Control

Control on the Intel Core i7-12700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination delivers a playable but demanding experience, with performance scaling that clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck. The data shows a dramatic drop in frame rates between 1080p and 4K, indicating that the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB VRAM and TU104 chip are heavily taxed by this title’s visual effects. This combo ranks in the 60th percentile of tested configurations, holding its own against the broader field while requiring careful settings management to maintain smooth gameplay at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

Resolution scaling in Control reveals a steep performance curve that firmly places the burden on the graphics card. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 81.4 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. Moving to 1440p drops that figure to 60.8 FPS, a reduction of roughly 25%. At 4K, the average plummets to 44.4 FPS, a further 27% drop from 1440p. This linear degradation pattern is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance—the processor is not the limiting factor here.

The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p, the spread between Low (132.7 FPS) and Ultra (74.3 FPS) is 58.4 FPS, showing that the GPU has headroom at lower settings. At 4K, the same spread narrows to 30.8 FPS (66.5 FPS on Low versus 35.7 FPS on Ultra). The fact that even Low settings at 4K cannot reach 70 FPS while 1080p Ultra exceeds that mark indicates that pixel throughput is the dominant constraint. The 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 160 TMUs are simply overwhelmed by the 3840x2160 pixel count, regardless of the graphical details.

FAQ

*Q: Is this combo capable of running Control at 4K?*

A: Yes, but only at reduced settings. The measured data shows 4K Low averaging 66.5 FPS, which is playable. However, 4K High drops to 44.4 FPS and 4K Ultra falls to 35.7 FPS, both of which are below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth action gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware pairing?

A: 1440p offers the most balanced experience. At High settings, the combo delivers 60.8 FPS, which is right at the 60 FPS target. For higher refresh rates, 1080p Ultra achieves 74.3 FPS, while 1080p Medium reaches 93.2 FPS, giving more headroom for fast-paced combat scenarios.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score of 22206 places it 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX A400 and 0.9% ahead of the GeForce GTX TITAN Z. It trails the RTX 4060 Mobile by 2.3% but leads the AMD Radeon RX 5700 by 2.5%. These deltas are small, indicating the card sits in a tight performance cluster.

Q: Can the CPU keep up with the GPU in this game?

A: Yes. The Core i7-12700K with its 12 cores and 20 threads scores 29241 in Cinebench R23 multicore, which puts it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, scores only 0.3% higher, so there is ample processing headroom to avoid CPU bottlenecks at any settings.

Q: What is the impact of VRAM on performance at different resolutions?

A: The 8 GB GDDR6 memory is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, where High settings deliver 81.4 and 60.8 FPS respectively. At 4K, the memory bandwidth and capacity become strained, evidenced by the 66.5 FPS on Low settings compared to 44.4 FPS on High—a 33% performance penalty from increased memory pressure alone.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, Medium settings at 1440p represent the sweet spot for this combination. The measured average of 72.8 FPS at this configuration exceeds the 60 FPS target while still providing a meaningful upgrade over Low settings. At 1080p, High settings at 81.4 FPS offer an excellent experience without sacrificing image quality, and there is additional headroom to push toward Ultra at 74.3 FPS if desired.

At 4K, the data suggests settling for Low settings to maintain a playable 66.5 FPS. Attempting Medium at 49.1 FPS or High at 44.4 FPS will result in noticeable stuttering during intense action sequences. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p, Low settings at 132.7 FPS unlock the full potential of the display, though this comes at the cost of visual effects. The recommendation is to prioritize resolution over settings: 1440p Medium provides a superior experience to 1080p Ultra when considering overall image clarity and smoothness.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the i7-12700K and RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 981 out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This places it in the top 60% of all configurations, which is a respectable showing given the GPU’s age. The ranking reflects that while the CPU is a high performer—scoring in the 89th percentile of all processors—the GPU’s 65th percentile standing drags the overall combo down. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s nearest rival, the RTX 4060 Mobile, scores 2.3% higher on average, yet the desktop card’s performance in this game remains competitive due to its higher sustained clock speeds.

The gap between the combo’s CPU and GPU percentile rankings highlights a potential upgrade path. The data suggests that pairing a more powerful GPU with this i7-12700K would yield significant gains in Control, as the CPU is clearly not the limiting factor. Conversely, upgrading the processor while keeping the RTX 2070 SUPER would provide minimal benefit, as the GPU would continue to be the bottleneck across all resolutions and settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K’s 12 cores and 20 threads provide substantial processing power that is more than adequate for Control. The CPU’s hybrid architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz, delivers strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1043. The 25 MB of shared L3 cache helps maintain smooth frame pacing in complex scenes with many interactive objects.

Benchmark results confirm the CPU’s capability. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29241 and single-core score of 4128 place it among the top-tier desktop processors. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13700T, scores only 0.6% higher on average, while the i5-14500HX trails by 0.7%. This level of performance means the CPU rarely becomes the limiting factor in Control, even at 1080p Low where the GPU is producing 132.7 FPS. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9276 and max-thread score of 9979 further demonstrate that multithreaded workloads are handled efficiently, though Control primarily stresses the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all relevant configurations. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 132.7 FPS on Low, 93.2 FPS on Medium, 81.4 FPS on High, and 74.3 FPS on Ultra. These figures show a gradual decline as settings increase, with the gap between Low and Ultra being 58.4 FPS. At 2560x1440, performance drops to 96.4 FPS on Low, 72.8 FPS on Medium, 60.8 FPS on High, and 56.8 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p results indicate that 60 FPS is achievable on High, but Ultra falls slightly short.

At 3840x2160, the data reveals significant strain on the GPU. Low settings produce 66.5 FPS, Medium drops to 49.1 FPS, High further drops to 44.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 35.7 FPS. This progression demonstrates that 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings for a consistent 60 FPS experience. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings shows a performance loss of 37 FPS, or 45%. This substantial drop underscores the GPU’s limitation at higher resolutions, likely due to the 8 GB VRAM capacity being fully utilized and the 448.0 GB/s bandwidth becoming a constraint.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the defining component in this combo’s Control performance. Built on the TU104 chip with 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, the card delivers a peak FP32 throughput of 9.062 TFLOPS. Its boost clock of 1770 MHz provides the computational power needed for the game’s physics-based destruction and particle effects. The 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores enable ray tracing and DLSS, though the measured FPS data does not include these features.

The GPU’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory operates at 1750 MHz with a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This configuration is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results suggest memory constraints. The 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die create a thermal and power envelope of 215 W, which is manageable for most systems. The GPU’s benchmark scores, including a PassMark G3D score of 18169 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 98316, place it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the RTX A400, scores 0.5% higher, while the GTX TITAN Z is 0.9% lower. These marginal differences indicate that the RTX 2070 SUPER remains a viable option for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but its age shows at 4K in demanding titles like Control.