Control

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a highly constrained gaming experience in Control, particularly as resolution increases. This combination sits near the bottom of the database for this title, and the measured frame rates confirm that the graphics processor is the overwhelming bottleneck in nearly every scenario tested.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a dramatic collapse in performance, clearly identifying the Intel Arc B390 as the limiting component. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 65 FPS at 1080p to 50 FPS at 1440p, then falls further to 33 FPS at 4K. This represents a 49% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K on the Low preset. The scaling is even more punishing at High settings, where the average dips from 41 FPS at 1080p to 31 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 21 FPS at 4K — a 49% loss as well.

The pattern confirms that the CPU is not the primary constraint in this configuration. The Intel Core i5-12400F has 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, which is ample for a 2019 action-adventure title. If the processor were limiting performance, we would expect to see a plateau in frame rates as resolution decreases. Instead, the data shows a nearly linear relationship between pixel count and FPS, which is the signature of a GPU-bound workload. The Arc B390's compute capabilities — 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 and a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s — are simply insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in this game.

It is also worth noting the differences between settings presets at each resolution. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Medium is 19 FPS (65 vs 46), while the gap between Medium and High is only 5 FPS (46 vs 41). This suggests that the GPU has some headroom at lower resolutions to absorb additional graphical fidelity without a proportional FPS penalty. At 4K, however, the presets compress together: Low delivers 33 FPS, Medium 24 FPS, High 21 FPS, and Ultra 18 FPS. The total spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is just 15 FPS, indicating that the GPU is saturated even at the lowest settings.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Control, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3311 out of 3720 combos. That places it in the bottom 11% of all tested systems, a position that will be immediately felt by anyone attempting to play at higher resolutions. The percentile ranking versus all GPUs for the Arc B390 is 9, meaning it outperforms only 9% of all graphics cards in the database's broader benchmark suite. This is a fundamental mismatch for a game like Control, which has demanding visual effects.

The CPU itself is not the weak link in this pairing. The Core i5-12400F holds a percentile rank of 73 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19039. Its nearest rivals in the CPU database include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (average score 19047, deltaPct 0), the Intel Core 3 201E (19056, deltaPct -0.1), and the Intel Core i5-1335U (18982, deltaPct 0.3). These are all comparable processors in raw compute, and the i5-12400F is within 0.3% of each of them. The processor's 3DMark scores — 909 single-thread, 5895 16-thread, and 5912 max-thread — indicate a capable multi-core part for gaming workloads.

The GPU, by contrast, is in a different league entirely. The Arc B390's nearest rivals in the GPU database are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (average score 1463, deltaPct 1.3), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, deltaPct 1.5), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, deltaPct 2.5), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, deltaPct 2.7). These are all entry-level or legacy discrete graphics solutions, and the Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it just barely ahead of them. This is not a GPU designed for modern AAA gaming at high settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor, operating as an IGP with system-shared memory. Its base clock is 300 MHz with a boost clock of 2500 MHz, and it draws 80 W. The memory subsystem is entirely system-shared, meaning bandwidth and capacity are dependent on the host system's RAM configuration. This is a critical limitation for Control, which benefits from dedicated VRAM for its texture streaming and physics effects.

The GPU's architecture is Xe3-LPG on a 3 nm process, with 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. It includes 12 ray tracing cores, but the raw throughput of 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 is low for contemporary gaming. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 36 FPS, which is playable but far from smooth. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 18 FPS, which is effectively unplayable for a game that requires responsive aiming and movement.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the database are all older or lower-tier parts, which contextualizes its performance. Compared to the GeForce GT 710, the Arc B390 is 2.7% faster in the Steel Nomad benchmark, but this translates to a negligible real-world difference in Control. The GPU's 9th percentile ranking against all GPUs means that almost any dedicated graphics card from the last decade would outperform it in this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the only practical configuration for a smooth experience is 1080p with Low settings, which yields an average of 65 FPS. This is the only preset across all resolutions that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered the baseline for acceptable gameplay. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 46 FPS, which is still playable but with noticeable frame pacing issues during intense combat sequences.

For 1440p, the data suggests that Low settings are the maximum viable option, producing 50 FPS on average. Anything higher at 1440p — Medium at 35 FPS, High at 31 FPS, Ultra at 27 FPS — will result in a compromised experience with frequent dips below 30 FPS. At 4K, no setting is recommended for active gameplay; even Low averages only 33 FPS, and the minimum FPS for Medium is 20, which will cause stuttering in a game as visually dense as Control.

The measured data includes min and max FPS only for Medium settings: 1080p Medium has a min of 40 and max of 53, 1440p Medium has a min of 30 and max of 40, and 4K Medium has a min of 20 and max of 27. These ranges indicate that even the playable presets have significant variance, which can be jarring during combat. For a stable experience, 1080p Low is the only choice, sacrificing visual fidelity for playable frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows a clear gradient: Low averages 65 FPS, Medium averages 46 FPS with a range of 40 to 53, High averages 41 FPS, and Ultra averages 36 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is the largest single drop at 19 FPS, while the step from Medium to High is only 5 FPS. This suggests that the Medium preset includes some effects that are disproportionately taxing on the Arc B390.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern emerges but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 50 FPS, Medium averages 35 FPS with a range of 30 to 40, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 27 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 15 FPS, and from Medium to High is 4 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is only 4 FPS slower than High, indicating that the GPU is so constrained that the additional settings have diminishing impact.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. Low averages 33 FPS, Medium averages 24 FPS with a range of 20 to 27, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. The entire range from Low to Ultra spans just 15 FPS, which demonstrates that the GPU is completely saturated at this resolution. Even the lowest settings cannot provide a playable experience, as the minimum FPS for Medium is 20.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400F the bottleneck in this configuration for Control?*

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 73rd percentile overall with an average benchmark score of 19039, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.3% of its performance. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is nearly linear, which indicates the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo at 1080p?

A: Low settings, which produce an average of 65 FPS. Medium settings drop to 46 FPS, and the minimum FPS on Medium is 40, which can cause stutters during heavy action.

*Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K?*

A: Not at playable frame rates. The highest average at 4K is 33 FPS on Low settings, and Ultra averages only 18 FPS. The minimum FPS on Medium at 4K is 20, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). It outperforms all of them by less than 3%.

Q: Why does the FPS drop so much when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: At High settings, the average FPS falls from 41 at 1080p to 31 at 1440p, a 24% reduction. This is consistent with the GPU's limited 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and system-shared memory, which cannot keep up with the increased pixel count.

Q: Is the Core i5-12400F's 6-core/12-thread configuration sufficient for this game?

A: Yes. The CPU's 3DMark scores — 909 single-thread, 3067 4-thread, 4779 8-thread, and 5912 max-thread — show ample headroom for a 2019 title. The game's performance is limited by the GPU, not the processor.