Control

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the Intel Arc B570 presents a specific performance profile for Control, a game that scales significantly across resolutions and settings. The measured data shows that this combination is capable of smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p with adjusted presets, but it struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K. The following analysis breaks down the benchmark results, component roles, and practical settings for this hardware pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data set provides average frame rates for every combination of resolution and preset, with minimum and maximum values available for the Medium settings at each resolution. A clear pattern emerges: performance drops consistently as resolution increases, and the gap between Low and Ultra presets widens at higher resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. The Low preset achieves an average of 101 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded across all tests. Moving to Medium yields 71 FPS average, with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS. The High preset drops to 63 FPS average, still above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The Ultra preset falls to 55 FPS average, which is below the threshold but not by a large margin.

At 2560x1440, performance takes a noticeable step down. The Low preset averages 76 FPS, remaining playable. Medium drops to 54 FPS average, with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 62 FPS. High averages 48 FPS, and Ultra falls to 42 FPS. None of the presets above Low reach the 60 FPS target, and the minimum frame rates suggest occasional dips that would be noticeable during intense scenes.

At 3840x2160, the results are consistently below playable levels. Low averages 51 FPS, Medium averages 36 FPS with a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 42 FPS, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS. The data shows that this hardware cannot sustain 60 FPS at 4K under any preset, with even the lowest settings falling short by 9 FPS on average.

The frame rate scaling between presets is consistent. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 46 FPS (101 vs 55). At 1440p, that gap narrows to 34 FPS (76 vs 42). At 4K, the gap is 23 FPS (51 vs 28). This indicates that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor as resolution rises, compressing the performance range between presets.

Best Settings per Resolution

The verdict data confirms that the playable threshold is 60 FPS, and the best settings are defined as the most demanding preset that stays at or above this mark.

At 1920x1080, the High preset is the best choice, delivering 63 FPS average. This is the most visually demanding setting that remains playable. Medium also clears the threshold at 71 FPS, but High offers better visual fidelity without sacrificing the 60 FPS target. Ultra falls short at 55 FPS, so it is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only playable option, averaging 76 FPS. Medium drops to 54 FPS, which is below the threshold. The data indicates that users must accept the lowest visual settings to achieve smooth performance at this resolution. The 76 FPS average provides some headroom, but the lack of playable higher presets limits visual quality.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The best result is Low at 51 FPS, which is still below the playable threshold. The verdict lists no playable settings for this resolution, meaning users would need to reduce resolution or accept sub-60 FPS performance.

CPU and GPU Roles

Examining the scaling between resolutions and presets reveals which component limits performance in Control. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a high-end processor with a 20-core, 20-thread configuration, boosting to 5.50 GHz. The Intel Arc B570 is a mid-range GPU with 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 2304 shading units. The data suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The critical observation is the frame rate drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p and then to 4K. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 101 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 76 FPS. At 4K Low, it falls to 51 FPS. This consistent decline aligns with GPU workload scaling, as pixel count increases by roughly 78% from 1080p to 1440p and another 125% from 1440p to 4K. The CPU's role diminishes as resolution rises because the GPU takes longer to render each frame.

The preset scaling also points to GPU dominance. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 46 FPS, which is a 45% drop. At 4K, the difference is 23 FPS, a 45% drop as well, but from a much lower baseline. The fact that even the Low preset at 4K cannot reach 60 FPS indicates that the GPU lacks the raw throughput for 4K rendering in this title. The Arc B570's 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are insufficient for 4K at playable frame rates.

The CPU's capability is evident in the 1080p results, where the processor can feed the GPU enough data to reach 101 FPS at Low settings. The Core Ultra 7 265K's strong single-thread performance, reflected in a Geekbench single-core score of 2713 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2020, ensures that CPU-bound scenarios at lower resolutions do not become a limiting factor. However, as resolution increases, the GPU's pixel processing capability becomes the deciding factor, and the data shows that the Arc B570 cannot keep up beyond 1080p High or 1440p Low.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 1080p with High settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 63 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the best playable preset at this resolution.

Q: What is the maximum playable preset at 1440p?

A: The Low preset is the only playable option at 2560x1440, averaging 76 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Does this PC support 4K gaming in Control?

A: No. At 3840x2160, even the Low preset averages only 51 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The verdict lists no playable settings for this resolution.

Q: How much performance is lost between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The average FPS drops from 101 at Low to 55 at Ultra, a difference of 46 FPS. This represents a 45% reduction in frame rate when using the highest preset.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1080p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 61 FPS, with a maximum of 82 FPS. The average is 71 FPS, so the minimum stays above the playable threshold.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: The GPU dominates performance at higher resolutions, as shown by the significant frame rate drops from 1080p to 1440p and 4K. The CPU is sufficient for 1080p, but the Arc B570 limits performance at 1440p and above.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K provide context for CPU performance. The Intel Xeon 6511P has an average score of 71051, which is 0.2% lower than the Core Ultra 7 265K's average of 70879. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 scores 71370, 0.7% higher. The Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70163, which is 1% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 69996, 1.3% lower. These processors would behave nearly identically in Control, with performance differences well within 2%.

For the GPU, the Intel Arc B570's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile with a score of 20534, just 0.1% lower. The Intel Arc A750 scores 20582, 0.1% higher, making it a direct equivalent. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20480, 0.4% lower, and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 20662, 0.5% higher. All of these GPUs would deliver similar frame rates in Control, with differences of less than 1% in aggregate benchmarks.

When considering this combo, users with an Intel Core i7-14700KF or AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with an Arc B570 would see essentially the same results. Similarly, swapping the Arc B570 for an Arc A750 would produce nearly identical performance, as the aggregate scores differ by only 0.1%. The RTX 3070 Mobile, despite being a laptop part, also falls within the same performance envelope.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control, but the playable configurations are limited. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 63 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset runs at 71 FPS, and Low runs at 101 FPS. Users can enjoy the game at 1080p with solid performance across three presets.

At 2560x1440, only the Low preset is playable, averaging 76 FPS. This provides smooth gameplay but requires significant visual compromises. The Medium preset at 54 FPS and High at 48 FPS are both below the threshold, so users must choose between resolution and visual quality.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The best case is Low at 51 FPS, which is still 9 FPS short of the playable threshold. The verdict confirms that this resolution is not viable for this hardware combination.

In summary, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K + Intel Arc B570 combo is a capable 1080p machine for Control, offering 63 FPS at High settings. It can handle 1440p only at Low settings, and 4K is not playable. Users prioritizing higher resolutions would need more powerful GPU hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K + Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2995 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the lower portion of the database, at roughly the 80th percentile from the bottom. The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions, despite the strong CPU performance.

The CPU itself ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, indicating that the processor is not the limiting factor. The GPU ranks in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, which is more modest. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a mid-range GPU results in a system that excels at CPU-bound tasks but falls short in GPU-intensive scenarios like 4K gaming.

This ranking suggests that users with this combo would see significant improvements by upgrading the GPU, while the CPU would remain relevant for several generations. The data indicates that the Core Ultra 7 265K has ample headroom for more powerful graphics cards, as its benchmark scores are far above what the Arc B570 can utilize in Control at higher resolutions.