Control

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a playable Control experience, but the data reveals a system that demands careful settings management to hit smooth frame rates. The sweet spot for this combination is the Medium preset, which provides a balanced frame rate of 92.3 FPS at 1080p and 71.4 FPS at 1440p. While the High preset at 1080p drops to 80.4 FPS, the jump to Medium offers a 14.8% improvement in average FPS at the same resolution. At 4K, Medium yields 47.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. For players prioritizing visual fidelity, High at 1440p delivers 60.9 FPS, right at the threshold of smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset, however, proves demanding: it drops to 74.9 FPS at 1080p and 37.2 FPS at 4K, making it the least efficient choice for this hardware. The data suggests that Medium is the optimal balance, as it maintains a playable frame rate across all resolutions while avoiding the performance penalty of Ultra.

GPU Role

The RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical factor in Control's demanding environments. The GPU's base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz, paired with its 2560 shading units, drive the frame rates observed in the measured data. Interestingly, the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low (131.5 FPS) and Ultra (74.9 FPS) is 56.6 FPS, but at 4K, that gap shrinks to 27.9 FPS (65.1 vs 37.2). This compression at 4K indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck, as the resolution increase overwhelms the 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22206, positions it as a mid-range performer in 2024. Its nearest rival, the RTX A400, scores 22307, a negligible 0.5% difference, while the RTX 4060 Mobile sits 2.3% higher at 22729. The RTX 2070 SUPER's 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are present but the measured data shows that even at 1080p Ultra, the card struggles to maintain 75 FPS, suggesting that Control's physics and particle effects stress the GPU beyond its raw compute capabilities.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming with this hardware?

A: The Low preset at 4K delivers 65.1 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that exceeds 60 FPS. Medium drops to 47.5 FPS, High to 42.8 FPS, and Ultra to 37.2 FPS. For 4K, Low is the only playable option.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings?

A: At High settings, 1080p yields 80.4 FPS while 1440p drops to 60.9 FPS, a 24.3% reduction. This indicates a significant resolution penalty that persists across all presets.

Q: Does the Ultra preset offer a playable experience at any resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra averages 74.9 FPS, which is playable. At 1440p, it drops to 54.4 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 37.2 FPS. The data shows Ultra is only viable at 1080p for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Medium at 1440p?

A: Low at 1440p averages 97.1 FPS, while Medium averages 71.4 FPS. The 25.7 FPS difference represents a 26.5% drop, suggesting Medium adds significant visual effects that tax the GPU.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Control?

A: The combo ranks 993rd out of 1636 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 39.3% of all systems tested for this game. This indicates that while playable, it is not a high-performing setup for Control.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for 4K Ultra settings?

A: The 4K Ultra result of 37.2 FPS suggests the 8 GB VRAM is insufficient for maximum settings at 4K. The low frame rate indicates the GPU is likely hitting memory bandwidth limits, as even the High preset only achieves 42.8 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12600KF with the RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 993rd out of 1636 tested combos for Control, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the performance spectrum. This ranking is consistent with the hardware's individual positions: the CPU sits at the 84th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 27827, while the GPU ranks at the 65th percentile with an average score of 22206. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-10900K, scores 27829 (a 0% difference), while the GPU's nearest rival, the RTX A400, scores 22307 (a 0.5% difference). The combo's rank of 993 indicates that the pairing does not boost either component's standing; instead, it reflects the GPU's relative weakness in this game. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor, as its scores are competitive with higher-tier processors, but the GPU's performance caps the overall experience. This ranking implies that users seeking better Control performance would need to prioritize a GPU upgrade over a CPU upgrade, as the RTX 2070 SUPER's 65th percentile rank is the primary constraint.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear resolution scaling pattern that highlights the GPU as the primary bottleneck. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by 24.3% at High settings (80.4 to 60.9), 26.5% at Medium (92.3 to 71.4), 26.1% at Low (131.5 to 97.1), and 27.4% at Ultra (74.9 to 54.4). This consistent ~25% reduction across all presets indicates a uniform dependency on pixel throughput. However, the scaling from 1440p to 4K is more severe: High drops by 29.7% (60.9 to 42.8), Medium by 33.5% (71.4 to 47.5), Low by 33.0% (97.1 to 65.1), and Ultra by 31.6% (54.4 to 37.2). The larger percentage drops at 4K suggest that the GPU's memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s) and 8 GB VRAM capacity become increasingly strained as pixel count quadruples. The 4K results, with all presets below 65 FPS, confirm that the RTX 2070 SUPER cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K regardless of settings. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as the CPU's strong single-thread performance (3309 in Cinebench R23 single-core) would not show such dramatic resolution-based degradation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 131.5 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. Medium drops to 92.3 FPS, High to 80.4 FPS, and Ultra to 74.9 FPS. The 1080p results show a 75.5% difference between Low and Ultra, indicating that Control's Ultra settings impose a substantial load on the RTX 2070 SUPER. Moving to 2560x1440, Low averages 97.1 FPS, Medium 71.4 FPS, High 60.9 FPS, and Ultra 54.4 FPS. The 1440p data reveals that only Low and Medium exceed the 60 FPS threshold, while High barely misses it and Ultra falls short by 5.6 FPS. At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly: Low averages 65.1 FPS, Medium 47.5 FPS, High 42.8 FPS, and Ultra 37.2 FPS. The 4K results show that only Low achieves a playable frame rate, and even that is marginal. The progression from 1080p Low (131.5 FPS) to 4K Ultra (37.2 FPS) represents a 71.7% reduction in average FPS, highlighting the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions. The data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in settings costs roughly 10-15 FPS at 1080p, 15-20 FPS at 1440p, and 5-10 FPS at 4K, with the smallest gaps occurring at 4K where the GPU is already saturated.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF provides a robust foundation for Control, with 10 cores and 16 threads operating between a 3.70 GHz base clock and 4.90 GHz boost clock. The CPU's architecture, Alder Lake-S on Intel's 10 nm process, delivers strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1016 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3309. This single-thread performance is crucial for Control's game logic and physics calculations. The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are also substantial, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23444 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 27575. However, the measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 131.5 FPS, which is well above the GPU's typical performance ceiling. The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27827, places it in the top tier of processors. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-10900K (27829, 0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-12600K (27851, -0.1% delta), indicating that the 12600KF is essentially equivalent to these higher-tier options. The data shows that at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is less stressed, the CPU can push frame rates above 130 FPS, but at higher settings and resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. This suggests that for Control, the CPU has ample headroom, and any performance issues stem from the GPU's 65th percentile ranking rather than CPU limitations. The 125W TDP and L3 cache of 20 MB provide sufficient bandwidth for the game's data streams without introducing noticeable stutter or frame drops beyond what the GPU dictates.