Control

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile delivers a solid 1080p experience in Control, with playable frame rates at high settings and a clear path to smoother performance via lower presets. The combination ranks in the lower half of tested systems, indicating that while it is capable, it is not at the top tier for this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this system in Control?

A: Based on the measured data, the best experience is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, achieving an average of 103 FPS. For higher visual fidelity, the High preset at 1080p still delivers a playable 65 FPS average, making it a strong choice for balancing quality and performance.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 Mobile compare to its nearest GPU rivals in average benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5050 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 43268. This places it within 0.1% of the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (score 43262) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER (score 43223). It is 0.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (score 43667).

Q: What is the CPU's performance percentile and how does it stack up against rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H sits in the 79th percentile against all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 27507, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (score 27535, delta -0.1%) and the Intel Core i5-12600K (score 27578, delta -0.3%).

Q: What is the advantage of using the Medium preset over High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset yields an average of 55 FPS, which is 6 FPS higher than the High preset's 49 FPS. The Medium preset also provides a minimum FPS of 47, ensuring a more consistent experience than the High preset, which lacks a recorded minimum.

Q: How much of a frame rate gain is there from moving from Ultra to Low at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, switching from Ultra to Low results in a substantial average FPS increase from 29 to 52, a gain of 23 FPS. This makes the Low preset the only viable option for achieving near-60 FPS gameplay at this resolution.

Q: Is the system more limited by the CPU or GPU in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor. Frame rates scale significantly with resolution and settings, a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. While the CPU has 14 cores and 18 threads, its impact on the game's frame rate is less pronounced than the GPU's workload.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile is the central component for rendering Control's environments. Its 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for the game's texture and geometry data at the tested resolutions. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1020 MHz and a boost clock of 1500 MHz, and its performance is demonstrated by its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2365.

The GPU's role becomes evident when analyzing the FPS scaling. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the GPU achieves an average of 103 FPS. As the workload increases, the average FPS drops predictably: 73 FPS at Medium, 65 FPS at High, and 56 FPS at Ultra. This linear degradation with settings is a hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. The same pattern holds at 2560x1440, where the average FPS ranges from 78 (Low) down to 43 (Ultra), and at 3840x2160, where it drops from 52 (Low) to 29 (Ultra).

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a key factor. At the highest settings and resolutions, the frame rate drops to 29 FPS at 4K Ultra, suggesting the GPU is not only compute-limited but also potentially nearing its VRAM limits. The RTX 5050 Mobile's overall performance places it in the 83rd percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 43268. This score is nearly identical to the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (delta 0%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER (delta 0.1%), indicating that while it is a capable mobile GPU, it does not exceed those desktop-class parts in raw compute.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Control, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile holds a rank of 2983 out of 3720 tested combos. This places it in the 80.2nd percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 20% of configurations perform worse. While this ranking might seem low, it is important to contextualize it with the actual frame rates achieved.

The combination's rank reflects that many other systems, likely with more powerful desktop GPUs or higher-end mobile parts, can achieve higher frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. For instance, a combo ranking higher would likely maintain 60 FPS at 1440p High, whereas this system averages 49 FPS. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates, rather than pushing for maximum fidelity at 4K.

The rank is a composite measure. The GPU's 83rd percentile score and the CPU's 79th percentile score contribute to an overall system that is competent but not top-tier. The measured FPS data confirms this, as the system fails to hit 60 FPS at 1440p High (49 FPS) and is below 30 FPS at 4K Ultra (29 FPS). Therefore, while the rank is in the lower half, the system's real-world performance in Control is adequate for mainstream gaming at 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 1920x1080 is the recommended starting point. It delivers an average FPS of 65, which is smooth for most action-adventure games. The frame rate is not capped, but the average suggests a playable experience without major stutters. If a higher refresh rate is desired, dropping to Medium at 1080p yields an average of 73 FPS with a recorded minimum of 62 FPS, ensuring a very consistent experience.

For users with a 1440p monitor, the Medium preset is the most sensible choice. It provides an average of 55 FPS and a minimum of 47 FPS. The High preset at 1440p drops to 49 FPS, which is still playable but closer to the threshold where frame pacing issues can become noticeable. The Low preset at 1440p offers a much higher 78 FPS, but the visual compromise may not be worth it for most players.

At 4K, the system struggles. The Low preset is the only option that approaches playability, with an average of 52 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K yields 37 FPS, and High drops to 33 FPS. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as it averages only 29 FPS. For a 4K display, it is advisable to use the Low preset or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a better experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows clear scaling across presets. The Low preset achieves an average of 103 FPS. Medium yields 73 FPS, with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS. High produces a 65 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 56 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 47 FPS, demonstrating the GPU's sensitivity to graphical load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance decreases proportionally. Low settings result in a 78 FPS average. Medium drops to 55 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 63 FPS. High averages 49 FPS, and Ultra falls to 43 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 35 FPS, slightly smaller than at 1080p, indicating a growing GPU bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the system is heavily challenged. Low settings yield a 52 FPS average. Medium produces 37 FPS, with a minimum of 32 FPS and a maximum of 43 FPS. High averages 33 FPS, and Ultra is only 29 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 23 FPS, which is the smallest absolute gap, confirming that the GPU is reaching its limits and the frame rate is becoming more uniform across settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a 14-core, 18-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. Its performance in synthetic benchmarks is solid, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12804.5 and a single-core score of 1647.5. The CPU's overall average benchmark score is 27507, placing it in the 79th percentile against all CPUs.

In Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The game is not heavily CPU-bound, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling with GPU settings. However, the CPU's 14 cores ensure that background tasks and game logic do not bottleneck the GPU. The CPU's performance is comparable to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (delta -0.1%) and the Intel Core i5-12600K (delta -0.3%), meaning it is a capable mid-range processor.

The measured FPS data suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 103 FPS, which is a high frame rate that still leaves headroom. If the CPU were a bottleneck, the frame rate would plateau across different resolutions, but the data shows a clear decline from 103 FPS at 1080p to 52 FPS at 4K, indicating the GPU is the primary constraint.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the GPU as the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 103 at 1920x1080 to 78 at 2560x1440, a 24.3% decrease. From 1440p to 4K, the average drops from 78 to 52, a 33.3% decrease. This pattern shows that the GPU's rendering load increases disproportionately with resolution, as expected.

The scaling is similar for other presets. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 65 at 1080p to 49 at 1440p (a 24.6% drop) and then to 33 at 4K (a 32.7% drop). The consistent percentage drops across presets indicate a purely GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were a factor, the frame rate would be more consistent at lower resolutions where the GPU load is lighter.

The data shows that the RTX 5050 Mobile is not powerful enough to maintain 60 FPS at 1440p High, and it cannot handle 4K Ultra at all without dropping below 30 FPS. The system's sweet spot is 1080p, where it can achieve high frame rates even at Ultra settings. For users aiming for 1440p, the Medium preset is the ceiling for a consistent 55 FPS experience. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck, and the system's performance is best described as a high-refresh-rate 1080p machine.