Control

Control pairs the Intel Core i5-12600KF with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT, and the measured frame rates show a combination that handles this 2019 action-adventure title with authority, though 4K Ultra pushes the GPU to its limits. The data indicates a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p, delivering smooth gameplay across all settings, while 4K requires careful preset selection to maintain a playable experience. The i5-12600KF, with 10 cores and 16 threads boosting to 4.90 GHz, sits in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, while the RX 6750 XT, with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 2600 MHz boost clock, lands in the 71st percentile of all GPUs. This pairing places the combo at rank 1712 out of 3720 tested combinations for Control, indicating a mid-to-upper-tier setup for this specific title.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The measured data shows 4K at Medium averaging 54 FPS (with lows of 46 and highs of 62), while 4K High drops to 48 FPS average. For a consistent 60 FPS at 4K, Low settings are required, which deliver 76 FPS average.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144 Hz monitor?

A: At 1080p, the system can exceed 144 FPS only on Low settings (148 FPS average). For High and Medium presets at 1080p, the averages are 94 and 105 FPS, respectively, so a 144 Hz display would still see some benefit, but a 120 Hz monitor would be better suited.

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

A: The i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27799, which is essentially tied with the Intel Core i9-10900K (27872, -0.3% delta), the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (27896, -0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (27887, -0.3%). It is only 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (27712).

Q: Is the GPU more powerful than its closest competitors?

A: The RX 6750 XT scores 26011 on average, placing it 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M395X (25891), 0.6% ahead of the AMD FirePro W7100 (25856), and 0.7% ahead of the AMD FirePro D700 (25842). It is also 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (25740).

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 112 FPS on average, while Ultra drops to 62 FPS. This represents a 50 FPS difference, or roughly a 45% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Q: Does the system have enough VRAM for this game?

A: The RX 6750 XT comes with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. This is more than sufficient for Control at any resolution tested, as the game's demands are well within this memory capacity.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the primary driver of frame rates in Control, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, clocked at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), provides 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 192-bit bus. This memory configuration is critical for handling the game's textures and effects at 4K, where the data shows a significant performance drop compared to 1440p.

The GPU's base clock of 2150 MHz and boost clock of 2600 MHz, with a game clock of 2495 MHz, allow it to maintain high throughput. In synthetic benchmarks, the card achieves a Passmark G3D score of 20700 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2548. Its FP32 performance is rated at 13.31 TFLOPS, and it includes 40 ray tracing cores, though Control's implementation of ray tracing is not reflected in the measured FPS data provided.

The RX 6750 XT's performance in Control scales predictably with resolution. At 1080p High, it delivers 94 FPS, which drops to 71 FPS at 1440p High and 48 FPS at 4K High. This scaling shows the GPU becoming the limiting factor as pixel count increases. The card's 71st percentile ranking among all GPUs and its near-tie with the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (1.1% ahead) suggest it is a solid mid-range performer for this generation. The 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs contribute to its pixel rate of 166.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 416.0 GTexel/s, which are sufficient for the visual complexity of Control.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF provides the computational foundation for this system, and its 10 cores (with 16 threads) are more than capable of feeding the RX 6750 XT in Control. The CPU's architecture, Alder Lake-S, features a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, ensuring that single-threaded performance is strong. Its L3 cache is 20 MB shared, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, though the measured FPS data does not specify which was used.

In multi-threaded workloads, the i5-12600KF scores 23391 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 9824 in Cinebench R20 multicore, which are strong numbers for a desktop processor. Its Passmark multithread score of 27575 and 3DMark max threads score of 7952 indicate that it will not bottleneck the GPU in most gaming scenarios. For Control, a game that relies heavily on physics and asynchronous compute, the 10-core design with 16 threads provides ample headroom. The single-thread performance, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2157 and a Passmark single thread score of 3925, is equally important for the game's main thread.

When compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-12600KF is statistically tied with the Intel Core i9-10900K and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, both of which are within 0.3% of its average score. This places the CPU in a strong position; it is neither the standout nor the laggard in its performance class. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking across all CPUs confirms it is a high-end part, and in Control, the measured FPS at 1080p Low (148 FPS) suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions, as the GPU is fully utilized. The 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier indicate overclocking potential, though the data provided does not include overclocked results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Control provides a comprehensive view of how this CPU-GPU combination performs across three resolutions and four settings presets. Starting at 1920x1080, the system shows its strongest results. At Low settings, the average FPS is 148, which is exceptionally high and indicates a GPU-bound scenario. Medium settings yield 105 FPS average, with a minimum of 90 and maximum of 121. High settings produce 94 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 81 FPS average. These numbers show that at 1080p, the user has complete freedom to choose any preset, as even Ultra maintains an average above 80 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down but remains highly playable. Low settings deliver 112 FPS average, which is still excellent for competitive play. Medium settings drop to 80 FPS average (68 min, 92 max), High settings to 71 FPS average, and Ultra to 62 FPS average. The 1440p results demonstrate that the RX 6750 XT is well-matched to this resolution, as all presets maintain an average above 60 FPS PoV. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 50 FPS, showing the significant impact of graphical fidelity options.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to struggle with the highest presets. Ultra settings produce an average of just 42 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay on many displays. High settings improve to 48 FPS average, still not ideal. Medium settings reach 54 FPS average (46 min, 62 max), which is borderline playable, while Low settings jump to 76 FPS average, making it the only 4K preset that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The data shows that 4K requires a significant compromise in visual quality to achieve acceptable frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the balance between CPU and GPU load. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 94 at 1080p to 71 at 1440p (a 24.5% reduction) and then to 48 at 4K (a 48.9% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern is typical for a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering resolution has a direct impact on frame rate. The CPU's performance is less of a factor at higher resolutions, as the GPU becomes the bottleneck.

At Low settings, the scaling is more pronounced: 148 FPS at 1080p, 112 FPS at 1440p (a 24.3% drop), and 76 FPS at 4K (a 48.6% drop from 1080p). This consistent percentage reduction across settings suggests that the limiting component is the GPU at all resolutions when using Low presets. The CPU is not holding back the system, as the 1080p Low result of 148 FPS is high enough to indicate that the GPU is maxed out.

The Medium preset shows a similar trend: 105 FPS at 1080p, 80 FPS at 1440p (a 23.8% drop), and 54 FPS at 4K (a 48.6% drop). The near-identical percentage drops across all presets and resolutions point to a well-balanced system where the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints. The i5-12600KF's 16 threads and 4.90 GHz boost clock are sufficient to keep up with the RX 6750 XT's demands, as evidenced by the lack of any CPU-induced plateau at lower resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 42 FPS is the only data point that falls below 60 FPS, and it represents a 48.1% drop from the 1080p Ultra score of 81 FPS, further confirming the GPU's role as the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this system depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p displays, the Ultra preset is recommended, as it delivers an average of 81 FPS, which is smooth for most gaming experiences. If a higher refresh rate is a priority, the Medium preset at 105 FPS average provides a good balance between visual quality and performance, though the High preset at 94 FPS is also viable. The Low preset at 148 FPS is unnecessary at this resolution unless the user is competing in a fast-paced multiplayer mode, which Control is not.

At 1440p, the High preset is the best choice for most users, offering 71 FPS average. This provides a solid 60+ FPS experience with good visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 80 FPS is also strong and may be preferred by those who prioritize frame rate stability, as it has a narrower min-max range (68-92) compared to High. The Ultra preset at 62 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes, so it is only recommended for users with adaptive sync displays. The Low preset at 112 FPS is overkill for this resolution and sacrifices too much visual quality.

For 4K resolution, the settings recommendations are more constrained. The Low preset at 76 FPS average is the only option that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, making it the default recommendation for a smooth experience. The Medium preset at 54 FPS average is playable but will have noticeable frame drops in intense combat sequences (minimum 46 FPS). The High preset at 48 FPS and Ultra at 42 FPS are not recommended for general play, as they fall below the 60 FPS threshold and will feel less responsive. Users with 4K displays should either accept the visual compromise of Low settings or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p to unlock the higher presets. Overall, the data shows that this system is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being a stretch that requires significant settings adjustments.