Control

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT delivers a balanced 1080p and 1440p experience in Control, though it struggles to maintain smooth framerates at 4K. In the benchmark database, this specific combination ranks 2650 out of 3720 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the field. This ranking reflects a system that is capable of hitting high refresh rates at mainstream resolutions but falls behind more powerful configurations when the resolution scales upward. The data indicates a pairing where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides sufficient headroom at lower settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2650 out of 3720 tested combinations places it in the 29th percentile of all tested pairings for Control. This is a modest standing, suggesting that while the hardware is competent, it does not compete with top-tier builds. The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU’s performance ceiling, as the RX 6600 XT sits at the 70th percentile among all GPUs, while the i5-12400F achieves a 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs. The delta between these two components indicates that the graphics card is the limiting factor in this pairing, particularly when the game’s demanding visual effects are enabled.

Looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals, the i5-12400F scores an average benchmark of 19039, nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (19047, 0% delta) and the Intel Core 3 201E (19056, -0.1% delta). This tight grouping shows that the processor’s compute capabilities are on par with several modern mid-range chips, meaning the CPU is unlikely to be the source of any significant framerate disparity in Control. For the GPU, the RX 6600 XT’s average benchmark score of 24442 places it just ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 (24277, 0.7% delta) and slightly behind the Intel Arc A350M (24647, -0.8% delta). Interestingly, it also outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (24170, 1.1% delta) in aggregate benchmark scores, though this does not translate into consistent superiority in every game scenario.

The overall combo ranking suggests that users should expect a solid 1080p experience, a workable 1440p experience with settings adjustments, and a suboptimal 4K experience. The data shows that this pairing is best suited for gamers who prioritize framerate over resolution, as the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth become strained at higher pixel counts.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process. It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units, along with 32 ray accelerators. The GPU’s base clock is 1968 MHz, with a boost clock of 2589 MHz and a game clock of 2359 MHz, which are the frequencies most relevant for sustained gaming workloads. Memory is provided via 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is adequate for Control at 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows a clear degradation at 3840x2160, where the framerate drops below 60 FPS even at Low settings.

In Control, the GPU’s role is dominant, as evidenced by the measured FPS scaling. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 118 FPS, but this falls to 89 FPS at 2560x1440 and 60 FPS at 3840x2160. This scaling pattern indicates a GPU-bound scenario, where the framerate drops roughly 25% when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and another 33% when moving to 4K. The RX 6600 XT’s 10.60 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 165.7 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient for the game’s physics and particle effects at lower resolutions, but the 4K results show that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute throughput are insufficient for maintaining high framerates.

The GPU’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures compatibility with Control’s modern rendering features, but the benchmark data shows that enabling higher settings at 4K leads to average framerates as low as 33 FPS on Ultra. This makes the card better suited for 1080p high-refresh gaming, where it can deliver 74 FPS on High and 84 FPS on Medium. The 8 GB VRAM capacity appears to be a limiting factor at 4K, as the game’s textures and effects likely exceed the available memory, causing the performance cliff observed between Medium (43 FPS) and High (38 FPS) at that resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings presets offer the best experience for this combo. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 118 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play or high-refresh monitors. However, the High preset at 74 FPS offers a better balance of visual quality and performance, as it remains above the 60 FPS threshold while providing significantly improved graphics over Low. The Ultra preset at 65 FPS is also playable, but the marginal visual gains over High may not justify the 12% performance drop.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, delivering 63 FPS with minimum framerates of 54 FPS. This keeps the experience smooth for most players, while the High preset at 56 FPS might cause noticeable stutters in action-heavy sequences. The Low preset at 89 FPS is an option for those prioritizing framerate, but the visual compromise is substantial. The Ultra preset at 49 FPS is not recommended for 1440p, as it falls below the 60 FPS target and may feel sluggish.

For 3840x2160, the data shows that this combo is not well-suited for 4K gaming. The Low preset achieves 60 FPS, which is the only playable option, but it requires sacrificing almost all visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 43 FPS and High at 38 FPS are borderline at best, while Ultra at 33 FPS is not recommended. Users targeting 4K should either reduce resolution or accept the Low preset, as the GPU’s performance ceiling is clearly reached at this resolution. The best overall experience, balancing quality and smoothness, is the High preset at 1080p or the Medium preset at 1440p.

FAQ

Q: What is the expected average framerate at 1080p with High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 74 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Control?*

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low preset reaches 60 FPS. Medium drops to 43 FPS, High to 38 FPS, and Ultra to 33 FPS, indicating that 4K is not a viable option for this pairing beyond minimal settings.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F scores 19039 on average, nearly matching the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (19047, 0% delta) and the Intel Core 3 201E (19056, -0.1% delta). Its performance is effectively indistinguishable from these processors.

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks in the 70th percentile among all GPUs, indicating it is a mid-to-upper-tier card that outperforms roughly 70% of the installed base.

Q: What are the minimum framerates at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset shows minimum FPS values of 71 at 1080p, 54 at 1440p, and 36 at 4K. These minimums suggest that the 4K experience will have noticeable hitches.

Q: How does the GPU compare to the GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The RX 6600 XT scores 24442 on average, which is 1.1% higher than the RTX 2080 SUPER’s 24170. Despite this aggregate advantage, real-world game performance may vary.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 118 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings drops the framerate to 89 FPS, a 25% reduction. At 4K with Low settings, the framerate falls to 60 FPS, another 33% reduction from 1440p. This scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound system, where the processor has sufficient headroom to feed the graphics card, but the GPU’s rendering throughput becomes the limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

The same pattern holds across all settings presets. For High settings, the framerates are 74 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 38 FPS at 4K. This represents a 24% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 32% drop from 1440p to 4K. The consistent percentage drops indicate that the GPU is the sole bottleneck, as the CPU’s workload does not scale significantly with resolution. The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, are more than sufficient for Control’s threading demands, as evidenced by its strong single-thread and multi-thread benchmark scores.

The resolution scaling also highlights the GPU’s memory bandwidth limitations. With 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, the RX 6600 XT struggles to feed the framebuffer at 4K, leading to the significant performance drops observed. The data suggests that users should stick to 1080p or 1440p for this combo, as the 4K experience is only playable at the lowest settings with a 60 FPS average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-12400F achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380 and a single-core score of 1680, demonstrating solid all-around performance. Its Geekbench scores of 9472 multi-core and 1964 single-core further confirm its capability.

In Control, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU, as the game is heavily graphics-bound. The benchmark data shows that the framerate does not improve dramatically when lowering settings, which would be expected if the CPU were the bottleneck. For instance, at 1080p, moving from Ultra (65 FPS) to Low (118 FPS) yields a 53 FPS increase, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher settings. However, the CPU’s strong single-thread performance ensures that it does not hold back the GPU at lower resolutions, where framerates can exceed 100 FPS.

The CPU’s percentile ranking of 73 among all CPUs places it above the median, and its nearest rivals show that it is competitive with modern mobile and embedded chips. The 3DMark scores, including 909 single-thread and 5912 max-threads, suggest that the processor can handle the game’s AI and physics calculations without issue. For this combo, the i5-12400F provides a stable foundation, but the overall gaming experience is dictated by the RX 6600 XT’s capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table summarizes the exact measured framerates across all tested resolutions and settings presets.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|---------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 38 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 60 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 43 | 36 | 49 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 33 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 56 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 89 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 63 | 54 | 73 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 49 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 74 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 118 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 84 | 71 | 96 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 65 | - | - |

At 1080p, the combo delivers playable framerates across all settings, with Low hitting 118 FPS and Ultra still maintaining 65 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 71 FPS indicates a smooth experience without significant dips. At 1440p, the framerates are lower but still acceptable for most users, with Medium at 63 FPS and High at 56 FPS. The Ultra preset at 49 FPS is borderline, and the minimum FPS data for Medium shows a 54 FPS floor, which may cause occasional stutters. At 4K, the performance is clearly inadequate for high settings, with only Low reaching 60 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 36 FPS confirms that 4K gaming is not recommended for this combo. The data overall shows a system that excels at 1080p, handles 1440p with settings compromises, and struggles at 4K.