Control

Control is an Action Adventure title from 2019 that stresses both the CPU and GPU heavily, especially with its physics-driven environments and real-time ray tracing options. This analysis examines the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile, using measured FPS data to show exactly how this combo behaves across resolutions and settings. The data indicates a laptop configuration that is well-balanced for 1080p gaming, but one that requires careful settings management as resolution climbs.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 79 at 1080p to 59 at 1440p, and then further down to 40 at 4K. This represents a 25% performance hit moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a 49% hit from 1080p to 4K. This scaling curve indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops are proportionally larger than what a CPU bottleneck would produce.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens significantly at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the spread between Low (124 FPS) and Ultra (68 FPS) is 56 FPS. At 1440p, that spread narrows to 42 FPS (94 vs 52). At 4K, the spread is 29 FPS (64 vs 35). This tightening of the performance envelope at 4K suggests that the GPU is becoming saturated even at Low settings, leaving less headroom for graphical fidelity improvements. The fact that 4K Low (64 FPS) is still faster than 1080p Ultra (68 FPS) shows that the RTX 4060 Mobile has enough raw power to handle the resolution increase, but the settings overhead is what cripples performance.

The 1440p results are particularly telling for this combo. At High settings (59 FPS), the system is right at the edge of smooth gameplay, while Medium (67 FPS) provides a comfortable margin. The 4K results are mostly academic for serious play, with even Low settings only achieving 64 FPS. The data suggests that 1080p is the sweet spot for this hardware, with 1440p being viable only with settings compromises. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings (88 to 67 FPS) shows a 24% drop, which is consistent with the increased pixel count demanding more from the GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, with 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores. Its base clock is 1545 MHz with a boost clock of 1890 MHz, and memory runs at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). The GPU's TDP is rated at 115 W, which is typical for a mobile part in this class.

In Control, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient at 1080p and 1440p, but the data suggests it may be a limiting factor at 4K with higher settings. The 4K Ultra result of 35 FPS is likely constrained by both compute throughput and memory bandwidth. The 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is modest for 4K workloads, where large texture sets and high-resolution buffers demand more memory throughput. The pixel rate of 90.72 GPixel/s and texture rate of 181.4 GTexel/s are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but they become bottlenecks at 4K.

The GPU's position in the benchmark hierarchy is solid but not exceptional. It sits at the 67th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22729. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.7% faster) and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (0.8% slower), showing that the RTX 4060 Mobile performs at roughly desktop RTX 2080 levels. This explains its behavior in Control: it can handle 1080p Ultra easily, but 4K pushes it beyond its comfort zone. The 24 ray tracing cores do help with Control's RTX features, but the measured data here does not isolate ray tracing performance specifically.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 2278 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 38.8th percentile of all tested configurations. This ranking reflects a mid-pack positioning that is typical for a mobile RTX 4060 paired with a mid-range laptop CPU. The rank suggests that while this combo is far from the top tier, it outperforms a significant majority of tested systems, likely those with older or weaker GPUs.

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H itself ranks at the 81st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29093. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (0.1% faster) and the Intel Core i5-13500HX (0.6% slower), indicating that the CPU is not holding back the GPU in most scenarios. However, the combo rank of 2278 is lower than what the CPU's percentile alone would suggest, implying that the RTX 4060 Mobile is the limiting factor in Control.

The GPU's percentile rank of 67 and its average benchmark score of 22729 place it in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.7% faster) and the Intel Arc B580 (1.3% slower), showing that it delivers performance comparable to a previous-generation desktop card. In Control, this translates to playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p with settings adjustments, but the 4K results drag the combo ranking down. The 3720 total combos tested means this configuration sits comfortably in the middle, not a performance outlier but also not a budget afterthought.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 124 FPS, which is more than enough for high-refresh-rate displays. Medium settings drop to 88 FPS (with a min of 75 and max of 102), providing a smooth experience with moderate visual improvements. High settings yield 79 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS. Ultra settings reduce performance to 68 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The 1080p results show a consistent 56 FPS spread between Low and Ultra, indicating that the GPU has enough headroom to handle the resolution without becoming the primary constraint.

At 2560x1440, performance becomes more variable. Low settings achieve 94 FPS, which is excellent for 1440p. Medium settings drop to 67 FPS (min 57, max 77), which is borderline but generally playable. High settings produce 59 FPS, which is under the 60 FPS target but still acceptable for slower-paced action. Ultra settings fall to 52 FPS, which may cause noticeable stuttering in Control's combat-heavy sequences. The 1440p data shows that Medium is the optimal setting for this resolution, providing a balance between visuals and frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings achieve 64 FPS, which is surprisingly good for 4K on a mobile GPU. Medium settings drop to 45 FPS (min 38, max 52), which is below the playable threshold for most gamers. High settings fall to 40 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 35 FPS. The 4K results clearly show that this combo is not designed for native 4K gaming in Control, especially with higher settings. The fact that Low settings are the only option above 60 FPS at 4K indicates a severe GPU bottleneck at this resolution.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the best resolution, with 124 FPS at Low, 88 FPS at Medium, and 79 FPS at High. All settings at 1080p exceed 60 FPS, making it the only resolution where the system has consistent headroom.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Control?

A: Only at Low settings, which achieves 64 FPS. Medium settings drop to 45 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 35 FPS. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for higher settings at 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 Mobile compare to desktop GPUs?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile's average benchmark score is 22729, which is 0.7% slower than a desktop RTX 2080 and 0.8% faster than an RX 7700 XT. This places it in the performance tier of a previous-generation desktop card.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: At 1080p, the CPU keeps up well, as shown by the high frame rates. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, with frame rates dropping to 35-64 FPS depending on settings. The CPU's 81st percentile ranking versus GPU's 67th percentile confirms this.

Q: What settings should I use for 1440p?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 produce 67 FPS (min 57, max 77), which is the best balance. High settings drop to 59 FPS, and Ultra falls to 52 FPS, both below the 60 FPS target.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 2278 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 38.8th percentile. This is a mid-pack result, reflecting the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a 14-core, 18-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, with a TDP of 28 W. The CPU features 112 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with a dual-channel bus, providing 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU's integrated graphics are Arc Xe-LPG with 96 execution units, though this is irrelevant for the discrete RTX 4060 Mobile.

In Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with physics and game logic data. The 14 cores and 18 threads provide ample multi-threading capability, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11875.5 and a single-core score of 1700. The PassMark multi-thread score of 22422 and single-thread score of 3521 confirm that the CPU has strong per-core performance and excellent multi-threaded throughput. This is important for Control, which uses physics simulations that can scale across multiple cores.

The CPU's benchmark positioning is strong, sitting at the 81st percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 29093 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (0.1% slower) and Intel Core i5-13500HX (0.6% faster). This means the Core Ultra 5 135H is not a weak link in this system. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 124 FPS, which is likely CPU-bound in some scenes, but the overall performance is balanced. The CPU's 18 MB of L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth provide sufficient bandwidth for the GPU to operate without starvation, as evidenced by the strong performance at 1080p and 1440p.

The CPU's boost clock of 4.60 GHz is adequate for single-threaded game logic, and its 18 threads handle background tasks without impacting frame times. In Control, the CPU's performance is not a limiting factor until resolution drops to very low settings where the GPU has headroom. The fact that the combo ranks 2278 out of 3720 systems, despite the CPU being in the top 20% of all CPUs, underscores that the GPU is the performance ceiling in this configuration. For users looking to improve performance, the CPU is not the component to upgrade; the GPU is.