Control

Control, the 2019 action-adventure title from Remedy Entertainment, presents a demanding environment that stresses both the CPU and GPU. This analysis examines the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, using only the provided benchmark data to interpret how this combination handles the game across various resolutions and settings. The data reveals a system capable of high frame rates, but with distinct scaling characteristics that point to where the bottleneck lies and how to optimize the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and expected inverse relationship between resolution and frame rate, but the magnitude of the drop between 1080p and 4K is particularly telling. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 128 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that average to 97 FPS, a reduction of 31 FPS. The jump to 4K is more severe, with the average falling to 65 FPS at High settings, which is a further 32 FPS decline from the 1440p result)Skip. This pattern indicates that the rendering load is scaling heavily with pixel count, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions.

The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution further confirms this trend. At 1080p, the spread between Low (203 FPS) and Ultra (111 FPS) is a massive 92 FPS. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 69 FPS, from 153 FPS on Low to 84 FPS on Ultra. At 4K, the spread is 46 FPS, from 103 FPS on Low to 57 FPS on Ultra. This progressive narrowing of the performance gap as resolution increases is a classic sign of the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor. The pixel fill rate and shading requirements at 4K are so high that even the substantial difference between Low and Ultra settings has a relatively smaller impact on the final frame rate compared to the impact at 1080p.

This data suggests that at 1080p, the system has enough headroom that the CPU and other components can feed frames quickly, but the GPU is still the main constraint. However, the 4K results, with a 65 FPS average on High, indicate that the GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is being pushed to its limits. The 4K Medium result of 73 FPS and the 4K Low result of 103 FPS show that the GPU is capable of higher output if the graphical load is reduced, but the sheer number of pixels at 4K creates a hard ceiling on performance. The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings (128 FPS to 65 FPS) represents a 49% decrease, which is a significant hit that clearly identifies the GPU as the component governing performance in this title at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is a formidable mobile GPU, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process. It features 10496 shading units and 112 ROPs, with a boost clock of 1515 MHz. The data shows that its role in this game is to be the primary determinant of frame rate, especially as resolution increases. The GPU's 24 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a substantial 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for the textures and assets in Control. This large memory pool means that the GPU is unlikely to be bottlenecked by memory capacity, even at 4K with High or Ultra settings.

The GPU's performance in standard benchmarks places it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 45152. Its nearest rivals, based on average score, include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, which scores 44795, a delta of 0.8%. This indicates that the mobile 5090 is roughly on par with a desktop RTX 4070 Ti in general compute tasks. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5871 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 198405 further quantify its DirectX 12 and Vulkan capabilities, which are the primary APIs used by Control.

In the context of Control, the GPU's clock speeds and memory bandwidth work together to produce the measured results. The fact that the 4K High average is 65 FPS, while the 4K Low average is 103 FPS, shows that the GPU is sensitive to the shading and texture work. The RTX 5090 Mobile's raw compute power (31.80 TFLOPS FP32) is clearly able to handle the game's effects, but the high-resolution rendering pipeline is what ultimately caps performance. The data suggests that the GPU is the limiting component in this combo, as the CPU is likely able to keep up with the GPU's frame generation at lower resolutions, but the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck as the resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile ranks 812th out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the top 22% of all tested systems, which is a strong result given the sheer number of possible hardware combinations. The rank reflects that this is a high-performance pairing, but not the absolute top-tier for this specific game, as some other combos with potentially more powerful desktop components or different CPU-GPU balances achieve higher average frame rates.

The CPU itself, the Ryzen 9 8945HX, holds the 95th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 76212. Its nearest rival is the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, which has an average score of 76155, a delta of 0.1%, making them effectively tied in general processing power. The GPU's rank of 84th percentile is slightly lower than the CPU's rank, which suggests that in this pairing, the GPU is the component that is more likely to hold back the overall system in a demanding game like Control. The combo's overall rank of 812 is a blend of these two components' capabilities.

The data shows that this combo is well-balanced but leans on the GPU to deliver the final performance in-game. While the CPU is a top-5% performer, the GPU is a top-16% performeratically. This mismatch is reflected in the game's performance, where higher resolutions show the GPU struggling to maintain frame rates that the CPU could easily support. The combo rank of 812 out of 3720 signifies that while it is a very capable system, there are other configurations that can achieve higher frame rates in Control, likely those with even more powerful desktop-class GPUs.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's target resolution and desired frame rate. For a smooth and visually rich experience at 4K, the High preset is the best choice. The data shows an average of 65 FPS at 4K High, which is playable and provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium (73 FPS) or Low (103 FPS). While the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 57 FPS, the 8 FPS gain from dropping to High is a worthwhile trade for the performance headroom. The High preset at 4K offers the best balance of visual fidelity and smoothness, as it sits comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers an average of 97 FPS, which is excellent for a high-refresh-rate monitor. The Ultra preset at 84 FPS is also a viable option for those seeking maximum visual quality, but the 13 FPS drop from High to Ultra might be noticeable. For competitive play or for users with a 144Hz display, the Medium preset at 1440p (109 FPS) provides a good balance, though the Low preset at 153 FPS is the only option that can fully saturate a 144Hz panel. The data suggests that High at 1440p is the sweet spot, offering a 97 FPS average with high detail.

At 1080p, the system has ample power to run the game at very high frame rates. The High preset at 128 FPS is a strong choice, but the Ultra preset at 111 FPS is also perfectly playable and will push the GPU harder. For users with a 240Hz display, the Low preset at 203 FPS is the only way to get close to that refresh rate. The Medium preset at 144 FPS is a great all-around option for 1080p, providing a high frame rate and better visual quality than Low. In summary, the data recommends High settings for 4K and 1440p to balance quality and performance, while at 1080p, Medium or High are the most sensible options, with Low reserved for maximizing frame rates on high-refresh displays.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo can achieve in Control?

A: The highest measured average is 203 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is the system capable of running Control at 4K with a solid 60 FPS?

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 65 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settingsahan. The Medium preset also exceeds 60 FPS with an average of 73 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance penalty is there for using Ultra settings at 1440p instead of High?

A: The average frame rate drops from 97 FPS on High to 84 FPS on Ultra, a difference of 13 FPS.

Q: Which component is more likely to be the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions. For example, at 4K High, the average is 65 FPS, while at 1080p High, it is 128 FPS, showing the GPU's workload scaling with resolution.

Q: Does the CPU have a significant impact on the frame rates in this game?

A: The CPU, with its high benchmark scores, is likely not the primary bottleneck. The frame rate drops are more directly correlated with GPU workload, as seen in the large differences between resolutions at the same settings.

Q: What is the performance difference between the lowest and highest settings at 4K?

A: The average frame rate on Low settings is 103 FPS, while on Ultra it is 57 FPS. This represents a 46 FPS difference, showing a wide range of performance based on graphical fidelity.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Dragon Range. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. In terms of its processing power, it scores 42713 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6030 in single-core, placing it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs. These scores indicate a very powerful processor that is more than capable of handling the game logic and physics in Control. The nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, has a nearly identical average benchmark score (76155 vs 76212), confirming the 8945HX's position in the top tier of mobile processors.

In the context of Control, the CPU's role is to ensure that the game world is simulated and the frame data is prepared for the GPU. The data shows that this CPU is more than adequate for this task. The frame rates at 1080p, where the CPU load is relatively higher compared to the GPU, are very high, with an average of 203 FPS on Low settings. This suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor at lower resolutions. The fact that the frame rate drops significantly when moving to 4K (e.g., from 128 FPS to 65 FPS on High settings) while the CPU workload remains relatively constant indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck, not the CPU.

The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory with 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth are ample for gaming. Its Passmark multithread score of 51405 and single-thread score of 3907 reinforce its high performance across both heavily threaded and lightly threaded tasks. The benchmark results clearly show that the Ryzen 9 8945HX provides a solid foundation for the RTX 5090 Mobile, ensuring that the GPU is fed with enough data to keep it busy, but the ultimate performance ceiling is set by the GPU's rendering capabilities. The CPU's power is evident, but in this specific game, its contribution to the final FPS is secondary to the GPU's.

Measured FPS Breakdown

This section provides a detailed, resolution-by-resolution breakdown of the measured average frame rates for the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile combination in Control.

1920x1080 (1080p):

At 1080p, the system delivers high frame rates across all presets. The Low preset yields the highest average at 203 FPS. The Medium preset achieves an average of 144 FPS, with a minimum of 122 FPS and a maximum of 165 FPS. The High preset averages 128 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 111 FPS. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy, with a large 92 FPS difference between the Low and Ultra presets.

2560x1440 (1440p):

At 1440p, average frame rates remain high but show a noticeable drop from 1080p. The Low preset averages 153 FPS. The Medium preset averages 109 FPS, with a range of 93 to 125 FPS. The High preset averages 97 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 84 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 69 FPS, indicating that the GPU is beginning to feel the impact of the higher resolution.

3840x2160 (4K):

At 4K, the performance is significantly lower, but the game remains playable on most presets. The Low preset averages 103 FPS. The Medium preset averages 73 FPS, with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS. The High preset averages 65 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 57 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 46 FPS, demonstrating the GPU's workload saturation at this resolution. The data confirms that the GPU is the primary performance limiter at 4K, as the frame rates are substantially lower than at 1080p and 1440p, regardless of the settings used.