Control

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a robust 1080p experience in Control, but the data reveals a clear performance hierarchy as resolution scales. The measured frames per second (FPS) across settings show this combo is capable of high refresh rate gaming at 1440p, while 4K demands careful settings management. This analysis breaks down the measured results, focusing on how the CPU and GPU interact with the game's engine at different resolutions and presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable decline in performance as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High preset, the average FPS drops from 133.3 at 1080p to 102.1 at 1440p, a reduction of 31.2 FPS. Moving to 4K, the average falls further to 68.3 FPS, representing a 64.9 FPS drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 5070 is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the GPU must render significantly more pixels.

The Low preset shows the most dramatic scaling behavior. At 1080p, the combo achieves 170.2 FPS, which drops to 151.9 FPS at 1440p and 107.8 FPS at 4K. The relatively small gap between 1080p and 1440p performance (18.3 FPS) suggests that at these settings, the CPU begins to play a more significant role in limiting frame rates. However, the substantial drop to 4K (44.1 FPS lower than 1440p) confirms that the GPU workload becomes dominant at that resolution.

The Ultra preset exhibits the steepest decline, with average FPS falling from 114.3 at 1080p to 84.3 at 1440p, and finally to 59.9 at 4K. This 54.4 FPS total reduction across the three resolutions indicates that the Ultra preset's additional graphical effects—likely including enhanced particle simulations and post-processing—place a heavy burden on the GPU. The 4K Ultra result of 59.9 FPS is notably close to the 60 FPS threshold, making it a borderline playable experience.

The Medium preset offers a middle ground, with FPS values of 148.4 at 1080p, 109.5 at 1440p, and 75.7 at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a 72.7 FPS drop, which is proportionally similar to the High preset's reduction. This consistency suggests that the RTX 5070's rendering pipeline handles the Medium and High presets with similar efficiency, while the Low preset's lighter workload allows the CPU to exert more influence on the final frame rate.

Analysis of these results indicates that at 1080p, the combo is not fully GPU-bound, as evidenced by the 36.9 FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings. At 4K, the spread between Low and Ultra narrows to 47.9 FPS, but the absolute performance levels suggest the GPU is the bottleneck. The i5-10400F's six cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, appear sufficient to feed the RTX 5070 at 1080p, but the GPU's workload at higher resolutions limits overall performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 133.3, which indicates the combo can comfortably drive high refresh rate monitors at this resolution with the High preset.

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

A: The 4K Ultra preset achieves an average of 59.9 FPS, while 1080p Low reaches 170.2 FPS. This represents a 110.3 FPS difference, highlighting the significant impact of both resolution and settings on the RTX 5070's workload.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F a bottleneck at 1440p?

A: The data shows a 49.8 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p, which suggests the GPU is the primary limiter. The CPU's performance, as indicated by its 3DMark scores (4748 for 16 threads and 688 for single thread), is sufficient to avoid major bottlenecks at this resolution.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 109.5, which provides a smooth experience for most gameplay scenarios in Control.

Q: Does the combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K with any preset?

A: Yes, the Low preset achieves 107.8 FPS, the Medium preset achieves 75.7 FPS, and the High preset achieves 68.3 FPS. Only the Ultra preset falls below 60 FPS at 59.9 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5070's benchmark performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 41687, which places it 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41610) and 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (41441). It trails the NVIDIA Tesla M40 by 0.5% (41897) and the AMD Radeon Pro 580X by 0.7% (41991).

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz provide the computational foundation for this combo. The CPU's benchmark results show a strong scaling from 2 threads (1350 in 3DMark) to 16 threads (4748), with the max thread score at 4735, indicating that the 12 threads are effectively utilized.

In the context of Control, the CPU's role varies by resolution and settings. At 1080p with the Low preset, the average FPS of 170.2 suggests that the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's frame generation, but the 36.9 FPS improvement over the Ultra preset (114.3 FPS) implies that the GPU is still the primary constraint. The single-thread performance of 688 in 3DMark and 1454 in Geekbench is adequate for the game's engine, which typically relies on a few heavily loaded threads for game logic and physics.

The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth provide sufficient data throughput for the RTX 5070. The PCIe Gen 3 interface with 16 lanes does not appear to be a limiting factor, as the measured FPS values at all resolutions and settings are consistent with GPU-bound scenarios. The CPU's 65 W TDP indicates efficient operation, and its 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs places it in the upper tier of processors, though not at the very top.

Comparisons with nearest rivals show the i5-10400F's average benchmark score of 14168 is nearly identical to the AMD EPYC 7552 (14115, 0.4% faster) and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14277, 0.8% slower). The Intel Core i5-8500 (14332) is 1.1% faster and the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 (14336) is 1.2% faster. These small deltas indicate that the CPU's performance is competitive with its peers, and in Control, it does not appear to be the limiting component at typical gaming resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 133.3 FPS, which is sufficient for most high refresh rate displays. The Ultra preset at 114.3 FPS offers a 19 FPS reduction but likely provides enhanced visual quality. For players seeking maximum smoothness, the Medium preset at 148.4 FPS or the Low preset at 170.2 FPS are viable options, though they may compromise visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the High preset achieves 102.1 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for 144 Hz monitors. The Ultra preset at 84.3 FPS still provides a playable experience, but the Medium preset at 109.5 FPS offers a better balance between visual quality and performance. The Low preset at 151.9 FPS is exceptionally fast, indicating that the combo can handle competitive play at this resolution if needed.

For 4K gaming, the choices are more constrained. The High preset at 68.3 FPS and the Medium preset at 75.7 FPS both provide solid performance above 60 FPS. The Low preset at 107.8 FPS is the fastest option, but it sacrifices significant visual detail. The Ultra preset at 59.9 FPS is borderline, and players may notice occasional frame rate dips below 60 FPS. Given that the High preset offers a 8.4 FPS advantage over Ultra while likely providing similar visual quality in most scenes, it is the recommended choice for 4K.

The data suggests that the High preset is the most balanced option across all three resolutions, providing 133.3 FPS at 1080p, 102.1 FPS at 1440p, and 68.3 FPS at 4K. This consistency makes it a safe default recommendation. For users with high refresh rate monitors at 1080p or 1440p, the Medium preset offers additional headroom without a substantial visual penalty. At 4K, the High preset is clearly the best choice for maintaining a smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination is ranked 367th out of 1636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 22.4% of all systems evaluated. This ranking reflects the combo's strong performance, particularly at 1080p and 1440p, where it delivers frame rates well above playable thresholds.

The RTX 5070's individual benchmark performance (average score of 41687) positions it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rivals being the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (0.2% faster), NVIDIA Tesla M40 (0.5% slower), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (0.6% slower), and AMD Radeon Pro 580X (0.7% slower). This indicates that the GPU is a high-end component that can handle demanding titles like Control.

The CPU's 73rd percentile ranking (average score 14168) is lower than the GPU's, but the measured FPS data shows that this disparity does not negatively impact gaming performance. The combo's 367th rank out of 1636 suggests that while there are many faster systems, this pairing offers a well-balanced experience for Control. The data indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rates, and the CPU provides sufficient support to avoid major bottlenecks.

Given that the combo ranks in the top quarter of all tested systems, it is positioned as a strong performer for this game. The 1080p High result of 133.3 FPS and the 1440p High result of 102.1 FPS are particularly impressive, placing this combo well above the average system. The 4K performance, while more modest, still exceeds 60 FPS on High settings, demonstrating the combo's versatility across resolutions. The ranking of 367th out of 1636 confirms the RTX 5070's capabilities, with the i5-10400F providing adequate support without significantly limiting the overall experience.