Control

Control is a demanding action-adventure title, and the benchmark data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile reveals a system that is capable but requires careful settings management. The measured frame rates indicate that this configuration can deliver smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, but 4K resolution pushes the GPU to its limits. This analysis breaks down the performance across resolutions and settings, highlighting where the bottlenecks lie and how to get the best experience from this hardware combination.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results suggest that the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual fidelity and performance across all tested resolutions. At 1080p, Medium settings deliver an average of 98 FPS, which is a significant jump from the 87 FPS seen at High settings, while still maintaining a playable frame rate that is well above the 60 FPS threshold for most displays. The jump from Medium to High costs about 11 FPS at 1080p, but the visual difference in a game like Control is often minimal, making Medium the sweet spot for ensuring headroom during intense combat sequences.

At 1440p, the Medium preset provides an average of 74 FPS, which is the only settings tier that consistently hits above 60 FPS at this resolution. High settings drop to 66 FPS, which is still technically playable but leaves little margin for drops during demanding scenes. Ultra settings at 1440p fall to 57 FPS, which is below the ideal smoothness threshold for many gamers. The data clearly shows that Medium is the recommended choice for 1440p, as it offers a 12% performance increase over High while likely providing a near-identical visual experience.

For 4K gaming, the situation is more challenging. The Medium preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 50 FPS, with a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 57 FPS. While this is not a locked 60 FPS experience, it is the most playable option at this resolution, as High settings drop to 44 FPS and Ultra falls to 39 FPS. The Low preset at 4K reaches 70 FPS, but the visual compromises at that setting are substantial for a game known for its atmospheric lighting and physics. Therefore, Medium is the recommended preset for all resolutions, as it provides the most consistent performance without sacrificing too much visual quality. For those who prioritize frame rate over visuals, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 137 FPS, but for the best overall experience, Medium is the clear winner.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile is the primary driver of frame rates in Control, and its specifications explain much of the observed performance. This GPU features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s. Control is a game that benefits from high memory bandwidth, especially at higher resolutions, and this is evident in the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K. The GPU's 4608 shading units and 36 RT cores are also relevant, as Control uses ray tracing for its reflections and lighting, which can be demanding on hardware.

The clock speeds of the RTX 5070 Mobile are notably low for a modern GPU, with a base clock of 907 MHz and a boost clock of 1425 MHz. This is likely a power-saving measure for a mobile part, but it has implications for performance. The low boost clock means that the GPU must rely on its architectural efficiency to deliver playable frame rates. The benchmark scores support this, with the GPU achieving a PassMark G3D score of 20355 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 122238. These scores place it in the 75th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a solid performer.

The 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for Control at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the game's texture memory requirements can become a limiting factor. The data shows a significant drop in FPS when moving from 1440p to 4K, which suggests that the GPU is hitting both a compute and memory bandwidth wall. The fact that the Medium preset at 4K only manages 50 FPS, despite the GPU's capabilities, indicates that the memory bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s is being taxed heavily at this resolution. This is a classic sign of a GPU that is powerful enough for 1440p gaming but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K in demanding titles like Control.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data across the three tested resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance. At 1080p, the RTX 5070 Mobile delivers 137 FPS on Low settings, which is an excellent result. Moving to 1440p drops this to 104 FPS, a 24% decrease. At 4K, the Low preset yields 70 FPS, which is a further 33% drop from 1440p. This scaling is typical for a GPU that is being pushed harder as the pixel count increases, but the magnitude of the drop indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor.

For the Medium preset, the scaling is similar. At 1080p, the average is 98 FPS, which drops to 74 FPS at 1440p (a 24% decrease) and then to 50 FPS at 4K (a further 32% decrease). The consistent percentage drops across settings suggest that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, rather than the CPU. The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H, with its 14 cores and 18 threads, is likely not holding back the GPU at any of these resolutions, as the frame rate scaling is purely a function of the GPU's rendering load.

This pattern is important for understanding the system's capabilities. At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU has enough headroom to maintain high frame rates, but at 4K, the increased pixel count overwhelms the GPU's processing power and memory bandwidth. The data shows that the RTX 5070 Mobile is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it can deliver smooth performance on Medium and High settings. For 4K, users will need to accept lower frame rates or reduce settings to Low, which is a significant compromise for a game like Control that benefits from high visual fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how this system performs across all settings and resolutions. Starting at 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 137 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded. Medium settings reduce this to 98 FPS, with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS. High settings drop further to 87 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 75 FPS. This range shows that at 1080p, the system is well-equipped to handle Control at any settings, with even the Ultra preset maintaining a solid 75 FPS average.

At 1440p, the performance is more constrained. The Low preset yields 104 FPS, which is still excellent. Medium settings produce an average of 74 FPS, with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS. High settings drop to 66 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 57 FPS. The transition from High to Ultra at 1440p represents a 14% performance drop, which is notable for what is often a small visual improvement. This suggests that Ultra settings are not worth the performance cost at this resolution unless the user has a high refresh rate monitor and can tolerate occasional dips below 60 FPS.

At 4K, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates on higher settings. The Low preset averages 70 FPS, which is a significant drop from 1440p. Medium settings produce an average of 50 FPS, with a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 57 FPS. High settings drop to 44 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 39 FPS. None of these results are ideal for a smooth gaming experience, with only the Low preset consistently exceeding 60 FPS. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming is only viable on Low settings, and even then, the frame rate is not stable enough for competitive or fast-paced gameplay.

FAQ

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

A: The data indicates that 1440p is the sweet spot for this configuration. At 1440p with Medium settings, the system achieves an average of 74 FPS, which is smooth and playable. At 1080p, the system can push much higher frame rates, but the visual upgrade to 1440p is worth the performance trade-off for most users.

Q: Can this system run Control at 4K?

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. At 4K with Low settings, the system averages 70 FPS, which is playable. However, at Medium settings, the average drops to 50 FPS, and at Ultra, it falls to 39 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS experience at 4K, users would need to lower settings to Low and accept the visual downgrade.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 Mobile compare to its nearest rivals?

A: According to the benchmark data, the RTX 5070 Mobile has an average score of 29928, which is nearly identical to the RTX 3070 Ti (29945, a -0.1% difference) and the RTX 2080 Ti (29783, a 0.5% difference). It is slightly behind the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (30095, a -0.6% difference) and the RX 6700 (30433, a -1.7% difference). This puts it in a competitive position for a mobile GPU.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H a bottleneck in this game?

A: The frame rate scaling across resolutions suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, not the CPU. The CPU has an average benchmark score of 29093, which is comparable to its nearest rivals. The consistent percentage drops in FPS from 1080p to 4K indicate that the GPU is being pushed to its limits, while the CPU has enough headroom to keep up.

Q: What is the highest FPS achievable with this system?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 137, achieved at 1080p with Low settings. This represents the maximum performance potential of the GPU in this game. At higher settings, the frame rate drops significantly, with Ultra at 1080p averaging 75 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: The performance loss is substantial. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 98 at 1080p to 50 at 4K, a 49% decrease. At Low settings, the drop is from 137 to 70, a 49% decrease as well. This indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed at 4K, making it difficult to maintain high frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H plays a supporting role in Control's performance, but its specifications are sufficient to avoid being a bottleneck. This CPU features 14 cores and 18 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. These specifications are more than adequate for a game like Control, which is primarily GPU-bound at the resolutions tested. The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache also helps with game logic and physics calculations, though it is not a critical factor for this title.

The CPU's benchmark scores indicate that it is a solid performer, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11875.5 and a single-core score of 1700. These scores place it in the 81st percentile of all CPUs, which is respectable for a mobile part. The nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (a -0.1% difference) and the Intel Core i5-13500HX (a -0.6% difference), showing that the Ultra 5 135H is competitive with established desktop and mobile processors.

In practice, the CPU's role in Control is to feed the GPU with data and handle the game's physics and AI. The data shows that at 1080p, the system can achieve 137 FPS on Low settings, which suggests that the CPU is not limiting the GPU's output. Even at 4K, where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, the CPU is likely still able to keep up, as the frame rate drops are consistent with GPU-bound scaling. The 28W TDP of the CPU also indicates that it is a power-efficient part, which is beneficial for mobile systems where thermal and power constraints are important.

The CPU's 14 cores and 18 threads are more than sufficient for Control, which is not known for being heavily multithreaded. The game's engine benefits from a few strong cores rather than many weak ones, and the Ultra 5 135H's boost clock of 4.60 GHz on its performance cores ensures that single-threaded performance is not a limitation. Overall, the CPU provides a solid foundation for the RTX 5070 Mobile, allowing the GPU to perform to its full potential without being held back by the processor. The benchmark results confirm that this is a well-balanced system for gaming at 1080p and 1440p, with the CPU playing a reliable, if not flashy, role in the overall performance.