Control

Control is a demanding action-adventure title that stresses both the CPU and GPU, and the measured results for the Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER reveal a system that is well-balanced but heavily influenced by graphics settings. The data shows a configuration that can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming with ease, while 4K requires significant compromises. This analysis breaks down the performance metrics across resolutions, the role of the GPU's memory and clocks, and the CPU's contribution to the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, with the most dramatic drop occurring between 1440p and 4K. At 1080p with High settings, the system delivers an average of 80.9 FPS, which drops to 61.2 FPS at 1440p and further to 45.1 FPS at 4K. This represents a 24.3% performance hit from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 26.3% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling suggests that at 1080p, the system is not entirely GPU-bound, as the jump to 1440p is less severe than the jump to 4K.

The Low preset tells a different story about the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the system hits 132.6 FPS, a massive 63.9% increase over High settings. This substantial leap indicates that at lower settings, the CPU is capable of pushing far more frames, and the GPU becomes the primary constraint as settings increase. Moving to 1440p Low yields 99.5 FPS, a 25% reduction from 1080p, while 4K Low still manages 63.4 FPS. The fact that Low settings at 4K outperform High settings at 1440p by 3.6% demonstrates how much of the performance headroom is being consumed by graphical effects rather than raw resolution.

The data indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the dominant factor in resolution scaling. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings sees a 26% drop (93.9 to 69.5 FPS), while the same transition at Ultra settings shows a 23.1% reduction (72.2 to 55.5 FPS). This consistency suggests that the GPU's rendering pipeline, with its 256-bit memory bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, is being saturated similarly across settings. The most punishing scenario is 4K Ultra, which yields just 33.5 FPS, a 53.6% drop from 1080p Ultra. This steep decline confirms that the 8 GB frame buffer and the GPU's compute capabilities are stretched to their limits at 4K with maximum visual fidelity.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, built on the Turing architecture with the TU104 chip, is the clear performance driver in this configuration. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes a constraint at 4K with higher presets. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, with 14 Gbps effective speed, and the GPU boosts to 1770 MHz. These clocks, combined with 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs, produce a pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s.

The benchmark results show the GPU's overall capability, with a Passmark G3D score of 18169 and an average benchmark score of 22206. This places the RTX 2070 SUPER in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1651. The nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A400, which scores 0.5% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 5700, which trails by 2.5%. The GeForce GTX TITAN Z is 0.9% ahead, while the RTX 4060 Mobile leads by 2.3%, indicating that the desktop RTX 2070 SUPER remains competitive in raw compute but is beginning to show its age in a modern title like Control.

The GPU's DirectX 12 performance is notably weaker than its DirectX 11 showing, with Passmark scores of 67 and 151 respectively. This disparity is relevant to Control, which leverages modern APIs. The GPU's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 means it can run the game's advanced features, but the data suggests that the Turing architecture's ray tracing and tensor cores, 40 and 320 respectively, may not be fully optimized for this title's workload. The FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS provides the raw compute headroom, but the measured FPS drops at higher settings indicate that memory bandwidth and capacity are the limiting factors, particularly at 4K where the 8 GB buffer is likely exhausted.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across most resolutions. At 1080p High, the system delivers 80.9 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 93.9 FPS, a 16.1% improvement, but the visual fidelity trade-off is significant. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 72.2 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 10.8% reduction from High for marginal visual gains.

At 1440p, the High preset is the clear recommendation, with 61.2 FPS providing a good experience on a 1440p monitor. The Medium preset at 1440p offers 69.5 FPS, a 13.6% improvement, for those who prioritize frame rate over visuals. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 55.5 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target and not recommended for competitive play. The Low preset at 1440p hits 99.5 FPS, but the visual quality is severely compromised, making it a poor choice for a game with Control's atmospheric presentation.

For 4K gaming, the data shows that the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher presets. The High preset at 4K yields 45.1 FPS, which is borderline playable for a slower-paced action-adventure game, but the Medium preset at 48.4 FPS is only marginally better. The Low preset at 4K achieves 63.4 FPS, which is the only 4K option that hits the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 4K, with 33.5 FPS, is effectively unplayable. The recommendation for 4K is to use the Low preset for smooth performance, or the Medium preset if the player can tolerate sub-50 FPS frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1080p High delivers 80.9 FPS, making it the sweet spot for high refresh rate monitors. For 1440p, the High preset at 61.2 FPS provides a good balance, while 4K requires the Low preset to achieve 63.4 FPS.

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

A: The measured FPS drops from 80.9 at 1080p to 45.1 at 4K, representing a 44.3% reduction. This indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are inadequate for 4K High settings in this title.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth the performance cost?

A: At 1080p, Ultra delivers 72.2 FPS versus 80.9 FPS on High, a 10.8% penalty. At 1440p, the drop is from 61.2 to 55.5 FPS, an 9.3% reduction. The Ultra preset is only recommended if the player can tolerate these frame rates for improved visual effects.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 22206 is 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX A400 and 0.9% behind the GeForce GTX TITAN Z. It is 2.3% slower than the RTX 4060 Mobile but 2.5% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 5700.

Q: Does the game rely more on CPU or GPU at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck even at 1080p, as lowering settings from High to Low increases FPS from 80.9 to 132.6, a 63.9% improvement. The CPU is capable of higher frame rates, but the GPU limits performance at higher presets.

Q: What is the playable frame rate threshold for this system?

A: The measured data shows that playable frame rates above 60 FPS are achievable at 1080p with all presets except Ultra (72.2 FPS is still above 60), and at 1440p with Low and Medium presets. At 4K, only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, provides sufficient processing power for Control, but the data indicates that it is not the limiting component in this configuration. The CPU's base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, combined with 18 MB of shared L3 cache, delivers strong single-threaded performance. The 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2249 show that the Alder Lake architecture excels at the single-threaded tasks that many games rely on.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15935 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 18747. This places the i5-12400 in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19850. The nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-9700, which is 0.1% faster, and the Intel Core i7-8700, which is 0.2% slower. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX leads by 0.4%, while the Intel Core i5-11600K trails by 0.4%. These results show that the i5-12400 is competitive with older high-end CPUs, making it a solid match for the RTX 2070 SUPER.

In Control, the CPU's performance is most evident at lower resolutions and settings. The jump from 1080p High to 1080p Low, which increases FPS from 80.9 to 132.6, shows that the CPU can push far more frames when the GPU is not saturated. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1692 and 4-thread score of 3012 indicate that the CPU's thread scaling is efficient, which is important for a game that may not utilize all 12 threads effectively. The Passmark physics score of 1105 further supports the CPU's capability in game physics calculations. Overall, the i5-12400 provides a strong foundation, but the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM and Turing architecture are the primary determinants of performance in this game, especially at higher resolutions and settings.