Control

Control on this hardware pairing presents a challenging performance profile. The data shows a system where the AMD Radeon RX 580 is the primary limiting factor, with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 providing sufficient processing headroom. The measured frame rates across the resolution and settings matrix indicate that this combination is best suited for lower resolutions and graphical presets to achieve playable performance.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe, clearly identifying the GPU as the bottleneck. At 1080p with High settings, the system produces an average of 40 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings reduces the average to 30 FPS, a 25% decrease. The jump to 4K High is the most punishing, with the average falling to 20 FPS, a 50% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput, as the RX 580's 256-bit memory bus and 8 GB of GDDR5 are saturated by the increasing resolution demands.

The trend holds across all settings. At Low settings, the system achieves 63 FPS at 1080p, drops to 48 FPS at 1440p, and falls to 32 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 4K at Low settings is 31 FPS, showing that even at the lowest graphical load, the GPU cannot maintain a playable frame rate at 4K. The 4K Medium preset yields an average of 23 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, while 4K Ultra bottoms out at 18 FPS. These numbers suggest that the RX 580's compute capabilities, rated at 6.175 TFLOPS, are insufficient for 4K rendering in Control, regardless of the quality preset.

The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is more moderate, with an average reduction of roughly 10 FPS across all settings. For instance, Medium settings produce 45 FPS at 1080p and 34 FPS at 1440p. This indicates that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this GPU, but only with lower graphical settings. The data implies that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this scaling, as the Core Ultra 5 225 with its 10 cores and 20 MB of L3 cache can feed the GPU adequately at these frame rates. The bottleneck is the GPU's pixel fill rate of 42.88 GPixel/s, which is simply overwhelmed by the 8.3 million pixels of a 4K display.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combination is at 1080p with Low settings, which produces an average of 63 FPS. This is the only configuration that achieves a frame rate comfortably above 60 FPS, providing a smooth and responsive experience for action gameplay. The Low preset at 1080p is recommended for players who prioritize fluidity and consistent frame pacing over visual fidelity.

For users who prefer higher visual quality, 1080p Medium is a viable alternative, delivering an average of 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS. This preset offers a balance between visual enhancements and performance, though the frame rate may dip in intense scenes. The 1080p High preset averages 40 FPS, which is playable but shows the GPU struggling to maintain a consistent experience. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 35 FPS, which is the lowest playable option at this resolution.

At 1440p, the data suggests that only the Low preset, with an average of 48 FPS, is acceptable for gameplay. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 34 FPS, which is borderline, and the High preset at 30 FPS is marginal. The 1440p Ultra preset averages 26 FPS, which is not recommended for a smooth experience. All 4K presets, ranging from 18 to 32 FPS, are not viable for gameplay, as they fall below the minimum threshold for responsive action. The recommendation is clear: stick to 1080p Low for the best performance, or 1080p Medium for a balanced experience.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1080p with Low settings yields the highest average FPS at 63, making it the best combination for smooth gameplay. 1080p Medium is a close second with an average of 45 FPS.

Q: Can this system run Control at 4K?

A: No. The measured FPS at 3840x2160 ranges from 18 FPS on Ultra to 32 FPS on Low. All 4K presets produce averages below 33 FPS, which is not suitable for playable frame rates.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 35 FPS, while the High preset averages 40 FPS. The data indicates a 5 FPS difference, suggesting that the visual gains from Ultra may not justify the performance cost.

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

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting factor. The RX 580's performance drops significantly with resolution increases, while the Core Ultra 5 225's 10 cores and 3.30 GHz base clock provide ample processing power for this game.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for any preset?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 19 FPS, observed at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The 1440p Medium preset shows a minimum of 29 FPS, and 1080p Medium shows a minimum of 38 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU's memory bandwidth affect performance?

A: The RX 580 has a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s via its 256-bit bus. This bandwidth is likely saturated at higher resolutions, contributing to the steep FPS drops observed from 1080p to 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. The Low preset achieves an average of 63 FPS, which is the highest recorded in the entire dataset. Medium settings average 45 FPS, with a range of 38 to 51 FPS, showing some variance in frame times. High settings average 40 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 35 FPS. This resolution is the only one where the system can approach or exceed 60 FPS, and only on the Low preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. The Low preset averages 48 FPS, which is playable but not as smooth as the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 34 FPS, with a minimum of 29 FPS and a maximum of 39 FPS. High settings average 30 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 26 FPS. The data shows a consistent 10-15 FPS penalty for each resolution step up from 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the system is unable to maintain playable frame rates. The Low preset averages 32 FPS, which is the highest at this resolution. Medium settings average 23 FPS, with a minimum of 19 FPS and a maximum of 26 FPS. High settings average 20 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 18 FPS. These numbers confirm that 4K is not a viable option for this hardware combination, as even the lowest settings fall short of a smooth experience.

The data reveals a clear pattern: the RX 580's performance degrades linearly with resolution increases, and the gap between Low and Ultra presets narrows as resolution rises. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 28 FPS; at 1440p, it is 22 FPS; at 4K, it is only 14 FPS. This suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so constrained that preset changes have a smaller impact on absolute frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 2633 out of 2888 tested combos for Control. This places it in the bottom 9% of all tested systems, indicating that it is a low-performing configuration for this specific title. The rank reflects the GPU's age and capabilities, as the RX 580 is an end-of-life product with a 53rd percentile ranking among all GPUs.

The CPU, however, is a strong performer. The Core Ultra 5 225 has an 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36938. Its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, which scores 36945, a negligible 0% difference. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this system's low rank; instead, the GPU's 53rd percentile ranking drags the overall combo down. The RX 580's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, scores 12940, a -0.1% delta, showing that the GPU is performing as expected for its class.

The rank of 2633 out of 2888 combos indicates that most other tested systems, likely with more modern GPUs, achieve significantly higher frame rates in Control. This combo is suited for 1080p gaming at low to medium settings, but it is outclassed by the majority of systems in the database.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process node. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and a single-core score of 3655. These numbers indicate that the CPU has ample processing power for Control's game logic and physics calculations.

In this specific game, the CPU's role appears to be secondary, as the frame rates are consistently limited by the GPU. The measured FPS at 1080p Low is 63 FPS, which is a frame rate that the CPU can easily feed to the GPU. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4412 and multi-thread score of 30459 suggest that it has the single-core performance necessary for game engine tasks and the multi-core capability for background processes.

The 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide fast data access for frequently used instructions. The memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 is sufficient for this workload. The data suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any tested resolution or setting, as the FPS drops are consistent with GPU-bound behavior. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms its high performance relative to other processors.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the clear bottleneck in this system. Based on the Polaris 20 chip and GCN 4.0 architecture, it is built on a 14 nm process node. The GPU has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units. Its base clock is 1257 MHz, with a boost clock of 1340 MHz. The 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's benchmark scores are modest, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1005 and a PassMark G3D score of 8813. Its 53rd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the middle of the pack, but its performance in Control is poor due to the game's demanding graphics. The GPU's pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s are insufficient for high-resolution rendering.

The RX 580's FP32 performance of 6.175 TFLOPS is a key indicator of its compute capability. This figure, combined with the 32 ROPs, explains why the GPU struggles at 4K, where the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed. The GPU's 185 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for its generation, but its end-of-life production status means it lacks modern features. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting component in this combo, with its performance declining sharply as resolution and settings increase. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not the issue at these settings; rather, the raw compute and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors.