Control

The pairing of the Intel Core i7-13700K with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 positions this system as a study in contrast, combining a top-tier modern CPU with a legacy graphics card from the Pascal era. Benchmark data for Control shows a configuration that is overwhelmingly constrained by the GPU, yet the CPU’s headroom ensures that the graphics card operates as the sole performance gate across all tested resolutions. This analysis examines the measured FPS, component roles, and scaling characteristics to determine where this combo stands and what settings provide the most playable experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Control?

A: This specific combination ranks 3083 out of a total of 3720 tested combos in the game’s database. This places it in the lower third of all tested systems, reflecting the GTX 1070’s age and its position relative to modern hardware.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 9780. Its closest competitor is the AMD FirePro W5000, which scores 9803, making the GTX 1070 0.2% slower. It is also 0.5% slower than the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (9832) but 0.6% faster than the NVIDIA Tesla M10 (9724) and 0.7% faster than the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 (9716).

Q: What is the best average FPS achievable at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves its highest measured average of 97 FPS. This is the only configuration that approaches high-refresh-rate territory, as the next best result is 69 FPS at Medium settings.

Q: Is the CPU a limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates no. The Core i7-13700K has a 16-core, 24-thread configuration with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Given that FPS drops consistently with resolution increases (from 97 FPS at 1080p Low to 49 FPS at 4K Low), the performance curve aligns with GPU-bound behavior, not CPU limitations.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the dataset?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 30, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is the only 4K configuration that reports a minimum frame time, alongside a maximum of 40 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Core i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881. It is 0.2% slower than the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (46971) and 0.3% slower than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (47022). Conversely, it is 0.5% faster than both the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (46654) and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 (46653).

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the central figure in this configuration’s performance story. With 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, it provides a memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. The card operates at a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz. These specifications, while respectable for its generation, place it firmly in the mid-range of the current GPU landscape, as evidenced by its 47th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

In Control, the GPU’s role is absolute. The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent pattern: increasing the resolution from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 at any given setting results in a significant FPS drop. For example, at High settings, the average FPS falls from 61 at 1080p to 46 at 1440p, and further to 31 at 4K. This scaling is a textbook indication of a GPU-bound scenario, where the graphics card is processing the maximum number of pixels it can handle. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game’s textures at these settings, but the raw compute throughput of the GP104 chip (6.463 TFLOPS FP32) is the limiting factor.

The GPU’s benchmark scores corroborate this. A Passmark G3D score of 13498 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1082 paint a picture of a card that was robust for its era but is now outclassed. Its nearest rivals in the database are professional or older workstation cards like the AMD FirePro W5000 and NVIDIA Quadro M2000M, which underscores its historical position rather than its current competitiveness. For a game like Control, which features demanding physics and visual effects, the GTX 1070 can produce playable frame rates at lower resolutions and settings, but it cannot sustain high framerates at higher fidelity presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core i7-13700K and GTX 1070 achieves a rank of 3083 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places the system in the bottom 17% of all tracked configurations. The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU’s 47th percentile standing, as the CPU’s 89th percentile score is among the highest available. This disparity creates a significant bottleneck where the CPU’s potential is largely untapped.

The data suggests that this combo is a mismatch in terms of gaming performance. The CPU is capable of feeding frames to a much more powerful GPU without breaking a sweat, but the GTX 1070 simply cannot deliver the raw throughput needed to utilize that headroom. In practical terms, this rank means that the vast majority of tested systems will outperform this setup in Control, especially at higher resolutions. While the CPU ensures minimum frame times are stable, the average FPS is capped by the GPU’s processing power. This is not a balanced pairing; it is a high-end CPU held back by a legacy graphics card, and the rank reflects that reality.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal experience hinges on balancing visual fidelity with frame rate. For a target of 60 FPS, the only viable option is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which yields an average of 97 FPS. This is the only preset that provides a significant margin above 60, ensuring smoother gameplay with headroom for demanding scenes.

For players who prefer higher image quality, 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides an average of 69 FPS, which is still playable and above the console-standard 60 FPS target. The minimum FPS for this setting is 58, which means occasional dips below 60 but no severe stuttering. At 2560x1440, the High preset drops to 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The best 1440p option for frame rate is Low, at 73 FPS, but this sacrifices most visual enhancements.

At 4K, the situation is challenging. The Low preset achieves 49 FPS, and Medium drops to 35 FPS. Given that the 4K Medium setting has a minimum FPS of 30, it is not recommended for a consistently smooth experience. The optimal recommendation is to play at 1920x1080 with Medium settings as a compromise between visual quality and performance. This configuration offers an average FPS of 69 with a minimum of 58, ensuring that the game remains fluid while still providing a richer visual presentation than the Low preset. For a competitive or high-refresh-rate experience, the Low preset at 1080p is the only option that approaches 100 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides a complete matrix of average FPS across three resolutions and four settings levels, with some configurations also reporting minimum and maximum values.

At 1920x1080, the system performs best. With Low settings, the average FPS is 97. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 69 FPS, with a minimum of 58 and a maximum of 79. The High preset yields an average of 61 FPS, and the Ultra preset brings the average down to 53 FPS. This progression shows a linear scaling of performance cost with each step up in quality.

At 2560x1440, the averages decrease. The Low preset delivers 73 FPS, which is still quite high. Medium settings produce an average of 52 FPS, with a minimum of 44 and a maximum of 60. The High preset drops to 46 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 40 FPS. The jump from 1080p to 1440p results in a roughly 24% decrease in FPS for the Low setting, illustrating the pixel count pressure on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes marginal. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, with an average of 49 FPS. The Medium preset averages 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40. High settings fall to 31 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 27 FPS. At this resolution, the GTX 1070’s limits are fully exposed, as even the lowest settings cannot maintain a stable 60 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It features a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with 30 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it demonstrates exceptional strength, scoring 30745 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2116 in single-core, with a Passmark multithread score of 45887. Its 89th percentile ranking places it among the top CPUs available.

However, in Control, the CPU’s role is minimal. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar FPS numbers across different resolutions, because the CPU would be the constant constraint. Instead, the FPS drops dramatically as resolution increases, which is a direct result of the GPU’s workload increasing. For instance, at Low settings, the FPS goes from 97 at 1080p to 49 at 4K. This halving of performance is purely a GPU limitation.

The CPU’s capability is so far ahead of the GPU that it never becomes a constraint. Even in the most CPU-intensive scenarios, the 13700K has ample headroom to process game logic and draw calls while waiting for the GPU to render frames. The benchmark scores for the CPU, such as the 3DMark 16-thread score of 10717, confirm its ability to handle heavy workloads, but this power is largely unused in this configuration. The CPU is ready for a more powerful GPU, but with the GTX 1070, it spends most of its time idle.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is a clear indicator of the system’s bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 97 at 1920x1080 to 73 at 2560x1440, and then to 49 at 3840x2160. This represents a 24.7% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a 49.5% decrease from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, with the jump to 4K being particularly punishing.

At High settings, the averages are 61 at 1080p, 46 at 1440p, and 31 at 4K. This shows a similar pattern: a 24.6% drop to 1440p and a 49.2% drop to 4K. At Ultra settings, the averages are 53 at 1080p, 40 at 1440p, and 27 at 4K, with a 49.1% drop at 4K.

This scaling pattern is a classic signature of a GPU-bound system. The percentage decrease in FPS closely mirrors the increase in pixel count. A 4K display has four times the pixels of a 1080p display, and while the FPS does not drop by a factor of four, the significant halving of performance at 4K indicates that the GPU is working at its absolute maximum capacity. The CPU’s performance, which remains constant regardless of resolution, is not a factor. This data conclusively shows that the GTX 1070 is the definitive limiting component, and any attempt to improve performance must involve a GPU upgrade rather than a CPU change.