Control

FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank of the Intel Core i7-13700K with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT in Control?

A: This combination ranks 937th out of 3720 tested combos in the database for this game. That places it in the top 25% of all systems tested, indicating a strong pairing for Control.

Q: How does the Core i7-13700K compare to its closest rivals in overall CPU benchmark scores?

A: The Core i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881. It sits within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX and Intel Xeon w3-2535, while being 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 and 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375. These deltas are negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 193 FPS average. That is the highest measured result across all resolutions and settings in the data.

Q: Does the RX 9070 XT outperform its immediate GPU rivals according to benchmark scores?

A: The RX 9070 XT has an average benchmark score of 13543. It leads the AMD Radeon HD 7770M by 0.1%, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 by 0.2%, and the NVIDIA P106-090 by 0.5%. The AMD Radeon Pro 555 trails by 1.0%. The performance gaps are minimal among these closely matched entries.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 88, with an average of 103 and a maximum of 119. This indicates the system maintains smooth frame pacing even during demanding scenes.

Q: How many cores and threads does the Intel Core i7-13700K have?

A: The CPU has 16 cores and 24 threads. This configuration, combined with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz, provides substantial parallelism for modern game engines.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor built on the Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz allow it to handle both lightly threaded game logic and heavily threaded background tasks. The chip includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache, which helps reduce memory latency during gameplay.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong scaling. The 3DMark single-thread score is 1136, while the 2-thread score reaches 2262, indicating nearly perfect scaling at low thread counts. The 4-thread score jumps to 4469, and the 8-thread score reaches 8193. The maximum-thread score of 12412 shows that the processor continues to extract performance from additional cores, though the scaling diminishes beyond 8 threads due to diminishing returns in that workload.

Cinebench results reinforce this pattern. The R20 multi-core score of 16292 and single-core score of 2299 show a healthy ratio, while the R23 multi-core score of 30745 and single-core score of 2116 confirm the chip's strong all-round capability. PassMark multithread score of 45887 and single-thread score of 4333 indicate that the CPU is well balanced for gaming workloads, where both high-frequency single-core performance and multi-threaded headroom matter.

The CPU's 89th percentile ranking against all CPUs places it in the upper echelon of desktop processors. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, which scores 46971 (0.2% higher), and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 at 47022 (0.3% higher). The Intel Xeon w3-2535 and AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX both trail by 0.5%. These competitors are essentially matched in overall throughput, meaning the i7-13700K is not leaving performance on the table relative to its peers.

For Control, which is an action-adventure title from 2019, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle physics and AI computations. The 16-core configuration ensures that even with background processes active, the game has dedicated resources. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz provides the single-thread speed necessary for games that rely on a primary game thread. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, where the GPU is less of a bottleneck, the system achieves 193 FPS average, suggesting the CPU can keep up with high frame rates without holding back the GPU.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a 4 nm process node from TSMC. It features 4096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 128 raster operation pipelines. The GPU has 64 ray tracing cores, which provide hardware acceleration for ray-traced effects that Control can utilize. The die contains 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² area, giving a transistor density of 151.0 million per square millimeter.

Memory configuration is substantial: 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 2518 MHz, which translates to 20.1 Gbps effective. This large memory pool ensures that even at high resolutions with high-resolution textures, the GPU does not run out of video memory. The base clock is 1660 MHz, the game clock is 2400 MHz, and the boost clock reaches 2970 MHz. These clocks are aggressive, allowing the GPU to sustain high frame rates in demanding scenes.

Synthetic benchmarks show the GPU's raw compute capability. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 7260, which reflects modern DirectX 12 performance. Geekbench OpenCL score is 17428, and Vulkan score is 65879, indicating strong cross-API support. PassMark G3D score of 26795 and GPU compute score of 15864 highlight the card's general rasterization and compute performance. The pixel rate is 380.2 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 760.3 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS.

The GPU's percentile ranking against all GPUs is 55, which places it in the middle of the pack. However, its nearest rivals are older or lower-tier cards: the AMD Radeon HD 7770M (0.1% behind), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (0.2% behind), NVIDIA P106-090 (0.5% behind), and AMD Radeon Pro 555 (1.0% behind). These comparisons are based on average benchmark scores, and the RX 9070 XT's modern architecture and feature set extend well beyond these older cards in real-world scenarios like Control.

In Control, the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for the game's texture streaming needs. The 256-bit memory bus and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth ensure that texture data is delivered quickly to the shading units. The boost clock of 2970 MHz provides high compute throughput for the game's particle effects and physics simulations. At 4K Ultra settings, the GPU still manages 54 FPS average, which is playable, while dropping to High settings yields 62 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rate at high resolutions, with the CPU providing adequate support.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 937th out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places it in the upper quartile of all systems, a solid position for a high-end desktop configuration. The ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance and the GPU's modern architecture.

To contextualize this rank, consider that there are 3720 combos tested. A rank of 937 means the system is ahead of roughly 75% of all tested configurations. This is not a top-tier flagship setup, but it is certainly above average. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs is higher than the combo's overall rank, suggesting that the GPU may be the limiting factor in the pairing for this specific game. The GPU's 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs is lower than the CPU's percentile, which supports this interpretation.

The measured FPS data confirms that the combo performs well across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 193 FPS, which is extremely high and likely CPU-bound in some scenarios. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 54 FPS, indicating GPU-bound behavior. The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is consistent: at 1080p, the average FPS drops from 193 to 106 (a 45% reduction); at 1440p, from 146 to 80 (a 45% reduction); at 4K, from 98 to 54 (a 45% reduction). This consistent scaling suggests that the GPU is handling the additional load linearly as settings increase.

Compared to other combos in the database, this system is well positioned. The CPU's near-tie with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 and Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 means that swapping to those CPUs would not significantly change game performance. The GPU's benchmark scores, while ranking only at the 55th percentile, do not fully capture its gaming performance in Control, where it delivers playable frame rates at all settings tested.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gaming, all settings are playable, but the best experience balances visual quality and performance. At 1080p High, the system achieves 122 FPS average, which is smooth for most displays. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 106 FPS, which is still excellent and offers the best visual fidelity. The data suggests that Ultra is the best choice at 1080p if the display supports high refresh rates, as the 106 FPS average is well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 92 FPS average, which is good for most gamers. The Medium preset yields 103 FPS with a minimum of 88 and maximum of 119, making it the most consistent option with frame pacing that avoids dips below 60 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 80 FPS, which is still playable but may show minor stutters on high-refresh displays. For the best balance of visual quality and smoothness at 1440p, the High preset is recommended, as it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining good graphics.

At 4K, the system's performance becomes more constrained. The Ultra preset averages 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and may feel less smooth. The High preset improves to 62 FPS, which is right at the 60 FPS threshold and is the recommended choice for 4K gaming. The Medium preset at 70 FPS provides a good balance, but the visual downgrade from High to Medium may not be worth the extra 8 FPS. The Low preset at 98 FPS is unnecessary for most players, as the graphical compromises are significant.

The data shows that the Medium preset at all resolutions provides the most consistent frame times, as evidenced by the minimum FPS values being closest to the average. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 116 with an average of 137; at 1440p Medium, the minimum is 88 with an average of 103; at 4K Medium, the minimum is 59 with an average of 70. This consistency is valuable for action games like Control, where sudden frame drops can disrupt gameplay. For players who prioritize frame time stability over maximum graphical fidelity, the Medium preset is the safest choice.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers a wide range of performance depending on settings. The Low preset produces an average of 193 FPS, which is exceptionally high and suitable for competitive play or very high refresh rate monitors. The Medium preset averages 137 FPS, with a minimum of 116 and maximum of 157, providing smooth gameplay with better visuals. The High preset averages 122 FPS, which is still very smooth. The Ultra preset averages 106 FPS, which is excellent for a 2019 title at maximum settings. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p is roughly linear, with each step reducing the average FPS by about 20-30% of the previous value.

At 2560x1440, the performance decreases as expected. The Low preset averages 146 FPS, which is still high enough for most gaming monitors. The Medium preset averages 103 FPS, with a minimum of 88 and maximum of 119. This is a solid result for 1440p, as it stays well above 60 FPS. The High preset averages 92 FPS, which is good for gamers who prefer higher graphical fidelity. The Ultra preset averages 80 FPS, which is playable but may not fully utilize a 144Hz monitor. The difference between Medium and High at 1440p is 11 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra is 12 FPS, indicating that each settings tier has a similar cost.

At 3840x2160, the system is more GPU-limited. The Low preset averages 98 FPS, which is impressive for 4K and indicates that the GPU has significant headroom when graphical effects are reduced. The Medium preset averages 70 FPS, with a minimum of 59 and maximum of 80. The minimum of 59 FPS is just below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting occasional minor dips. The High preset averages 62 FPS, which is playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset averages 54 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target and may result in noticeable stuttering in fast-paced action sequences. For 4K gaming, the High preset is the most balanced, as it provides 62 FPS average with better visuals than Medium.

The data shows that the system scales well with resolution, with 1080p performance roughly 1.5 times that of 1440p, and 1440p performance roughly 1.5 times that of 4K at the same settings. This consistent scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU remains capable of supporting high frame rates at lower resolutions. The minimum FPS values recorded at Medium settings across all resolutions show that the system maintains frame times within a reasonable range, with the 4K Medium minimum of 59 FPS being the only recorded value below 60.