Control

Control is a demanding Action Adventure title, and the combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti produces a wide range of performance outcomes depending on the resolution and settings preset. The measured FPS data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s capabilities become more apparent at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results for this specific hardware pairing, focusing on how the components interact with the game’s rendering load.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates demonstrate a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 95.2 FPS, indicating a fluid experience. Moving to 1440p at the same Low settings, the average FPS drops to 71.4, a reduction of 23.8 FPS. The scaling continues to 4K, where the Low preset yields just 44.5 FPS. This progression highlights that the GTX 1660 Ti’s rendering capabilities are the primary factor limiting performance as pixel count rises.

The gap between resolutions widens significantly at higher quality presets. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 58.6 FPS at 1080p to 43.2 FPS at 1440p, and then to 29.3 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered the minimum for playable action, indicating that this resolution is not viable for a smooth experience with this hardware. The data suggests that the game’s visual effects and shading complexity at High settings place a substantial load on the GPU’s 1536 shading units and 48 ROPs, making the resolution jump from 1440p to 4K particularly punishing.

When examining the Ultra preset, the pattern is even more pronounced. The average frame rate at 1080p is 53.5 FPS, which drops to 38.3 FPS at 1440p and plummets to 25.2 FPS at 4K. This 28.3 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K Ultra represents a 52.9% performance loss, underscoring that the GTX 1660 Ti’s 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the highest visual fidelity at high pixel counts. The data indicates that for 4K gameplay, only the Low preset approaches acceptable frame rates, and even then, it falls short of the 60 FPS target that is achievable at 1080p.

FAQ

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

A: The measured average FPS for this combination at 1920x1080 with High settings is 58.6 FPS. This is a playable result, though it does not reach the 60 FPS mark, suggesting a slight performance headroom issue for high-refresh-rate monitors.

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

A: The data shows that 4K performance is limited. At Ultra settings, the average FPS is 25.2, and at High settings, it is 29.3. Only at Low settings does the average FPS reach 44.5, which is playable but requires significant visual compromises.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 71.4 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 38.3 FPS. This represents a 33.1 FPS advantage for the Low preset, demonstrating a substantial performance gain when reducing graphical fidelity.

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark percentile ranking?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K ranks in the 89th percentile when compared to all CPUs in the benchmark database. This indicates that it is a high-performing processor, with an average benchmark score of 35684.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rival in terms of average score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti has an average benchmark score of 13925. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 570X, has a score of 13871, which is a deltaPct of 0.4% higher. This indicates the two GPUs perform nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the High preset yields an average of 58.6 FPS, while the Low preset yields 95.2 FPS. The difference is 36.6 FPS, showing that the Low preset provides a significant boost to frame rate, likely by reducing the load on the GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It is a top-tier desktop processor, ranking in the 89th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35684. Its performance is close to that of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, which scores 35802, a negligible deltaPct of -0.3%. This suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck in most gaming scenarios.

In the context of Control, the CPU’s role is to manage game logic, physics, and draw calls. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 95.2 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all configurations. This high frame rate indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to reach near-100 FPS, even though the GTX 1660 Ti is considered a mid-range GPU. The CPU’s strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4128, is likely crucial for handling the game’s frame-to-frame processing.

However, the CPU’s influence diminishes at higher resolutions and settings. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 25.2, which is a far cry from the 1080p Low result. This indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU’s performance does not change with resolution, yet the frame rate drops dramatically. The data suggests that the i7-12700K provides ample headroom for this GPU, and the system’s overall performance is governed by the graphics card’s ability to render frames, not the CPU’s ability to prepare them.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the system’s performance across different settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 53.5 at Ultra to 95.2 at Low. The Medium preset achieves 64.1 FPS, while High sits at 58.6 FPS. This shows a 41.7 FPS spread between the lowest and highest quality settings, giving users a wide range of choices for balancing visual fidelity and frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops across all presets. The Low setting yields 71.4 FPS, which is still smooth, but the Medium preset falls to 51.5 FPS, and High drops to 43.2 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p manages 38.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target but remains playable for some users. The consistent decline from 1080p to 1440p suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and fill rate are being taxed more heavily.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher settings. The Low preset is the only one that exceeds 40 FPS, with an average of 44.5 FPS. Medium drops to 31.1 FPS, High to 29.3 FPS, and Ultra to 25.2 FPS. These numbers indicate that the GTX 1660 Ti is not suitable for 4K gaming with this title, as even the lowest settings fail to provide a consistently smooth experience. The data shows a clear trend: the system is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p being a viable option only at lower settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is built on the Turing architecture and features 1536 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. It operates at a base clock of 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, and is equipped with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 13925, placing it in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. Its performance is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 570X, which has a deltaPct of 0.4% higher.

In Control, the GPU’s role is paramount, as the game’s visual effects and rendering resolution directly impact its workload. The benchmark results show a strong correlation between the GPU’s capabilities and the measured FPS. At 1080p, the GPU is able to deliver 95.2 FPS at Low settings, which is a strong result. However, when the settings are increased to Ultra, the frame rate drops to 53.5 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s shader and texture processing power is being fully utilized.

The GPU’s limitations are most evident at 4K resolution. The 6 GB VRAM and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the high-resolution textures and effects at Ultra settings, resulting in an average FPS of 25.2. The data suggests that the GTX 1660 Ti is a capable 1080p card, adequate for 1440p at medium settings, but not designed for 4K gaming. The performance scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU’s performance remains consistent across all tests.