Control

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers an exceptionally strong performance profile in Control, with the data showing that this combination is capable of running the game at maximum settings across all tested resolutions while maintaining frame rates well above the 60 FPS playability threshold. At 4K, the combo still achieves an average of 76 FPS on Ultra settings, which is a remarkable result for a demanding action-adventure title, indicating that the RTX 4090’s raw compute power dominates the rendering pipeline even when paired with a mid-range desktop processor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the combo produces its highest frame rates, with an average of 272 FPS on Low settings, 194 FPS on Medium, 172 FPS on High, and 149 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1080p includes the only complete min/max dataset in the entire measurement set, showing a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS, which indicates a tight frame time distribution with no significant stuttering. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 123 FPS, demonstrating that the preset choice has a substantial impact on performance even at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop but remain extremely high: Low delivers 206 FPS, Medium 146 FPS, High 130 FPS, and Ultra 113 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum of 124 FPS and a maximum of 168 FPS, which represents an 18 FPS drop in the minimum compared to the 1080p Medium result. The resolution scaling from 1080p to 1440p reduces performance by roughly 24-25% across all presets, which is consistent with the increased pixel count demanding more from the GPU’s shading units and memory bandwidth.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates remain highly playable but show the expected further decline: Low averages 139 FPS, Medium 99 FPS, High 88 FPS, and Ultra 76 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K provides the only min/max data for this resolution, with 84 FPS minimum and 114 FPS maximum. The step from 1440p to 4K results in a 32-33% performance reduction across presets, which is a larger relative drop than the 1080p-to-1440p transition, reflecting the exponential increase in pixel workload at 4K. Notably, the difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 63 FPS, a narrower absolute gap than at 1080p (123 FPS) but a larger relative gap (83% increase from Ultra to Low), indicating that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data indicates that the RTX 4090 is the dominant performance driver in this pairing, particularly at higher resolutions and preset levels. The scaling between resolutions shows a consistent pattern: when moving from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS across all presets drops by approximately 24-25%, and from 1440p to 4K, the drop is 32-33%. This progressive degradation with resolution is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU’s role in frame generation diminishes as the pixel workload increases.

At 1080p, the CPU’s influence becomes more apparent. The jump from Low (272 FPS) to Ultra (149 FPS) represents a 45% reduction in performance, which is driven primarily by the increased graphics settings demanding more from the GPU, but the extremely high frame rates at Low suggest that the Core Ultra 5 225 is capable of feeding the RTX 4090 with enough draw calls to exceed 270 FPS. The 10-core, 10-thread configuration with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz provides sufficient single-thread performance for Control’s engine, as evidenced by the 1080p Low result approaching the practical limits of many high-refresh displays.

At 4K, the GPU’s dominance is absolute. The difference between Low (139 FPS) and Ultra (76 FPS) is 63 FPS, but the absolute frame rates are still high enough that the CPU is never the bottleneck. The RTX 4090’s 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensure that texture streaming and memory-intensive effects at Ultra settings do not cause frame drops, as the minimum FPS at 4K Medium (84 FPS) remains well above the 60 FPS threshold. The data suggests that players seeking maximum visual fidelity at 4K will be limited by the GPU’s rendering capabilities, not the CPU’s processing throughput.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a rank of 121 out of 3,720 tested combos in Control. This places it in the top 3.3% of all configurations tested, which is a strong result given that the CPU is not a flagship part. The RTX 4090’s percentileVsAllGpus score of 88 indicates that it outperforms the vast majority of GPUs in the database, and this is the primary driver of the combo’s high ranking. The CPU’s percentileVsAllCpus score of 85 is also respectable, but the GPU’s contribution to the overall rank is clearly more significant.

The combo’s rank of 121 suggests that there are 120 other tested combinations that achieve higher average FPS in Control, most likely featuring top-tier CPUs like the Core i9 or Ryzen 9 series paired with the RTX 4090. However, the performance gap between this combo and those higher-ranked configurations is likely small in practical terms, as the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (76 FPS) is already well above the playability threshold. The data indicates that the Core Ultra 5 225 does not meaningfully hold back the RTX 4090 in this game, as the GPU-bound nature of Control at higher resolutions mitigates the CPU’s impact on overall performance.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearestRivals data for the CPU, the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 performs nearly identically to several other processors in synthetic benchmarks, which translates to similar real-world performance in Control. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F has an average score of 36,945 with a 0% deltaPct, making it a direct performance equivalent. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37,018 with a -0.2% deltaPct, meaning it is slightly slower by a negligible margin. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37,093 with a -0.4% deltaPct, and the Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37,112 with a -0.5% deltaPct. All four rivals are within 0.5% of the Core Ultra 5 225’s average benchmark score, so any of them paired with an RTX 4090 would produce frame rates within a few FPS of the measured results in this page.

For the GPU, the nearestRivals list is more unusual, as it includes professional and workstation cards rather than gaming-focused alternatives. The Intel Arc Pro A60 has an average score of 60,326 with a 0% deltaPct, making it a statistical match to the RTX 4090’s 60,347 average, but this is misleading in a gaming context. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60,140 with a 0.3% deltaPct, and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61,896 with a -2.5% deltaPct, meaning it is slightly faster in synthetic benchmarks. The AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58,657 with a 2.9% deltaPct, indicating it is about 3% slower. These rival GPUs are not typical gaming cards, so in practice, the RTX 4090’s gaming performance in Control is unlikely to be replicated by these alternatives, but the synthetic benchmark scores suggest a similar level of raw compute capability.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best settings that remain at or above 60 FPS are Ultra, which delivers an average of 149 FPS. This is the most demanding preset available, and the combo achieves nearly 2.5 times the playability threshold, so there is no need to compromise on visual quality. The minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 165, and while Ultra does not have a reported minimum, the average of 149 FPS strongly suggests that dips below 60 FPS are virtually impossible.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings are also the best choice, with an average of 113 FPS. This is still nearly double the 60 FPS threshold, and the Medium preset’s minimum of 124 FPS indicates that even the most demanding scenes at Ultra will not cause noticeable stuttering. The 1440p Ultra result represents a 24% reduction from the 1080p Ultra average, but the absolute performance remains excellent for high-refresh-rate gaming.

At 3840x2160, Ultra settings remain playable with an average of 76 FPS. This is the only resolution where the combo drops below 100 FPS at Ultra, but 76 FPS is still comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K Medium preset shows a minimum of 84 FPS, which suggests that Ultra settings will occasionally dip lower, but the average of 76 FPS indicates that the game remains smooth throughout. Players seeking a more consistent frame rate at 4K could drop to High settings (88 FPS average), but the data shows that Ultra is viable for most gameplay scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the measured data shows an average of 76 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the highest frame rate this combo achieves in Control?

A: The highest measured average is 272 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 5 225 compare to its nearest CPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core Ultra 5 225 has an average benchmark score of 36,938, which is within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, and Intel Core i9-12900T.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 the main performance driver in this pairing?

A: Yes, the resolution scaling data shows a 24-25% FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 32-33% drop from 1440p to 4K, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo in Control?

A: The lowest recorded minimum is 84 FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings, while the 2560x1440 Medium preset shows a minimum of 124 FPS and the 1920x1080 Medium preset shows a minimum of 165 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Control?

A: This combo ranks 121st out of 3,720 tested combinations, placing it in the top 3.3% of all configurations.