Control

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Control with the Intel Core i5-13400F and Intel Arc B580 reveals a clear pattern: this combo is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low settings, the system produces 111.9 FPS, but dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 83.1 FPS, a 25.7% decline. Moving further to 4K Low yields 55.7 FPS, which is exactly one-third lower than the 1440p result and roughly half of the 1080p figure. This scaling curve is consistent with a GPU that is being pushed toward its limits as pixel count rises.

The settings-based scaling tells the same story. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 49.4 FPS (111.9 vs 62.5), which is a substantial 44% performance drop. At 1440p, that same Low-to-Ultra spread narrows to 37.6 FPS (83.1 vs 45.5). At 4K, the spread compresses further to 23.5 FPS (55.7 vs 32.2). This compression of the settings spread at higher resolutions is the classic fingerprint of a GPU bottleneck: when the render targets become massive, the difference between quality presets shrinks because the shader workload dominates regardless of how many effects are enabled.

The data points to the Arc B580 as the limiting component. The Intel Core i5-13400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, has ample headroom at 1080p, where the GPU is already at 111.9 FPS on Low. At 4K Ultra, the system falls to 32.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The 4K High result of 35.1 FPS and 4K Medium of 40.7 FPS both sit in a range that is playable but not smooth, indicating that this combo is not designed for native 4K in Control.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz boosts up to 4.60 GHz, and it carries a 20 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 21,279 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3,004 in single-core, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs tested.

In Control, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 111.9 FPS, which is well above the 72.5 FPS seen at 1080p High. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect the Low and High presets to produce similar frame rates, since CPU workload does not scale dramatically with graphical settings. Instead, the large FPS delta between presets at the same resolution confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck even at 1080p.

The CPU's 3DMark scores provide context for its gaming capability. The 8-thread score of 5,591 and max-thread score of 7,307 indicate strong multi-threading for modern game engines. Control is known to scale well with multiple cores, and the 16 threads of the i5-13400F should be sufficient to feed the Arc B580. The nearest CPU rival, the Intel Core i7-13620H, scores a virtually identical average benchmark score (25,201 vs 25,236, a 0.1% delta), while the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D is 0.5% ahead. This parity suggests that swapping to a similar-tier CPU would not change the gaming outcome in this combo.

FAQ

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 72.5 at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is comfortably above 60 FPS and provides a smooth experience for most players.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Control?

A: The data indicates no. At 3840x2160, the best result is 55.7 FPS on Low settings, while High yields 35.1 FPS and Ultra drops to 32.2 FPS. None of these meet a consistent 60 FPS target.

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

A: On High settings, the drop is from 72.5 FPS to 54.5 FPS, a 24.8% reduction. On Low settings, the drop is from 111.9 FPS to 83.1 FPS, a 25.7% reduction.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The benchmark results suggest no. The FPS scales strongly with graphical settings at every resolution, which indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's 3DMark multi-thread score of 7,307 and 16 threads provide sufficient headroom.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 produce 59 FPS, which is the closest to 60 FPS at that resolution. High settings yield 54.5 FPS, which is also playable but slightly below the 60 FPS threshold.

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

A: It ranks 1,299 out of 1,636 combos tested in Control, placing it in the lower 21% of all combinations.

Settings Recommendations

For a 1080p display, the High preset at 72.5 FPS is the recommended choice. It provides a 10 FPS margin above the 60 FPS baseline while offering better visual quality than Medium (80.7 FPS) or Low (111.9 FPS). The Ultra preset at 62.5 FPS is also viable, but the 10 FPS penalty over High may not justify the marginal visual gains in a game like Control, where the difference between High and Ultra is often subtle.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 59 FPS is the best balance. It is 1 FPS shy of 60, which is effectively indistinguishable in practice. The High preset at 54.5 FPS is a fallback for players who prioritize image quality over frame rate smoothness. Low at 83.1 FPS is available for competitive play, but the visual degradation in Control's atmospheric environments is significant. Ultra at 45.5 FPS is not recommended, as it falls well below the smoothness threshold.

At 4K, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The Low preset at 55.7 FPS is the only option that approaches playability, and even that requires accepting substantial visual compromises. For 4K owners, the data suggests this combo is not suitable for Control at native resolution. A resolution scaling solution (not measured here) would be required to reach playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the Intel Arc B580 ranks 1,299 out of 1,636 tested combos in Control. This places the configuration in the 21st percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly four out of five combos outperform it in this specific game. The ranking reflects the Arc B580's position in the GPU hierarchy — it sits in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23,021.

The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 760M, scores 22,999 (a 0.1% delta), while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 scores 23,181 (a -0.7% delta from the B580's perspective). The RTX 4060 is essentially a direct competitor in terms of raw benchmark scores, yet the B580's gaming performance in Control may differ due to driver optimizations and game-specific factors. The NVIDIA P106-100, scoring 22,950 (0.3% delta), is also in the same performance band.

The CPU's ranking is more favorable. At the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, the i5-13400F is not the limiting factor in this combo. The data shows that the CPU's nearest rivals — the i7-13620H (0.1% ahead) and Ryzen 5 5600X3D (0.5% ahead) — are within a rounding error of its average benchmark score. This means the combo's low in-game rank is attributable to the GPU, not the processor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low settings produce 111.9 FPS, Medium produces 80.7 FPS, High produces 72.5 FPS, and Ultra produces 62.5 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 49.4 FPS, with each step down in quality yielding a predictable increase in performance. The step from Low to Medium is 31.2 FPS, from Medium to High is 8.2 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 10 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low at 83.1 FPS, Medium at 59 FPS, High at 54.5 FPS, and Ultra at 45.5 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread narrows to 37.6 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is 24.1 FPS, while the Medium-to-High step is only 4.5 FPS, and the High-to-Ultra step is 9 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low at 55.7 FPS, Medium at 40.7 FPS, High at 35.1 FPS, and Ultra at 32.2 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread is just 23.5 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is 15 FPS, from Medium to High is 5.6 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 2.9 FPS.

Across all resolutions, the Low preset is the only one that consistently exceeds 60 FPS at 1080p and 1440p. At 4K, even Low falls short of 60 FPS by 4.3 FPS. The data shows that the Arc B580's performance ceiling in Control is approximately 112 FPS at 1080p Low, and every increase in resolution or quality setting erodes that headroom.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is built on TSMC's 5 nm process with the Xe2-HPG architecture, featuring 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. It operates at a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz, with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivering 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's FP32 compute is rated at 13.67 TFLOPS, and it includes 20 ray tracing cores.

In Control, the GPU's role is decisive. The benchmark results show that the B580's performance scales almost linearly with resolution, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. The 1080p Low result of 111.9 FPS drops to 83.1 FPS at 1440p (a 25.7% reduction) and further to 55.7 FPS at 4K (a 33% reduction from 1440p). This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading throughput are being taxed progressively as pixel count increases.

The GPU's 12 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor in Control at these settings, as the game's requirements are modest by modern standards. The 456.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the measured workloads, though the 4K results suggest that the GPU's raw compute is the bottleneck. The B580's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,068 places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival, the RTX 4060, scores 23,181 in average benchmark tests (0.7% higher). This close benchmark parity does not translate to identical gaming performance, as the measured FPS data shows this combo struggling at higher resolutions.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 15,748 and DirectX 12 score of 76 provide additional context. These scores are moderate for a discrete GPU, and they align with the observed gaming performance: capable at 1080p, adequate at 1440p with settings compromises, and insufficient at 4K for smooth gameplay. The Arc B580's 190 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate that it is a mid-range card, and the measured data confirms this positioning in Control.