Control

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is a high-end combination from the previous generation that still delivers a very strong experience in Control. This pairing places the CPU and GPU in the 85th and 83rd percentiles of their respective categories, indicating a balanced, high-performance foundation. The benchmark data shows that this combo is capable of smooth gameplay at high resolutions and high settings, though it requires some adjustment at 4K to maintain a locked 60 FPS. The analysis below breaks down exactly where the bottlenecks lie and what you can expect from this specific configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable but important scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the system is heavily GPU-bound, with the average frame rate at High settings reaching 121 FPS. Dropping to Low settings at 1080p pushes the average to 192 FPS, which is a substantial 59% increase over the High preset. This massive jump when lowering settings indicates that at 1080p, the GPU has significant headroom, and the performance ceiling is being lifted as the shading load decreases.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS at High settings falls to 92, marking a 24% decrease from the 1080p High result. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 145 FPS, which is still exceptionally high and shows the GPU's ability to handle the increased pixel count. The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is steep, which is typical for a game like Control that features complex particle effects and dynamic lighting. The gap between the Low and High presets narrows as resolution climbs, from 59% at 1080p to 58% at 1440p, suggesting a slight shift in bottleneck behavior.

At the demanding 3840x2160 resolution, the system begins to show its limits. The average FPS at High settings drops to 62, which is a 33% reduction from the 1440p High result. This is the point where the RTX 3080 Ti's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 384-bit bus become critical, as the bandwidth is taxed heavily by the 4K pixel output. The difference between Low and High at 4K is 36 FPS (98 vs 62), which is a significant 37% delta. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is the primary limiting component, as lowering settings provides a much smaller relative performance gain compared to 1080p.

CPU Role

The Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong single-thread performance, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 1043 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4071. This is crucial for Control, which relies on a single primary game thread for many of its physics and AI calculations. The CPU's high boost clock ensures that this thread is fed efficiently, preventing frame rate dips in complex scenes.

The processor’s multi-threaded capabilities are also robust, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28838 and a Passmark multithread score of 34092. However, the game's engine is not designed to fully utilize all 20 threads, so the extra cores primarily help with background tasks and streaming. In the data, the CPU's percentile rank of 85% against all CPUs places it in the top tier, and its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-13700T and the Intel Core i5-13600T, show almost identical average scores, with delta percentages of -0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.

In practical terms, the benchmark results indicate that the CPU is rarely the bottleneck in Control, even at 1080p where frame rates are highest. At 1080p Low, the 192 FPS average is still far below what the CPU's single-thread capacity would limit, suggesting that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting even in this CPU-favorable scenario. The data shows that the CPU's role is to maintain a stable frame pacing floor, and its performance is more than sufficient to keep up with the RTX 3080 Ti's output across all tested resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications dictate the performance envelope. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, it offers a bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s, which is essential for the high-resolution textures and effects in Control. The GPU's 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores provide the raw compute power for the game's DirectX 12 renderer, and its base clock of 1365 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz drive the processing.

The GPU benchmark scores confirm its high-end status. A Passmark G3D score of 26896 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077 place it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, which is only 0.8% faster in average score, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, which is 2% faster. This shows that the 3080 Ti is still a formidable performer, though it is beginning to be edged out by newer generations.

In Control, the GPU's performance is directly reflected in the frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 54, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. This is a clear indication that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution and settings combination. The measured data shows a clear hierarchy: at 1080p and 1440p, the GPU provides ample headroom, but at 4K, the frame rate scales almost linearly with settings, from 54 FPS at Ultra to 98 FPS at Low, showing that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are being saturated.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti holds a combo rank of 981 out of 3720 tested combos. This places it in the top 26% of all tested systems, which is a strong result for a pairing of components from the previous generation. The rank reflects the overall balance of the system, where the CPU and GPU are well-matched for most gaming scenarios.

The rank also suggests that while this combo is not at the absolute top of the charts, it outperforms the vast majority of other configurations. The data indicates that the bottleneck is almost exclusively the GPU at higher resolutions, which is typical for a high-end CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The combo's rank is likely held back by the GPU's performance at 4K Ultra, where it cannot maintain a high frame rate. However, for 1440p gaming, which is the sweet spot for this hardware, the combo ranks much higher in practical terms, as the frame rates are consistently above 80 FPS even at Ultra settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system achieves an average of 192 FPS on Low settings, 136 FPS on Medium, 121 FPS on High, and 105 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1080p shows a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 157 FPS, indicating excellent frame pacing with no severe dips.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 145 FPS on Low, 103 FPS on Medium, 92 FPS on High, and 80 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p has a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 118 FPS, which shows that even in the most demanding scenes, the system stays well above the 60 FPS threshold. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p is a 45% drop in performance, which is consistent with the GPU being the primary workload driver.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 98 FPS on Low, 70 FPS on Medium, 62 FPS on High, and 54 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS, which means that while the average is playable, there are brief moments where the frame rate dips below 60. For a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, the data suggests that High settings are borderline, and players would need to use Medium settings or lower the resolution scale to ensure a consistent frame rate.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Control at 4K with a stable 60 FPS?*

A: The data shows that at 4K High, the average FPS is 62, which is just above 60. However, at 4K Medium, the minimum FPS is 59, indicating that there can be dips below 60. For a locked 60 FPS, using the Medium preset or lower is the safest option.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The evidence is that lowering settings from High to Low yields a 59% increase in average FPS (from 121 to 192). The CPU's single-thread performance is sufficient to handle these frame rates, as its 3dmark_single_thread score of 1043 and 5.00 GHz boost clock prevent it from becoming a limiting factor.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti here compare to the newer RTX 5070?

A: According to the benchmark data, the RTX 3080 Ti has an average score of 41187, while the RTX 5070 is listed as a nearest rival with a deltaPct of 2. This means the RTX 5070 is approximately 2% faster in average benchmark scores. In Control, this difference would likely translate to a few extra FPS, but the 3080 Ti remains highly capable.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain high frame rates?

A: The data indicates that 2560x1440 is the sweet spot. At 1440p Ultra, the average FPS is 80, and at High, it is 92. This provides a high level of visual fidelity while maintaining frame rates well above 60 FPS, with the Medium preset hitting 103 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU's performance hold back the GPU in this game?

A: No, the data does not support this. The CPU's performance is robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28838 and a single-core score of 4071. The frame rates scale consistently with GPU settings, which indicates the GPU is the limiting component, especially at higher resolutions.

*Q: Is the 12 GB VRAM on the RTX 3080 Ti sufficient for Control at 4K?*

A: The data shows that the GPU is able to handle 4K with an average of 54 FPS at Ultra settings and 62 FPS at High. While the VRAM capacity is not directly measured in the FPS data, the fact that the GPU can run these settings without a catastrophic frame rate drop indicates that the 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is sufficient for this game's requirements at 4K.