Control

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti delivers a robust 1080p and 1440p experience in Control, with performance scaling that clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. This combination ranks in the 62nd percentile of all tested combos for the game, offering a strong balance of high frame rates at playable settings, though 4K Ultra demands compromises.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p High settings?

A: The combo achieves an average of 107.2 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, indicating a very smooth experience for fast-paced action.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25236, which is virtually identical to the Intel Core i7-13620H (25201, +0.1% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365, -0.5% delta). The data shows these processors perform within a fraction of a percent of each other.

Q: Is the RTX 3070 Ti capable of 4K gaming in this title?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 57.2, which is playable. However, at Ultra settings, the average drops to 45.1 FPS, indicating a significant performance hit.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the average frame rate ranges from 127.6 FPS on Low to 71.3 FPS on Ultra. This represents a substantial 44% performance decrease when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Q: Where does this specific hardware combination rank among all tested systems?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F and RTX 3070 Ti combination ranks 620th out of 1636 total tested combos for Control, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all configurations.

Q: What is the frame rate behavior at 4K Medium compared to 4K High?

A: The average FPS at 3840x2160 is 58.6 on Medium and 57.2 on High. The data shows a negligible difference of only 1.4 FPS between these two presets at that resolution, suggesting a similar rendering load.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing for Control, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling across resolutions. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 608.3 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes a limiting factor at 4K, where the demand for memory capacity and bandwidth increases exponentially.

The GPU’s architecture, built on Samsung’s 8 nm process, includes 6144 shading units and 48 RT cores. Its boost clock of 1770 MHz allows it to maintain high throughput in the game’s demanding particle and physics effects. The measured data shows that at 1080p, the GPU has ample headroom, with average FPS ranging from 92 on Ultra to 167.7 on Low. This wide spread indicates that the GPU’s compute capabilities, rated at 21.75 TFLOPS FP32, are being fully utilized at lower resolutions, while the CPU keeps up with the game’s logic.

However, at 4K, the GPU’s workload becomes the clear constraint. The average FPS at 3840x2160 on High is 57.2, which is only 53% of the 1080p High result. This performance drop aligns with the GPU’s pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s, which are required to fill the 8.3 million pixels of a 4K display. The RTX 3070 Ti’s 74th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms it is a high-end part, but the 8 GB VRAM capacity is a potential bottleneck for future titles at 4K, as Control’s Ultra preset already pushes the average down to 45.1 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The benchmark data reveals a clear and consistent scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p High, the system delivers 107.2 FPS, which drops to 78.5 FPS at 1440p and further to 57.2 FPS at 4K. This represents a 46.6% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, a figure that is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where the rendering resolution directly impacts the fill rate required.

The scaling is even more pronounced at the Low preset. The system achieves 167.7 FPS at 1080p, falls to 127.6 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 86.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is actually 19.4% lower than the 1080p High result, showing that the resolution increase has a more significant impact than the graphics settings change. This indicates that the RTX 3070 Ti’s memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are the primary limiting factors at 4K, regardless of the visual complexity.

The data also shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 167.7 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would require a capable processor. The Intel Core i5-13400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is more than sufficient to feed the GPU at these levels. The 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and multi-thread score of 7307 suggest strong per-core performance, which is essential for game logic. The fact that the FPS scales consistently with resolution changes confirms that the GPU is the limiting component, as a CPU bottleneck would manifest as a plateau in frame rates across different resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware, this combination of an Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti ranks 620th out of 1636 total combinations for Control. This places it in the 62.1st percentile of all systems, meaning it outperforms 62% of tested configurations while being beaten by the top 38%. This ranking reflects a balanced mid-to-high-end setup that can handle the game well at most settings.

The CPU’s individual performance is a key contributor to this ranking. The i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25236, which places it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-13620H (25201, +0.1%) and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365, -0.5%), are all within a negligible margin of error, showing that the i5-13400F is a top-tier processor for gaming workloads. This strong CPU performance ensures that the system does not suffer from frame drops due to processor limitations.

The GPU, while powerful, is not as dominant in its percentile ranking. The RTX 3070 Ti scores 30849 on average, placing it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME (30755, +0.3%) and AMD Radeon RX 6700 (31112, -0.8%), are closely matched, indicating that the RTX 3070 Ti sits at the upper edge of the mid-range GPU tier. The combination of a top-20% CPU with a top-25% GPU yields a system that is well-suited for 1440p gaming, as the measured FPS data confirms, but it falls short of being a top-tier 4K machine, which is reflected in its 620th overall rank.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for this hardware combination across different resolutions. For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset is the recommended choice for most users.

At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 107.2 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Moving to Medium increases this to 121.5 FPS, but the visual difference is minimal, and High offers a better experience. The Ultra preset, at 92 FPS, is also viable, but it may introduce occasional frame dips in intense scenes, making High the safer choice for consistent performance.

For 2560x1440, the High preset is again the sweet spot, with an average of 78.5 FPS. This is sufficient for a responsive experience. The Medium preset offers 91.2 FPS, which is smoother, but High provides better texture and shadow quality without sacrificing playability. The Ultra preset at 71.3 FPS is still playable, but the 9.2% drop from High is noticeable. At this resolution, the 8 GB VRAM of the RTX 3070 Ti is sufficient for High settings, but Ultra may start to push memory usage.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. The High preset averages 57.2 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 58.6 FPS is nearly identical, showing that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution. The Low preset at 86.4 FPS is the only setting that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, but it comes with significant visual compromises. For 4K gaming, the data suggests using High settings and accepting a frame rate in the mid-50s, or lowering to Medium for a marginal gain. The Ultra preset at 45.1 FPS is not recommended, as the frame rate dips below 45 FPS, which can impact the game’s responsiveness. The optimal experience at 4K is to prioritize frame rate over fidelity, as the GPU does not have enough headroom for Ultra settings.