Control

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in Control delivers a performance profile that is heavily dictated by the settings preset and resolution, with the data showing a clear hierarchy where CPU limitations emerge at lower resolutions and GPU capabilities dominate at 4K. This combination ranks in the 96th percentile of all tested combos, and the measured frame rates indicate that while the RTX 5090 provides immense headroom, the i5-12400F acts as a significant bottleneck in specific scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in Control?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 233 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is followed closely by 211 FPS at 2560x1440 with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested CPU-GPU pairings in this game?

A: The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 135th out of 3,720 tested combos for Control, placing it in the top 3.6% of all configurations tested.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate observed across all tested configurations?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 78 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. This is the only configuration where the average dips below 80 FPS.

Q: Is there a significant performance gap between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: Yes, the data shows a substantial difference. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 211 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 116 FPS, representing a drop of 95 FPS or approximately 45% when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the RTX 5090’s 32 GB VRAM appear to be a limiting factor in any of the measured scenarios?

A: No, the benchmark data does not indicate any VRAM-related performance limitations. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings, suggesting that the 32 GB of GDDR7 memory is sufficient to handle all tested configurations without causing a performance cliff.

Q: What are the clock speeds of the components in this combo?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the primary driver of performance in Control, particularly at higher resolutions where its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 512-bit memory bus come into play. The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s ensures that texture streaming and high-resolution assets do not become a bottleneck, allowing the card to sustain high frame rates even at 4K. The data confirms this: at 3840x2160 with High settings, the combo still manages 90 FPS, a figure that would be unattainable if the GPU were struggling with memory capacity or bandwidth.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2407 MHz contributes to its raw compute power, which is evident in the scaling of frame rates as resolution increases. At 1080p, the card is often underutilized because the CPU cannot feed it enough frames, but as resolution climbs to 1440p and 4K, the GPU’s workload increases, and the frame rates reflect a more balanced system. For instance, at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 150, which drops to 101 at 4K with the same settings. This 49 FPS reduction is a direct result of the GPU having to render nearly double the pixels, a task that the RTX 5090 handles without issue given its 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

The GPU’s role becomes even more pronounced at the Ultra preset, where the combination of higher resolution and more demanding visual effects pushes the card harder. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 78, still playable but indicating that the RTX 5090 is finally being taxed. The fact that the GPU maintains over 100 FPS at 4K Medium and 90 FPS at 4K High demonstrates that its architecture, featuring 21,760 shading units and 176 ROPs, is well-suited for the game’s rendering demands.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global ranking for Control, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a rank of 135 out of 3,720 tested combos. This places it in the 96th percentile of all configurations, indicating that only a small fraction of systems can outperform it in this game. The ranking reflects the overall capability of the pair, but it is important to contextualize this with the fact that the RTX 5090 is one of the most powerful consumer GPUs available, while the i5-12400F is a mid-range processor.

The high rank is primarily a signal of the GPU’s dominance. The RTX 5090’s average benchmark score of 79,842 places it in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, and its nearest rivals in synthetic tests include the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, which scores 79,605, a delta of 0.3%. In contrast, the i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19,039, placing it in the 73rd percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, scores 19,047, a negligible difference of 0%.

This disparity in percentile rankings between the CPU and GPU suggests that while the combo ranks highly overall, the CPU is the weaker link. The data shows that in CPU-bound scenarios, such as 1080p Low settings where the average FPS is 233, the i5-12400F is likely near its limit. The 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1,680 provide some insight into its per-core performance, which is adequate but not exceptional compared to higher-tier processors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Control covers three resolutions (1080p, 1440p, and 4K) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), providing a comprehensive view of the combo’s behavior. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 233 FPS for Low, 198 FPS for Medium, 176 FPS for High, and 153 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset also records a minimum FPS of 168 and a maximum of 228, showing a tight frame pacing window.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 211 FPS for Low, 150 FPS for Medium, 133 FPS for High, and 116 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a minimum of 127 FPS and a maximum of 172 FPS, indicating that even in demanding scenes, the performance remains well above the refresh rate of most monitors. At 3840x2160, the averages are 142 FPS for Low, 101 FPS for Medium, 90 FPS for High, and 78 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K records a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS.

Analyzing the scaling between settings, the data reveals a consistent pattern. At each resolution, the difference between Low and Ultra is substantial: 80 FPS at 1080p, 95 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K. The largest relative drop occurs at 1440p, where moving from Low to Ultra reduces the average FPS by 45%. At 4K, the drop from Low to Ultra is also significant at 45%, while at 1080p it is slightly smaller at 34%. These figures indicate that the Ultra preset imposes a heavy load on the system, but the RTX 5090 ensures that even the most demanding configuration remains playable.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K provides critical insights into where the bottleneck lies in this system. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 233 at 1080p to 211 at 1440p, a reduction of 9.4%, and then to 142 at 4K, a further reduction of 32.7% from 1440p. The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests that the CPU is limiting performance at 1080p, as the GPU has ample headroom to render more pixels without a proportional increase in workload.

At Medium settings, the averages are 198 FPS at 1080p, 150 FPS at 1440p, and 101 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 24.2% from 1080p to 1440p and 32.7% from 1440p to 4K. The larger drop from 1080p to 1440p compared to Low settings indicates that the GPU is starting to become more involved, but the CPU is still contributing to the bottleneck. At High settings, the averages are 176 FPS at 1080p, 133 FPS at 1440p, and 90 FPS at 4K, representing drops of 24.4% and 32.3%, respectively.

The pattern changes at Ultra settings, where the averages are 153 FPS at 1080p, 116 FPS at 1440p, and 78 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 24.2%, and from 1440p to 4K is 32.8%. The consistent percentage drops across Medium, High, and Ultra suggest that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at these settings, as the workload scales predictably with pixel count. The anomaly at Low settings, where the drop from 1080p to 1440p is only 9.4%, strongly indicates that the i5-12400F is the bottleneck at 1080p Low, preventing the GPU from achieving even higher frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for most users. At 1440p Medium, the combo delivers 150 FPS average, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors. The minimum FPS of 127 at this setting ensures that even in intense combat sequences, the frame rate does not dip to levels that would cause noticeable stuttering. At 4K Medium, the average is 101 FPS, which is still excellent for a single-player action-adventure game, and the minimum of 86 FPS ensures a consistent experience.

For users with 1080p displays, the High preset is a strong choice, delivering 176 FPS average. This provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium without sacrificing much performance. The Ultra preset, while offering the best image quality, drops the average to 153 FPS at 1080p, which is still very playable but represents a 13% performance hit compared to High. At 1440p, the High preset at 133 FPS is also a viable option, but the Medium preset’s 150 FPS offers a more comfortable margin above the 144 Hz refresh rate that many gamers target.

For 4K users, the High preset at 90 FPS is the recommended choice for those who prioritize visual fidelity, while Medium at 101 FPS is better for those who want to maximize frame rate. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 78 FPS, is playable but may not be ideal for all users, as the minimum FPS data is not provided for this configuration, leaving some uncertainty about frame pacing in demanding scenes. The Low preset is generally not recommended, as it provides a significant reduction in visual quality for a relatively modest performance gain at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F plays a nuanced role in this combination, acting as the limiting factor in CPU-bound scenarios while remaining sufficient in GPU-bound ones. With 6 cores and 12 threads, the processor has 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 per core L2 cache provide adequate memory hierarchy for gaming workloads. The CPU’s benchmark results, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 12,380 and a single-core score of 1,680, place it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, indicating solid mid-range performance.

The data from Control shows that the CPU’s influence is most pronounced at 1080p with Low settings. The average FPS of 233 at this configuration is the highest recorded, but the relatively small drop to 211 FPS at 1440p Low (a 9.4% reduction) suggests that the CPU is struggling to keep up with the GPU’s output at 1080p. If the CPU were not a bottleneck, the frame rate at 1080p Low would likely be higher, as the RTX 5090 has the raw power to render far more frames. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1,699 and single-thread score of 909 provide context for its per-core capabilities, which are adequate for most games but not exceptional.

As resolution increases, the CPU’s role diminishes, and the GPU becomes the dominant factor. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 78 is a clear indication that the RTX 5090 is the limiting component, as the CPU’s workload does not scale significantly with resolution. The CPU’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz is sufficient to avoid severe bottlenecks in most scenarios, but the data suggests that pairing the RTX 5090 with a more powerful processor would yield higher frame rates at 1080p and potentially improve the combo’s rank from 135 out of 3,720. The i5-12400F’s TDP of 65 W and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a versatile platform, but its position as the weaker component in this pairing is evident from the performance scaling patterns.