Control

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Control, but the data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution climbs. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 141 FPS, showing strong CPU headroom, but by 4K Ultra, that figure collapses to 40 FPS, indicating the GPU becomes the primary constraint. This is a balanced pairing for high-refresh 1440p, though 4K requires significant settings compromises to stay playable. The measured rows show a predictable scaling pattern, but the delta between Low and Ultra at each resolution is substantial, particularly at 4K where the gap between the two extremes is 32 FPS. This analysis breaks down exactly where this combo excels, where it struggles, and which settings offer the best trade-off based solely on the measured data.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 89 FPS at 1920x1080 to 67 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 46 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 22 FPS loss from 1080p to 1440p, followed by another 21 FPS loss moving to 4K. The pattern is similar at Medium settings, where the 1080p average of 100 FPS drops to 76 FPS at 1440p and then to 51 FPS at 4K. The scaling suggests that the RX 6700 XT’s 12 GB GDDR6 memory and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count increases, with the GPU’s compute throughput becoming the limiting factor.

At Low settings, the resolution scaling is even more pronounced in relative terms. The combo produces 141 FPS at 1080p, which is excellent for competitive play, but that falls to 107 FPS at 1440p and 72 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result of 72 FPS is still playable, but it represents a 49% reduction from the 1080p Low figure. This steep drop-off at 4K Low compared to 1080p Low indicates that even with minimal graphical load, the GPU’s 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs cannot keep pace with the 8.3 million pixels of 4K output. The data shows that the CPU, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, is not the bottleneck at any resolution for this game; the frame rate is consistently dictated by GPU rendering limits.

The Ultra preset tells a similar story but with lower absolute numbers. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 77 FPS, which drops to 59 FPS at 1440p and 40 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for smooth action gameplay. The gap between 1440p and 4K at Ultra is 19 FPS, the smallest absolute drop among all presets, but that is because the starting point is already low. The scaling behavior across all four presets confirms that Control is heavily GPU-bound on this hardware, and the i7-12700K’s single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3dmark_single_thread score of 1043, is more than sufficient to feed the GPU even at 1080p Low where CPU overhead is typically highest.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the defining component in this combo for Control. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for the game’s textures at 1440p but becomes strained at 4K. The GPU’s clock speeds are notable: a base clock of 2321 MHz, a game clock of 2424 MHz, and a boost clock of 2581 MHz. These high frequencies, combined with the RDNA 2.0 architecture’s 40 ray accelerators, allow the card to handle Control’s physics-heavy environments, but the measured FPS data shows that raw clocks are not enough to overcome the pixel fill demands of 4K.

The GPU’s 13.21 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the theoretical peak, but real-world results at 4K High (46 FPS) and 4K Ultra (40 FPS) suggest that the card operates near its limits. At 1080p, the GPU has more headroom, with the Low preset hitting 141 FPS, which is close to what a 144Hz monitor can display. The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is not a limiting factor at any resolution in the measured data, as even 4K Ultra runs with an average of 40 FPS, indicating no memory-related stutters or crashes. However, the 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs are likely the bottleneck at 4K, as texture fill and pixel output rates drop off sharply.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 27425 places it at the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile with a deltaPct of 0. This means the RX 6700 XT is essentially tied with that mobile part in synthetic benchmarks, but in Control, the measured FPS shows a different story depending on resolution. The GPU’s DirectX 12 score of 77 in Passmark is low, but this game’s results do not align with that synthetic number, suggesting that Control’s engine leverages the RDNA 2.0 architecture more efficiently. The 16 Gbps effective memory speed is crucial for maintaining frame pacing, as evidenced by the Medium preset’s min FPS of 44 at 4K, which is only 7 FPS below the average of 51.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the i7-12700K and RX 6700 XT holds a combo rank of 1968 out of 3720 total combos for Control. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 47% of all combos tested in this game. The rank is not stellar, but it is respectable for a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU of its generation. The CPU’s percentileVsAllCpus of 84 indicates that the i7-12700K is in the top 16% of all CPUs, but the GPU’s percentileVsAllGpus of 72 drags the overall combo ranking down.

The nearest rivals for the CPU include the Intel Core i7-12700KF with a deltaPct of -0.2, meaning it scores 0.2% lower in average benchmarks, and the Intel Core i5-13600T with a deltaPct of -0.1. These are all within 0.4% of each other, indicating that the i7-12700K is not a performance outlier in synthetic tests. For the GPU, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile with a deltaPct of 0, which is a laptop part, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 with a deltaPct of -0.5. The fact that the RX 6700 XT scores nearly identically to an RTX 3090 in the average benchmark (27425 vs 27565) is surprising, but Control’s measured FPS at 4K Ultra (40 FPS) does not reflect that parity, suggesting the game favors NVIDIA’s architecture at higher resolutions.

Given the combo’s rank of 1968, it is clear that this pairing is not optimized for 4K gaming in Control. The rank would likely be much higher if the data were limited to 1080p or 1440p, where the GPU has more headroom. The data shows that the combo is better suited for 1440p High settings, where it achieves 67 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target. At 4K, even Low settings only produce 72 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a game with fast-paced combat. The ranking reflects this mixed performance, with the combo sitting squarely in the middle of the pack.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. The Low preset averages 141 FPS, which is the highest measured value across all resolutions and settings. Medium settings drop the average to 100 FPS, with a min of 85 FPS and a max of 115 FPS, indicating smooth frame pacing. High settings yield 89 FPS, and Ultra produces 77 FPS. All 1080p results are above 60 FPS, with the worst-case Ultra still being very playable. The 141 FPS at Low suggests that the CPU can push much higher frame rates, but the GPU’s rendering limits cap the Ultra preset at 77 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease noticeably. Low settings average 107 FPS, which is still excellent for high-refresh monitors. Medium settings average 76 FPS, with a min of 65 FPS and a max of 87 FPS. High settings drop to 67 FPS, and Ultra falls to 59 FPS, just below the 60 FPS target. The 1440p Ultra result of 59 FPS is the only sub-60 result at this resolution, but it is close enough that most players would not notice a significant difference. The data shows that 1440p High is the sweet spot for this combo, offering 67 FPS with better visual fidelity than Medium.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. Low settings average 72 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K, but Medium drops to 51 FPS with a min of 44 FPS and a max of 59 FPS. High settings average 46 FPS, and Ultra averages 40 FPS. None of the 4K results except Low reach 60 FPS, making 4K gaming a compromise on this hardware. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 44 shows that there are occasional frame dips, which could be noticeable in intense scenes. The 4K Low result of 72 FPS is the only playable option for smooth 4K, but it sacrifices visual quality significantly.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience for this combo is at 2560x1440 with High settings. This configuration delivers an average of 67 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a good balance of visual fidelity and performance. The 1440p High preset offers better image quality than Medium or Low, and the 67 FPS average is smooth enough for most players. If a higher frame rate is preferred, dropping to 1440p Medium yields 76 FPS, which is a 13% improvement over High, but the visual difference may not justify the trade-off.

For 1080p gamers, the High preset is also recommended, as it averages 89 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 1080p offers 77 FPS, which is still playable, but the 12 FPS gain from dropping to High is not worth the visual degradation. The 1080p Medium preset at 100 FPS is a viable option for players with 144Hz monitors, providing a smoother experience without sacrificing too much detail. The Low preset at 141 FPS is only recommended for competitive play where maximum frame rate is paramount.

For 4K, the data suggests that only the Low preset is viable, with an average of 72 FPS. The Medium preset at 51 FPS is borderline, but the min FPS of 44 indicates potential stutters. The High and Ultra presets at 46 FPS and 40 FPS respectively are below the 60 FPS target and would likely feel sluggish in combat. If 4K is a must, players should use Low settings and accept the visual compromises. Alternatively, the data implies that this combo is not meant for 4K gaming, and players should stick to 1440p for the best experience.

FAQ

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

A: The best resolution is 2560x1440 with High settings, where the combo achieves an average of 67 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS target and offers a good balance of performance and visual quality.

Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K smoothly?

A: Only at Low settings, which averages 72 FPS. Medium settings drop to 51 FPS, and High and Ultra average 46 FPS and 40 FPS respectively, all below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems?

A: It ranks 1968 out of 3720 total combos for Control, placing it in the upper-middle tier. This is a mid-pack result, with better performance at 1080p and 1440p than at 4K.

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

A: The average FPS drops from 107 FPS at Low to 59 FPS at Ultra, a 48 FPS difference. This indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed by higher settings at this resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data shows the GPU is the bottleneck, especially at 4K where frame rates drop significantly. The CPU’s single-thread performance is sufficient, as evidenced by the 141 FPS at 1080p Low.

Q: What is the highest measured FPS for this combo?

A: The highest measured FPS is 141 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only preset that exceeds 140 FPS, indicating high CPU headroom.