Control

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the Intel Arc B580 produces a mid-table result in Control, landing at rank 2816 out of 3720 tested combinations. This places the combo in the 24th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly three-quarters of the tested configurations deliver higher average frame rates in this title. The ranking reflects a pairing that is capable but not dominant, suggesting that while the hardware handles the game, it does so without the headroom seen in higher-tier setups. The data implies a system built for consistent 1080p play rather than pushing extreme frame rates at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2816 out of 3720 combos indicates a fundamentally mid-pack position. This is not a pairing that will top any charts, but it also avoids the bottom tier where playability becomes questionable. The percentile placement suggests that the system is roughly average for Control, which is a demanding title with heavy visual effects and physics simulation. The ranking aligns with the hardware’s individual percentiles—the CPU sits at the 72nd percentile among all processors, and the GPU at the 68th percentile among all graphics cards. Neither component is a standout, but both are competent, and the combination reflects that balance.

When looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals, the i5-12400’s average benchmark score of 18683 is nearly identical to the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697, deltaPct -0.1) and the Intel Core i7-1355U (18730, deltaPct -0.3). The data shows the i5-12400 slightly trails the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18811, deltaPct -0.7) but leads the Intel Core i3-14100F (18519, deltaPct 0.9). These narrow margins indicate that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this configuration; its performance is well within the expected range for its class, and the game’s frame rates are more likely dictated by the GPU’s capabilities.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the primary driver of frame rates in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured results. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is substantial for a card in this segment, allowing it to handle high-resolution textures without running into capacity limits in Control. The core clocks run at a fixed 2670 MHz for both base and boost, which is a relatively high frequency that contributes to the card’s 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it at the 68th percentile overall, with an average score of 23021. Its nearest rivals in the database are the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, deltaPct -0.2) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895, deltaPct 0.6). The Arc B580 sits between these two, slightly ahead of the RTX 2080 and marginally behind the RX 580 2048SP. This positioning is reflected in the game’s frame rates, where the GPU’s performance is adequate for smooth play at 1080p but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K, as seen in the measured FPS data.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the most balanced experience comes from the Medium preset across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers an average of 81 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset yields 61 FPS, still playable, and at 3840x2160, it drops to 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, which is borderline but acceptable for slower-paced sections. The Medium preset provides a consistent experience without the steep performance penalties of Ultra.

The High preset is also viable, particularly at 1080p where it averages 72 FPS, but at 1440p it falls to 54 FPS, and at 4K it drops to 37 FPS. For users prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate, High is a reasonable choice at 1080p, but the data suggests that Medium offers a better trade-off at higher resolutions. The Low preset shows the GPU’s ceiling, reaching 114 FPS at 1080p and 58 FPS at 4K, but this comes with a significant reduction in visual quality that may not be worth the frame rate gain in a game like Control where atmosphere is key.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates scale predictably with settings. The Low preset achieves 114 FPS average, which is the highest measured for this combo. Medium drops to 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 and a maximum of 93, showing a stable frame time distribution. High averages 72 FPS, while Ultra brings the average down to 62 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 52 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom when visual effects are reduced, but the Ultra preset still maintains a playable 62 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance takes a noticeable hit. Low averages 86 FPS, Medium drops to 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 and a maximum of 70, High falls to 54 FPS, and Ultra reaches 47 FPS. The step from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 25-30% of the frame rate across all settings, which is a typical scaling pattern for a GPU of this class. At 3840x2160, the results become more constrained. Low averages 58 FPS, Medium drops to 41 FPS with a minimum of 35, High falls to 37 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 32 FPS. None of the 4K presets reach the 60 FPS threshold, and even Low struggles to stay above 60, indicating that 4K is not a practical target for this combo.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 114 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 58 FPS—a 49% reduction. For Medium, the drop is from 81 FPS to 41 FPS, a 49% reduction as well. High goes from 72 FPS to 37 FPS, a 49% drop, and Ultra from 62 FPS to 32 FPS, a 48% reduction. The consistent ~49% loss across all settings when moving from 1080p to 4K indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU has enough headroom to keep up with the increased pixel count without becoming a constraint.

The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is less severe, with reductions ranging from 25% to 27% depending on the preset. This suggests that the GPU is still the primary bottleneck at 1440p, but the CPU begins to play a more significant role as the resolution decreases. At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU’s single-thread performance could start to matter, but the measured data shows the GPU is still delivering the majority of the performance. The fact that the 4K Low preset only manages 58 FPS, despite the GPU having 12 GB of VRAM and 456 GB/s of bandwidth, points to the raw compute limits of the Arc B580 rather than memory capacity issues.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3. In Control, which is known for its physics-heavy gameplay and particle effects, the CPU’s multi-threaded performance is relevant, but the measured frame rates suggest that the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios.

The CPU’s benchmark scores show a strong single-thread result of 1848 in Geekbench, with a multicore score of 8564. In Cinebench R23, it scores 15989 multicore and 2257 single-core. These numbers place the i5-12400 in a solid position for gaming, where single-thread performance often matters more than raw core counts. However, the data from Control shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would be most likely to become a bottleneck, the frame rates are driven by the GPU’s capabilities. The 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to feed the Arc B580 without causing a significant drop in performance, as evidenced by the consistent scaling across resolutions.

The CPU’s 72nd percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 18683, indicates that it is a mid-range performer. Its nearest rivals are all within 1% of its score, showing that the i5-12400 is competitive with other mid-range options but not exceptional. In the context of Control, this means the CPU is unlikely to be the source of any frame rate issues; the data suggests that users should look to the GPU for performance improvements rather than the processor.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this combo?*

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings delivers 81 FPS average, which is the best balance of performance and visual quality. At 2560x1440, Medium drops to 61 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it falls to 41 FPS, making 1080p the most consistent experience.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K in Control?*

A: Benchmark results indicate that 4K is not practical, as even the Low preset only averages 58 FPS at 3840x2160. The Ultra preset drops to 32 FPS, which is below the typical playable threshold of 60 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The resolution scaling data shows a consistent ~49% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings, which indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU’s performance is sufficient to keep up, as evidenced by its benchmark scores and the smooth scaling pattern.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to its nearest rival in terms of performance?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score of 23021 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, deltaPct -0.2) and slightly ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895, deltaPct 0.6). This places it in a competitive mid-range position.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 114 FPS, while Ultra averages 62 FPS. This represents a 52 FPS difference, showing that the GPU has significant headroom when visual effects are reduced.

Q: Does the 12 GB of VRAM on the Arc B580 help at higher resolutions?

A: The 12 GB VRAM and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth are substantial, but the measured FPS at 4K (ranging from 32 to 58 FPS depending on settings) suggests that the GPU’s compute power, not its memory capacity, is the limiting factor. The VRAM is not a constraint in this game.