions. At High settings, the drop from 63 FPS at 1080p to 32 FPS at 4K represents a 49.2% decrease, showing a similar scaling factor across settings.

The resolution scaling suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, while at 1080p the CPU begins to play a more significant role. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is smaller than between 1440p and 4K. For example, at Medium settings, 1080p yields 71 FPS, 1440p yields 54 FPS (24% drop), and 4K yields 36 FPS (33% drop from 1440p). This non-linear scaling indicates that the GPU's 160-bit memory bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to maintain performance at 4K, where texture fetches and fill rate demands increase exponentially.

The data shows that the combo is best suited for 1080p gaming in Control, with 1440p being a reasonable compromise, while 4K requires significant settings reductions. At 1080p Ultra, the system still manages 55 FPS, which is playable, but at 4K Ultra it falls to 28 FPS, which is borderline unplayable. This pattern confirms that the Arc B570 is a 1080p-oriented card for this title, with 1440p achievable at medium settings and 4K only viable at Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance. Low settings produce an average of 101 FPS, which is smooth and well above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings yield 71 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 82 FPS, indicating consistent frame delivery. High settings drop to 63 FPS, still playable, while Ultra settings reduce performance to 55 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 45.5% performance penalty, which is moderate for a game like Control.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low settings average 76 FPS, which remains smooth, but Medium settings fall to 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 FPS and maximum of 62 FPS. High settings produce 48 FPS, and Ultra drops to 42 FPS. The 1440p data shows a 44.7% drop from Low to Ultra, similar to the 1080p scaling. However, the absolute numbers are lower, making the experience less fluid at higher settings. The minimum FPS of 46 at Medium settings indicates occasional frame dips that could be noticeable in fast-paced combat.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles. Low settings average 51 FPS, which is just playable, but Medium settings fall to 36 FPS with a minimum of 31 FPS and maximum of 42 FPS. High settings drop to 32 FPS, and Ultra settings produce only 28 FPS. The 4K data shows a 45.1% drop from Low to Ultra, consistent with other resolutions, but the absolute values are too low for a smooth experience. The minimum FPS of 31 at Medium settings suggests significant frame pacing issues, which could lead to stuttering during intense scenes.

The data reveals that the combo's performance scales linearly with settings across all resolutions, with a consistent 44-49% penalty from Low to Ultra. However, the playability threshold varies by resolution. At 1080p, all settings are playable, with Low and Medium offering the best balance of performance and visual quality. At 1440p, Low and Medium are playable, but High and Ultra require compromises. At 4K, only Low settings provide acceptable performance, and even then, the 51 FPS average is below the ideal 60 FPS target.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 256 KB of L2 cache per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. Its memory support is DDR4 with dual-channel configuration, providing 42.7 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The CPU uses PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes, which is relevant for GPU communication.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-10400F scores 10283 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1451 in single-core. Its Geekbench scores are 6257 multi-core and 1420 single-core. Passmark tests show 12115 multi-thread and 2541 single-thread scores. The CPU's 3DMark scores range from 688 single-thread to 4748 at 16 threads, with 4735 at max threads. These numbers indicate a solid mid-range processor that can handle modern games but lacks the headroom of higher-core-count CPUs.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6756E (avg score 14163, delta 0.2%), Intel Core 7 160UL (avg score 14232, delta -0.3%), AMD EPYC 7552 (avg score 14115, delta 0.5%), and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (avg score 14277, delta -0.6%). The deltas are all within 0.6%, indicating that the i5-10400F performs essentially identically to these processors in average benchmark scores. For Control, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to feed the Arc B570 at 1080p, where the GPU is not fully saturated. However, at 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU's role diminishes.

The CPU's 68th percentile ranking among all processors means it outperforms most CPUs on the market, but it is not a high-end part. In Control, which is more GPU-intensive, the i5-10400F provides adequate performance without being a limiting factor at lower resolutions. The 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for the game's demands, and the 12 MB L3 cache helps with data locality. The lack of integrated graphics is irrelevant since the system uses a discrete GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system in Control?

A: Based on measured FPS, 1080p with Low settings yields the highest average at 101 FPS. For a balance of quality and performance, 1080p Medium at 71 FPS or 1080p High at 63 FPS are recommended. 1440p Low at 76 FPS is also viable, but higher settings at 1440p drop below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 3070 Mobile (20534), 0.1% lower than the Arc A750 (20582), 0.4% higher than the Quadro M4000M (20480), and 0.5% lower than the Radeon R9 M390X (20662). These differences are negligible.

Q: Is the i5-10400F a bottleneck for the Arc B570 in Control?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is not a significant bottleneck, as evidenced by the 101 FPS Low setting result. However, at 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, with FPS dropping by 24-33% between resolutions. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for this game.

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS at 4K in Control?

A: No. The highest 4K result is 51 FPS at Low settings. Medium settings yield 36 FPS, High yields 32 FPS, and Ultra yields 28 FPS. The Arc B570's 10 GB VRAM and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K gameplay at 60 FPS in this title.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution?

A: At 1080p, the drop is 45.5% (101 to 55 FPS). At 1440p, the drop is 44.7% (76 to 42 FPS). At 4K, the drop is 45.1% (51 to 28 FPS). The consistent scaling indicates that settings affect performance uniformly regardless of resolution.

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

A: It ranks 2307th out of 2888 combinations, placing it in the bottom 20% of tested systems. This rank reflects the mid-range nature of both components, with the CPU at the 68th percentile and GPU at the 65th percentile individually, but the combination not being optimized for this specific game.