Control

# Control with Intel Core i5-10400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

The Intel Core i5-10400F pairs with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 to deliver strong 1080p and 1440p performance in Control, with 4K Ultra remaining the only configuration that dips below 60 frames per second. The combo ranks in the 72nd percentile of all tested combinations in this game, sitting at position 465 out of 1,636 total setups. This pairing reflects a balanced mid-range CPU with a high-end GPU, where the 6-core, 12-thread processor with a 2.90 GHz base clock and 4.30 GHz boost clock provides sufficient headroom for the RTX 4070's capabilities at most settings, though the data reveals where the CPU becomes the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread Comet Lake processor built on Intel's 14 nm process, running at 2.90 GHz base and 4.30 GHz boost clocks. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s dual-channel DDR4 memory bandwidth are relevant for Control, a game that benefits from consistent multi-threaded performance. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 10,297 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,453 in single-core, while 3DMark results show 4,748 for 16-thread workloads and 688 for single-thread. These figures place the CPU at the 73rd percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 14,168.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the i5-10400F is 0.4% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7552 (which scores 14,115), but 0.8% behind the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14,277) and 1.1% behind the Intel Core i5-8500 (14,332). The delta to the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 is 1.2% (14,336). These small margins indicate the processor sits in a tightly competitive range for its class.

In Control, the CPU's role shifts with resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the average FPS reaches 172, which suggests the GPU is capable of very high frame rates but the CPU's single-thread performance (688 in 3DMark single-thread) may cap the absolute ceiling. The gap between 1080p Low (172 FPS) and 1440p Low (147.4 FPS) is 14.3%, smaller than the resolution's pixel increase, indicating that at Low settings the CPU begins to influence results. Moving to 4K Low, the average drops to 99.8 FPS, a 32.3% reduction from 1440p Low, which shows the GPU becoming more dominant. The processor's 4.30 GHz boost clock helps maintain playable frame rates even at 4K, but the data shows it cannot fully feed the RTX 4070 at 1080p with minimal graphical load.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60+ FPS in Control?

A: The data shows all tested resolutions and settings maintain at least 51.9 FPS, but 4K Ultra is the only configuration below 60 FPS. The 1440p Ultra average of 80.6 FPS and 1080p Ultra average of 107.3 FPS both clear the 60 FPS threshold comfortably.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in general performance?

A: The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14,168, placing it 0.4% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7552 (14,115) but 0.8% behind the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14,277) and 1.1% behind the Intel Core i5-8500 (14,332). This puts it in a tightly clustered group with negligible differences.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 perform better than its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4070's average benchmark score is 37,283, which is 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36,371) but 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507) and 1.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (38,008). The RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38,135, 2.2% higher.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 125.1, which is between the 107.3 FPS at Ultra and the 138.5 FPS at Medium. This suggests High settings provide a solid balance for smooth gameplay at 1080p.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 107.3 at 1080p Ultra to 51.9 at 4K Ultra, a reduction of 55.4 FPS or 51.6%. This indicates the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the CPU's workload scales less with pixel count.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested systems in Control?

A: The combo ranks 465th out of 1,636 tested combinations, placing it in the top 28.4% of all setups. This rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU for this specific game.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 172 FPS, which drops to 147.4 FPS at 1440p Low (a 14.3% decrease) and then to 99.8 FPS at 4K Low (a 32.3% decrease from 1440p). This scaling is steeper than the pixel count increase, which points to the GPU's rendering load growing faster than the CPU's capacity to feed it, but the CPU still plays a role at Low settings where the GPU has less work.

For High settings, the progression is 125.1 FPS at 1080p, 93.8 FPS at 1440p (a 25.0% drop), and 63.2 FPS at 4K (a 32.6% drop from 1440p). The 4K High result of 63.2 FPS is just above the 60 FPS line, indicating that the RTX 4070's 12 GB GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient but not over-provisioned for this title at 4K.

The most telling scaling appears at Ultra settings: 107.3 FPS at 1080p, 80.6 FPS at 1440p (24.9% drop), and 51.9 FPS at 4K (35.6% drop). The 4K Ultra result falls below 60 FPS, and the scaling from 1440p to 4K is the largest percentage decrease across all settings. This suggests that at Ultra, the GPU's shading units (5,888) and ray tracing cores (46) are pushed to their limits, while the CPU's 6 cores are less of a constraint. The 1080p to 1440p drops are consistently around 25%, while the 1440p to 4K drops range from 32.3% to 35.6%, showing that the GPU becomes the dominant limiter at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 465th out of 1,636 tested combinations in Control, which places it in the 71.6th percentile (calculated as 1 - (465/1636)). This is a solid mid-to-upper tier position, reflecting that the i5-10400F and RTX 4070 combination handles Control well but is not among the elite setups. The CPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all processors and the GPU's 81st percentile among all GPUs suggest that the GPU is the stronger component in this pairing, and the combined rank reflects a slight bottleneck from the CPU.

The rank is particularly noteworthy given the CPU's modest specifications. The i5-10400F's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for Control's demands, but systems with higher-core-count CPUs or newer architectures likely occupy the ranks above 465. The GPU's 81st percentile ranking indicates that the RTX 4070 is a high-performing part, and the combo's rank is closer to the CPU's percentile than the GPU's, implying the processor limits the overall result. In practical terms, this means the combo achieves excellent frame rates at 1080p and 1440p across most settings, but the 4K Ultra result of 51.9 FPS highlights the CPU's inability to fully support the GPU's potential at the most demanding configuration.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 172 FPS, which is the maximum measured in this dataset. Medium settings yield 138.5 FPS, High settings produce 125.1 FPS, and Ultra settings result in 107.3 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 64.7 FPS, representing a 37.6% reduction, which indicates that graphical settings have a substantial impact at 1080p but the CPU still allows for high performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 147.4 FPS at Low, 104.8 FPS at Medium, 93.8 FPS at High, and 80.6 FPS at Ultra. The Low to Ultra spread is 66.8 FPS, a 45.3% reduction, showing that settings become slightly more impactful as resolution increases. The 1440p Ultra result of 80.6 FPS is 24.9% lower than 1080p Ultra, which is a moderate penalty for the resolution upgrade.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop significantly: 99.8 FPS at Low, 68.6 FPS at Medium, 63.2 FPS at High, and 51.9 FPS at Ultra. The Low to Ultra spread is 47.9 FPS, a 48.0% reduction. Only the Low setting comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, while Medium and High are close to the threshold. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration below 60 FPS, making it the sole instance where the combo fails to deliver a smooth experience by standard measures. The data shows that the RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth manage the 4K texture loads, but the rendering pipeline becomes the limiting factor at Ultra settings, with the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads unable to compensate.