Control

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers a commanding performance profile in Control, with benchmark data indicating that every resolution and preset combination tested clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. The measured results show a system that scales predictably with graphical load, though the margins between presets at lower resolutions reveal interesting shifts in where the performance ceiling actually lies.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the data shows the RTX 4080 SUPER maintaining robust frame rates across all four settings. The Low preset averages 125 FPS, which drops to 89 FPS on Medium where the only complete min/max data in the entire set appears: 76 FPS minimum and 102 FPS maximum. High settings produce an average of 79 FPS, while the demanding Ultra preset still holds an average of 69 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 56 FPS, showing that even the heaviest settings only shave off a modest portion of the headroom.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages climb substantially. Low settings reach 185 FPS, Medium averages 132 FPS with a recorded range of 112 to 152 FPS, High hits 117 FPS, and Ultra remains comfortably above 100 FPS at 102 average. The delta between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 83 FPS, a wider spread than at 4K, which suggests the GPU has more untapped capacity when pixel count drops.

At 1920x1080, the numbers become almost excessive for a title like Control. The Low preset posts an average of 245 FPS, Medium averages 174 FPS with a range of 148 to 200 FPS, High reaches 155 FPS, and Ultra still delivers 134 FPS. The difference between the lowest and highest presets here is 111 FPS, the largest absolute gap in the dataset, indicating that CPU limitations or engine overhead may start to matter more at these frame rates.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling pattern between resolutions points to the GPU being the primary constraint at 4K, while the CPU's influence becomes more apparent as resolution decreases. At 3840x2160, moving from Low to Ultra costs 56 FPS, a 45% reduction in average frame rate. At 2560x1440, the same preset change costs 83 FPS, a 45% drop from 185 to 102. At 1920x1080, the Low-to-Ultra penalty is 111 FPS, again a 45% reduction from 245 to 134. This consistent 45% penalty across resolutions suggests the GPU workload scales linearly with preset quality, but the absolute FPS differences reveal that the RTX 4080 SUPER has diminishing returns as resolution rises.

The Ultra 9 290K's capabilities become relevant when examining the 1080p results. The 245 FPS Low average and 174 FPS Medium average are high enough that the CPU's single-thread performance, measured at 7303 in Cinebench R23 single-core, likely becomes a factor in maintaining those frame rates. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4823 and its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs support the idea that it can feed the GPU adequately even at extreme frame rates. At 4K, the GPU's 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 736.3 GB/s memory bandwidth are the more relevant spec, as the pixel workload dominates.

The data shows a clear inflection point: at 1080p, the system is approaching CPU-bound territory for the Low preset, while at 4K, the GPU is doing nearly all the heavy lifting. The 125 FPS Low average at 4K versus 245 FPS at 1080p represents a 96% increase, which aligns with the 4x pixel count difference being partially offset by the GPU's raw compute reserves.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 69 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold. This makes Ultra the best playable setting at 4K, with the data showing no reason to drop below it for smooth performance. The 69 FPS average leaves a 9 FPS buffer over the threshold, which is modest but sufficient.

At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 102 FPS, providing a substantial 42 FPS cushion above 60 FPS. The system can run the game at maximum visual quality without any concern for performance dips, and the data confirms that all four presets at this resolution are playable.

At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 134 FPS, which is more than double the playability threshold. The margin here is so large that users could enable the highest settings and still have 74 FPS of headroom, making this resolution the sweet spot for maximizing visual fidelity while maintaining extremely high refresh rates.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83807 in average benchmark results, a mere 0.2% delta from the Ultra 9 290K's 84003. In practical terms, this means the 285K would produce nearly identical frame rates in Control, with differences well within run-to-run variance. The AMD EPYC 4584PX and EPYC 9135 are also close, at 1.1% and 1.2% lower scores respectively, though these server-class chips would behave similarly in gaming workloads despite their different feature sets.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the closest match, with an average score of 54247 versus the RTX 4080 SUPER's 54209, a delta of -0.1%. This is effectively a tie, meaning the non-SUPER variant would deliver indistinguishable performance in Control. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% higher on average, while the Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and Radeon 8060S are 2.7% and 2.8% lower respectively. These deltas are small enough that all four alternatives would land within a few frames per second of the tested combo at any resolution and preset.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: this PC can run Control at every resolution and preset combination tested. The verdictByResolution field lists High, Low, Medium, and Ultra as playable settings at all three resolutions, with the best settings being Ultra everywhere. At 4K, the 69 FPS average on Ultra clears the 60 FPS threshold, making it the first choice for maximum visual quality. At 1440p, 102 FPS on Ultra provides a comfortable margin for high refresh rate displays. At 1080p, 134 FPS on Ultra leaves ample headroom for competitive play or future driver overhead. The only caveat is the 4K Ultra margin of 9 FPS, which could be tight in demanding scenes, though the average suggests consistent performance.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 69 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the best preset to use at 1440p?

A: Ultra is the best choice at 2560x1440, averaging 102 FPS with no need to compromise on visual quality.

Q: How much performance is lost going from Low to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 245 FPS while Ultra averages 134 FPS, a difference of 111 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER significantly faster than the regular RTX 4080 in this game?

A: The benchmark scores are nearly identical, with a delta of -0.1% between the two, so performance in Control would be essentially the same.

Q: Does the CPU ever become a bottleneck at lower resolutions?

A: The 1080p Low preset at 245 FPS suggests the CPU's single-thread performance is sufficient, but the system is approaching the point where CPU limits could emerge.

Q: What are the minimum frame rates recorded in the dataset?

A: The only complete min/max data is for the Medium preset: 76 FPS minimum and 102 FPS maximum at 4K, 112 to 152 FPS at 1440p, and 148 to 200 FPS at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 3720 tested combinations for Control, this setup ranks 283rd, placing it in the top 7.6% of all systems tested. The rank reflects the balanced pairing of the Ultra 9 290K, which sits in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, and the RTX 4080 SUPER, which is in the 86th percentile among all GPUs. The high rank is consistent with the measured FPS data showing playable performance at every setting, and the system's position suggests that most of the combinations ranked above it would use higher-tier GPUs like the RTX 4090 or newer generation cards. The data implies that this combo is not just adequate for Control but comfortably above the median experience, with the 4K Ultra result of 69 FPS being particularly notable given that many systems struggle to maintain 60 FPS at that resolution with maximum settings.