Control

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is a mobile combo that punches above its weight in Control, a 2019 Action Adventure title. The data shows a configuration that can handle the game’s demanding physics and visual effects with ease, delivering smooth framerates across most settings. This analysis will break down the measured performance, contextualize the hardware’s role, and provide clear guidance on the best settings for this specific pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 88 frames per second. This indicates a very playable experience, well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, suggesting the combo has significant headroom at this resolution.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 39. This is below the 60 FPS target, indicating that the highest visual fidelity at 4K is not achievable with this configuration without compromises.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS at Low settings is 106, while at Ultra settings it is 58. This represents a 48 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset demands nearly double the GPU resources compared to the Low preset.

Q: Is there a settings preset that offers a 60+ FPS experience at 4K?

A: Yes, the data shows that at 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average FPS is 71. The Medium preset at 4K also provides an average of 51 FPS, but the Low preset is the only one that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's single-core performance compare to its multi-core performance?

A: The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score is 1647.5, while the multi-core score is 12804.5. The multi-core score is significantly higher, indicating the 14-core, 18-thread processor excels in multi-threaded workloads, which is relevant for modern game engines that utilize multiple cores.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and how might it affect 4K performance?

A: The RTX 4070 has a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. At 4K resolution, the GPU is heavily tasked with rendering and texture data transfer, and this bandwidth is a key factor in why the framerate drops significantly from 1080p to 4K, as the demand for memory throughput increases substantially.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a 14-core, 18-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on a 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. With an 18 MB shared L3 cache, it is designed to handle both high-frequency single-thread tasks and heavily parallelized workloads. In Control, which features complex physics and AI calculations, the CPU’s multi-threading capabilities are crucial for maintaining consistent framerates, especially in scenes with many dynamic objects.

The CPU's benchmark scores reflect a capable processor for gaming. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12804.5 and single-core score of 1647.5 place it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. This means it outperforms the majority of processors on the market, making it a solid foundation for a gaming laptop. The PassMark multithread score of 21100 further underscores its strength in multi-threaded scenarios. However, the single-thread score of 3399 is also respectable, ensuring that games which rely heavily on a single core for logic still perform adequately.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in this configuration. At 1080p Low settings, the average FPS is 140, which is a high framerate that can stress the CPU. The fact that the framerate scales down as resolution increases indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor in higher resolution scenarios. The CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU's workload increases exponentially with resolution. The Ultra 5 125H is a modern mobile chip, and its performance is competitive with desktop parts like the AMD Ryzen 7 5800, which has an average score of 27535, a mere -0.1% difference from the Ultra 5's 27507 average. This parity in synthetic benchmarks suggests that the CPU will not hold back the RTX 4070 in most gaming scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is a high-end mobile GPU based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a substantial 504.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. With 5888 shading units and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, it is a formidable graphics processor. The GPU is in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, indicating its high performance level.

The GPU’s memory configuration is particularly important for Control. The game is known for its detailed environments and heavy use of textures, which require significant video memory and bandwidth. At 4K resolution, the demand for VRAM and bandwidth increases dramatically. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game’s needs, but the bandwidth becomes a critical factor. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 39, which shows that the GPU is heavily stressed. This is not a failure of the GPU, but rather a reflection of the extreme demands of 4K gaming with all settings maxed out.

The RTX 4070's performance is closely matched with other GPUs in its class, such as the NVIDIA Tesla P4 with a deltaPct of 0.1% and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 with a deltaPct of 0.4%. This indicates that while it is a strong performer, there are other options that offer similar raw performance. However, the RTX 4070's feature set, including support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, ensures it is well-equipped for modern titles like Control. The GPU’s raw compute power, as evidenced by its FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS, is more than enough to handle the game’s physics and rendering effects, but the resolution and settings ultimately dictate the outcome.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo performs exceptionally well. Low settings yield an average of 140 FPS, Medium 99 FPS, High 88 FPS, and Ultra 77 FPS. This shows that even at the highest settings, the combo can maintain a smooth experience well above the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 1080p has a minimum FPS of 84 and a maximum of 114, indicating consistent frame delivery.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. Low settings average 106 FPS, Medium 75 FPS, High 67 FPS, and Ultra 58 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the first to dip below 60 FPS, suggesting that this is the threshold for maximum visual fidelity with this combo. The Medium preset at 1440p has a minimum FPS of 64, which is still smooth. This resolution is arguably the sweet spot for this configuration, offering a good balance between visual quality and performance.

At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit, as expected. Low settings average 71 FPS, Medium 51 FPS, High 45 FPS, and Ultra 39 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the most demanding scenario, and the combo falls well short of 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K, with a minimum FPS of 43, is also not ideal for smooth gameplay. This data clearly shows that 4K gaming with high-end settings is not viable with this combo, but it can still handle 4K at Low settings with playable framerates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's overall rank in Control is 2008 out of 3720 tested combinations. This places it in the top 54% of all tested systems, which is a solid result. While it is not among the top performers, it is by no means a weak configuration. The rank indicates that there are many other combos that can achieve higher framerates, but also a significant number that perform worse.

The rank is a holistic measure that takes into account all resolutions and settings. The combo's performance is strong at 1080p and 1440p, but its 4K performance drags down its overall standing. The fact that it ranks slightly above the median suggests that it is a balanced mid-to-high-end configuration. It is important to note that this rank is specific to Control and may vary in other games. The combo's performance in this game is more than adequate for most gamers, and the rank should be interpreted as a general indicator of its capabilities in this particular title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. For a 60 FPS experience, the following presets are recommended. At 1920x1080, all settings presets, including Ultra, deliver an average FPS above 77, so users can select any preset based on their preference for visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 1080p is the best choice for those who want the highest quality without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the best option for a 60 FPS experience, with an average of 67 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 58 FPS, which may be acceptable for some, but the High preset provides a comfortable margin. The Medium preset also works well, with an average of 75 FPS, but the High preset offers a better balance of visual quality and performance. For the highest visual fidelity at 1440p, the Ultra preset is an option, but users should be prepared for occasional dips below 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only one that consistently delivers 60+ FPS, with an average of 71 FPS. The Medium preset, with an average of 51 FPS, is a compromise for those who want better visuals but can tolerate lower framerates. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are not recommended for smooth gameplay, as they average 45 FPS and 39 FPS, respectively. For the best overall experience, playing at 1440p with High settings is recommended, as it offers a great balance between visual fidelity and performance.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the primary bottleneck of this combo. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 88 at 1080p to 67 at 1440p (a 24% decrease) and then to 45 at 4K (a 33% decrease from 1440p). This pattern demonstrates that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The CPU is capable of maintaining high framerates, but the GPU's workload increases exponentially with the number of pixels.

The data shows that the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is more manageable than from 1440p to 4K. This is because 4K has four times the pixels of 1080p, while 1440p has roughly 1.78 times the pixels. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s and its 12 GB of VRAM are sufficient for 1440p, but at 4K, the demands on the memory subsystem and the rendering pipeline become much more intense. The result is a significant framerate drop, which is a common characteristic of high-resolution gaming.

This scaling behavior indicates that the RTX 4070 is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it is not a 4K powerhouse. Users who wish to play at 4K will need to lower settings to achieve playable framerates. The CPU, on the other hand, is not a bottleneck at any resolution, as evidenced by the high framerates at 1080p Low settings. The data suggests that for the best balance of performance and visual quality, 1440p is the recommended resolution for this combo.