Control

The benchmark data for Control with the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti reveals a configuration that scales predictably across resolutions, with the GPU acting as the primary constraint at higher settings. This pairing delivers a robust experience, though the frame rate behavior at 4K highlights the demands of the game’s rendering engine. Below is a detailed breakdown of how this combo performs, based exclusively on the measured results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent decline as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, which is typical for a graphically intensive title like Control. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces an average of 144.8 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops the average to 107.5 FPS, a reduction of approximately 26% from the 1080p figure. At 3840x2160, the average falls further to 70.6 FPS, which is about 51% lower than the 1080p result. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting component as pixel count rises, with the CPU having sufficient headroom to maintain frame delivery at lower resolutions.

The behavior across settings at each resolution reinforces this conclusion. At 4K, the spread between Low (113 FPS) and Ultra (66 FPS) is 47 FPS, showing that the RTX 4070 Ti's workload scales heavily with graphical fidelity. At 1440p, the Low setting hits 171.6 FPS, while Ultra drops to 96.3 FPS, a gap of 75.3 FPS. At 1080p, Low reaches 227.7 FPS, and Ultra stays at 123.3 FPS, a difference of 104.4 FPS. The widening gap at lower resolutions suggests that the CPU begins to play a more significant role in frame pacing, but the GPU still handles the bulk of the rendering load, as evidenced by the fact that even at 1080p Ultra, the frame rate does not exceed the High setting result by a large margin.

The data also shows that the jump from 1440p to 4K at High settings incurs a 36.9 FPS loss, which is a steeper percentage drop (around 34%) than the transition from 1080p to 1440p (37.3 FPS, or about 26%). This nonlinear scaling is a hallmark of GPU-bound scenarios where memory bandwidth and shader throughput become strained at higher resolutions. The RTX 4070 Ti’s 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 performance are adequate for 1440p High, but the 4K Ultra result of 66 FPS suggests that only modest headroom remains for future settings increases.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores indicate strong multi-threaded and single-threaded capabilities: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 39000, single-core reaches 5505, and Geekbench multi-core scores 17731 with single-core at 2850. These figures place the CPU in the 93rd percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 47282.

In Control, the CPU’s role appears secondary to the GPU, but it is not negligible. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 227.7 FPS, a figure that would strain many processors, yet the i7-13700K’s single-thread performance (1136 in 3DMark single-thread, 4333 in PassMark single-thread) ensures that frame generation is not bottlenecked. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2262 and 4-thread score of 4469 suggest that the game benefits from a few high-frequency cores rather than massive parallelism, which aligns with Control’s action-adventure gameplay and physics simulation.

The CPU’s 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache likely help with asset streaming and draw call processing, though the measured data does not isolate these effects. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz is critical for maintaining high average FPS at 1080p, where the GPU can render frames quickly enough to expose CPU limitations. The fact that 1080p Low (227.7 FPS) is only marginally higher than 1080p Medium (161.4 FPS) and High (144.8 FPS) suggests that the CPU can keep up with the GPU’s output, but the GPU’s workload still dominates the frame time budget. Compared to the nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13700KF, which has an average score of 47334, the i7-13700K is effectively tied at a -0.1% delta, indicating that any performance difference in Control would be imperceptible.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node and features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 2610 MHz, and the FP32 throughput is 40.09 TFLOPS. The GPU has 7680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. These specifications make it a capable card for 1440p gaming, and the data confirms this: at 1440p High, the average FPS is 107.5, which is smooth for most players.

However, the GPU’s limitations become apparent at 4K. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS falls to 66, which is playable but not ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. The 4K Low result of 113 FPS shows that the GPU can handle the resolution when settings are reduced, but the 47 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 4K indicates that the card’s 12 GB VRAM and 192-bit bus are stressed by higher texture and effect quality. The memory clock is listed as 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective, which translates to a theoretical peak, but the measured performance suggests real-world bandwidth is a limiting factor at 4K Ultra.

The GPU’s benchmark scores further contextualize its role. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 5024, and PassMark G3D is 31624, placing it in the 85th percentile against all GPUs. The nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (avgScore 45152, deltaPct -0.6%) and Intel Arc A730M (avgScore 45592, deltaPct -1.5%), which are close in average score but not directly comparable in desktop performance. The RTX 4070 Ti’s 40.09 TFLOPS and 626.4 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient for 1440p High, but the 4K Ultra result shows that the card is not a 4K-class solution for Control, which aligns with its position as a high-end 1440p GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p High settings?

A: The combo achieves an average of 144.8 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 66, which is playable but indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution and quality level.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for Control?

A: The data shows the GPU is the primary constraint, especially at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the FPS reaches 227.7, but at 4K Ultra it falls to 66, demonstrating that the RTX 4070 Ti’s rendering workload scales with resolution more than the CPU’s processing power.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low setting averages 171.6 FPS, while Ultra averages 96.3 FPS, a difference of 75.3 FPS that highlights the impact of graphical settings on GPU load.

Q: How does the i7-13700K compare to its closest rival in benchmarks?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 47282, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i7-13700KF (47334), indicating essentially identical performance in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 190th out of 1636 tested combinations for Control, placing it in the top 12% of all configs.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 190th out of 1636 tested configurations for Control, which places it in the upper tier of systems. This ranking reflects the balance between the i7-13700K’s strong CPU performance (93rd percentile) and the RTX 4070 Ti’s capable GPU performance (85th percentile). The rank is likely driven by the GPU’s limitations at 4K Ultra, where the 66 FPS average is respectable but not exceptional compared to higher-tier cards.

In the context of the measured FPS data, the ranking makes sense. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 144.8 FPS, which is competitive, but at 4K Ultra, the 66 FPS result is modest. The i7-13700K’s CPU scores (e.g., Cinebench R23 multi-core 39000) are near the top for gaming processors, but Control does not appear to be CPU-bound in this configuration, as evidenced by the smooth scaling from 1080p to 4K. The GPU’s 12 GB VRAM and 192-bit bus are adequate for 1440p, but the 4K Ultra result suggests that configurations with more powerful GPUs would rank higher. The 190th position out of 1636 indicates that while this combo is strong, it is not at the absolute frontier for Control, likely due to the GPU’s mid-range memory interface and bandwidth constraints. For players targeting 1440p High or 4K Medium, this setup offers a compelling experience, but for 4K Ultra enthusiasts, higher-tier GPUs would be necessary to improve the ranking.