Control

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 produces a clear performance profile in Control. The measured data shows a system that handles 1080p very well, offers a single playable option at 1440p, and cannot reach a consistent 60 FPS at 4K. The following analysis breaks down the recorded FPS numbers, compares the combo against other tested hardware, and explains which component is doing the heavy lifting at each resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database records FPS results at three resolutions and four quality presets. The most complete data comes from the Medium preset, which includes average, minimum, and maximum FPS. Other presets only list average FPS.

At 1920x1080, the combo starts strong. On Low settings, the average FPS is 107. This is the highest average recorded for the entire test suite. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 76 FPS, with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS. The High preset averages 68 FPS. At Ultra, the average falls to 59 FPS, just one frame below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The 1080p results show that the system has a wide operating range, from a very comfortable 107 FPS at Low to a near-miss 59 FPS at Ultra.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low settings still produce a solid 81 FPS average. Medium averages 58 FPS, with recorded minimum and maximum of 49 FPS and 66 FPS respectively. High falls to 51 FPS. Ultra drops further to 45 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 23 FPS, which is a substantial jump. High and Ultra remain above 40 FPS, but neither reaches the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the numbers become marginal. Low settings average 55 FPS. Medium averages 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS. High averages 35 FPS. Ultra averages exactly 30 FPS. No 4K preset reaches 60 FPS. Even the lowest quality setting falls 5 FPS short of the playable threshold. The scaling from Low to Medium at 4K is 16 FPS, and from Medium to High it is 4 FPS.

The measured data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in resolution costs a significant number of frames. The delta between 1080p Low and 1440p Low is 26 FPS. Between 1440p Low and 4K Low, the delta is again 26 FPS. This linear degradation suggests the GPU is the primary limiter as resolution increases.

For the Medium preset, which is the only one with full min/max data, the frame time consistency varies by resolution. At 1080p, the range between minimum and maximum is 23 FPS. At 1440p, that range narrows to 17 FPS. At 4K, it narrows further to 12 FPS. Tighter ranges at higher resolutions indicate the system is more consistently bottlenecked rather than experiencing intermittent spikes.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. The recorded average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 68, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by 8 frames. The database's verdict for 1080p lists High, Low, and Medium as playable settings.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: Low is the only playable setting at 1440p. It averages 81 FPS. Medium averages 58 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold, and High and Ultra average 51 FPS and 45 FPS respectively.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. The verdict for 3840x2160 lists no playable settings. The best average FPS at 4K is 55 on Low, which is 5 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 39 FPS, High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to other GPUs in the database?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290 and sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals by score include the GTX 580, which is effectively identical at a 0% delta, and the Radeon 680M at a 0.1% delta. The RTX 3050 OEM is 0.6% slower, and the Radeon RX 7600 is 0.8% faster.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 7 265K compare to other CPUs?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265K has an average benchmark score of 70879 and sits in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival is the Intel Xeon 6511P, which is 0.2% faster. The Xeon Platinum 8270 is 0.7% faster, while the Core i7-14700KF is 1% slower and the Ryzen 7 9700F is 1.3% slower.

Q: What happens to FPS when moving from Medium to Ultra at 1080p?

A: The average drops from 76 FPS to 59 FPS, a loss of 17 FPS. This pushes the system below the 60 FPS playable threshold, meaning Ultra at 1080p is not considered playable according to the database's criteria.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2950th out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the lower portion of the database, roughly in the 21st percentile of tested systems. The ranking reflects the GPU's age and performance tier more than the CPU's capabilities.

A rank of 2950 out of 3720 means that roughly 770 tested combos perform worse, and roughly 2950 perform better. This is a bottom-quartile result for this specific game. The cause is clear from the individual component data. The CPU is in the 94th percentile of all processors, while the GPU is in the 58th percentile. The pairing is heavily imbalanced, with the GPU representing the limiting factor.

The combo rank in Control specifically is driven by the game's demands. Control is an action-adventure title that responds strongly to GPU throughput, especially at higher resolutions. The RTX 2060's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus provide 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is modest by current standards. The measured FPS data confirms that the system scales poorly as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario.

For context, the CPU alone would rank near the top of any performance chart. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35850 and single-core score of 2020 are strong figures. The PassMark multi-thread score of 58594 and single-thread score of 4928 reinforce this. But in Control, the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 14111 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1242 determine the outcome. The GPU's 3DMark result is low enough to hold the entire combo back.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide a sense of what other hardware would produce similar results. These alternatives are based on average benchmark scores, not direct game tests, but they indicate comparable performance tiers.

For the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, the closest matches are the Intel Xeon 6511P, which scores 71051 and sits 0.2% higher, and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270, which scores 71370 and sits 0.7% higher. On the slower side, the Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70163, 1% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 69996, 1.3% lower. Any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Control, meaning the game's frame rate would be unchanged if the RTX 2060 remained the same.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, the nearest rivals are remarkably close in score. The GTX 580 matches at 15283, a 0% delta. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, 0.1% lower. The RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, 0.6% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171, 0.8% lower. These four GPUs bracket the RTX 2060 within a 0.8% range. In practical terms, swapping the RTX 2060 for any of these would yield nearly identical FPS in Control.

The practical takeaway is that the system's performance tier is defined by the GPU. A builder with a Core i7-14700KF instead of the Core Ultra 7 265K would see no meaningful difference in Control, because the game is not CPU-limited at these settings. Conversely, a builder with an RX 7600 instead of the RTX 2060 would also see no meaningful difference, because the two GPUs are statistically tied in average benchmark score.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals which component matters more for Control at each resolution. The evidence points to a strongly GPU-bound system across all tested settings.

At 1920x1080, the system's frame rate is high enough that the CPU could theoretically matter, but the data suggests otherwise. The CPU has a PassMark single-thread score of 4928 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2020, placing it in the 94th percentile. A processor of this caliber can feed frames far faster than the RTX 2060 can render them. The 1080p results show a drop from 107 FPS at Low to 59 FPS at Ultra, a 48 FPS swing that is entirely attributable to GPU workload. The CPU's role at 1080p is to stay out of the way, and it does.

At 2560x1440, the GPU's dominance becomes more pronounced. The average FPS drops from 81 at Low to 45 at Ultra, a 36 FPS swing. The CPU is even further from being a bottleneck at this resolution, as the render workload grows and the GPU becomes the sole limiter. The Medium preset's minimum of 49 FPS and maximum of 66 FPS show that even frame spikes remain well below the CPU's capability ceiling.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unquestionably the limiting factor. The best average is 55 FPS at Low, and Ultra averages exactly 30 FPS. The CPU's performance is irrelevant at this resolution because the RTX 2060 cannot produce enough frames to stress it. The scaling between 1440p Low and 4K Low is a 26 FPS drop, and between 1080p Low and 4K Low it is a 52 FPS drop. This halving of performance from 1080p to 4K is a classic GPU-bound signature.

The preset scaling also tells the story. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 48 FPS. At 1440p, it is 36 FPS. At 4K, it is 25 FPS. The diminishing impact of quality settings at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is saturated, leaving less headroom for quality adjustments to matter. The CPU's benchmark scores, while excellent, do not translate into higher FPS in Control because the game's frame rate is dictated by the GPU's fill rate and shading throughput.

The RTX 2060's specifications support this analysis. Its 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs produce a pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s. Its FP32 throughput is 6.451 TFLOPS. These figures are modest for a modern game at high resolutions. The GPU's 6 GB memory capacity also becomes a factor at 4K, where texture data can exceed the available VRAM.

The Verdict

The database's verdict for this combo is straightforward. At 1920x1080, the system can run Control with playable settings. High is the best playable preset, averaging 68 FPS. Low averages 107 FPS, and Medium averages 76 FPS. Ultra falls just short at 59 FPS, so it is not listed as playable. For a smooth 1080p experience, High settings are the recommended ceiling.

At 2560x1440, Low is the only playable setting, averaging 81 FPS. Medium averages 58 FPS, which misses the 60 FPS threshold by 2 frames. High and Ultra are not viable for 60 FPS gameplay, averaging 51 FPS and 45 FPS respectively. Players with a 1440p monitor should use Low settings to maintain fluid motion.

At 3840x2160, no settings are playable. The best result is 55 FPS at Low, which falls 5 FPS short of the threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra produce 39, 35, and 30 FPS respectively. The RTX 2060 does not have enough throughput for 4K in Control, regardless of quality settings.

The answer to whether this PC can run Control is conditional. At 1080p, yes, with High settings delivering 68 FPS. At 1440p, yes, but only on Low settings. At 4K, no. The combo's rank of 2950 out of 3720 reflects this mixed result. The Core Ultra 7 265K is a high-end processor, but the RTX 2060 anchors the system to mid-range performance. For Control specifically, the GPU is the deciding factor, and its 58th percentile standing limits the experience to 1080p and low-end 1440p.