Control

Control is a 2019 Action Adventure title that stresses both GPU and CPU depending on resolution and settings. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 across three resolutions and four quality presets. The data reveals a combination that scales predictably with resolution, with the RTX 5090's immense compute resources driving high frame rates even at 4K, while the mobile Core Ultra 5 135H provides sufficient throughput to avoid severe bottlenecks at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent drop in performance as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate declines from 128 FPS at 1080p to 97 FPS at 1440p, a 24% reduction, and then further to 65 FPS at 4K, a 33% drop from the 1440p figure. This pattern indicates a typical GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the rendering load on the RTX 5090's 21,760 shading units and 176 ROPs becomes the primary limiting factor.

At Low settings, the scaling is steeper. The average FPS at 1080p is 203, which falls to 153 at 1440p (a 25% decrease) and then to 103 at 4K (a 33% decrease from 1440p). The absolute drops are larger at lower settings because the GPU is less constrained by pixel shading and more by geometry and draw calls, yet the percentage decline remains similar. This suggests that even with reduced visual fidelity, the RTX 5090's raw throughput is still the dominant factor.

Ultra settings show a different pattern. The average FPS is 111 at 1080p, dropping to 84 at 1440p and 57 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 24%, and from 1440p to 4K is 32%. Notably, the 4K Ultra result of 57 FPS is the lowest measured value across all configurations, indicating that the combination of maximum quality and high pixel count fully saturates the GPU's capabilities.

The limiting component shifts based on resolution. At 1080p, the CPU's role becomes more prominent, yet the Core Ultra 5 135H, with its 14 cores and 18 threads, still manages to feed the GPU enough data to reach 203 FPS at Low settings. At 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck, as evidenced by the narrow range between Low (103 FPS) and Ultra (57 FPS) settings, which is a 45% difference. This indicates that the RTX 5090's memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s and 32 GB of GDDR7 VRAM are being heavily utilized to maintain playable frame rates at the highest resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 563rd out of 2,888 combos for Control. This places it in the top 19.5% of all tested configurations, which is a strong result given that the CPU is a mobile part while the GPU is a flagship desktop-class component.

The combo's ranking reflects a slight imbalance in the pairing. The RTX 5090 is an exceptionally powerful GPU, ranking in the 92nd percentile against all GPUs, while the Core Ultra 5 135H ranks in the 81st percentile against all CPUs. The 11-percentage-point gap between the two components' percentile rankings suggests that the CPU may be holding back the GPU in certain scenarios, particularly at lower resolutions where frame rates are high.

Compared to other combos, this pairing's rank of 563 indicates that many configurations with more balanced high-end CPUs achieve better overall performance in Control. The data implies that while the RTX 5090 can push very high frame rates, the Core Ultra 5 135H's mobile design, with a 28W TDP and 4.60 GHz boost clock, may limit the GPU's full potential in CPU-intensive scenes. The combo's rank would likely be higher if paired with a desktop-class CPU with higher single-thread performance, as the game's physics and AI calculations depend heavily on core speed.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This massive memory allocation is far beyond what Control requires at any resolution, but it ensures that texture loading and streaming are never bottlenecks, even at 4K Ultra settings. The GPU's base clock is 2017 MHz, boosting to 2407 MHz, which provides the computational horsepower needed to maintain high frame rates.

In Control, the RTX 5090's performance is evidenced by its benchmark scores. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 39,650 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18,355, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. These scores correlate with the measured FPS data, where the GPU delivers 65 FPS at 4K High and 103 FPS at 4K Low. The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate are critical for handling the game's particle effects and destructible environments.

The RTX 5090's VRAM capacity of 32 GB is not stressed by Control, which was released in 2019, but it does future-proof the system for more demanding titles. The GPU's memory clock of 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) and 512-bit bus width provide the bandwidth to sustain high frame rates at 4K, as evidenced by the relatively small gap between Low and Medium settings at 4K (103 FPS vs 73 FPS). The GPU's thermal design power of 575W and dual-slot design indicate that it is a power-hungry component, but this is irrelevant to the measured FPS data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings yield an average of 203 FPS, which is exceptionally high and indicates that the GPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution. Medium settings produce 144 FPS with a minimum of 122 FPS and a maximum of 165 FPS, showing good consistency. High settings average 128 FPS, while Ultra settings average 111 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 92 FPS, which demonstrates that the RTX 5090 has ample headroom to handle increased visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows a noticeable step down. Low settings average 153 FPS, Medium settings average 109 FPS with a range of 93 to 125 FPS, High settings average 97 FPS, and Ultra settings average 84 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 69 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the 1080p results. The minimum FPS of 93 at Medium settings is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that this resolution is comfortably handled.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits. Low settings average 103 FPS, Medium settings average 73 FPS with a range of 62 to 85 FPS, High settings average 65 FPS, and Ultra settings average 57 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 46 FPS, which is the smallest absolute spread across all resolutions. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, and even reducing settings to Low does not yield the dramatic frame rate increases seen at lower resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 57 FPS is the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS, indicating that this setting is marginal for competitive play but still playable for most users.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which settings offer the best experience. For players targeting 60 FPS as a baseline, 4K Ultra at 57 FPS is borderline, so dropping to High at 65 FPS provides a safer margin. Medium settings at 73 FPS offer a more comfortable buffer while maintaining decent visual quality.

At 1440p, all settings exceed 60 FPS, with the lowest being Ultra at 84 FPS. High settings at 97 FPS strike a good balance between visual fidelity and performance, while Medium at 109 FPS offers additional headroom for demanding scenes. Low settings at 153 FPS are unnecessary for this resolution unless the player prioritizes maximum frame rates for competitive play.

At 1080p, the GPU is not a limiting factor, so players can freely choose Ultra settings at 111 FPS without sacrificing smoothness. Medium settings at 144 FPS and High at 128 FPS are also viable, but the data suggests that Ultra provides the best visual experience without dropping below 100 FPS. Low settings at 203 FPS are only useful for esports-level response times, which Control does not require.

The most balanced overall experience appears to be 1440p High settings, which delivers 97 FPS with a significant quality improvement over Medium. For 4K users, High settings at 65 FPS are recommended over Ultra, as the 8 FPS gain is modest but the visual difference is minimal in fast-paced action scenes. Medium settings at 4K (73 FPS) are a better choice for those who want to ensure frame rates never dip below 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in Control?

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

Q: Is 4K Ultra settings playable with this combo?

A: The measured average FPS at 4K Ultra is 57, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable. Dropping to High settings yields 65 FPS for a safer margin.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested combinations in Control?

A: This combo ranks 563rd out of 2,888 tested combos, placing it in the top 19.5% of all configurations.

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

A: The RTX 5090 has a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s, which helps sustain 103 FPS at 4K Low and 65 FPS at 4K High, indicating sufficient bandwidth for this game.

Q: At which resolution does the CPU become the limiting factor?

A: At 1920x1080, the CPU is more likely to be a limiting factor, as evidenced by the large FPS spread between Low (203 FPS) and Ultra (111 FPS), which suggests the GPU has headroom that the CPU may not fully utilize.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only min FPS recorded is 62 at 4K Medium settings, with a corresponding average of 73 FPS and maximum of 85 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a mobile processor with 14 cores and 18 threads, based on the Meteor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, with a TDP of 28W. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration is designed for efficient multi-threaded workloads, though its mobile nature limits sustained performance compared to desktop parts.

In Control, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics calculations, and draw call submission. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 203 FPS, which suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at high frame rates. However, the drop to 111 FPS at 1080p Ultra indicates that the CPU may be bottlenecked by increased draw calls and physics simulations at higher settings, as the GPU's workload does not increase proportionally with settings at this resolution.

The CPU's benchmark scores provide context for its performance. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11,875.5 and a single-core score of 1,700, placing it in the 81st percentile of all CPUs. Its Passmark multi-thread score is 22,422, and its single-thread score is 3,521. These scores indicate that the Core Ultra 5 135H is a capable mid-range mobile CPU, but it is not a top-tier desktop part. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, has a similar average score of 29,123 versus 29,093 for the Core Ultra 5 135H, a delta of -0.1%.

The CPU's impact on Control's performance is most evident at 1080p, where the frame rates are high enough to expose CPU limitations. At 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, so the CPU's role diminishes. The combo's rank of 563 out of 2,888 reflects this imbalance: the RTX 5090 is a top-tier GPU, but the Core Ultra 5 135H is a mid-range mobile CPU, and the pairing's overall performance is limited by the weaker component in CPU-bound scenarios.