Control

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a dominant performance profile in Control, with measured frame rates that scale predictably across resolutions and settings. The data shows this combination ranks 89th out of 3,720 tested combos, placing it firmly in the top 2.4% of all configurations. This analysis breaks down the resolution scaling, component roles, and optimal settings based strictly on the measured FPS data.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops from 153 FPS at 1080p to 116 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 37 FPS. Moving to 4K, the average falls further to 78 FPS, representing a cumulative drop of 75 FPS from 1080p to 4K. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 5090’s rendering load increases substantially with pixel count, but the frame rates remain highly playable even at the highest resolution.

The Low settings preset shows the most dramatic resolution sensitivity. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 268 FPS average, which drops to 211 FPS at 1440p and 142 FPS at 4K. The 126 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K Low settings suggests that at lower graphical loads, the CPU begins to play a more significant role in limiting performance, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly at lower resolutions.

Medium settings exhibit a similar proportional decline, with averages of 198 FPS at 1080p, 150 FPS at 1440p, and 101 FPS at 4K. The High preset follows suit: 176 FPS at 1080p, 133 FPS at 1440p, and 90 FPS at 4K. Across all settings, the drop from 1440p to 4K is proportionally larger than the drop from 1080p to 1440p, indicating that the GPU becomes increasingly the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

The scaling behavior suggests that at 1080p, the system is partly CPU-bound, particularly at Low settings where the frame rate exceeds 260 FPS. At 4K, the RTX 5090’s rendering throughput becomes the primary constraint, with Ultra settings producing 78 FPS average, which is still smooth for a single-player action-adventure title. The consistent 20-25% performance reduction when moving from 1440p to 4K across all presets points to a well-balanced system where neither component becomes a bottleneck at any resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K provides the processing foundation for this combination, featuring 12 cores and 20 threads with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process, delivers strong multi-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19,784 and a single-core score of 1,850.5. The CPU’s 25 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 contribute to its overall responsiveness.

Benchmark data shows the i7-12700K achieves a 3DMark max threads score of 9,979 and a single-thread score of 1,043, with intermediate results of 7,202 for 8 threads and 4,011 for 4 threads. This scaling from 2 to 20 threads indicates efficient utilization of its hybrid core layout und, critically for gaming, the single-thread performance is robust enough to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions. The Passmark single-thread score of 4,013 and multithread score of 34,404 confirm balanced performance across both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded workloads.

In Control, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p Low settings, where the measured 268 FPS average suggests the processor can feed frames to the GPU faster than the graphics card can render at higher presets. The CPU’s percentile rank of 84 versus all CPUs places it above average, though its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13600T, scores nearly identically with an average benchmark score of 35,305 compared to the i7-12700K’s 35,287, a delta of only -0.1%. This indicates that the i7-12700K is not a performance outlier but rather a solid mid-high range processor that pairs well with a top-tier GPU.

The boost clock of 5.00 GHz provides sufficient single-core speed for Control’s game logic and physics calculations, which are typically not heavily parallelized. With 20 threads available, the CPU can handle background tasks and streaming without impacting frame delivery. The data shows no evidence of CPU-induced frame pacing issues, as the minimum FPS values at Medium settings (86 FPS at 4K, 127 FPS at 1440p, 168 FPS at 1080p) remain within acceptable ranges relative to their averages.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. Its 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs deliver substantial raw compute capability, with FP32 performance rated at 104.8 TFLOPS and a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s.

Clock speeds are set at 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The GPU’s 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die represent a massive compute cluster, reflected in its Passmark G3D score of 39,650 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18,355. The percentile rank of 92 versus all GPUs places it near the top of the performance hierarchy, though its nearest rivals show some interesting comparisons.

The RTX 5090’s average benchmark score of 79,842 is only 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB’s 79,605, and 0.6% higher than the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB’s 79,396. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT trails by 1.1% with a score of 78,940, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X actually exceeds the RTX 5090 by 1.4% with a score of 80,959. These narrow margins in synthetic benchmarks suggest that raw compute scores do not fully capture the RTX 5090’s gaming performance, as the measured FPS in Control demonstrates.

In Control, the GPU’s VRAM capacity and bandwidth are more than sufficient, as even at 4K Ultra the game does not approach the 32 GB memory limit. The GPU’s role as the primary performance driver is evident at 4K, where the frame rate drops from 142 FPS at Low to 78 FPS at Ultra, a 64 FPS range that directly reflects the rendering workload. The high memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s ensures that texture streaming and high-resolution assets do not cause stutters, as evidenced by the consistent minimum FPS values at Medium settings across all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific configuration of the Intel Core i7-12700K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a rank of 89 out of 3,720 tested combos in Control. This places the combination in the top 2.4% of all tested systems, indicating exceptional performance for this title. The ranking reflects the synergy between a capable mid-high range CPU and a flagship GPU, where the CPU provides sufficient throughput without limiting the GPU’s potential.

The CPU’s nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i7-12700KF with a delta of -0.2% and the Intel Core i7-13700T with a delta of -0.3%, show that the i7-12700K is essentially performance-equivalent to its closest competitors in synthetic benchmarks. This means the ranking in Control is primarily driven by the GPU’s capabilities rather than CPU differences, as swapping to a nominally faster or slower processor would yield negligible changes in the measured FPS.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks, such as the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X at +1.4% and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at +0.3%, do not represent realistic gaming comparisons, as these are professional or workstation cards. The RTX 5090’s gaming performance, as shown by the Control data, places it well ahead of typical consumer GPUs, with the 4K Ultra average of 78 FPS being a strong indicator of its capability.

The rank of 89 out of 3,720 means that only 88 other combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this game. Given the measured FPS values across all settings, this rank is consistent with a system that can maintain 60+ FPS at 4K Ultra and exceed 150 FPS at 1080p High. The data indicates that this combo is optimized for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming and smooth 4K experiences, with no resolution or settings combination falling below playable thresholds.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 176 FPS average, which is suitable for 165 Hz monitors, while the Medium preset at 198 FPS supports 200 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 153 FPS still provides excellent smoothness for 144 Hz panels, making 1080p Ultra the best choice for users prioritizing visual quality without sacrificing frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 133 FPS average, which is ideal for 144 Hz monitors. The Medium preset at 150 FPS allows for slightly higher refresh rates, but the difference is modest. The Ultra preset at 116 FPS remains viable for 120 Hz displays, and given the minimal visual difference between High and Ultra in many games, High offers the best balance of performance and quality at this resolution.

For 3840x2160, the High preset at 90 FPS is the recommended choice for 4K gaming, as it provides a smooth experience on 90-120 Hz displays. The Medium preset at 101 FPS offers a slight performance boost, while the Ultra preset at 78 FPS is still playable but may not fully utilize high-refresh-rate 4K monitors. The Low preset at 142 FPS is unnecessary at this resolution, as the visual quality reduction is not justified by the frame rate increase when High already delivers a comfortable margin.

The data shows that the Low preset provides diminishing returns in performance scaling, with only 26 FPS improvement over High at 1440p and 52 FPS at 1080p. For most users, the Medium or High presets offer the best experience, with Medium providing a 12.8% performance increase over High at 4K (101 vs 90 FPS) and a 12.5% increase at 1440p (150 vs 133 FPS). The Ultra preset, while visually superior, costs 13.3% performance compared to High at 4K (78 vs 90 FPS) and 12.8% at 1440p (116 vs 133 FPS).

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are 268 FPS at Low, 198 FPS at Medium, 176 FPS at High, and 153 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 168 FPS and a maximum of 228 FPS, indicating a consistent frame delivery with a 60 FPS range. The Low preset does not have reported min/max values, but the average suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 211 FPS at Low, 150 FPS at Medium, 133 FPS at High, and 116 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset reports a minimum of 127 FPS and maximum of 172 FPS, showing a 45 FPS spread that is tighter than at 1080p. This indicates that the GPU is beginning to take on more of the rendering load, reducing frame time variance.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 142 FPS at Low, 101 FPS at Medium, 90 FPS at High, and 78 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 86 FPS and maximum of 116 FPS, a 30 FPS range that suggests more consistent frame pacing as the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 64 FPS difference, highlighting the significant impact of graphical settings on this resolution.

The data reveals that the performance gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases: 115 FPS at 1080p, 95 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K. This is consistent with the GPU becoming the more dominant limiting factor at higher resolutions, where the CPU has more time to prepare frames while the GPU is busy rendering. The 4K Medium preset at 101 FPS represents the best balance for users wanting high visual quality with smooth performance, while 1440p High at 133 FPS is optimal for competitive play.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 2560x1440 at High settings delivers 133 FPS average, which balances visual quality and performance. At 4K, the High preset still achieves 90 FPS, making either resolution viable depending on the monitor’s refresh rate and the user’s preference for fidelity over speed.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090’s average benchmark score of 79,842 is 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB and 0.6% higher than the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.1% slower, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X is 1.4% faster in synthetic testing.

Q: Is the i7-12700K a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 in this game?

A: At 1080p Low settings, the 268 FPS average suggests the CPU can keep up with the GPU’s output, but the frame rate ceiling at low resolutions indicates some CPU limitation. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, with no evidence of CPU bottlenecking.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 78 FPScars, which is playable but not ideal for high-refresh-rate 4K monitors. For smoother 4K performance, the High preset at 90 FPS or Medium at 101 FPS are better choices.

*Q: How does the combo rank compared to all tested configurations in Control?*

A: This combination ranks 89th out of 3,720 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.4% of all systems. This high ranking reflects the RTX 5090’s strong gaming performance paired with a CPU that does not limit it.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at different resolutions?

A: At Medium settings, the 1080p preset shows a 60 FPS range between minimum and maximum, the 1440p preset shows a 45 FPS range, and the 4K preset shows a 30 FPS range. This tighter variance at higher resolutions indicates more consistent frame pacing.