Control

Control pairs a 16-core Intel Core i7-13700K with a 4 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, creating a stark contrast between a high-end 2022 CPU and an entry-level 2022 GPU. The measured results across three resolutions and four settings presets show a system that is consistently, heavily GPU-bound, with the CPU's substantial headroom never becoming the limiting factor. The data reveals that this combination is best suited for 1080p playable framerates rather than high-refresh or high-resolution experiences, and the 4 GB VRAM capacity appears to be the dominant constraint at higher settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is sharp and consistent, confirming that the GPU is the primary bottleneck across the board. At High settings, the average framerate falls from 54.6 FPS at 1920x1080 to 41.9 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 23%, and then plummets to 26.7 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 36% drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput and memory bandwidth as resolution increases, with the 4 GB frame buffer likely forcing the renderer to manage textures less efficiently at higher pixel counts.

The Low preset shows a similar trend but with a steeper initial decline. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 82.7 FPS, which drops to 65.9 FPS at 1440p (a 20% reduction) and then to 39.9 FPS at 4K (a 39% reduction from 1440p). The fact that the 4K-to-1080p ratio for High is 26.7/54.6 (0.49) and for Low is 39.9/82.7 (0.48) suggests that the resolution scaling penalty is nearly identical regardless of settings, further indicating that the GPU's raw fillrate and memory subsystem are the limiting factors, not the CPU or the specific quality level.

What is more revealing is the transition from Medium to Ultra at 4K, where the framerate barely moves: 31 FPS at Medium, 26.7 FPS at High, and 26.1 FPS at Ultra. This plateau at the bottom end suggests that once the renderer is forced to allocate data beyond the 4 GB VRAM capacity or the 128-bit memory bus, additional quality settings yield diminishing returns. The data implies that the RTX 3050 4 GB is not designed for 4K gaming in Control, and any attempt to run at that resolution will result in sub-30 FPS performance regardless of how much the user compromises on visual quality.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, built on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39000 and a single-core score of 5505, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. However, in Control, none of this raw compute power appears to be exercised, as the framerates are consistently low enough that the GPU is clearly the limiting component.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least amount of work to do, the system reaches 82.7 FPS. This is the only measured scenario where the CPU might begin to approach a relevant role, yet even here, the framerate is far below what the 13700K is capable of driving in less GPU-bound titles. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 10717 and the max-thread score of 12412 suggest that the CPU has immense multi-threaded headroom, but Control's engine does not appear to leverage it to push framerates higher in this configuration.

The nearest rival comparisons for the CPU show a marginal delta of -0.1% versus the Core i7-13700KF and +0.3% versus the AMD EPYC 4364P, indicating that the 13700K is essentially at parity with its closest competitors. For this game, however, that parity is irrelevant because the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU's dual-channel memory support and DDR4/DDR5 compatibility are features that could affect system-level performance, but the measured FPS data does not show any scenario where a faster CPU would yield a meaningful framerate increase.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the only preset that delivers a consistently smooth experience is Low at 1080p, which averages 82.7 FPS. This is the sweet spot for this combination, providing a framerate that is more than adequate for a fast-paced action-adventure title. Medium at 1080p drops to 57.3 FPS, which is still playable but represents a significant 31% reduction from Low for what is likely a modest visual improvement.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more precarious. Low settings yield 65.9 FPS, which is acceptable, but Medium drops to 48.1 FPS, and High falls to 41.9 FPS. The data suggests that for a 1440p display, users should stick to Low or Medium presets, as the jump from Low to Medium costs 17.8 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs only 6.2 FPS, indicating that High is not worth the visual gain at this resolution.

The 4K resolution is not viable for any preset, with even Low settings only reaching 39.9 FPS, which is below the 40 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for a playable experience. Ultra at 4K is the worst performer at 26.1 FPS, and the incremental difference between Medium, High, and Ultra at this resolution (31, 26.7, and 26.1 FPS) suggests that users should avoid Ultra entirely, as it offers no playable advantage over Medium. The recommendation is clear: for the best experience, run at 1080p with Low settings, or accept 1440p Low as a compromise for higher resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Core i7-13700K and the RTX 3050 4 GB ranks 1469 out of 1636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the bottom 10% of all configurations. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, given that the CPU is in the top 7% of all processors. The rank of 1469 out of 1636 indicates that the vast majority of other tested systems outperform this one, which is expected for a GPU that sits at the 50th percentile of all GPUs.

The disparity between the CPU's percentile (93) and the GPU's percentile (50) highlights a significant imbalance in this pairing. The data implies that the GPU is holding the system back to such a degree that the CPU's capabilities are effectively wasted in this game. If the goal is to play Control at higher settings or resolutions, this combo is likely to be outperformed by systems with a weaker CPU but a stronger GPU, as the framerate is dictated almost entirely by the graphics card.

For context, the CPU's closest rivals all have average benchmark scores within 0.5% of the 13700K, but the ranking in this game is not influenced by those CPU scores. Instead, the combo rank is a reflection of the GPU's limitations, and the data suggests that users with this pairing should prioritize upgrading the graphics card over any other component to improve their Control experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA107 chip, featuring 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. It has a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1740 MHz, with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus providing 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 4 GB capacity is the standout limitation, as modern games like Control often require more than 4 GB at higher settings and resolutions.

The GPU's pixel rate of 55.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 111.4 GTexel/s are modest figures that align with its entry-level positioning. In Control, the data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution, but the VRAM capacity appears to cause a hard ceiling at 4K, where even Low settings cannot break 40 FPS. The 12 Gbps effective memory speed on a 128-bit bus yields the 192.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is likely insufficient for the data demands of 4K textures, leading to the severe framerate penalties observed.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 7.127 TFLOPS is adequate for 1080p gaming, but the measured framerates at 1080p Ultra (45.5 FPS) and 1080p High (54.6 FPS) show that it is not capable of maintaining high refresh rates. The 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores are present for ray tracing and DLSS, but the data does not include any measurements for those features, and given the low base framerates, enabling them would likely result in unplayable performance. The GPU's 90 W TDP and 250 W suggested PSU indicate a power-efficient design, but efficiency does not translate to high performance in this demanding title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 82.7 FPS, which is the highest measured framerate across all configurations. Medium settings drop to 57.3 FPS, High falls to 54.6 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 45.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 25.4 FPS, indicating that the Low preset is the most efficient use of the GPU's resources at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the framerates decline significantly. Low settings average 65.9 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium drops to 48.1 FPS, High to 41.9 FPS, and Ultra to 37.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 28.7 FPS, showing that the GPU struggles to maintain playable framerates at higher quality levels. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 20% of the framerate at Low settings, but the cost increases to about 23% at High and 18% at Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the system is effectively unplayable. Low settings average 39.9 FPS, Medium 31 FPS, High 26.7 FPS, and Ultra 26.1 FPS. The framerate drop from 1440p to 4K is severe, with a 39% reduction at Low and a 36% reduction at High. The data shows that the Ultra preset at 4K offers only 0.6 FPS more than High, which is within the margin of error and indicates that the GPU has hit a hard performance wall. Across all resolutions, the Low preset consistently offers the highest framerate, and the Ultra preset consistently offers the lowest, with the gap widening as resolution increases.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this system in Control?

A: The best measured result is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which achieves an average of 82.7 FPS. This is the only configuration that exceeds 80 FPS, and it offers the smoothest experience.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in Control?

A: No, the data shows that even at Low settings, 3840x2160 only reaches an average of 39.9 FPS. At High and Ultra settings, the framerate drops to 26.7 FPS and 26.1 FPS, respectively, which are below playable thresholds.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 47282, which is -0.1% compared to the Core i7-13700KF (47334), +0.3% versus the AMD EPYC 4364P (47131), and +0.4% versus the Intel Core i9-12900F (47081).

Q: Why does the framerate barely change between High and Ultra at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, High averages 26.7 FPS and Ultra averages 26.1 FPS, a difference of only 0.6 FPS. This suggests the GPU's 4 GB VRAM and 192.0 GB/s bandwidth are saturated, preventing any additional visual settings from being processed effectively.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a memory clock of 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) and a bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 1469 out of 1636 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the bottom 10% of all systems tested. This low rank is due to the GPU's limitations, as the CPU is in the 93rd percentile of all processors.