Control

Control is an Action Adventure title from 2019 that stresses both the CPU and GPU in different ways depending on the resolution and settings chosen. The data for this page comes from measured frame rates using an Intel Core i5-12400 paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, and the numbers reveal a system that is well-balanced but with clear performance ceilings. The combo ranks 617th out of 1636 tested combinations for this game, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all possible hardware pairings. What follows is a breakdown of the measured FPS across three resolutions and four quality presets, along with an analysis of what those numbers indicate about the roles of the processor and graphics card.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in Control?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings produces the highest average FPS at 167.2, while 2560x1440 with Low settings still achieves a very playable 128.6. At 3840x2160, the maximum average FPS drops to 83.7 on Low, which is still above 60 FPS, but the Ultra preset at 4K falls to 49 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in raw GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 30849, which puts it 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME and 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6700. It also trails the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 by 0.9% and the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q by 1.2% in the aggregate scoring.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19850. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700, scores 19831, which is a negligible 0.1% difference.

Q: Does the game favor the CPU or GPU more at higher resolutions?

A: The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, with the High preset falling from 108.9 to 53.6 average FPS. This indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU's workload remains constant while the GPU's rendering load increases significantly.

Q: What is the jump in performance from Ultra to Low at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 128.6 FPS, which is 57.2 FPS higher than the Ultra preset's 71.4 FPS. This represents a significant 80% improvement in frame rate when dropping from the highest to the lowest quality settings.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded score compare to its single-threaded score?

A: The i5-12400 scores 15935 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2249 in single-core, showing strong scaling across its 6 cores and 12 threads. The 3DMark 16-thread test yields 5873, which is close to the max-thread score of 5890, indicating effective multi-threading.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 608.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock runs at 1575 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, and it contains 6144 shading units alongside 192 texture mapping units and 96 raster output pipelines. The memory clock operates at 1188 MHz with an effective data rate of 19 Gbps, which directly impacts how quickly textures and geometry data can be fed to the rendering pipeline.

In Control, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution scales up. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 94.2, but at 3840x2160 Ultra, it drops to 49. This 45.2 FPS reduction is primarily attributable to the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth being saturated at higher resolutions. The GPU's pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s are sufficient for 1080p gaming, but the 4K workload demands more than double the pixel output, which explains the steep decline.

The RTX 3070 Ti's FP32 performance of 21.75 TFLOPS is a key metric for Control's physics and particle effects. At 1440p Medium, the card manages 90 FPS, which suggests it has headroom for the game's computational demands when not constrained by memory bandwidth. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is worth noting, as Control's high-resolution textures can consume significant memory, and the 608.3 GB/s bandwidth helps mitigate potential bottlenecks.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a clear pattern of diminishing frame rates as resolution increases. Starting at 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 108.9. Moving to 2560x1440 drops this to 80.1, a 26.4% reduction. Pushing further to 3840x2160 yields 53.6 FPS, another 33.1% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling behavior indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not change with resolution.

The Low preset tells a similar story with different absolute numbers: 167.2 FPS at 1080p, 128.6 at 1440p, and 83.7 at 4K. The percentage drops are 23.1% and 34.9% respectively, showing a consistent pattern of diminishing returns. The fact that even at Low settings 4K produces 83.7 FPS suggests the RTX 3070 Ti retains enough raw power to handle the resolution, but the gap between low and high presets widens with resolution.

This scaling analysis points to the GPU as the limiting component across all tested configurations. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads running at a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, delivers consistent performance regardless of resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to remain flat or even improve at lower resolutions, but the data shows a linear decline that correlates with pixel count.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the smoothest experience, the Low preset at 1920x1080 offers the highest average FPS at 167.2, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors. At 2560x1440, the Low preset still delivers 128.6 FPS, making it the recommended choice for high-refresh-rate gaming at this resolution. The Medium preset at 1080p produces 118 FPS, which is a reasonable compromise if visual fidelity is a priority.

For 4K gaming, the Low preset at 83.7 FPS is the only configuration that consistently stays above 60 FPS, though the Medium preset at 60.4 FPS is marginally above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 4K drops to 53.6 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced gameplay but is not ideal for action sequences. The Ultra preset at 4K, at 49 FPS, should be avoided unless the player prioritizes visual quality over frame rate.

The data indicates that Medium settings at 1440p provide the best balance between visual quality and performance, with 90 FPS average. This preset maintains a smooth experience while offering improved shadows, textures, and effects over Low. The High preset at 1080p, at 108.9 FPS, is also a solid choice for players with 1080p displays who want better visuals without sacrificing frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS across settings are: Low at 167.2, Medium at 118, High at 108.9, and Ultra at 94.2. The gap between Low and Ultra is 73 FPS, which represents a 77.5% improvement in frame rate when using the lowest settings. The Medium to High jump is relatively small at 9.1 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns between these two presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 128.6, Medium at 90, High at 80.1, and Ultra at 71.4. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 57.2 FPS, or 80.1%. Interestingly, the drop from Low to Medium is 38.6 FPS, which is more significant than the Medium to High drop of 9.9 FPS, indicating that Medium settings introduce a substantial rendering cost.

At 3840x2160, the numbers are: Low at 83.7, Medium at 60.4, High at 53.6, and Ultra at 49. The spread from Low to Ultra is 34.7 FPS, or 70.8%. The step from Low to Medium is 23.3 FPS, which is the largest single jump, while the High to Ultra difference is only 4.6 FPS, showing that Ultra provides marginal gains over High at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core help reduce memory latency, which is important for game logic and physics calculations. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and max-thread score of 5890 indicate strong per-core performance that scales well with multi-threading.

In Control, the CPU's role is to handle game state updates, AI, and physics simulation, which are not resolution-dependent. The fact that frame rates drop significantly with resolution increases proves the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in this system. The i5-12400's PassMark multi-thread score of 18747 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15935 demonstrate its capability to keep up with modern game workloads.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 77 places it above the average processor, but its nearest rivals show how tight the competition is. The Intel Core i7-9700 scores 19831, only 0.1% lower, while the Intel Core i7-8700 scores 19894, 0.2% higher. This indicates that the i5-12400's performance in Control is representative of mid-range processors from the 12th generation, with no significant advantage or disadvantage over its direct competitors.

The CPU's 65W TDP and Alder Lake architecture with a 10nm process node contribute to its efficiency, but these factors have minimal impact on game performance as long as thermals are managed. The data shows that the i5-12400 provides sufficient processing power for Control at all tested resolutions, with the GPU consistently being the limiting factor in frame rate.