Control

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a robust performance profile in Control, with benchmark data showing playable frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings. The combination of the 20-core Arrow Lake processor and the Ada Lovelace GPU produces a system that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold in the majority of configurations, with only the most demanding 4K Ultra preset falling short. The measured data indicates a strong scaling pattern where resolution reductions yield disproportionately large frame rate gains, suggesting a balanced system where both components contribute meaningfully to overall performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4070 SUPER maintains playable performance through most of the settings ladder. The Low preset delivers an average of 110.4 FPS, representing the highest frame rate at this resolution. Moving up the quality tiers, Medium runs at 76.9 FPS, while High achieves 70.9 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 57.5 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is substantial, with Ultra running 47.8% slower than Low, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at this resolution when maximum quality settings are enabled.

The 2560x1440 results show a significant performance uplift across all settings compared to 4K. Low settings produce an average of 162.9 FPS, while Medium reaches 118.8 FPS and High hits 105.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p achieves 88.1 FPS, which is 53.2% higher than the same settings at 4K. This resolution demonstrates that the system has ample headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors, with even the most demanding preset clearing the 60 FPS threshold by a comfortable margin.

At 1920x1080, the system exhibits exceptional performance that approaches the limits of what the benchmark measures. Low settings reach 216.3 FPS, while Medium runs at 152 FPS and High achieves 136.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p delivers 119.5 FPS, which represents the highest Ultra preset performance across all resolutions. The scaling from 1440p to 1080p is notable, with Ultra improving by 35.6% and Low improving by 32.8%, suggesting that the CPU begins to play a more significant role at lower resolutions where the GPU has more headroom.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that remains at or above 60 FPS is High, which averages 70.9 FPS. This gives players a 10.9 FPS buffer above the playability threshold, allowing for occasional dips without dropping below 60 FPS. The Medium preset runs at 76.9 FPS and offers additional headroom, while Low provides the highest frame rates at 110.4 FPS but sacrifices visual quality. Ultra at 57.5 FPS is not recommended for consistent 60 FPS gameplay at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is the best choice, averaging 88.1 FPS. This provides a substantial 28.1 FPS margin above the threshold, making it the clear recommendation for players seeking maximum visual quality without performance concerns. All four presets at this resolution exceed 60 FPS, with the lowest option (High at 105.3 FPS) still offering excellent performance. The system demonstrates that 1440p Ultra is a sweet spot for this combination, balancing visual fidelity with smooth gameplay.

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 119.5 FPS is the definitive recommendation. This configuration nearly doubles the 60 FPS threshold, providing exceptional smoothness even during intense combat sequences with particle effects and physics interactions. All presets at 1080p deliver well above 100 FPS, with Low reaching 216.3 FPS for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays. The system's 1080p performance suggests that it can handle future titles with higher demands while maintaining playable frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: No. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 57.5 FPS, which falls 2.5 FPS short of the 60 FPS playability threshold. The High preset at 70.9 FPS is the highest quality setting that maintains playable performance at this resolution.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average frame rate is 119.5 FPS, while at 3840x2160 Ultra it drops to 57.5 FPS. This represents a 51.9% reduction in performance when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same quality settings, highlighting the significant GPU load increase at higher resolutions.

Q: Which component is more important for this game at 1440p?

A: The data shows that the GPU becomes the primary factor at 1440p and above. The frame rate scaling from Low to Ultra at 2560x1440 (162.9 to 88.1 FPS) demonstrates that visual settings heavily impact performance, indicating the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU's role becomes more apparent at 1080p where even the most demanding settings exceed 119 FPS.

*Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming in Control?*

A: Yes, for 1080p and 1440p displays. At 1080p, all settings exceed 119 FPS, and at 1440p, all settings exceed 88 FPS. For 240Hz displays at 1080p, the Low preset at 216.3 FPS is the only option that approaches that refresh rate, while 144Hz displays are well-served by Medium or High settings at 1440p.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K compared to lower resolutions?

A: At 4K, the system maintains playability at Low, Medium, and High settings, with frame rates ranging from 70.9 to 110.4 FPS. The Ultra preset falls short at 57.5 FPS. The performance drop from 1440p to 4K at High settings is 32.6% (105.3 to 70.9 FPS), demonstrating that 4K requires significant GPU resources.

Q: What is the recommended settings configuration for a 60 FPS target at each resolution?

A: For 3840x2160, use High settings at 70.9 FPS. For 2560x1440, use Ultra settings at 88.1 FPS. For 1920x1080, use Ultra settings at 119.5 FPS. These configurations provide the highest visual quality while maintaining a minimum of 10.9 FPS headroom above the 60 FPS threshold.

The Verdict

This system can definitively run Control at playable frame rates across all tested resolutions, with the sole exception of 4K Ultra settings. The verdict by resolution confirms that 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 support all four presets at or above 60 FPS, with the best settings being Ultra at 119.5 FPS and 88.1 FPS respectively. At 3840x2160, the system supports High, Medium, and Low presets, with High at 70.9 FPS being the optimal choice for visual quality while maintaining playability. The data indicates that players with 4K displays should select High settings for a consistent experience, while those with 1440p or 1080p monitors can enable maximum quality without sacrificing smoothness. The 57.5 FPS result at 4K Ultra is the only configuration that fails to meet the 60 FPS threshold, making it the sole limitation of this hardware combination.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K sits within a tight performance cluster based on average benchmark scores. The nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6511P, scores 71,051 against the 265K's 70,879, representing a negligible 0.2% difference. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 trails by 0.7% with a score of 71,370, while the Intel Core i7-14700KF comes closest from below, scoring 70,163 at just 1% less. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F follows at 69,996, a 1.3% deficit. These processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Control, with differences well within measurement error.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4070 SUPER's average score of 43,223 places it near the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB, which scores 43,262 (0.1% higher). The RTX 5050 Mobile achieves 43,268 (0.1% higher), while the Quadro M6000 scores 43,301 (0.2% higher). The RTX 4090 Mobile leads this group at 43,667, which is 1% higher than the 4070 SUPER. These GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Control, with the RTX 4090 Mobile potentially offering a marginal improvement in GPU-bound scenarios such as 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database for Control, this combination of Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 618th out of 3,720 tested combos. This places the system in the top 16.6% of all configurations tested, indicating that it outperforms the vast majority of hardware combinations. The rank reflects the system's strong performance across all resolutions, particularly its ability to maintain high frame rates at 1440p and 1080p with maximum settings. The ranking also demonstrates that while this is not an extreme high-end configuration, it sits comfortably above the median and delivers performance that exceeds the requirements of most demanding titles.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals how the CPU and GPU responsibilities shift across resolutions. At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor, as evidenced by the dramatic frame rate changes when adjusting settings. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 52.9 FPS (110.4 to 57.5), showing that the GPU's rendering load scales heavily with visual quality. At this resolution, the CPU has minimal influence since the GPU is consistently saturated.

At 2560x1440, the balance begins to shift. The frame rate gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 74.8 FPS (162.9 to 88.1), with the system showing improved headroom across all settings. The CPU starts to contribute more significantly, as the GPU has fewer pixels to process, allowing the 20-core processor to keep up with frame generation demands. The Ultra preset at 88.1 FPS indicates that the CPU can sustain high frame rates even with demanding settings.

At 1920x1080, the CPU's role becomes increasingly prominent. The frame rates reach 216.3 FPS at Low settings, which approaches the practical limits of what the CPU can generate. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 44.7% performance drop (216.3 to 119.5 FPS), which is smaller than the 47.8% drop at 4K, suggesting that the CPU begins to bottleneck at lower resolutions. The system's ability to maintain 119.5 FPS at Ultra settings demonstrates that the Core Ultra 7 265K provides sufficient processing power to avoid becoming a limiting factor in most scenarios, but its influence is most noticeable at 1080p where the GPU has excess capacity.