Control

# Control — Intel Core i7-12700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER

The Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination delivers a robust Control experience across all tested settings, with the benchmark data showing a clear performance hierarchy that favors lower presets and lower resolutions. The combo ranks 111th out of 1,636 tested combinations, placing it in the top 7% of all systems evaluated, a position that reflects strong component synergy rather than any single bottleneck. The measured frames per second range from a demanding 68.7 FPS at 4K Ultra to a fluid 243.6 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this pairing is versatile enough for both high-refresh-rate gaming and visually intensive playthroughs.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a multi-threaded score of 29,241 in Cinebench R23 and a single-thread score of 4,128, while its 3DMark results show a progression from 1,043 in single-thread to 9,979 in max-threads. These scores place the i7-12700K in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,684.

The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate performance are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35,802, -0.3% delta), the Intel Core i5-14500HX (35,940, -0.7% delta), the Intel Core i7-13700T (35,468, 0.6% delta), and the Intel Core i7-13800H (35,416, 0.8% delta). The i7-12700K sits effectively at parity with these processors, with deltas under 1% in either direction, indicating that none of these alternatives would meaningfully alter Control's CPU-bound performance characteristics. For a game like Control, which relies heavily on physics simulations and complex scene interactions, the 12-core configuration with 20 threads provides ample headroom to maintain consistent frame pacing, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU's single-thread performance (4,013 in PassMark single-thread) becomes more relevant.

At 1080p, the CPU's capability is evident: the measured FPS at Low settings reaches 243.6, which suggests the processor can feed frames faster than most displays can refresh. The boost clock of 5.00 GHz ensures that latency-sensitive tasks, such as input handling and AI updates, are processed with minimal delay. However, the data does not indicate any CPU-related stuttering or frame drops, as the measured FPS values are average readings without minimum or maximum figures. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9,276 further underscores that the i7-12700K is well-suited for modern game engines that scale across multiple cores, even if Control itself may not fully utilize all 20 threads.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. It operates with a base clock of 2,295 MHz and a boost clock of 2,550 MHz, with memory clocked at 1,438 MHz (23 Gbps effective). The GPU is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. Its compute capabilities include 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, 112 ROPs, 80 ray tracing cores, and 320 tensor cores, achieving 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The pixel rate is 285.6 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 816.0 GTexel/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 34,245 in PassMark G3D and 24,6994 in Geekbench OpenCL, placing it in the 88th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 53,610.

The GPU's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53,489, 0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (53,414, 0.4% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 7700S (52,505, 2.1% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (52,086, 2.9% delta). The RTX 4080 SUPER leads all of these by a margin of 0.2% to 2.9%, which is a modest but consistent advantage, particularly against the RX 7700S and RTX 5070 Ti. In Control, the GPU's role becomes dominant at higher resolutions and settings, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 68.7, which is 72% of the 1080p Ultra result of 133.1 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiter at this extreme configuration.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Control's needs, as the game's assets and textures at 4K Ultra do not appear to exhaust this allocation, given the absence of min FPS data that might suggest memory-related dips. The memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s ensures that texture streaming and geometry processing at 4K do not create a bottleneck, allowing the GPU to maintain consistent frame delivery. The ray tracing cores, while not directly benchmarked in this dataset, are present and capable, though the measured FPS values do not distinguish between ray tracing enabled or disabled, so their specific impact on Control cannot be quantified here.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across resolutions for each preset. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 155.9 at 1080p to 116.6 at 1440p (a 25.2% drop) and then to 80.0 at 4K (a 48.7% drop from 1080p). At Low settings, the drop is more pronounced in absolute terms: 243.6 at 1080p falls to 186.1 at 1440p (23.6% drop) and then to 125.4 at 4K (48.5% drop from 1080p). Medium settings show a similar trend: 174.9 at 1080p, 134.0 at 1440p (23.4% drop), and 88.7 at 4K (49.3% drop from 1080p). Ultra settings exhibit the largest relative decline: 133.1 at 1080p to 99.5 at 1440p (25.2% drop) and to 68.7 at 4K (48.4% drop from 1080p).

The consistency of these percentage drops—hovering around 23-25% from 1080p to 1440p and 48-49% from 1080p to 4K—indicates that the GPU is the limiting component across all resolutions and settings. If the CPU were the primary bottleneck, the frame rate would plateau or drop less severely at higher resolutions, as the GPU would have more time to render each frame while the CPU processing load remains constant. Instead, the near-linear scaling with pixel count suggests that the RTX 4080 SUPER is being fully utilized, and its performance is scaling as expected with the increased rendering load. The fact that even at 4K Low (125.4 FPS) the system still exceeds 120 FPS demonstrates that the GPU has substantial headroom, but the resolution scaling shows that Control's visual effects and post-processing at higher settings impose a significant cost.

The data also reveals that the delta between Low and Ultra settings at a given resolution is substantial. At 1080p, the difference is 110.5 FPS (from 243.6 to 133.1), representing a 45.4% reduction in performance when going from Low to Ultra. At 4K, the same comparison shows a 56.7 FPS drop (from 125.4 to 68.7), a 45.2% reduction. This consistent percentage across resolutions indicates that the GPU's workload scales with both resolution and settings, with the settings-based penalty being roughly proportional regardless of pixel count. The limiting component is unambiguously the GPU at all configurations, while the CPU remains sufficiently powerful to avoid becoming a constraint.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a rank of 111 out of 1,636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all systems evaluated. This ranking reflects the overall performance across all measured configurations, and the fact that this combo sits in the top 7% indicates that it outperforms the vast majority of systems, including many with newer or more expensive components. The rank is determined by the aggregate measured FPS across all settings and resolutions, and the data shows that this combo excels particularly at 1080p, where it delivers over 130 FPS even at Ultra settings.

Relative to the CPU's nearest rivals, the i7-12700K's performance within this combo is neither a strength nor a weakness; its average benchmark score of 35,684 is within 1% of its closest competitors, meaning that swapping in a Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 or a Core i7-13700T would likely produce nearly identical Control performance. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals—the RX 6900 XT, Radeon Pro W6600M, RX 7700S, and RTX 5070 Ti—could theoretically deliver comparable frame rates, but the RTX 4080 SUPER's 2.9% advantage over the RTX 5070 Ti in average benchmark score translates to a small but measurable lead in Control's most demanding scenarios, such as 4K Ultra where every frame counts.

The rank of 111 out of 1,636 is particularly notable because Control is a game that was released in 2019, and its engine may not fully exploit the latest hardware features. Despite this, the combo still achieves high frame rates across all settings, suggesting that the raw computational power of both components is sufficient to overcome any inefficiencies in the game's engine. The data indicates that this combo is not just adequate but genuinely high-performing, with the 4K Ultra result of 68.7 FPS being close to the 60 FPS target for console-like smoothness, while 1440p and 1080p provide significantly higher headroom for high-refresh-rate displays.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS values, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 174.9 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor (up to 165 Hz or 240 Hz in some cases), while the High preset at 155.9 FPS still offers excellent smoothness. The Low preset at 243.6 FPS is excessive for most displays and would only be beneficial for competitive play where maximum frame rate is prioritized over visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 133.1 FPS remains very playable, but the jump from High to Ultra costs 22.8 FPS (a 14.6% reduction) for what is typically a marginal visual improvement in Control's already-stylish presentation.

At 1440p, the High preset at 116.6 FPS is the sweet spot, as it provides a smooth experience on 120 Hz or 144 Hz monitors while maintaining high visual quality. The Medium preset at 134.0 FPS offers additional headroom for those with 144 Hz displays, but the visual difference between Medium and High is often more noticeable in Control's lighting and particle effects. The Ultra preset at 99.5 FPS is still above 60 FPS, making it viable for 100 Hz displays, but the 17.1 FPS drop from High to Ultra may not justify the visual gains. The Low preset at 186.1 FPS is overkill for most 1440p monitors and would only be recommended for esports-style play.

At 4K, the High preset at 80.0 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a smooth experience on 60 Hz and even 75 Hz displays, with some headroom for 80 Hz panels. The Medium preset at 88.7 FPS offers a small performance boost, but the visual degradation is more apparent at 4K due to the larger screen real estate. The Ultra preset at 68.7 FPS is playable but close to the 60 FPS threshold, and the drop from High to Ultra (11.3 FPS, a 14.1% reduction) is significant enough that High is preferable for maintaining consistent frame delivery. The Low preset at 125.4 FPS is not recommended at 4K, as it severely compromises the game's atmosphere for a frame rate that exceeds what most 4K displays can show. Overall, the data suggests that High settings at all resolutions provide the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with Medium as a viable alternative for those prioritizing frame rate over polish.