Control

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 is a combination that lands near the bottom of the database for Control, ranking 1531st out of 1636 tested combos. This places the pairing in the bottom percentile of all systems tested, indicating that while the CPU is a modern powerhouse, the GPU acts as a severe bottleneck in this title. The data shows a system that can handle the game at lower resolutions and settings, but struggles to maintain playable framerates at higher presets, making it a pairing best suited for 1080p gaming with careful settings management.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1531 out of 1636 tested combinations places it in the bottom 6% of all systems tested for Control. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the graphics card, as the RX 580's average benchmark score of 13559 places it at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, but its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, GTX 950, and AMD Radeon Pro 455—all older or lower-tier parts. The CPU, in contrast, performs exceptionally well in synthetic benchmarks, with an average score of 27827 that places it at the 84th percentile among all CPUs, rivaling the Intel Core i9-10900K with a 0% deltaPct. This stark contrast between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's mid-range percentile explains the overall low combo ranking: the system has a massive CPU headroom that the GPU cannot utilize in this graphically demanding title.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the limiting factor in this pairing for Control. Built on the GCN 4.0 architecture with a 14 nm process, this GPU features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. It operates at a base clock of 1257 MHz with a boost clock of 1340 MHz, and its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory runs at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The data indicates that this configuration delivers a peak FP32 performance of 6.175 TFLOPS, which is modest by modern standards. In Control, a game known for its physics-heavy environments and particle effects, the GPU's pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s are simply insufficient to drive high framerates at higher resolutions. Its benchmark scores reflect this: a Passmark G3D score of 8813 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1005 show a GPU that is entry-level in today's landscape, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, has an identical average score, underscoring its dated performance profile.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a formidable processor that provides far more computational power than the RX 580 can utilize in Control. This Alder Lake-S chip features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache, which contributes to its strong single-thread performance. The CPU's benchmark results are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23444, a Geekbench multicore score of 12373, and a 3DMark 16-thread score of 7956. Its single-thread capabilities are equally strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3309 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3925. This performance places it at the 84th percentile among all CPUs, with its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-10900K, matching its average score exactly. For Control, the CPU's role is to handle physics calculations and AI logic, and the data shows it does so with ease; the bottleneck in this system is unambiguously the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Control shows a clear pattern of the GPU struggling at higher resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the pairing achieves an average of 66.1 FPS on Low settings, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that crosses the 60 FPS threshold. Dropping to Medium at 1080p yields 45.4 FPS, while High produces 40.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 38.2 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the framerates decrease significantly: Low settings average 45.9 FPS, Medium averages 31.8 FPS, High averages 27.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 27.2 FPS. At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable: Low settings average 32 FPS, Medium averages 21.4 FPS, High averages 17.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS. These numbers indicate that the RX 580 can only deliver a smooth experience at 1080p with Low settings, and even then, the 66.1 FPS average leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 27.9 FPS, showing that the GPU has limited headroom to handle increased graphical fidelity.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Control?*

A: The only resolution where the combo achieves an average framerate above 60 FPS is 1920x1080, specifically with Low settings, which yields 66.1 FPS. All other tested resolutions and settings fall below this threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27827, which is identical to the Intel Core i9-10900K's score of 27829, showing a 0% deltaPct. It is also 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i5-12600K.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 sits at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13559. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, matches this score exactly with a 0% deltaPct.

*Q: Can this system handle Control at 1440p?*

A: At 2560x1440, the highest average framerate achieved is 45.9 FPS on Low settings. High and Ultra settings produce 27.6 FPS and 27.2 FPS respectively, which are below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the framerate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average framerate drops from 66.1 FPS on Low to 38.2 FPS on Ultra, a difference of 27.9 FPS. This indicates that the GPU struggles significantly with the higher graphical preset.

Q: How does the GPU's memory configuration influence performance?

A: The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is sufficient for lower settings, but the data shows that even with this capacity, the GPU's raw compute power (6.175 TFLOPS) is the limiting factor in Control.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo in Control are 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This is the only configuration that achieves a playable average framerate of 66.1 FPS, providing a smooth experience. If higher visual fidelity is desired, the Medium preset at 1080p offers a 45.4 FPS average, which is playable but may exhibit noticeable stutter in demanding scenes. The High preset at 1080p drops to 40.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 38.2 FPS, both of which are borderline for a game that requires quick reactions. At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only viable option, yielding 45.9 FPS, but even this is below the ideal 60 FPS target. All tested configurations at 3840x2160 produce average framerates below 32 FPS, making this resolution unsuitable for the pairing. The data strongly suggests that users should prioritize 1080p resolution and the Low preset to extract the best performance from this hardware combination in Control.