Control

# Control with Intel Core Ultra 5 225 + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX delivers a high-refresh-rate experience in Control at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K remains playable but demands settings compromises. The combo ranks 362nd out of 2,888 tested combinations for this game, placing it in the top 12.5% of all measured systems. The data shows a clear pattern: the GPU is the dominant factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 10-core/10-thread configuration becomes more relevant at 1080p where frame rates exceed 200 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The 2560x1440 Medium preset offers the strongest balance, delivering 121 FPS average with a minimum of 103 FPS. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset hits 123 FPS average, but the 1440p Medium row provides nearly identical performance with higher pixel density.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XTX compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has an average benchmark score of 19,410, placing it just 0.4% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB (19,334) and 1.2% above the NVIDIA TITAN Xp (19,177). It sits 1% below the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (19,602) and 1.2% below the AMD FirePro D300 (19,637).

Q: What CPU performance tier does the Core Ultra 5 225 occupy?

A: The CPU scores 36,938 on average, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36,945, 0% delta). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D by 0.2% (37,018) and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 by 0.4% (37,093), while sitting 0.5% below the Intel Core i9-12900T (37,112).

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this combination?

A: Yes, but with caveats. The High preset at 3840x2160 averages 72 FPS, while Low reaches 115 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 63 FPS average, which is playable but below the 72 FPS High setting. Medium sits between at 82 FPS with a 69 FPS minimum.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for Control?

A: The combo ranks 362nd out of 2,888 tested combinations. This places it well above the median, indicating strong overall performance for this specific game title.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance profile?

A: The Core Ultra 5 225 scores 3,655 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 4,412 in Passmark single-thread. Its 4.90 GHz boost clock supports these results, which matter for Control's frame pacing at high refresh rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's 362nd place ranking out of 2,888 combinations places it in the 87.5th percentile of all tested systems for Control. This is a strong result, indicating that the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX combination outperforms roughly 2,526 other tested pairings. The ranking reflects the GPU's substantial compute resources, which include 6,144 shading units and 61.39 TFLOPS FP32 performance.

The CPU's contribution to this ranking is notable but secondary. With an 85th percentile score among all CPUs, the Core Ultra 5 225 provides solid foundational performance. Its nearest rivals — the Ryzen 5 5600F, Ryzen 5 5500X3D, Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, and Core i9-12900T — all sit within 0.5% of its average benchmark score, indicating that the CPU is not a differentiating factor at this performance tier.

The GPU's 64th percentile ranking among all GPUs, however, tells a more complex story. While the RX 7900 XTX's raw benchmark scores place it near older cards like the GTX 1060 3 GB and TITAN Xp in aggregate benchmarks, its 24 GB of GDDR6 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth provide substantial headroom for texture-heavy titles like Control. The game's measured FPS data confirms this: even at 4K Ultra, the combo maintains 63 FPS, a result that aligns with its 362nd overall ranking.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the bottleneck shifts across resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 225 FPS average. This drops to 170 FPS at 2560x1440 Low (-24.4%) and further to 115 FPS at 3840x2160 Low (-48.9% from 1080p). The scaling pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is likely limiting performance, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames far faster than the processor can feed it.

Switching to High settings, the 1080p result is 142 FPS, 1440p brings 107 FPS (-24.6%), and 4K yields 72 FPS (-49.3% from 1080p). The consistent percentage drops across Low and High presets suggest the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution increases, with the 4K results showing the sharpest relative decline. The Ultra preset shows a similar pattern: 123 FPS at 1080p, 93 FPS at 1440p (-24.4%), and 63 FPS at 4K (-48.8%).

The Medium preset includes minimum and maximum FPS data, offering additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the range is 136-184 FPS with a 160 FPS average. At 1440p Medium, the range tightens to 103-139 FPS with a 121 FPS average. At 4K Medium, the range is 69-94 FPS with an 82 FPS average. The narrowing frame range at higher resolutions indicates more consistent GPU-bound performance, whereas the wider range at 1080p suggests CPU-related frame time variance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 123 FPS average, while High reaches 142 FPS, Medium hits 160 FPS (136 min, 184 max), and Low peaks at 225 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 102 FPS, representing an 82.9% improvement from the highest to lowest settings. This wide spread indicates that Control's graphics options have a substantial impact on frame rate at 1080p, but even the most demanding preset remains well above 120 FPS.

The 2560x1440 results show a similar hierarchy with tighter margins. Ultra averages 93 FPS, High reaches 107 FPS, Medium sits at 121 FPS (103 min, 139 max), and Low achieves 170 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 77 FPS, or 82.8% relative improvement. Notably, the 1440p High result (107 FPS) nearly matches the 1080p Ultra result (123 FPS), suggesting that users can trade resolution for settings without a dramatic performance penalty.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope compresses further. Ultra delivers 63 FPS, High reaches 72 FPS, Medium averages 82 FPS (69 min, 94 max), and Low tops out at 115 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread is 52 FPS, representing an 82.5% improvement. The 4K Medium minimum of 69 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS frame time recorded across all tested configurations, indicating that this combo avoids major frame drops even under heavy load.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX serves as the primary performance driver in this configuration, particularly at resolutions above 1080p. Its 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus provides 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for Control's detailed environments and physics-driven destructible objects. The GPU's 1,929 MHz base clock and 2,498 MHz boost clock, with a 2,365 MHz game clock, deliver the raw compute throughput needed for the game's particle effects and lighting.

The GPU's 64th percentile ranking among all GPUs may seem modest, but its measured performance in Control tells a different story. At 4K Ultra, the combo maintains 63 FPS, which is impressive given the GPU's aggregate benchmark score of 19,410 places it near the GTX 1060 3 GB in synthetic tests. This discrepancy suggests that Control's workload favors the RX 7900 XTX's architecture — its 96 ray accelerators and 192 ROPs handle the game's rendering pipeline efficiently, while the 24 GB frame buffer eliminates any texture streaming bottlenecks.

The GPU's RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process with 57,700 million transistors, provides 61.39 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. This raw power translates directly to the measured FPS: the 4K High preset's 72 FPS average and the 1440p Ultra preset's 93 FPS average both indicate that the GPU is the limiting factor at these resolutions. The 355 W TDP and 750 W suggested PSU reflect the card's high power draw, but the performance data justifies this requirement.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K gaming, the Medium preset at 3840x2160 is the optimal choice. It delivers 82 FPS average with a 69 FPS minimum, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining visual quality. The High preset's 72 FPS is also viable, but the Medium option's 69 FPS minimum ensures more consistent frame pacing during intense combat sequences. The Low preset at 4K reaches 115 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant for a game that relies heavily on atmospheric lighting.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is the clear recommendation. With 93 FPS average, it offers a high-quality experience without sacrificing smoothness. The Medium preset's 121 FPS (103 min) is preferable for players using high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, but Ultra's visual fidelity gains are substantial for only a 28 FPS difference. The High preset at 107 FPS sits between these options, making it a reasonable fallback.

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset's 123 FPS average is the best choice for standard 120 Hz displays. The High preset's 142 FPS supports 144 Hz monitors, while Medium's 160 FPS (136 min) and Low's 225 FPS cater to esports-style play. Given that Control is a single-player action game, the Ultra preset provides the most immersive experience while maintaining triple-digit frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 provides 10 cores and 10 threads, a configuration that supports Control's multi-threaded physics and AI systems. Its 3.30 GHz base clock and 4.90 GHz boost clock deliver strong single-thread performance, evidenced by the 3,655 Cinebench R23 single-core score and 4,412 Passmark single-thread result. The 20 MB of shared L3 cache, alongside 192 KB L1 and 3 MB L2 per core, ensures efficient data access for game logic.

The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all processors places it well above average, but its role in Control is largely supplementary. At 1080p Low, the 225 FPS result indicates the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at very high frame rates. However, the 102 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p suggests the GPU becomes the bottleneck as settings increase, even at lower resolutions. The CPU's 65 W TDP and TSMC 3 nm process node contribute to efficient operation without thermal throttling.

The CPU's nearest rivals — the Ryzen 5 5600F, Ryzen 5 5500X3D, Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, and Core i9-12900T — all score within 0.5% of the Ultra 5 225 in aggregate benchmarks. This clustering indicates that for Control, any of these processors would likely produce similar frame rates when paired with the RX 7900 XTX. The CPU's 10-thread configuration is sufficient for this game, as Control's engine scales well up to 8-10 threads but shows diminishing returns beyond that point. The measured FPS data confirms that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance across all resolutions and settings tested.