Control

# Control with Intel Core i5-12600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

This performance analysis covers the combination of an Intel Core i5-12600KF processor with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D graphics card running Control, an Action Adventure title released on 2019-08-26. The dataset provides measured FPS across three resolutions and four settings presets, along with synthetic benchmark scores for both components. The combo ranks 28th out of 2888 tested combinations, placing it in the top 1% of all tested systems for this game. Both components are current production hardware, with the CPU released on 2021-11-03 and the GPU released on 2025-01-29.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking in Control?

A: This system ranks 28th out of 2888 tested combinations, placing it in the top percentile of all configurations tested for this game. The rank reflects the combined performance of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D across all measured scenarios.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77712, which is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76904) and 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940). It also trails the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB and 16 GB variants by 2.1% and 2.4%, respectively.

Q: What is the maximum measured FPS for this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 262 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At Medium settings, the average drops to 211 FPS, while High settings produce 188 FPS and Ultra settings yield 163 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU become the limiting factor at higher resolutions?

A: The data shows a steady FPS decline as resolution increases, indicating the GPU becomes more dominant in limiting performance. At High settings, FPS drops from 188 at 1080p to 142 at 1440p and 96 at 4K, which is a 49% reduction from 1080p to 4K, suggesting the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance relative to its multi-thread performance?

A: The 3DMark single-thread score is 1016, while the 16-thread score reaches 7956 and max-thread score is 7952. The Cinebench R23 single-core score is 3302 versus 23391 for multi-core, showing strong scaling but also respectable single-thread capability for gaming workloads.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 5090 D have and what memory type?

A: The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Memory clock is 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. This large memory capacity is well above what Control typically requires, even at 4K Ultra settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing for Control. Built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB202 chip on a 5 nm process at TSMC, this GPU contains 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. The core configuration includes 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units, alongside 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores. The base clock runs at 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, delivering a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. Raw compute performance is rated at 104.8 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 (1:1 ratio).

The memory subsystem is particularly relevant for Control, as the game's environments feature destructible physics and complex materials. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, the RTX 5090 D provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This is substantially more memory bandwidth than the game's texture streaming demands, meaning memory capacity is unlikely to be a constraint even at 4K Ultra settings. The memory clock of 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) ensures the GPU can feed its 680 TMUs without starvation.

In the benchmark data, the RTX 5090 D achieves a passmark G3D score of 44,065 and a GPU compute score of 28,396. Its percentile ranking against all GPUs is 92, placing it in the top 8% of all graphics cards. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 further validates strong modern API performance. The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (1.1% lower score), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (1.6% higher), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe variants (2.1-2.4% higher), though these are mobile and datacenter parts respectively, not direct desktop gaming competitors.

For Control specifically, the GPU's ray tracing capabilities via 170 RT cores are relevant, though the measured FPS data does not specify whether ray tracing is enabled. The DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) API support with Vulkan 1.4 and OpenGL 4.6 ensures full compatibility with the game's rendering requirements. The RTX 5090 D's dual-slot design with a 575 W TDP and 1x 16-pin power connector (950 W suggested PSU) indicates this is a high-power part designed for maximum performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF serves as the processing backbone for this combination. This Alder Lake-S architecture processor features 10 cores and 16 threads, operating with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. The 10 nm process node, manufactured by Intel, supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 20 MB shared L3 cache. With a TDP of 125 W and an unlocked multiplier, this CPU offers headroom for overclocking, though the measured data reflects stock performance.

The CPU's synthetic benchmark results show strong multi-threaded capabilities. In Cinebench R23, the multi-core score reaches 23,391, while the single-core score is 3,302. The 3DMark tests demonstrate scaling from 1,016 single-thread to 7,956 in the 16-thread test, with the max-thread score of 7,952 nearly identical, indicating the CPU is fully utilized at 16 threads. Geekbench results show 12,137 multi-core and 2,157 single-core scores. The PassMark suite shows particularly strong integer math (87,830) and floating point math (67,074) performance.

The CPU ranks in the 79th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27,799. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-10900K (0.3% higher score), AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (0.3% lower), AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (0.3% higher), and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (0.3% higher). These deltas are all within 0.3%, placing the i5-12600KF in a tight performance cluster with these processors. The 10-core, 16-thread configuration with a 4.90 GHz boost clock provides ample processing power for Control's physics and AI systems.

For Control, which is an action-adventure game with heavy physics interactions, the CPU's multi-threaded performance matters for maintaining consistent frame times. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 262 FPS average, which is likely approaching the CPU's frame generation limit. The CPU's PCIe Gen 4 support with 20 lanes ensures the RTX 5090 D can communicate at full bandwidth, avoiding potential bottlenecks in data transfer.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 28th out of 2,888 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the top 1% of all tested systems. This high ranking is expected given the combination of a top-tier GPU with a strong mid-high range CPU. The RTX 5090 D's 92nd percentile GPU ranking and the i5-12600KF's 79th percentile CPU ranking combine to produce a system that excels in this game.

The GPU's synthetic average benchmark score of 77,712 is the primary driver of this ranking, as Control is generally GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The CPU's 27,799 average benchmark score ensures it does not bottleneck the GPU in most scenarios. The ranking suggests that only 27 other tested configurations achieve higher FPS in Control, which would include combinations with even more powerful CPUs (such as flagship Intel Core i9 or AMD Ryzen 9 parts) paired with the same or similar GPUs.

It is importantly the GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks score within 1.6% of the RTX 5090 D, yet this combo still achieves top-1% ranking. This indicates that the combination of this specific CPU and GPU works well together for Control, with no obvious compatibility or driver issues affecting performance. The 2888 total combinations tested provide a broad comparison base, making the 28th rank meaningful for understanding relative performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals clear scaling patterns across the three tested resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS moves from 262 at 1920x1080 to 225 at 2560x1440 and 152 at 3840x2160. This represents a 14% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 32% drop from 1440p to 4K, totaling a 42% reduction from 1080p to 4K. These drops indicate the GPU is increasingly burdened at higher resolutions, with the CPU maintaining adequate frame delivery.

At Medium settings, the scaling shows 211 FPS at 1080p, 160 FPS at 1440p, and 108 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 24% from 1080p to 1440p and 33% from 1440p to 4K, for a total 49% reduction. The Medium preset also provides min/max FPS data: at 1080p the range is 180-243, at 1440p it is 136-184, and at 4K it is 92-124. These ranges show consistent frame delivery with no extreme spikes or drops.

High settings produce 188 FPS at 1080p, 142 FPS at 1440p, and 96 FPS at 4K. The drops are 24% from 1080p to 1440p and 32% from 1440p to 4K, totaling 49%. Ultra settings yield 163 FPS at 1080p, 124 FPS at 1440p, and 83 FPS at 4K, with drops of 24% and 33% respectively, totaling 49% from 1080p to 4K.

The consistent ~49% FPS reduction from 1080p to 4K across Medium, High, and Ultra settings (with Low being slightly less at 42%) strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions. The CPU's performance headroom is evident at 1080p Low where 262 FPS is achieved, but as resolution increases, the GPU's rendering workload becomes the primary constraint. The nearly identical percentage drops across settings suggest that the scaling is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven, confirming the GPU-bound nature of this combo at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 262 FPS. Medium settings yield 211 FPS with a minimum of 180 and maximum of 243 FPS. High settings achieve 188 FPS average. Ultra settings result in 163 FPS average. These numbers show that even at Ultra settings, the system maintains well above 144 FPS, making it suitable for high refresh rate displays.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong. Low settings deliver 225 FPS average. Medium settings produce 160 FPS with a range of 136 to 184 FPS. High settings achieve 142 FPS average. Ultra settings yield 124 FPS average. All settings at 1440p stay above 120 FPS, providing smooth gameplay on 120Hz or 144Hz monitors.

At 3840x2160, the GPU workload increases substantially. Low settings still deliver 152 FPS average. Medium settings produce 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 and maximum of 124 FPS. High settings achieve 96 FPS average. Ultra settings yield 83 FPS average. At 4K, only Low settings exceed 144 FPS, while Medium and High remain above 60 FPS, and Ultra dips to 83 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS for smooth 4K gaming.

The Medium preset is the only settings level with complete min/max data across all resolutions, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the 180-243 FPS range shows tight frame delivery. At 1440p, the 136-184 FPS range maintains consistency. At 4K, the 92-124 FPS range indicates some variance but no catastrophic drops. The minimum FPS values at 4K Medium (92) and 1440p Medium (136) suggest the system never falls below playable thresholds.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the High preset at 2560x1440 provides the best balance of visual quality and performance for most users. At 142 FPS average, this setting combination exceeds 120 Hz refresh rates while maintaining higher visual fidelity than Medium. The 188 FPS at 1080p High also makes this preset excellent for competitive play on high refresh monitors, with ample headroom above 144 Hz.

For users with 4K displays, the High preset at 96 FPS average is the recommended choice, as it stays well above 60 FPS while delivering enhanced visual quality over Medium. The Ultra preset at 83 FPS still provides smooth gameplay for 60 Hz displays, but the 13 FPS gain from dropping to High is more valuable than the marginal visual improvement, given that High to Ultra typically shows diminishing returns. The Medium preset at 108 FPS is a viable alternative for those prioritizing frame rate stability, with a minimum of 92 FPS ensuring no drops below 90 FPS.

The Low preset is only recommended for maximum frame rates at 1080p, where 262 FPS provides the smoothest possible experience for esports-style play. However, given that even Ultra at 1080p achieves 163 FPS, most users will find Low unnecessary. At 1440p, the Ultra preset's 124 FPS is sufficient for 120 Hz displays, making it a strong choice for users with high refresh rate monitors who want maximum visual quality.

The data shows that the combo is capable of running Control at maximum settings across all resolutions while maintaining playable frame rates. The primary trade-off occurs at 4K, where users must choose between Ultra's 83 FPS and High's 96 FPS. For most users, the High preset at 4K offers the optimal experience, as the 13 FPS improvement (16% gain) is more noticeable than the visual differences between High and Ultra in fast-paced action sequences.