Control

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti presents a stark imbalance in Control, a 2019 Action Adventure title. The benchmark data indicates that the GPU is the definitive bottleneck across all tested configurations. With the processor’s substantial compute headroom, the experience is entirely dictated by the graphics card’s limits, resulting in a performance profile that is only viable at lower resolutions and settings. The following analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, component roles, and scaling characteristics of this combo.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is achieved at the 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset. This configuration yields an average frame rate of 46 FPS, which is the highest average recorded across all tested settings and resolutions. While this is not a locked 60 FPS experience, it is the only configuration that approaches playable smoothness. The data shows that choosing the Medium preset at this resolution results in a significant drop to 32 average FPS, a reduction of 14 frames, which makes the trade-off in visual fidelity less appealing given the marginal stability gain.

For users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, the 1920x1080 High preset offers an average of 29 FPS. This is a playable, albeit less fluid, experience for a slower-paced action-adventure game. However, the jump to Ultra at this resolution yields only 25 average FPS, a mere 4-frame improvement over the Low preset’s performance is not worth the stability loss, as the data suggests the GPU is already saturated. At higher resolutions, the frame rates become untenable for standard play, with 2560x1440 Low averaging 34 FPS and 3840x2160 Low averaging only 23 FPS. Therefore, the data strongly suggests that 1080p Low is the only setting that provides a consistent and responsive enough experience to recommend for general gameplay, with 1080p High as a secondary option for those who can tolerate lower frame rates for better image quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the limiting factor in this configuration, and its specifications confirm why. The card features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s. Its core operates at a base clock of 1291 MHz with a boost clock of 1392 MHz, and it has 768 shading units. The performance data shows that the GPU sits at the 25th percentile of all GPUs, indicating its low-end standing. Its average benchmark score of 4193 places it in direct competition with the AMD Radeon R5 M330, which has a deltaPct of 0.6%, and the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M, which is 1% faster.

In Control, the GPU’s limitations are immediately apparent. The 4 GB VRAM buffer is likely insufficient for the game’s high-resolution textures at 4K, but the core’s raw compute power is the primary barrier. The measured FPS shows a steep decline as resolution increases, which is a classic symptom of a GPU struggling with pixel fill rate and shading workload. For instance, at the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 46 FPS at 1080p to 34 FPS at 1440p and finally to 23 FPS at 4K. This scaling pattern indicates that the GTX 1050 Ti’s processing units are overwhelmed, and the frame rate is not being held back by the CPU or memory system. The GPU is simply unable to render the frames fast enough to keep up with the processor’s capabilities.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best average frame rate this combo can achieve in Control?*

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 46 FPS, which is achieved at the 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

*Q: Is this configuration capable of running Control at 4K resolution?*

A: The data indicates that 4K performance is not viable for standard play. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 23 FPS on the Low preset, with the Ultra preset dropping to an unplayable 13 FPS average.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from the Low to the Ultra preset at 1080p?

A: The average frame rate drops from 46 FPS on Low to 25 FPS on Ultra at 1920x1080, representing a significant 21 FPS reduction for increased visual fidelity.

*Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck for this combo in Control?*

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the clear limiting factor. The GPU’s performance percentile and the frame rate scaling with resolution indicate that the graphics card is saturated, while the Intel Core i5-12600KF has ample headroom.

Q: How does the GTX 1050 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The GPU’s average score of 4193 is 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon R5 M330 and 1% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M, showing it sits in a tightly contested low-performance tier.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1080p?

A: The measured minimum frame rate for the 1920x1080 Medium preset is 27 FPS, with a maximum of 37 FPS, according to the benchmark data.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti ranks 3670 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places it in the bottom 1.3% of all configurations, a ranking that reflects the severe performance limitation imposed by the GPU. While the processor is a high-performing desktop part, its contribution is entirely negated by the graphics card. The combo’s rank is a direct consequence of the GTX 1050 Ti’s position at the 25th percentile of all GPUs, which is its most significant characteristic.

The data suggests that the vast majority of other tested combinations, even those with less capable CPUs, will outperform this setup due to having a more balanced or more powerful GPU. The 3720 total combos tested show a wide performance spectrum, and this pairing sits at the very bottom. This ranking is not a reflection of the CPU’s capability but rather a clear demonstration of how a low-end GPU can bottleneck a high-end processor, resulting in an overall system performance that is far below what the CPU alone could achieve. In essence, the combo’s rank is almost entirely determined by the GPU’s weak performance in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals the severity of the GPU bottleneck. At the Low preset, the average FPS decreases from 46 at 1920x1080 to 34 at 2560x1440, a 26% drop. Moving from 1440p to 3840x2160, the average FPS further drops from 34 to 23, another 32% reduction. This pattern of substantial frame rate loss with each resolution increase is a clear indicator that the graphics card is the limiting component. A system with a more capable GPU would show a less dramatic drop, as the CPU would eventually become the bottleneck.

The data at the High preset shows a similar trend, with average FPS dropping from 29 at 1080p to 22 at 1440p and finally to 15 at 4K. This consistent scaling across different settings confirms that the GPU is operating at its maximum capacity. The 4K resolution results, which show an average of 15 FPS on High and 13 FPS on Ultra, are particularly telling. These frame rates are far below playable thresholds and highlight the fact that the GTX 1050 Ti lacks the raw processing power and memory bandwidth to handle the increased pixel count. The scaling analysis strongly suggests that the CPU’s performance is irrelevant at these resolutions, as the GPU is unable to feed frames to the display at an acceptable rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured FPS data for this combo is as follows:

3840x2160 (4K)

• Ultra: Average 13 FPS
• High: Average 15 FPS
• Medium: Average 17 FPS (Min 14, Max 19)
• Low: Average 23 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Ultra: Average 19 FPS
• High: Average 22 FPS
• Medium: Average 24 FPS (Min 21, Max 28)
• Low: Average 34 FPS

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Ultra: Average 25 FPS
• High: Average 29 FPS
• Medium: Average 32 FPS (Min 27, Max 37)
• Low: Average 46 FPS

The data shows a clear and consistent hierarchy. At every resolution, the Low preset provides the highest average frame rate, followed by Medium, High, and then Ultra. The variation between the presets is substantial; for example, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 21 FPS. The minimum FPS data points, available for the Medium preset, also show that the frame rate can dip further, with a recorded minimum of 27 FPS at 1080p, indicating some instability. These numbers collectively paint a picture of a GPU that is consistently at its limit, regardless of the settings chosen, with only the lowest settings at the lowest resolution providing a somewhat stable frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a high-performance processor that is completely underutilized in this configuration. It features 10 cores and 16 threads, based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23391 and a single-core score of 3302. It sits at the 79th percentile of all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 27799 places it in the same tier as the Intel Core i9-10900K, which is only 0.3% faster.

In Control, the CPU’s role is to manage game logic, physics, and draw calls. Given the GPU’s low frame rate output, the CPU is never challenged. The measured FPS is determined by the GPU’s rendering speed, not the CPU’s processing speed. The data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking, as the frame rates scale directly with the GPU’s workload. The processor’s high core count and clock speeds provide a massive surplus of compute power that goes unused. This is a classic example of an imbalanced system where the CPU’s potential is capped by a severely weaker GPU, resulting in a gaming experience that reflects the graphics card’s low-end status rather than the processor’s high-end capability. The CPU is more than capable of handling this game, but it is prevented from doing so by the GTX 1050 Ti.