Control

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 is a combination that is severely bottlenecked by its graphics card in Control, a 2019 Action Adventure title. The benchmark data shows a system where the CPU has ample headroom, but the GPU struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions and settings. This analysis interprets the measured FPS data to explain what this means for a builder considering this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic case of GPU-bound performance collapsing under resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 56.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 43.4 FPS, a 23% reduction. Pushing to 4K Low yields 29.3 FPS, which is 48% lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline is the hallmark of a GPU that is running out of pixel pushing capability.

The scaling is even more punishing at higher settings. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 38.5 at 1080p to 29.0 at 1440p, and then plummets to 16.4 at 4K. The 4K High result is less than half of the 1080p High result. This data indicates that the limiting component is overwhelmingly the AMD Radeon RX 570, whose 4 GB frame buffer and bandwidth are saturated as resolution increases.

The pattern is consistent across all presets. Medium settings show 42.4 FPS at 1080p, 31.0 FPS at 1440p, and 23.0 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 31.9 FPS at 1080p, 23.2 FPS at 1440p, and 18.7 FPS at 4K. The fact that even the highest preset at 1080p cannot reach 60 FPS confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint, not the Intel Core i7-12700K, which has a boost clock of 5.00 GHz and 20 threads to handle game logic.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K?

A: Not at playable frame rates. The data shows the best 4K result is 29.3 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 16.4 FPS on High and 18.7 FPS on Ultra. These averages are well below the smoothness threshold for an action game.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: 1080p is the only resolution where any setting produces a reasonable average. Low settings yield 56.3 FPS, and Medium yields 42.4 FPS. Even at 1080p, Ultra settings only reach 31.9 FPS, indicating the GPU is the limit.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in this context?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 has an average benchmark score of 30158, which places it just 0.2% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT. It is 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M60 and 0.8% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K a bottleneck here?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29241 and a single-core score of 4128, are far beyond what this game requires. The 12 cores and 20 threads are more than sufficient; the data points to the GPU as the sole performance limiter.

Q: What settings should be avoided?

A: Ultra settings should be avoided at all resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 18.7, and at 1440p Ultra, it is 23.2. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 31.9 FPS average is too low for a smooth experience.

Q: What is the playable configuration?

A: The only configuration approaching playability is 1080p with Low settings, which averages 56.3 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset at 42.4 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced moments, but High and Ultra presets at this resolution will feel stuttery.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a high-end desktop processor from the Alder Lake architecture, featuring 12 cores and 20 threads. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz provide substantial single-thread performance, which is critical for game logic. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 9979 in 3dmark_max_threads and 1043 in 3dmark_single_thread, reflecting its strong all-round capability.

In Control, the CPU's role is largely secondary. The game is visually demanding, and the data shows that the frame rate is dictated by the GPU's rendering throughput. The i7-12700K's performance in Cinebench R20 multi-core (12281) and single-core (1733) suggests it can handle the game's background physics and AI without breaking a sweat. This is confirmed by the fact that lowering resolution from 1080p to 4K does not bring the CPU to its knees; instead, the GPU's fill rate becomes the bottleneck.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 89 versus all CPUs indicates it is in the top tier of processors. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, are within 0.3% to 0.8% of its average benchmark score, meaning there is no meaningful performance gap. For this game, the i7-12700K's 20 threads and high clocks are effectively wasted when paired with the RX 570, as the GPU cannot deliver enough frames to utilize the CPU's potential.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 1540 out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This places it in the bottom 6% of all configurations, which is a poor result for such a capable CPU. The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations rather than the CPU's, as the benchmark data shows the CPU is not the restricting factor.

This low rank is expected given the GPU's performance class. The RX 570 has a percentile ranking of 74 versus all GPUs, meaning it is better than 74% of graphics cards, but its average benchmark score of 30158 is modest. The pairing with a top-tier CPU like the i7-12700K does not change the fact that the GPU is an older generation part, released in 2017, with a 4 GB memory buffer.

The data suggests that this combo is unbalanced. The i7-12700K, which ranks in the 89th percentile for CPUs, is held back by a GPU that cannot produce high frame rates. For a builder looking at this pair, the ranking indicates that the system will underperform in this game, regardless of the CPU's power. The 1540th rank out of 1636 combos is a clear signal that this is not a synergistic pairing for Control.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal configuration is 1080p with Low settings, which delivers an average of 56.3 FPS. This is the only setting that approaches a smooth 60 FPS target. The next best option is 1080p Medium at 42.4 FPS, which offers a better visual experience but will feel less fluid during intense combat sequences.

For users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, 1440p Low is the only viable option at 43.4 FPS, but this drops below 30 FPS at higher presets, which is not recommended for an action game like Control. The 4K resolution is not usable, with the highest average being 29.3 FPS on Low, which is too choppy for the game's fast-paced encounters.

The data indicates that High settings at 1080p (38.5 FPS) and Medium at 1440p (31.0 FPS) are borderline. Ultra settings should be avoided entirely, as they yield the lowest frame rates across all resolutions, including 31.9 FPS at 1080p. The practical advice is to stick to 1080p Low or Medium, and to accept that this GPU cannot handle higher resolutions in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 56.3 on Low to 31.9 on Ultra. The specific values are 38.5 on High and 42.4 on Medium. This shows a clear drop of 13.8 FPS between Low and High, and a further drop of 6.6 FPS between High and Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS is 43.4 on Low, 31.0 on Medium, 29.0 on High, and 23.2 on Ultra. The difference between Low and Ultra is 20.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU struggles significantly as settings increase. The gap between Medium and High is only 2.0 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns on visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS is 29.3 on Low, 23.0 on Medium, 16.4 on High, and 18.7 on Ultra. Notably, Ultra is slightly faster than High at 4K, which is an anomaly likely due to driver or game optimization quirks, but both are unplayable. The data confirms that 4K is not a target for this combo, as even the lowest settings fail to reach 30 FPS.