Control

FAQ

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

A: The i7-12700KF posts an average benchmark score of 35,365. This places it within 0.2% of the Intel Core i5-13600T (35,305) and Intel Core i7-12700K (35,287), while sitting 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700T (35,403). The data shows a virtual tie among these four processors, with performance deltas of less than one-third of a percent.

Q: What is the GPU's standing relative to other graphics cards?

A: The Intel Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1,482 from the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1,463), which it beats by 1.3%, and the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1,460), which it leads by 1.5%. It also edges out the GT 625 OEM (1,446) by 2.5% and the GT 710 (1,443) by 2.7%.

Q: How does the combo perform at 1080p across different settings in Control?

A: At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates range from 65 FPS on Low settings down to 36 FPS on Ultra. Medium settings deliver 46 FPS, while High settings produce 41 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS, indicating playable performance at lower presets.

Q: What is the CPU's core and thread configuration?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF features 12 cores and 20 threads, based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The processor includes 25 MB of shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory.

Q: What memory configuration does the GPU use?

A: The Intel Arc B390 uses system-shared memory, with the memory size, type, and bus width all listed as "System Shared." Memory bandwidth is described as "System Dependent," meaning it relies on the host system's memory subsystem rather than dedicated VRAM.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations in Control?

A: This combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2,551 out of 2,888 tested combos in Control, placing it in the lower portion of the database. The rank reflects the GPU's limited performance profile rather than the CPU's capabilities.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places this pairing at rank 2,551 out of 2,888 tested combinations for Control, which puts it in the bottom 12% of all configurations. This is a decisive indicator that the Intel Arc B390 is the dominant constraint in this pairing. The CPU, by contrast, sits at the 85th percentile among all processors, a strong position that suggests the processor is not the limiting factor.

Benchmark results for the GPU reinforce this picture. The Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1,482 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, a stark contrast to the CPU's standing. When paired together, the system's overall rank in Control reflects the GPU's modest compute resources. The ranking gap between the CPU and GPU components is among the widest observed in this database, indicating a substantial bottleneck on the graphics side.

The measured frame rates align with this interpretation. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages just 18 FPS, while at 1080p Low it reaches 65 FPS. These results place the combo firmly in entry-level territory for this game. The rank of 2,551 means there are 337 configurations that perform worse, but the overwhelming majority of tested systems deliver higher frame rates. For context, the GPU's nearest rivals include legacy parts like the GT 710 and GT 520MX, which further underscores the performance tier this combo occupies.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is built on the Xe3-LPG architecture using Intel's 3 nm process node, with the chip codenamed Panther Lake. Its clock speeds are listed with a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2500 MHz, a wide range that allows the GPU to scale up under load. The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM, making the frame rates heavily dependent on the host system's memory bandwidth.

In Control, the GPU's compute resources translate to specific performance ceilings. The 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs produce a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput is 7.680 TFLOPS, while FP16 performance reaches 15.36 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio. The GPU also includes 12 ray tracing cores, though the measured FPS data does not isolate ray tracing performance.

The system-shared memory is a critical factor. With bandwidth listed as "System Dependent," the GPU's ability to feed its shading units varies with the CPU's memory configuration. The i7-12700KF supports dual-channel DDR4 or DDR5 memory, and the measured results reflect this dependency. Across all resolutions, the frame rates scale predictably with settings, but the absolute numbers remain low, consistent with a GPU that ranks in the 9th percentile.

The GPU's 80 W TDP and IGP form factor indicate it is designed for integrated use, not as a discrete add-in card. The bus interface is listed as IGP, and display outputs are "Portable Device Dependent," suggesting this is a mobile-oriented part. Despite this, the benchmark data shows it running Control at measurable frame rates, though the performance profile aligns more closely with entry-level discrete GPUs from previous generations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the combo delivers an average of 21 FPS on High settings, 33 FPS on Low, 24 FPS on Medium, and 18 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS, providing a narrow range that indicates stuttering potential. The spread from Low to Ultra is 15 FPS, with Low being the only setting that approaches acceptable playability at 4K.

Dropping to 2560x1440 improves results notably. Low settings produce an average of 50 FPS, while Medium yields 35 FPS with a range of 30 to 40 FPS. High settings average 31 FPS, and Ultra drops to 27 FPS. The jump from 4K to 1440p Low represents a 17 FPS improvement, demonstrating that resolution scaling has a significant impact on this GPU's performance.

At 1920x1080, the combo reaches its most playable state. Low settings average 65 FPS, Medium hits 46 FPS with a range of 40 to 53 FPS, High averages 41 FPS, and Ultra falls to 36 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 29 FPS, showing that the GPU has enough headroom at lower resolutions to accommodate some quality increases, but not enough for consistent high-fidelity play.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each resolution drop of roughly 33% (from 4K to 1440p, and 1440p to 1080p) yields approximately a 50% increase in frame rate at the same settings. For example, Low settings go from 33 FPS at 4K to 50 FPS at 1440p to 65 FPS at 1080p. This scaling behavior is typical of a GPU that is heavily bandwidth-constrained, which aligns with the system-shared memory design.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal experience for this combo in Control is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the average of 65 FPS provides a smooth baseline. The 1080p Low preset is the only configuration that clears the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended choice for responsive gameplay. Pushing to Medium at 1080p drops the average to 46 FPS, which is still playable but introduces more noticeable frame pacing issues, especially given the 40 FPS minimum.

At 2560x1440, Low settings deliver 50 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced action but may feel less fluid during combat sequences. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 35 FPS with a 30 FPS minimum, which is borderline for this genre. For players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, 1080p High at 41 FPS is a viable compromise, though the lower minimums could cause occasional hitches.

The 4K resolution is not recommended for any settings. Even Low at 4K only achieves 33 FPS, and Ultra drops to 18 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable play. The data suggests that the GPU's system-shared memory limits its ability to handle the texture and geometry loads at higher resolutions, making 1080p the practical ceiling for this combo.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the 1080p Medium preset (46 FPS average) offers the most reasonable trade-off. It provides a 13% improvement over High settings while maintaining a frame rate that is within 19 FPS of Low. However, if smoothness is the priority, 1080p Low is the clear winner, with a 19 FPS advantage over Medium and a 29 FPS advantage over Ultra.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF brings substantial processing power to this combo, with 12 cores and 20 threads running at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost of 5.00 GHz. Its synthetic benchmark scores are strong: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 28,838, single-core hits 4,071, and Geekbench multi-core scores 14,367. The 3DMark results show scaling from 1,043 single-thread to 9,983 max-threads, indicating efficient thread utilization.

In Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The 12-core configuration with 20 threads provides ample headroom for the game's threading model, which typically scales well across multiple cores. The L3 cache of 25 MB shared across the cores helps maintain data locality, reducing memory latency that could otherwise bottleneck frame delivery.

Despite the CPU's strength, the measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor. The i7-12700KF's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are nearly identical in performance, with deltas of 0.2% or less, yet the combo still ranks at 2,551 out of 2,888. This suggests that even a top-tier CPU would not meaningfully improve the frame rates, as the GPU's compute resources are insufficient to translate CPU throughput into higher FPS.

The CPU's memory support for DDR4 and DDR5, with a dual-channel bus, directly impacts the GPU's system-shared memory performance. Since the Arc B390 relies on system memory, the i7-12700KF's memory controller and bandwidth determine how quickly data reaches the GPU. The measured frame rates, particularly the scaling pattern across resolutions, are consistent with a system where memory bandwidth is a shared resource between CPU and GPU workloads.

The processor's 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier indicate it is designed for performance-oriented systems, and its 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms this. In this pairing, however, the CPU's capabilities are underutilized. The bottleneck is unequivocally the GPU, and the data suggests that users pairing this CPU with a more capable graphics card would see far better results in Control.