Control

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is an exceptionally high-end combination, and the measured data for Control confirms that this system is built to demolish the game’s requirements. With the RTX 5090’s massive 32 GB GDDR7 memory pool and 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, the GPU is the undisputed star here, but the Core Ultra 7 265K’s 20-core Arrow Lake architecture ensures the CPU never becomes a bottleneck. The benchmark results, drawn from measured FPS data at three resolutions and four quality presets, show a system that delivers far more frame rate than any current display can realistically use, making this a setup that effectively future-proofs Control for years.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance scaling across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system is almost absurdly fast. On Low settings, the average frame rate hits 285.8 FPS, which is more than enough for even the most demanding 240 Hz or 360 Hz esports monitors. Moving to Medium drops the average to 204.5 FPS, while High settings still deliver 177.1 FPS. Even at Ultra, the most demanding preset, the average remains at a towering 157.3 FPS. This means at 1080p, the system never dips below the triple-digit range regardless of how much visual quality you pile on.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the performance remains overwhelming. Low settings produce an average of 212.8 FPS, which is a 25.6% reduction from the 1080p Low result, showing that resolution scaling is beginning to tax the GPU more heavily. Medium settings at 1440p average 155 FPS, while High settings drop to 133.3 FPS. Ultra at 1440p still maintains a very strong 116.7 FPS average. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at the same settings is consistent: about a 25-27% performance drop, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario where pixel count increases by roughly 78%.

At 3840x2160, the system finally starts to show some strain, but it never approaches anything resembling a struggle. Low settings average 145.8 FPS, which is still far above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Medium settings drop to 105.9 FPS, and High settings to 91.5 FPS. Ultra at 4K brings the average down to 78.3 FPS, which is still comfortably playable on a high-refresh-rate 4K display. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 31.5% reduction at Ultra, from 116.7 to 78.3 FPS, which aligns with the 2.25x pixel count increase between these resolutions.

Notably, the measured FPS data does not include minimum or maximum frame rate values, so the analysis relies solely on averages. However, given the massive headroom above the 60 FPS threshold at every resolution and settings combination, even significant frame time spikes would likely keep this system playable. The data shows that the RTX 5090’s 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth and 176 ROPs are more than sufficient to feed the GPU’s 21760 shading units at all tested configurations.

CPU and GPU Roles

The roles of the CPU and GPU in this system are clearly delineated by the scaling behavior across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 128.5 FPS (from 285.8 down to 157.3), which represents a 45% performance drop. This significant scaling indicates that at lower resolutions, the GPU is still the primary bottleneck, but the CPU’s role becomes more pronounced as the frame rate climbs toward 300 FPS. The Core Ultra 7 265K’s 5.50 GHz boost clock and 30 MB of shared L3 cache are critical here, as they allow the CPU to feed the GPU with enough draw calls to maintain those extreme frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts slightly. The Low to Ultra drop is 96.1 FPS (from 212.8 to 116.7), which is a 45.2% reduction—nearly identical to the 1080p scaling. This consistency suggests that the GPU workload is scaling linearly with the resolution increase while the CPU workload remains relatively constant. The system is firmly GPU-bound at 1440p, as evidenced by the 27% frame rate drop from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings.

At 3840x2160, the CPU’s role diminishes further. The Low to Ultra drop is 67.5 FPS (from 145.8 to 78.3), a 46.3% reduction. The GPU is now overwhelmingly the limiting factor, as the 4K pixel count demands more from the RTX 5090’s shading units and memory subsystem. The Core Ultra 7 265K is effectively idle during 4K benchmarks, with the GPU operating at full capacity. This is evident from the fact that the 4K Ultra result of 78.3 FPS is still nearly 30% above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that even at maximum load, the GPU has spare capacity.

The scaling between resolutions at the same settings confirms the GPU-bound nature of this game. For example, at Ultra settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces performance by 25.8%, while moving from 1440p to 4K reduces it by 32.9%. These percentages closely match the pixel count increases (78% and 125% respectively), which is the hallmark of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU’s 20 cores and 20 threads are never fully utilized in Control, as the game’s engine primarily relies on single-threaded performance, where the Core Ultra 7 265K’s 2,020 Cinebench R23 single-core score provides ample headroom.

Best Settings per Resolution

The verdict data provides clear guidance on the best settings for each resolution, with the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS being the recommended choice. At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, which delivers an average of 157.3 FPS. This is the highest quality preset available, and the system clears the 60 FPS threshold by a massive margin of 97.3 FPS. There is no reason to compromise on visual quality at 1080p, as even Ultra settings leave the GPU with substantial headroom.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, with an average of 116.7 FPS. This is 56.7 FPS above the playability threshold, providing excellent smoothness for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors. The gap between Ultra and the next lower preset (High at 133.3 FPS) is only 16.6 FPS, so choosing Ultra is an easy decision for users who prioritize visual fidelity without sacrificing frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the best settings remain Ultra, with an average of 78.3 FPS. This is 18.3 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold, which is a comfortable margin for most 4K displays that typically run at 60 Hz or 120 Hz. While the 4K Ultra result is the lowest among all tested configurations, it is still well within playable territory. Users with 120 Hz 4K displays may want to consider High settings (91.5 FPS) for a smoother experience, but for standard 60 Hz displays, Ultra is the clear recommendation.

The data shows that at every resolution, the system can run Control at its maximum preset while maintaining frame rates that are well above playable levels. The RTX 5090’s 32 GB VRAM is never a limiting factor, as Control’s maximum VRAM usage at 4K Ultra is likely far below this capacity. This means users can enable every visual feature without worrying about memory constraints.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rival data provides context for how this specific CPU and GPU combination compares to other hardware. For the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, the closest competitors are the Intel Xeon 6511P and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270. The Xeon 6511P has an average benchmark score of 71,051, which is 0.2% lower than the Core Ultra 7 265K’s average of 70,879. This makes the Xeon 6511P essentially a performance twin, though it is a server-class processor with a different feature set.

The Xeon Platinum 8270 scores 71,370, which is 0.7% higher than the Core Ultra 7 265K, meaning it would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Control. On the consumer side, the Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70,163, which is 1% lower than the Core Ultra 7 265K. This indicates that users with a previous-generation i7-14700KF would see virtually no difference in frame rates at any resolution, as the GPU remains the bottleneck.

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 69,996, which is 1.3% lower. This is a particularly interesting comparison, as the Ryzen 7 9700F is a more affordable consumer chip that would deliver almost identical performance in Control. For users building a system specifically for this game, any of these CPUs would provide comparable results, with the Core Ultra 7 265K holding a marginal edge.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, the nearest rivals are primarily professional and mobile GPUs. The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605, which is 0.3% lower than the RTX 5090’s 79,842 average. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79,396, 0.6% lower. These are compute-focused cards that do not have the same gaming driver optimizations, so their real-world gaming performance would likely be worse despite similar synthetic scores.

The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78,940, which is 1.1% lower. This is a mobile GPU, so its performance is constrained by laptop power limits, but the synthetic benchmark suggests it would be within 2% of the RTX 5090 in ideal conditions. The Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80,959, which is 1.4% higher, making it the only rival that slightly outperforms the RTX 5090 in synthetic benchmarks. However, both of these AMD options are workstation or mobile parts, and their driver support for Control would likely be less optimized than NVIDIA’s.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Control, and it does so with overwhelming margin. The verdict data confirms that at every resolution and settings combination tested, the system clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. At 3840x2160, all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable, with the best settings being Ultra at 78.3 FPS. This means users with a 4K display can enable maximum visual quality and still get a smooth experience.

At 2560x1440, the system is even more comfortable. All settings are playable, with Ultra at 116.7 FPS representing the best choice. This is ideal for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, as the frame rate is high enough to take advantage of 120 Hz or 144 Hz panels. At 1920x1080, the system is almost overkill, with Ultra at 157.3 FPS and Low at 285.8 FPS. This is a configuration that would be wasted on a standard 60 Hz monitor, but it excels on 240 Hz or faster esports displays.

The only scenario where the system does not reach 60 FPS is nonexistent within the tested parameters. The lowest recorded average is the 4K Ultra result of 78.3 FPS, which still provides a 30.5% margin above the threshold. This indicates that the system has significant headroom for future updates or more demanding scenes within the game. Users who want to enable ray tracing or other advanced features would likely still stay above 60 FPS at 4K, given the RTX 5090’s 170 dedicated RT cores.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 48th out of 3,720 tested combos in Control. This places it in the top 1.3% of all systems tested, which is an elite position. The rank of 48 means there are only 47 other system configurations that deliver higher frame rates in this game. Given that the data includes a wide range of hardware, this result confirms that this combo is among the very best available for Control.

The ranking is particularly impressive when considering that the CPU and GPU both sit in the 92nd and 94th percentiles of their respective categories. The RTX 5090’s 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs and the Core Ultra 7 265K’s 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicate that this is a top-tier pairing. The fact that they combine to achieve a 48th place overall suggests that the system is well-balanced, with neither component dragging down the other.

For context, the combo’s average benchmark score of 70,879 for the CPU and 79,842 for the GPU indicate that the system is performing near the top of its class. The 48th rank out of 3,720 means that 99.87% of all tested combos perform worse in Control. This is a system that will not just run Control—it will dominate it, providing frame rates that are several times higher than what most gamers experience, even at 4K Ultra settings.