Control

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the Intel Arc B390 in Control produces a fundamentally GPU-limited experience, where the Arc B390’s performance ceiling caps frame rates well below playable thresholds at most settings, and only the lowest graphical presets at 1920x1080 approach acceptable smoothness. Benchmark data indicates the combo ranks 2551 out of 2888 tested combinations, placing it in the lower 12th percentile of all systems evaluated for this game, which is consistent with the Arc B390’s standalone GPU percentile of 9 and its measured 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. The CPU, by contrast, is a mid-range performer with a 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs, and its compute scores suggest it is not the primary constraint in this pairing, but the integrated-class GPU’s output dictates the overall experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this combo for the highest frame rate?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 with Low settings delivers the highest average FPS at 65, which is the only configuration in the measured set that exceeds 60 FPS. All other resolutions and settings fall below this threshold, with 2560x1440 Low reaching 50 FPS and 3840x2160 Low reaching 33 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in raw compute?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443). These are all very low-end GPUs, and the deltaPct values indicate the Arc B390 is only marginally faster than this group.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 holding back performance in Control?

A: No, the data does not support CPU bottlenecking. The i5-12400 has a multicore score of 15989 in Cinebench R23 and a single-core score of 2257, while its 3DMark single-thread score is 910. Given that the GPU’s best average FPS is 65 at 1080p Low, the CPU has ample headroom, as evidenced by its 72nd percentile ranking versus the GPU’s 9th percentile.

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

A: The combo ranks 2551 out of 2888 tested combinations, meaning 337 other configurations perform worse. This places it in the bottom tier of systems for this game, which aligns with the GPU’s low percentile and the fact that no measured setting at 3840x2160 exceeds 33 FPS.

Q: Does increasing settings from Low to Ultra have a consistent impact on frame rate across resolutions?

A: Yes, the data shows a predictable scaling pattern. At 1920x1080, average FPS drops from 65 (Low) to 46 (Medium) to 41 (High) to 36 (Ultra). At 2560x1440, it drops from 50 (Low) to 35 (Medium) to 31 (High) to 27 (Ultra). At 3840x2160, it drops from 33 (Low) to 24 (Medium) to 21 (High) to 18 (Ultra).

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS values recorded for Medium settings?

A: The measured data includes min and max FPS only for Medium settings. At 1920x1080 Medium, the range is 40 to 53 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the range is 30 to 40 FPS. At 3840x2160 Medium, the range is 20 to 27 FPS. No min or max values are provided for Low, High, or Ultra settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the dominant performance limiter in this configuration, and its specifications confirm why every resolution and settings combination yields sub-60 FPS averages except for the absolute lowest preset. The GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, with memory designated as System Shared, meaning it relies on the host system’s RAM for frame buffering rather than dedicated VRAM. This shared memory architecture has a bandwidth that is System Dependent, which introduces variability based on the platform, but the measured results in Control show a consistent pattern of low throughput.

The GPU’s shading units number 1536, with 48 texture mapping units and 24 raster operation units. Its pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, producing a FP32 compute throughput of 7.680 TFLOPS. These figures place the Arc B390 in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all NVIDIA entries from the early 2010s era, such as the GeForce GT 520MX and GeForce GT 710, with deltaPct values between 1.3% and 2.7%. This context is critical: the Arc B390 is not merely slow by modern standards; it is competitive with hardware that is over a decade old.

In Control, the GPU’s limitations manifest clearly in the measured FPS data. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 18, which is below the minimum playable threshold for most action games. Even at 1920x1080 Low, the GPU only achieves 65 FPS on average, and this is the sole instance where the combo crosses the 60 FPS mark. The game’s rendering demands, which include physics-based destruction and particle effects, appear to strain the Arc B390’s 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs, as evidenced by the steep frame rate drops when moving from Low to Medium settings. For example, at 2560x1440, the average drops from 50 FPS on Low to 35 FPS on Medium, a 30% reduction, while at 3840x2160, the drop is from 33 FPS to 24 FPS, a 27% reduction.

The GPU’s 12 ray tracing cores are present, but the measured FPS data does not include ray tracing-specific tests, and the low overall performance suggests that any ray tracing workload would be prohibitive. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, but software capability does not compensate for raw throughput deficits. The Arc B390’s TDP is 80 W, and it is an integrated graphics product (IGP) with no dedicated power connectors, reinforcing its classification as a low-power, low-performance part.

Settings Recommendations

For users seeking the best playable experience with this combo, the data points exclusively to 1920x1080 with Low settings, which yields an average FPS of 65. This is the only configuration where the average frame rate exceeds 60, providing a baseline for smooth gameplay in a fast-paced action-adventure title like Control. The next best option is 2560x1440 with Low settings, producing 50 FPS on average, which may be acceptable for less demanding scenes but risks drops below 30 FPS in intense combat sequences, though the data does not provide min FPS values for this setting.

Medium settings at 1920x1080 deliver 46 FPS on average, with a measured min of 40 FPS and max of 53 FPS. This is a viable compromise if visual fidelity is prioritized over a locked 60 FPS, as the min FPS of 40 indicates the frame rate stays within a tolerable range. However, High settings at 1920x1080 drop to 41 FPS, and Ultra falls to 36 FPS, which are both below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a game that requires precise aiming and environmental awareness.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation is unequivocally Low settings, as Medium (35 FPS), High (31 FPS), and Ultra (27 FPS) all fall below 40 FPS, with Medium’s min FPS of 30 indicating frequent dips below 30 FPS. At 3840x2160, no settings are recommended for playable performance, as even Low averages only 33 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. The data suggests that users should avoid 4K entirely with this hardware, as the GPU lacks the memory bandwidth and compute resources to maintain any semblance of fluidity.

The optimal strategy is to run Control at 1920x1080 Low, sacrificing visual quality for a stable frame rate. If the user prefers higher graphical fidelity, 1920x1080 Medium with its 40-53 FPS range is the maximum acceptable trade-off, but the experience will be inconsistent. There is no measured configuration that combines high resolution with high settings and playable performance, confirming that the Arc B390’s 9th percentile ranking is a hard ceiling for this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2551 out of 2888 tested combinations places it in the bottom 11.7% of all systems evaluated for Control. This is a poor standing, but it is not the absolute worst, as 337 configurations perform even lower. The ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU, whose percentile of 9 is among the lowest recorded for any discrete or integrated graphics solution. The CPU’s percentile of 72 indicates that, in isolation, the i5-12400 is a competent processor, but its pairing with an entry-level GPU results in a system that struggles with a 2019 title.

When compared to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the Arc B390’s performance is marginally better than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% faster), the GeForce 800M (1.5% faster), the GeForce GT 625 OEM (2.5% faster), and the GeForce GT 710 (2.7% faster). These deltaPct values are small, meaning the Arc B390 is functionally equivalent to those decade-old parts in raw compute. The combo rank reflects this reality: in a game like Control, which pushes both GPU and CPU, the system fails to reach playable thresholds at most settings.

The CPU’s nearest rivals provide context for its role. The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697), 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i7-1355U (18730), 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18811), and 0.9% higher than the Intel Core i3-14100F (18519). These are all close scores, indicating the i5-12400 sits in a competitive mid-range band. However, none of this CPU performance translates into higher FPS in Control because the GPU is saturated at every setting. The combo rank of 2551 is thus proof of the GPU’s dominance in limiting the system’s gaming capability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its architecture is Alder Lake-S, built on a 10 nm process with a die size of 163 mm². The cache hierarchy consists of 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. These specifications give the CPU a 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18683.

In Control, the CPU’s role is secondary due to the GPU bottleneck. The i5-12400’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 and single-core score of 2257 indicate strong processing power for a 6-core part. Its 3DMark scores further corroborate this: 910 in single-thread, 1692 in 2-thread, 3012 in 4-thread, 4745 in 8-thread, 5873 in 16-thread, and 5890 in max-thread tests. These numbers suggest the CPU can handle the game’s physics and AI workloads without becoming a constraint, especially since the GPU’s maximum average FPS is 65.

The CPU’s memory support includes DDR4 and DDR5, with dual-channel memory bus, and it uses PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. The TDP is 65 W, and the socket is Intel Socket 1700. These features are typical for a desktop processor from the Core 12th Gen series, and the release date of 2022-01-03 places it as a current-generation part. The integrated UHD Graphics 730 is present, but the system uses the Arc B390 as the primary display output, as indicated by the GPU’s bus interface being IGP.

The benchmark data shows the CPU’s nearest rivals are all within 0.9% of its average score, meaning the i5-12400 performs as expected for its class. The Intel Core i3-14100F is 0.9% slower, while the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 is 0.7% faster. None of these deltas would meaningfully change the frame rates in Control because the GPU is the limiting factor. For this game, the CPU’s 12 threads are more than sufficient, and the 4.40 GHz boost clock ensures responsive single-thread performance, which is critical for game logic and draw call submission. However, the measured FPS data does not show any scenario where CPU performance dictates the outcome, as every resolution and settings combination is GPU-bound.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the benchmark results show a clear progression from Low to Ultra. The Low preset achieves an average of 65 FPS, the only instance above 60 in the entire dataset. Medium settings produce an average of 46 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. High settings drop to an average of 41 FPS, and Ultra settings reduce the average to 36 FPS. These numbers indicate that the Arc B390’s performance scales predictably with graphical load, but even the lowest settings cannot provide a large margin over the 60 FPS target.

At 2560x1440, the FPS averages are 50 (Low), 35 (Medium), 31 (High), and 27 (Ultra). The Medium setting has a recorded min of 30 FPS and max of 40 FPS, showing that frame times are highly variable, with the minimum often dipping to the edge of playability. The Low setting does not have min/max values, but the 50 FPS average suggests it is the only 1440p option that maintains a consistent experience, though it is still below the 60 FPS threshold. High and Ultra settings fall further, with averages below 32 FPS, which is generally considered unplayable for a third-person action game that requires quick camera movements and combat reactions.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. Low settings average 33 FPS, Medium averages 24 FPS (min 20, max 27), High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. The Medium setting’s min of 20 FPS is particularly concerning, as it indicates severe frame drops during intense scenes. Even the best 4K result, Low at 33 FPS, is below the 30 FPS threshold for minimal playability, and the 18 FPS Ultra average is effectively a slideshow. These numbers confirm that 4K resolution is not viable with this combo, regardless of settings.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: reducing resolution from 3840x2160 to 2560x1440 improves FPS by roughly 50% at each settings tier (e.g., Low goes from 33 to 50 FPS, High goes from 21 to 31 FPS). Reducing further to 1920x1080 adds another 30% improvement (e.g., Low goes from 50 to 65 FPS, High goes from 31 to 41 FPS). This scaling indicates the GPU is heavily resolution-bound, with the System Shared memory bandwidth becoming a limiting factor at higher pixel counts. The lack of dedicated VRAM means the Arc B390 must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which likely exacerbates the frame rate drops at 4K.

Across all 12 measured configurations, the average FPS ranges from a low of 18 (4K Ultra) to a high of 65 (1080p Low). The median average FPS across all settings and resolutions is approximately 34.5, which underscores the system’s unsuitability for high-refresh-rate gaming. For users with a 60 Hz display, only the 1080p Low setting provides a consistent experience, while 1080p Medium and 1440p Low offer marginal playability with occasional dips. Every other configuration falls below 41 FPS, making Control a game that this combo can only run at minimal settings and low resolutions.