Control

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Control with the Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT shows a clear and expected progression as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 122 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops the average to 93 FPS, a reduction of 29 FPS. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls further to 63 FPS. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary scaling component, as the frame rate drops proportionally with the pixel count increase.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings represents a 23.8% reduction in average FPS, while the jump from 1440p to 4K at Low represents a 32.3% reduction. These are substantial drops that point to the Radeon RX 6650 XT being the limiting factor as resolution climbs. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, has ample headroom at these lower resolutions where the GPU is already working hard.

At Medium settings, the scaling tells a similar story. The 1080p average of 87 FPS drops to 66 FPS at 1440p, and then to 44 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result includes a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS, showing that even the frame pacing is affected by the higher resolution demands. The delta between 1080p and 1440p Medium is 21 FPS, while the delta between 1440p and 4K Medium is 22 FPS, suggesting a relatively consistent scaling penalty per resolution step.

High settings show the same trend with 1080p at 77 FPS, 1440p at 58 FPS, and 4K at 39 FPS. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, yields 67 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling: it is the lowest measured average in the entire dataset, indicating that this combination is not suited for maximum settings at 4K resolution.

The data suggests that the GPU is the bottleneck in nearly all scenarios. The RX 6650 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which becomes increasingly strained as resolution increases. The CPU's performance, while not the main constraint, is sufficient to feed the GPU at these resolutions, as evidenced by the relatively smooth scaling curves across all settings presets.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is a RDNA 2.0 architecture GPU based on the Navi 23 chip, fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm process. It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. The GPU's base clock is 2055 MHz, with a game clock of 2410 MHz and a boost clock of 2635 MHz. These clock speeds are relatively high for the RX 6000 series, allowing the card to deliver competitive performance in this title.

The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 running at an effective speed of 17.5 Gbps across a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s. This memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K results in the dataset show where the bandwidth and capacity become limiting. The 4K Ultra result of 34 FPS average and the 4K High result of 39 FPS average both fall below the 40 FPS threshold that many users consider the minimum for playable frame rates.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19765. Its nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database include the NVIDIA Tesla K40m, which scores 19885 with a delta of -0.6%, and the AMD FirePro D300, which scores 19637 with a delta of 0.7%. These rivals are professional-grade cards, not gaming-focused GPUs, which suggests that the RX 6650 XT occupies an interesting position in the market where it outperforms some workstation cards in gaming workloads.

The GPU's pixel rate is 168.6 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 337.3 GTexel/s, with a FP32 performance of 10.79 TFLOPS. These specifications indicate a card that is capable of handling modern game engines, but the 4K results in Control demonstrate its limitations. The data shows that the card is most comfortable at 1080p, where even the Ultra preset achieves 67 FPS average, and at 1440p where High settings reach 58 FPS.

The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which means it is fully compatible with Control's rendering requirements. The card has 32 ray tracing cores, although the measured data does not specify whether ray tracing was enabled in these tests. The 176 W TDP and single 8-pin power connector indicate that this is a relatively power-efficient card for its performance class.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Control?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 122 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only setting where the combo exceeds 120 FPS average.

Q: Can this combination run Control at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: At 4K, the best result is 63 FPS average with Low settings. Medium settings at 4K produce 44 FPS average with a minimum of 38 FPS, while High and Ultra settings produce 39 FPS and 34 FPS average respectively. The 4K Low preset is the only 4K option that consistently stays above 60 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27799, placing it at the 79th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-10900K, scores 27872 with a delta of -0.3%. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896 with a delta of -0.3%, indicating these CPUs are very closely matched.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The Medium settings preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 74 to 100 FPS with an average of 87 FPS. At 1440p, the range narrows to 56 to 76 FPS with a 66 FPS average. At 4K, the range is 38 to 51 FPS with a 44 FPS average.

Q: What memory specifications does the GPU have?

A: The Radeon RX 6650 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with a bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s. The memory clock is 2190 MHz with an effective speed of 17.5 Gbps.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, particularly at higher resolutions. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads provide sufficient processing power, as evidenced by the large FPS gains when lowering graphics settings at the same resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 122 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium settings produce an average of 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS. High settings yield 77 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 67 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 55 FPS, showing that the graphics settings have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution.

The 2560x1440 results show a noticeable step down from 1080p. Low settings average 93 FPS, which is still very playable for competitive or fast-paced action. Medium settings average 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS. High settings drop to 58 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 51 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 42 FPS, indicating that the GPU is beginning to feel the pressure of higher pixel counts.

At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit across all presets. Low settings are the only option that remains above 60 FPS, with an average of 63 FPS. Medium settings average 44 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS, which places the frame rate in a range where some users may experience noticeable stuttering. High settings average 39 FPS, and Ultra settings average 34 FPS, both of which fall below the 40 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each settings tier at a given resolution costs approximately 10-15 FPS when compared to the next lower tier. For example, at 1080p, Low to Medium is a 35 FPS drop, Medium to High is a 10 FPS drop, and High to Ultra is a 10 FPS drop. At 1440p, the drops are 27 FPS, 8 FPS, and 7 FPS respectively. At 4K, the drops are 19 FPS, 5 FPS, and 5 FPS respectively. This indicates that the performance penalty for higher settings diminishes as resolution increases, further confirming the GPU as the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, fabricated on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, and it has a TDP of 125 W. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it uses the Intel Socket 1700 interface.

The CPU's synthetic benchmark scores demonstrate strong multi-threaded performance. In Cinebench R23, it scores 23391 in multicore and 3302 in singlecore. Cinebench R20 results show 9824 multicore and 1386 singlecore. The 3DMark tests show a range of scores from 1016 in single-thread to 7956 in 16-thread tests, with the 4-thread and 8-thread scores at 3806 and 6128 respectively. These scores indicate that the CPU scales well with additional threads, which is important for games that utilize multiple cores.

The CPU's average benchmark score is 27799, placing it at the 79th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are closely matched: the Intel Core i9-10900K scores 27872 (delta -0.3%), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U scores 27887 (delta -0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896 (delta -0.3%). The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712 with a delta of 0.3%. This tight grouping suggests that the i5-12600KF is competitively positioned within its performance class.

In the context of Control, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that performance scales primarily with resolution and graphics settings, not with CPU load. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 122 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate that the CPU is likely not the bottleneck. At 4K Ultra, the 34 FPS result is clearly GPU-limited, as no amount of CPU headroom would help when the GPU is overwhelmed by pixel count and graphical effects.

The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core provide sufficient data locality for game workloads. The 80 KB L1 cache per core helps with frequently accessed data. The CPU's PCIe Gen 4 support with 20 lanes ensures that the GPU has a high-bandwidth connection, although the GPU itself uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, which is sufficient for this performance class.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all settings presets produce playable frame rates, with the Low preset at 122 FPS being the only option above 120 FPS. For users with a 60 Hz monitor, the High preset at 77 FPS average provides a good balance between visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 67 FPS average is also viable, offering the best visual fidelity while staying above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset at 93 FPS average is the best option for high refresh rate displays. The Medium preset at 66 FPS average is sufficient for 60 Hz displays and provides better visual quality than Low. The High preset at 58 FPS average is slightly below 60 FPS, which may cause minor stuttering on 60 Hz displays, but could be acceptable on adaptive sync monitors. The Ultra preset at 51 FPS average is playable but may not provide the smoothest experience.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 63 FPS average is the only option that maintains a 60 FPS average. The Medium preset at 44 FPS average is playable for slower-paced sections of the game but may struggle during intense combat sequences, as indicated by the 38 FPS minimum. The High and Ultra presets at 39 FPS and 34 FPS average respectively are not recommended for a smooth experience, as they fall below the 40 FPS threshold that most users consider the minimum for playable frame rates.

The data suggests that for the best overall experience, users should prioritize resolution over settings. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 67 FPS average, while at 1440p Medium, it delivers 66 FPS average. These are nearly identical frame rates, but the 1440p Medium preset offers a higher resolution with slightly reduced visual effects. For users who prefer higher resolution, 1440p Medium or High is the sweet spot. For users who prefer maximum visual quality, 1080p Ultra is the best choice.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12600KF with AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT combination ranks 2438 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This ranking reflects the GPU's position at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, which is below the median, and the CPU's position at the 79th percentile among all CPUs, which is above the median. The combination of a high-performing CPU with a mid-range GPU results in a system that is balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggles at 4K.

The combo's ranking in this specific game is influenced by Control's demanding rendering engine, which stresses both the CPU and GPU. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are well-suited for the game's physics and AI calculations, while the GPU's 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus limit its ability to handle high-resolution textures and effects. The measured FPS data confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the combo performs well at lower resolutions but falls off significantly at 4K.

Compared to the CPU's nearest rivals, the i5-12600KF is competitive, with deltas of -0.3% to 0.3% against the i9-10900K, Ryzen 7 6800U, Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and Ryzen 5 8500GE. However, the GPU's nearest rivals are all professional workstation cards, which are not typically used for gaming, indicating that the RX 6650 XT occupies a niche position in the gaming GPU market.

The combo's rank of 2438 out of 3720 means that approximately 65% of tested combos perform better in Control. This places the system in the lower third of the database, which is consistent with the GPU's mid-range positioning. For users who prioritize 1080p gaming with high settings or 1440p gaming with medium settings, this combo delivers acceptable performance. For 4K gaming or maximum settings at 1440p, other combinations would be more suitable. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for users who play at 1080p or 1440p and are willing to adjust settings to maintain playable frame rates.