Control

Control with the Intel Core i5-13400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT shows a pairing where the graphics card is the primary driver of performance, but the CPU provides enough headroom to avoid bottlenecking at most settings. The measured data indicates a clear progression of frame rates that scales predictably with resolution and quality presets, making this a balanced setup for a game that rewards both visual fidelity and smooth motion.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At Ultra settings, the average FPS falls from 89 at 1920x1080 to 67 at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 25%, and then further down to 45 at 3840x2160, which is about a 49% decline from the 1080p figure. This pattern is characteristic of a game where the Radeon RX 7700 XT's rendering load increases substantially with pixel count, and the CPU's role becomes less significant as resolution climbs.

Looking at High settings, the trend continues: 102 FPS at 1080p drops to 77 FPS at 1440p and then to 52 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p here is 25 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is another 25 FPS, showing a consistent scaling penalty. At Low settings, the story is slightly different—162 FPS at 1080p falls to 123 FPS at 1440p and then to 83 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 39 FPS, and the 1440p-to-4K drop is 40 FPS, indicating that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still the limiting factor, just with more absolute headroom.

The Medium settings data provides the only min/max FPS readings in the pack, and these reinforce the scaling narrative. At 4K Medium, the average is 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 and maximum of 68. At 1440p Medium, the average rises to 87 FPS with a range of 74 to 100. At 1080p Medium, the average hits 115 FPS with a range of 98 to 133. The minimum FPS values stay proportionally close to the averages, suggesting consistent frame pacing rather than sudden spikes or stutters. The limiting component at 4K is unambiguously the GPU—the RX 7700 XT's 12 GB memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are taxed heavily, while the CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads are not the constraint at these pixel densities.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this combo for a smooth experience?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 at High settings delivers 77 FPS on average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1920x1080, High settings reach 102 FPS, and even Ultra at 1080p maintains 89 FPS, so either 1080p or 1440p with High or Ultra presets offers fluid gameplay.

Q: Can this setup handle 4K gaming in Control?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 45 at Ultra to 83 at Low. Medium settings yield 59 FPS with a minimum of 50, so 4K is playable only if you are willing to use Medium or Low presets, as Ultra and High fall below the 60 FPS mark.

Q: How much performance difference do the quality settings make?

A: At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 73 FPS (162 vs 89). At 1440p, the gap is 56 FPS (123 vs 67). At 4K, the gap narrows to 38 FPS (83 vs 45). This shows that lowering settings yields diminishing returns as resolution increases.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting component. The RX 7700 XT's performance scales directly with resolution, while the i5-13400F's compute capabilities, evidenced by its 3DMark scores, are sufficient to feed the GPU without causing a bottleneck at the tested settings.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM on the GPU cause any issues at higher resolutions?

A: The measured data does not show any VRAM-related stutters or crashes. The 12 GB capacity, paired with a 192-bit bus and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, appears adequate for Control’s textures at 4K, as the game still delivers playable frame rates at Medium settings.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations in terms of ranking?

A: The combo ranks 1422 out of 3720 tested combinations, which places it in the top 38% of all pairings. This is a solid mid-range result, reflecting a capable but not top-tier setup for this title.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the workhorse here, and its specifications explain the measured FPS. Built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip, this GPU has a base clock of 1435 MHz and a boost clock of 2544 MHz, with a game clock of 2171 MHz. The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the texture-heavy environments of Control. The GPU’s compute power, rated at 35.17 TFLOPS FP32, drives the frame rates across all resolutions.

The percentile ranking of 67 versus all GPUs places this card in the upper two-thirds of the market. Its average benchmark score of 22549 is close to that of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (22435, a 0.5% delta) and slightly ahead of the RTX 4060 Mobile (22729, a -0.8% delta). It also outperforms the older RTX 2080 (22895, a -1.5% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (22170, a 1.7% delta). These comparisons show that the RX 7700 XT sits in a competitive band, delivering performance that is neither class-leading nor lagging.

In Control specifically, the GPU’s role is evident in the scaling numbers. At 1080p Low, the card pushes 162 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not holding it back. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 45 FPS, indicating the GPU is fully saturated. The memory clock of 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) and the 96 ROPs are key factors in maintaining fill rates at high resolutions. The 54 RT cores, while present, do not appear to have a dedicated benchmark in this data, but the rasterization performance is what drives the measured results.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1422 out of 3720 combos places this pairing in the 38th percentile of all tested configurations for Control. This is a respectable standing, indicating that the i5-13400F and RX 7700 XT work well together without major imbalances. The data shows that this is not a top-tier combination—those would be higher in the ranking—but it is far from a weak pairing. The rank suggests that many other CPUs and GPUs can outperform this setup, but for the price point implied by these components, the results are competitive.

Comparing to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RX 7700 XT’s average score of 22549 is nearly identical to the RTX 5060 Mobile (22435), which means this combo would likely perform similarly to one with that GPU. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284, 0% delta) and the Intel Core 5 120 (25362, -0.3% delta), show that the i5-13400F is in a tight performance cluster. This means swapping the CPU for a direct rival would not drastically change the combo’s ranking in Control, as the GPU is the dominant factor.

The rank of 1422 out of 3720 is a data point that reflects the overall balance. If the GPU were significantly stronger, the rank would improve; if the CPU were weaker, it might drop. Given the measured FPS, this combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being a compromise at lower settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F provides the processing backbone for this combo, and its specifications show a capable mid-range part. With 10 cores and 16 threads, a base clock of 2.50 GHz, and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, this Raptor Lake-S chip offers ample multi-threading for modern games. The 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for game logic and physics.

The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong for its class. In Cinebench R23, it scores 22604 multi-core and 3191 single-core. In 3DMark, it achieves 7314 with 16 threads and 960 with a single thread. The Geekbench results show 11068 multi-core and 1996 single-core. These numbers indicate that the CPU is not a bottleneck in Control, as the game’s frame rates are primarily limited by the GPU at higher resolutions.

The percentile ranking of 77 versus all CPUs places this chip in the top quarter, and its average benchmark score of 25292 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284) and the Intel Core 5 120 (25362). This means the CPU is competitive with other mid-range and even some higher-end parts. In Control, the CPU’s role is to maintain a steady frame pipeline, and the data shows that at 1080p Low, the 162 FPS average is likely near the CPU’s maximum output for this game, but at higher settings, the GPU takes over as the limiter.

The 65 W TDP and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 give this CPU flexibility, but the measured performance is what matters. The fact that FPS scales consistently with GPU settings indicates the CPU is providing enough throughput to avoid severe frame drops, as seen in the Medium settings min FPS values.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings average 162 FPS, Medium averages 115 FPS with a minimum of 98 and a maximum of 133, High averages 102 FPS, and Ultra averages 89 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 73 FPS, showing that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution. The Medium min FPS of 98 indicates that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays well above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance drops but remains playable. Low settings average 123 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and a maximum of 100, High averages 77 FPS, and Ultra averages 67 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 56 FPS. The Medium min FPS of 74 is still above the 60 FPS threshold, making 1440p a sweet spot for this combo if you prefer higher visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. Low settings average 83 FPS, Medium averages 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 68, High averages 52 FPS, and Ultra averages 45 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 38 FPS. The Medium min FPS of 50 falls below the 60 FPS mark, so for a consistent 60 FPS experience at 4K, you would need to use Low settings. High and Ultra are playable but not smooth by typical standards.

The data also shows that the min FPS values are only recorded for Medium settings, but these are useful indicators. At 1080p Medium, the min of 98 FPS is 85% of the average, showing tight frame pacing. At 1440p Medium, the min of 74 FPS is 85% of the average. At 4K Medium, the min of 50 FPS is 85% of the average. This consistency suggests that the combo maintains stable performance without sudden hitches, regardless of resolution.