Control

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 lands at rank 227 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. That places this pairing in the top 6% of all tested configurations, which is a strong result for a CPU that launched at a mainstream price point. The combination of a six-core Alder Lake processor with a flagship Blackwell GPU produces frame rates that are consistently high across all resolutions and settings, though the data reveals a clear pattern of the GPU doing the heavy lifting while the CPU keeps pace without becoming a bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 227 out of 3720 tested combinations puts this system in the 94th percentile of all tested hardware pairings in Control. This is an impressive standing, but the breakdown of where the components sit individually helps explain why. The RTX 5080 ranks in the 87th percentile against all GPUs, while the i5-12400 sits at the 72nd percentile against all CPUs. The GPU is clearly the stronger component in this pairing, and the measured FPS reflects that.

The i5-12400's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD EPYC 7643 with an average score only 0.1% higher, the Intel Core i7-1355U at 0.3% higher, and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 at 0.7% higher. The Intel Core i3-14100F trails by 0.9%. These are all extremely close margins, meaning the i5-12400's CPU performance is essentially on par with a wide range of server and mobile processors in general compute workloads. For gaming specifically, the 6-core, 12-thread configuration with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz provides enough headroom to feed the RTX 5080 without holding it back at any of the tested settings.

The RTX 5080 itself sits 0.6% above the AMD Radeon 8060S and 0.7% above the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB in average benchmark scores, while trailing the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE by 2.2%. These delta percentages show that the GPU is competitive with a range of high-end cards, and in Control specifically, it delivers the kind of raw rasterization performance that this older title responds well to.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how Control scales with settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the Low preset produces an average of 231 FPS, Medium drops to 181 FPS, High comes in at 161 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 140 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 50 FPS, while the step from Medium to High costs 20 FPS and High to Ultra costs another 21 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 181 FPS average with a minimum of 154 FPS, which is well above any display refresh rate short of the most extreme esports panels.

Moving to 1440p, the pattern holds but the absolute numbers shift. Low produces 193 FPS, Medium 137 FPS, High 122 FPS, and Ultra 106 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 117 FPS with a maximum of 158 FPS shows good frame pacing, and the 137 FPS average is smooth for high-refresh 1440p gaming. At 4K, the scale compresses further: Low gives 130 FPS, Medium 93 FPS, High 82 FPS, and Ultra 72 FPS.

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the Medium preset is the sweet spot across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the 181 FPS average and 154 FPS minimum provide a comfortable margin above the 144 FPS refresh rate that many competitive displays use. At 1440p Medium, 137 FPS average with a 117 FPS minimum is still excellent for high-refresh gaming, and even at 4K Medium, the 93 FPS average with a 79 FPS minimum keeps gameplay fluid. The Ultra preset does deliver playable results at every resolution, with 140 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K, but the performance cost relative to Medium is substantial and the visual gains in a game from 2019 are likely to be modest.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data across resolutions reveals how the bottleneck shifts as pixel count increases. From 1080p to 1440p, the Medium preset drops from 181 FPS to 137 FPS, a reduction of 44 FPS or 24%. From 1440p to 4K, the same preset drops from 137 FPS to 93 FPS, a reduction of 44 FPS or 32%. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions.

At 1080p Low, the system hits 231 FPS, which is close to what the CPU can feed in this game. The i5-12400's single-thread performance, measured at 910 in the 3dmark single thread test and 2257 in Cinebench R23 single core, is strong enough to sustain very high frame rates but not unlimited. The fact that the 1080p Low result is only 38 FPS higher than the 1440p Low result (231 vs 193) suggests that the CPU is starting to limit at the lowest settings and resolution. The 1440p Low to 4K Low drop from 193 to 130 FPS is 63 FPS, which is a larger absolute drop and indicates the GPU is taking over as the primary limiter.

Looking at the Ultra preset, the scaling is more linear: 140 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is another 34 FPS. This consistent scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound workload where each pixel increase adds proportional work. The RTX 5080's 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 compute are being taxed more heavily at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads handle the game logic without becoming the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 231 FPS, Medium 181 FPS with a minimum of 154 FPS and maximum of 209 FPS, High 161 FPS, and Ultra 140 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 91 FPS, which gives players a wide range of options depending on their refresh rate and visual preferences.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong. Low averages 193 FPS, Medium 137 FPS with a minimum of 117 FPS and maximum of 158 FPS, High 122 FPS, and Ultra 106 FPS. The Medium minimum of 117 FPS is particularly notable because it means even during demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above the 100 FPS threshold that many gamers consider the baseline for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low averages 130 FPS, Medium 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS and maximum of 107 FPS, High 82 FPS, and Ultra 72 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K is the most interesting data point: a 93 FPS average with a 79 FPS minimum means the game stays above 75 FPS at all times, which is smooth for a 4K display. The Ultra preset's 72 FPS average is right at the edge of 60 FPS gaming, and while playable, the Medium preset offers a more comfortable margin.

The minimum FPS data, where available, shows that the Medium preset has the most consistent frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 154 FPS against an average of 181 FPS, a variance of 27 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 117 FPS against 137 FPS average, a 20 FPS variance. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 79 FPS against 93 FPS average, a 14 FPS variance. This tightening of variance at higher resolutions further confirms the GPU-bound nature of the workload at 4K.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 a bottleneck for the RTX 5080 in Control?

A: The data suggests no. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 231 FPS, and the scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4K shows consistent drops that indicate GPU limitation. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads with a 4.40 GHz boost clock provide sufficient performance to keep the GPU fed at all tested settings.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 137 FPS average with a 117 FPS minimum. This keeps the frame rate above the 144 FPS target most of the time, with only brief dips below. The High preset at 122 FPS would also work, but the Medium preset provides a more comfortable margin above the refresh rate.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5080 scores 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon 8060S and 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, while trailing the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE by 2.2% in average benchmark scores.

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

A: Yes. At 4K Medium, the system averages 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS. Even at 4K Ultra, the average stays at 72 FPS. All four settings presets at 4K produce playable frame rates above 60 FPS.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance compared to its rivals?

A: The i5-12400's average benchmark score of 18683 is within 0.1% of the AMD EPYC 7643, 0.3% of the Intel Core i7-1355U, and 0.7% of the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330. The Intel Core i3-14100F trails by 0.9%.

Q: How much performance is lost going from Medium to Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p, the drop is 41 FPS (181 to 140). At 1440p, the drop is 31 FPS (137 to 106). At 4K, the drop is 21 FPS (93 to 72). The relative cost of Ultra increases at lower resolutions where the CPU has more headroom.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Core 12th Gen series, built on Intel's Alder Lake architecture using a 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes.

In Control, the CPU's role is to maintain consistent frame delivery, and the measured data indicates it does so effectively. The 3dmark single thread score of 910 and Cinebench R23 single core score of 2257 show solid single-threaded grunt, which matters for a game like Control that has moderate CPU demands. The multi-threaded scores, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 and a 3dmark max threads score of 5890, provide enough parallel throughput for background tasks and game engine threads.

The CPU's 72nd percentile ranking against all CPUs, combined with its nearest rivals being within 1% of its average score, means this processor is not a weak link in the pairing. The RTX 5080's 87th percentile ranking is higher, but the gap in relative performance does not translate into a CPU bottleneck in this game. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 231 FPS, which is near the practical limit for many game engines regardless of hardware, and the CPU maintains frame delivery without stuttering or dips below the average.

The i5-12400's 65W TDP and locked multiplier mean it runs cool and consistent, which is fine for gaming workloads that do not require overclocking headroom. The Alder Lake architecture balances performance and efficiency, and in Control, the 6 physical cores are sufficient to handle the game's threading model. The 12 threads provide additional headroom for streaming, recording, or background applications without impacting frame rates. The data shows that this CPU, while not the fastest available, is more than adequate to extract the full performance of the RTX 5080 in Control.