Control

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 lands at rank 279 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 7.5% of all configurations. This is a strong result for a 10-core processor paired with a flagship-tier GPU, indicating that the combo delivers high frame rates across the board. The data shows that the i5-13400F does not bottleneck the RTX 4080 in this title, as evidenced by the substantial performance headroom at lower resolutions and the smooth scaling up to 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 279 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places it firmly in the upper echelon of configurations, outperforming roughly 92.5% of all tested pairings. The rank reflects a balanced system where the CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU’s massive computational throughput, even at high settings.

The RTX 4080’s individual benchmark percentile of 86 versus all GPUs underscores its position as a top-tier card, while the i5-13400F’s percentile of 77 versus all CPUs shows it is a capable partner. In the context of Control, a game that scales well with both CPU and GPU resources, this pairing avoids the common pitfall of a weak processor limiting a strong graphics card. The combo’s high rank is further validated by the measured FPS data, which shows no resolution or settings combination falling below playable thresholds, with even the most demanding 4K Ultra preset maintaining an average of 69 FPS.

Compared to its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database, the i5-13400F posts an average score of 25292, which is essentially neck-and-neck with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284) and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (25201), while slightly trailing the Intel Core 5 120 (25362) and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365) by a margin of -0.3%. This near-identical performance among rivals suggests that the CPU is not the differentiating factor in this combo’s ranking; rather, the RTX 4080’s raw rasterization power is what drives the high placement.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this combo for maximum smoothness?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 243 FPS average, which is the highest measured. For a balance of visual quality and performance, 2560x1440 High delivers 118 FPS, while 3840x2160 High still maintains a solid 79 FPS.

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-13400F bottleneck the RTX 4080 in Control?

A: No. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 243 FPS, indicating the CPU can keep up with the GPU’s output. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent with GPU-bound scaling, not CPU limitations.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, which is just 0.1% ahead of the RTX 4080 SUPER (54209). In practical terms, they are performance equivalents, with the RTX 4080 holding a marginal edge.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo records a minimum FPS of 113 and a maximum of 152, with an average of 132 FPS. This indicates a stable frame time experience with no significant dips.

Q: Is the i5-13400F a good match for the RTX 4080’s 16 GB of memory?

A: The CPU supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory, which is sufficient to feed the GPU’s 716.8 GB/s bandwidth. The measured FPS results confirm that the CPU’s memory controller is not a limiting factor in this game.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the CPU and GPU in this combo?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has a launch MSRP of $196, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 has a launch MSRP of 1,199 USD.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It features 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, which provides ample fast memory for game logic and physics calculations. In Control, a game known for its complex physics-based environments and destructible objects, the CPU’s multi-threading capability is crucial for maintaining frame pacing.

Benchmark results show the i5-13400F scoring 22604 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 3191 in single-core, with a Passmark multithread score of 25032. These numbers indicate that the CPU has strong single-thread performance for game engine main loops and robust multi-thread capabilities for background tasks. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 further confirms its ability to handle concurrent workloads.

In this combo, the CPU’s role is to ensure that the RTX 4080 is never starved for data. The measured FPS data supports this, as the performance gap between 1080p and 1440p is proportional to the pixel count increase, suggesting the GPU is the primary workload driver. The i5-13400F’s 65W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility make it a straightforward pairing, and its 10nm process node ensures efficient power delivery without thermal throttling under sustained gaming loads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo starts at 243 FPS on Low, drops to 175 FPS on Medium, then 156 FPS on High, and finally 135 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 149 FPS and a maximum of 201 FPS, indicating a tight frame time distribution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 186 FPS on Low, 132 FPS on Medium, 118 FPS on High, and 102 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution records a minimum of 113 FPS and a maximum of 152 FPS. The step-down from 1080p to 1440p results in a roughly 23-24% reduction in FPS across all settings, which is typical for a resolution that increases pixel count by 78%.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly but remains playable. Low settings achieve 126 FPS, Medium averages 89 FPS with a minimum of 76 and maximum of 103, High averages 79 FPS, and Ultra averages 69 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 69 FPS is particularly noteworthy, as it shows the combo can handle maximum visual fidelity at 4K with only a slight compromise on the 60 FPS target. The 4K Medium preset’s minimum of 76 FPS suggests that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above 75 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 243 FPS, which drops to 186 FPS at 1440p Low and 126 FPS at 4K Low. This represents a 48% reduction in FPS from 1080p to 4K, which is less than the 300% increase in pixel count (from 2.07 million to 8.29 million pixels), indicating that the GPU is not fully saturated at lower resolutions and that the CPU provides headroom.

For Ultra settings, the progression is 135 FPS at 1080p, 102 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 32%, which is more pronounced than the 24% drop from 1080p to 1440p. This nonlinear scaling suggests that at 4K, the GPU’s shading units and memory bandwidth (716.8 GB/s) become the limiting factor, whereas at lower resolutions, the CPU’s single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 960) is more than adequate.

The data demonstrates that the i5-13400F does not bottleneck the RTX 4080 at any resolution. If the CPU were the limiter, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS at lower resolutions, but the continuous scaling up to 243 FPS at 1080p proves otherwise. The RTX 4080’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are the primary drivers of 4K performance, while the CPU’s 4.60 GHz boost clock ensures that draw calls are processed efficiently.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the highest possible frame rates without sacrificing responsiveness, the 1920x1080 Low preset at 243 FPS is the clear choice, though it may undermine visual fidelity. A more balanced recommendation at 1080p is the High preset at 156 FPS, which provides a substantial improvement in visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate well above 144Hz displays.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 118 FPS offers the best experience for high-refresh-rate monitors, as it stays above 100 FPS while delivering richer textures and lighting than Medium. The Ultra preset at 102 FPS is also viable, but the 16 FPS difference between High and Ultra may not justify the marginal visual gains for competitive play. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset at 89 FPS is the recommended starting point, as it provides a significant boost over High (79 FPS) and Ultra (69 FPS) while maintaining a frame rate that is smooth on most displays.

The data shows that the Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that dips below 70 FPS, making it less ideal for fast-paced action sequences. The Medium preset’s minimum of 76 FPS at 4K ensures that even the most chaotic scenes remain fluid. Overall, the combo is versatile enough to handle any resolution, but the most efficient use of its power is at 1440p High, where the balance between CPU and GPU utilization yields the highest relative performance per frame.