Control

The benchmark data for Control on the Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 shows a system that scales predictably with resolution, but the performance ceiling is heavily influenced by the graphics card. This combination ranks 381st out of 1,636 tested combos for this title, placing it in the top quarter of all tested configurations. The measured frames per second across three resolutions and four quality presets provide a clear picture of where this hardware excels and where it begins to strain.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K produces a substantial performance drop, but the pattern is not uniform across all settings. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 121.9 FPS at 1920x1080 to 94.4 FPS at 2560x1440, then further to 63.3 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 22.6% reduction when moving from 1080p to 1440p, followed by an additional 33.0% reduction when stepping up to 4K. The cumulative drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings is 48.1%, which is substantial but still leaves the game playable at 4K.

The scaling pattern changes when examining the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the system delivers 108.9 FPS, which drops to 81.4 FPS at 1440p and 55.5 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 25.3% and 31.8% respectively, showing that the Ultra preset places progressively more stress on the GPU as resolution increases. The 4K Ultra result of 55.5 FPS is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset, indicating that this is the most demanding configuration tested.

Low settings exhibit the most dramatic scaling, with 191.6 FPS at 1080p falling to 145.7 FPS at 1440p and 100.2 FPS at 4K. The percentage reductions are 24.0% and 31.2% respectively. The fact that Low settings at 4K still achieves triple-digit frame rates suggests the GPU has significant headroom when graphical effects are minimized. The Medium preset sits between these extremes, with 134.9 FPS at 1080p, 107.1 FPS at 1440p, and 70.1 FPS at 4K.

The scaling data indicates that the RTX 4070 is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops are consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where increasing pixel count directly impacts performance. At 1080p, the CPU likely plays a more significant role, as evidenced by the relatively smaller gaps between Low and Medium settings compared to the larger gaps when moving to 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC’s 5 nm process, containing 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. Its memory configuration features 12 GB of GDDR6X across a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The memory operates at 1313 MHz with an effective data rate of 21 Gbps. The GPU’s boost clock reaches 2475 MHz, while the base clock sits at 1920 MHz.

The GPU’s compute capabilities include 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. It also carries 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, which are relevant for Control’s graphical effects. The raw compute throughput is rated at 29.15 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, with a texture fill rate of 455.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s.

The 12 GB VRAM appears sufficient for Control at all tested settings. The performance degradation from 4K High to 4K Ultra, which drops from 63.3 FPS to 55.5 FPS, is more consistent with increased shader complexity than memory capacity issues. The GPU’s relative performance places it at the 81st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37,283. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, scores 37,507, which is 0.6% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A scores 38,008, coming in 1.9% higher, while the RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38,135, 2.2% higher.

The GPU’s end-of-life production status and its position relative to these rivals suggest it remains a capable performer for this title. The measured frame rates at 1080p and 1440p show the GPU rarely becomes a bottleneck at lower resolutions, but at 4K the RTX 4070’s limits become apparent, particularly with the Ultra preset.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience in Control. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 121.9 FPS, which is only 13.0 FPS lower than the Medium preset’s 134.9 FPS but offers better visual quality. The Ultra preset at 1080p still achieves 108.9 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold, making it a viable choice for those prioritizing visual fidelity on standard monitors.

At 2560x1440, the High preset produces 94.4 FPS, which is comfortable for high-refresh-rate displays. The Medium preset at 107.1 FPS offers a meaningful performance boost for competitive play, while Ultra at 81.4 FPS remains smooth for most users. The Low preset at 145.7 FPS is only recommended for those chasing maximum frame rates, as the visual trade-offs are significant.

For 3840x2160, the High preset’s 63.3 FPS is the balanced choice, providing sufficient performance for most displays while maintaining visual quality. The Medium preset at 70.1 FPS offers a slight safety margin, while Ultra at 55.5 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold and may result in noticeable stutter on some displays. The Low preset at 100.2 FPS demonstrates the GPU’s capability when effects are minimized, but the visual degradation makes this less appealing. The data suggests High is the optimal setting for 4K, with Medium as a fallback if consistent 60+ FPS is required.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combination in Control?

A: The 2560x1440 High preset offers the best balance, delivering 94.4 FPS with strong visual quality. At 1080p, the Ultra preset achieves 108.9 FPS, while 4K High maintains 63.3 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The RTX 4070’s average benchmark score of 37,283 places it 0.6% below the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507) and 1.9% below the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (38,008). It outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36,371) by 2.5%.

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

A: Yes, at High settings the system delivers 63.3 FPS at 3840x2160. Ultra settings drop to 55.5 FPS, which may be below the 60 FPS target for some users, while Medium achieves 70.1 FPS.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The Low preset achieves 191.6 FPS, while Ultra delivers 108.9 FPS. This represents a 43.2% reduction in frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra at 1920x1080.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM limit performance in Control?

A: The data does not indicate VRAM capacity constraints. The performance scaling from High to Ultra at 4K shows a 12.3% drop (63.3 to 55.5 FPS), which is consistent with increased shader workload rather than memory limitations.

Q: What is the CPU’s performance percentile relative to all processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F ranks at the 82nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25,236. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-13620H, scores 25,201, which is 0.1% lower.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration, with PCIe Gen 5 providing 16 lanes for the CPU.

Single-thread performance is strong, as evidenced by the 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3,004. Multi-threaded performance scales well, with the Cinebench R23 multicore score reaching 21,279. The Geekbench scores of 2,301 (single-core) and 10,971 (multi-core) reinforce this pattern. PassMark results show a single-thread score of 3,634 and a multithread score of 25,032.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 25,236 places it slightly above the Intel Core i7-13620H (25,201, 0.1% lower) and marginally below the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25,365, 0.5% higher). This positioning indicates the i5-13400F is competitive with processors in its class, and its 82nd percentile ranking confirms it is a capable performer for gaming workloads.

In Control, the CPU’s impact is most visible at 1080p where frame rates are highest. The difference between Low (191.6 FPS) and Medium (134.9 FPS) at 1080p suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately even at high frame rates. As resolution increases to 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the CPU’s role diminishes. The measured frame rates at 4K Low (100.2 FPS) versus 1080p Low (191.6 FPS) demonstrate that the GPU’s pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU maintains sufficient headroom.