Control

Control is an action-adventure title from 2019 that stresses both GPU rasterization and CPU physics, and the measured results for the Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti place this combination solidly in the middle of the pack. The data shows a balanced platform where neither component becomes a critical bottleneck across most settings, though the scaling patterns reveal where each part’s limits begin to surface. This analysis breaks down the combo’s standing, the GPU’s contribution, optimal settings, frame rate behavior, resolution scaling, and the CPU’s role in shaping the experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti achieves a rank of 1848 out of 3720 tested combos for Control, placing it in the 50th percentile of all tested systems. This is a mid-pack result, indicating that while the hardware is competent, it is not among the top-tier configurations for this specific game. The rank reflects a platform that delivers playable performance at most resolutions but does not excel to the degree that higher-end pairings would.

Relative to the CPU’s own benchmark standing, the i5-13400F sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25292. Its nearest rivals in synthetic CPU tests include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (deltaPct 0), the Intel Core 5 120 (deltaPct -0.3), the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (deltaPct -0.3), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (deltaPct 0.4). These margins are negligible, confirming that the processor’s compute capability is squarely average for its class. For the GPU, the RTX 3060 Ti ranks at the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16129. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (deltaPct 0.7), the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (deltaPct -1.4), the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (deltaPct -1.4), and the AMD Radeon R9 370X (deltaPct 1.7). The GPU’s standing is slightly better than the CPU’s relative to their respective pools, which helps explain why the combo leans more on the graphics card for performance in Control.

The mid-pack rank translates into a system that can handle the game’s demands without excessive compromise, but it is not a configuration that will dominate high-refresh-rate 4K play. The combination’s position suggests that users should target 1440p or 1080p for the most consistent experience, as the 4K results show the GPU struggling at higher settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process by Samsung. It houses 4864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units, along with 38 ray tracing cores and 152 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1410 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is a substantial amount for a card in this class and proves sufficient for Control’s texture-heavy environments.

In Control, the GPU’s role is dominant, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. The measured data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average frame rate drops to 41 FPS, while at 4K High it rises to 47 FPS, and at 4K Medium it hits 53 FPS. These figures indicate that the RTX 3060 Ti’s pixel throughput is the primary constraint at 4K, as the card’s 133.2 GPixel/s pixel rate and 253.1 GTexel/s texture rate are pushed to their limits. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 16.20 TFLOPS supports the computational load, but the data suggests that the card is not sufficient for a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K except at the lowest settings, where it reaches 74 FPS.

At 1440p and 1080p, the GPU’s headroom increases. The card’s 8 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor in this game, as the measured frame rates scale predictably with resolution changes, indicating that memory capacity is not being exceeded. The GPU’s compute score of 10006 in Passmark GPU Compute further underscores its capability, but the real-world results in Control show that it is a solid mid-range performer that excels at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K reserved for lower presets.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear picture of which settings offer the best experience for this combo. At 4K, the Ultra preset yields an average of 41 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. Dropping to High improves the average to 47 FPS, still not ideal for a fast-paced action game. The Medium preset at 4K delivers 53 FPS with a min of 45 and max of 61, which is borderline playable but not consistent. The Low preset at 4K reaches 74 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

At 1440p, the situation improves significantly. The Ultra preset averages 60 FPS, which is exactly at the target for many users, and the High preset pushes this to 69 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 78 FPS with a min of 66 and max of 90, offering a good balance of visual quality and performance. The Low preset at 1440p hits 110 FPS, providing a high-refresh-rate option for competitive play.

At 1080p, the combo excels across the board. The Ultra preset averages 80 FPS, High reaches 92 FPS, and Medium hits 103 FPS with a min of 88 and max of 119. The Low preset at 1080p averages 145 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor. The data indicates that the best experience for most users would be the High preset at 1440p, which offers a strong visual presentation with an average of 69 FPS, or the Medium preset at 1080p for those who prioritize frame rate stability, given its narrow min-max range.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data is comprehensive across three resolutions and four settings. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 74 FPS, Medium averages 53 FPS with a min of 45 and max of 61, High averages 47 FPS, and Ultra averages 41 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 33 FPS, showing a steep performance penalty for each step up in quality.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 110 FPS, Medium averages 78 FPS with a min of 66 and max of 90, High averages 69 FPS, and Ultra averages 60 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 50 FPS, which is a larger absolute drop but proportionally similar to 4K.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 145 FPS, Medium averages 103 FPS with a min of 88 and max of 119, High averages 92 FPS, and Ultra averages 80 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 65 FPS, the largest absolute difference of the three resolutions. This indicates that at lower resolutions, the settings have a greater impact on frame rate, as the CPU is less likely to be the limiting factor and the GPU’s workload scales more directly with quality settings.

The minimum and maximum FPS values for the Medium preset at each resolution provide insight into frame time consistency. At 4K, the min of 45 and max of 61 show a 16 FPS variance, while at 1440p the variance is 24 FPS (66 to 90), and at 1080p it is 31 FPS (88 to 119). This suggests that at higher resolutions, the frame rate is more stable, likely due to the GPU being consistently saturated, whereas at lower resolutions, CPU-bound moments can cause larger fluctuations.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the limiting component. At the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 145 FPS at 1080p to 110 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 24%, and then to 74 FPS at 4K, a further reduction of 33% from 1440p. This represents a 49% total drop from 1080p to 4K, which is a significant but not extreme penalty.

At the High preset, the average drops from 92 FPS at 1080p to 69 FPS at 1440p, a 25% reduction, and then to 47 FPS at 4K, a 32% reduction from 1440p. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at High is 49%, matching the Low preset’s scaling almost exactly. This consistency suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck across all settings, as the frame rate scales proportionally with the pixel count.

At the Ultra preset, the average drops from 80 FPS at 1080p to 60 FPS at 1440p, a 25% reduction, and then to 41 FPS at 4K, a 32% reduction from 1440p. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is 49% as well. The uniform scaling across all settings is a strong indicator that the RTX 3060 Ti is the limiting component, as the CPU’s performance does not become a factor until frame rates exceed roughly 145 FPS, which only occurs at the 1080p Low setting.

The data shows that the i5-13400F has enough headroom to feed the GPU at 1080p, but the GPU’s rendering time dominates at higher resolutions. This is a classic GPU-bound scenario, meaning that any upgrade to the graphics card would yield proportional improvements across the board, while a CPU upgrade would offer minimal gains in this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake-S architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 20 MB L3 cache. The processor is built on a 10 nm process and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. Its synthetic benchmarks show a single-thread score of 960 in 3DMark, a multi-thread score of 7314 in 3DMark 16-thread, and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22604.

In Control, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the resolution scaling analysis. The processor’s 10 cores and 16 threads are more than adequate for the game’s physics and logic, and the measured frame rates at 1080p Low, which reach 145 FPS, indicate that the CPU can sustain high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. The single-thread performance, as measured by a 3DMark single-thread score of 960, is sufficient for the game’s main thread, and the multi-thread capabilities provide headroom for background tasks.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 25292 places it at the 77th percentile, and its nearest rivals show a deltaPct of less than 1%, meaning the i5-13400F is neither a standout nor a laggard in its class. The processor’s 65 W TDP and boost clock of 4.60 GHz contribute to its efficiency, but the data does not suggest that the CPU is a limiting factor in this game at any resolution. The only scenario where the CPU might matter more is at 1080p Low, where the frame rate approaches the CPU’s practical limit, but even then, the GPU is still the primary constraint.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Control?

A: The data shows that 1440p with the High preset averages 69 FPS, while 1080p with the Medium preset averages 103 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and performance, 1440p High is recommended, but 1080p Medium offers the most stable experience with a min of 88 FPS.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K?

A: At 4K, only the Low preset averages above 60 FPS, hitting 74 FPS. The Medium preset averages 53 FPS, High averages 47 FPS, and Ultra averages 41 FPS, so a locked 60 FPS at 4K is not achievable except at the lowest settings.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 16129, which is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 9060, 1.4% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, 1.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, and 1.7% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 370X.

Q: Is the i5-13400F a bottleneck in this game?

A: No. The CPU’s synthetic scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22604 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 960, are sufficient for Control. The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent 49% drop in frame rate, indicating the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at different settings?

A: The Medium preset shows the most variance at 1080p, with a min of 88 FPS and max of 119 FPS, a 31 FPS spread. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 24 FPS (66-90), and at 4K it narrows further to 16 FPS (45-61), indicating more stable frame times at higher resolutions.

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

A: The combo ranks 1848 out of 3720 tested combos for Control, placing it in the 50th percentile. This is a mid-pack result, reflecting the balanced but not exceptional performance of the i5-13400F and RTX 3060 Ti pairing.