Control

Control pairs the Intel Core i7-12700K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, and the benchmark results show a system that is firmly positioned in the upper-middle tier of tested configurations. The combination ranks 738th out of 1636 tested combos for this title, placing it in the 55th percentile of all pairings. This indicates that while the hardware is not at the absolute high-end for this game, it delivers a consistently solid experience that outpaces a majority of the systems in the database. The data reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions, with the RTX 3070 acting as the primary driver of frame rates at lower settings, while the Core i7-12700K's strong processing capabilities ensure that even at high resolutions, the system remains fluid and responsive.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 738 out of 1636 places this pairing in a competitive but not dominant position within the database. This rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU, where neither component is severely bottlenecking the other in most scenarios. The Intel Core i7-12700K is a high-performing processor, achieving an average benchmark score of 35684 and ranking in the 89th percentile against all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 with a deltaPct of -0.3% and the Intel Core i7-13700T with a deltaPct of 0.6%, show that the CPU is essentially performance-equivalent to its closest competitors, with negligible differences in synthetic scores.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 holds an average benchmark score of 28238 and sits in the 72nd percentile against all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT with a deltaPct of 0.9% and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti with a deltaPct of 1%, indicating that the RTX 3070 is slightly ahead of these cards in aggregate performance. However, the GPU's percentile ranking is significantly lower than the CPU's, suggesting that the graphics card is the more limiting component in this pairing. This is corroborated by the measured FPS data, where the system's ability to push high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p is constrained more by GPU compute than by CPU throughput. The overall rank of 738 reflects this dynamic: the system is capable of delivering excellent performance, but it is not among the top-tier combos that feature more powerful GPUs paired with this high-end processor.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-12700K compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core i7-12700K achieves an average benchmark score of 35684, which is nearly identical to its closest competitors. It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 by just 0.3% and the Intel Core i5-14500HX by 0.7%, while edging out the Intel Core i7-13700T by 0.6% and the Intel Core i7-13800H by 0.8%.

Q: What is the performance gap between the RTX 3070 and its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 3070 scores 28238 on average, placing it slightly ahead of both the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, which it beats by 0.9% and 1%, respectively. It also outperforms the AMD Radeon R9 M295X by 1.1%, but falls 0.6% short of the AMD FirePro S7150.

Q: Which settings preset provides the highest average FPS at 1920x1080?

A: The Low settings preset yields the highest average frame rate at 1080p, delivering 161.5 FPS. This is followed by High settings at 100.2 FPS, Medium at 112.9 FPS, and Ultra at 88.9 FPS, showing that the Low preset offers a significant performance boost over the others.

Q: How much does the average FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 100.2 at 1920x1080 to 74.1 at 2560x1440, and further to 52.5 at 3840x2160. This represents a 47.7% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, indicating a substantial load increase on the GPU.

Q: Is the Core i7-12700K a bottleneck for the RTX 3070 in Control?

A: The data suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions, as the system achieves high frame rates of 161.5 FPS at 1080p Low. However, at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 43.9 FPS, which points to the GPU being the primary limiting factor due to the increased rendering resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth experience at 2560x1440?

A: The Low preset at 1440p delivers an average of 118.8 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 85.4 FPS and High preset at 74.1 FPS also provide acceptable performance, while Ultra at 67.7 FPS remains playable but closer to the lower bound of fluidity.

Settings Recommendations

For an optimal balance between visual fidelity and frame rate, the benchmark data points to the High preset at 2560x1440 as the best overall experience. At this resolution and settings combination, the system achieves an average of 74.1 FPS, which comfortably exceeds the standard 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The High preset offers a meaningful visual upgrade over Medium, which delivers 85.4 FPS, while still maintaining a frame rate that is responsive and consistent. Dropping to Low at 1440p yields a much higher 118.8 FPS, but the visual trade-off is substantial, and the High preset provides a more immersive experience without sacrificing playability.

At 1920x1080, the High preset is also recommended, as it delivers 100.2 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a solid foundation for high-refresh-rate displays. While the Low preset achieves an exceptionally high 161.5 FPS, the Medium preset at 112.9 FPS and High preset at 100.2 FPS both offer better image quality with only modest frame rate penalties. For users with 4K displays, the High preset at 3840x2160 produces 52.5 FPS, which is slightly below the ideal 60 FPS mark. In this case, the Medium preset at 56.7 FPS offers a minor improvement, but neither fully reaches the target, suggesting that users may need to accept a lower settings preset or a lower resolution for a fully smooth experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system performs exceptionally well, with the Low preset achieving an average of 161.5 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 112.9 FPS, a 30.1% reduction, while the High preset delivers 100.2 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 88.9 FPS. This shows a clear progression where each higher settings tier reduces performance, but even the Ultra preset at 1080p remains highly playable with nearly 89 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down accordingly. The Low preset still delivers a strong 118.8 FPS, which is a 26.4% drop from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset achieves 85.4 FPS, the High preset reaches 74.1 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces 67.7 FPS. At this resolution, all presets remain above the 60 FPS threshold, making 1440p a viable option for high-quality gaming with this hardware combination.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show its limits. The Low preset is the only one that maintains a high frame rate, delivering 79 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 56.7 FPS, the High preset falls to 52.5 FPS, and the Ultra preset bottoms out at 43.9 FPS. This demonstrates that at 4K, the GPU is heavily taxed, and only the Low preset provides a consistently smooth experience, while higher settings require a compromise in frame rate.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K highlights the role of the RTX 3070 as the primary performance limiter in this configuration. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 100.2 at 1920x1080 to 74.1 at 2560x1440, a 26.1% reduction, and then to 52.5 at 3840x2160, a further 29.2% reduction. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 47.7%, which is a typical pattern for a mid-to-high-end GPU that becomes increasingly constrained by pixel throughput at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern is similar across other settings presets. At Low settings, the system achieves 161.5 FPS at 1080p, 118.8 FPS at 1440p, and 79 FPS at 4K, representing a 51.1% total reduction. At Medium settings, the drop is from 112.9 FPS to 85.4 FPS to 56.7 FPS, a 49.8% reduction. At Ultra settings, the system goes from 88.9 FPS to 67.7 FPS to 43.9 FPS, a 50.6% reduction. The consistency of these reductions across all settings indicates that the scaling is driven by the GPU's rendering load rather than CPU limitations.

The Core i7-12700K's performance, with its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29241 and single-core score of 4128, suggests it has ample headroom to feed the GPU. The fact that the FPS drops proportionally with resolution increases points to the RTX 3070's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth as the limiting factors. This is further supported by the GPU's percentile ranking of 72%, which is lower than the CPU's 89%, confirming that the graphics card is the constraint in this pairing when pushing higher resolutions.