Control

Control is a demanding Action Adventure title that stresses both the CPU and GPU heavily, and this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces a fascinating performance curve. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but still capable of delivering exceptionally high frame rates even at 4K. This combination sits at rank 106 out of 2888 tested combos, placing it in the top 3.7% of all configurations in the database, which indicates a very strong overall match for this game.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic pattern of GPU saturation. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 172 FPS, but this drops to 130 FPS at 1440p and further down to 88 FPS at 4K. This represents a 49% performance hit from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial reduction that clearly demonstrates the rendering load scaling with pixel count. The RTX 4090 is the dominant factor here, as the gap between resolutions is far too large to be explained by CPU limitations.

Looking at the Low settings preset, the scaling story becomes even more pronounced. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 272 FPS, which drops to 206 FPS at 1440p and then to 139 FPS at 4K. The 4K figure is less than half the 1080p number, showing that even the most powerful consumer GPU available is still heavily taxed by the pixel throughput required at 3840x2160. This is a textbook example of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU has headroom to spare but the graphics card is working at its limit.

The Medium settings rows provide the most complete data with minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 194 FPS with a minimum of 165 and maximum of 223. Moving to 1440p Medium, the average drops to 146 FPS with a range of 124 to 168. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 and maximum of 114. The consistency of these frame times, with the minimums staying within roughly 15% of the averages, suggests that this combo maintains stable performance without major hitches or stutters.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with 149 FPS at 1080p dropping to 113 FPS at 1440p and finally to 76 FPS at 4K. This 73 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K Ultra represents a 49% reduction, mirroring the High preset's scaling. The fact that the percentage drop is nearly identical across High and Ultra settings indicates that the game's resolution scaling is consistent regardless of the graphics quality level, reinforcing the conclusion that pixel count, not complexity, is the primary bottleneck.

GPU Role

The RTX 4090 is the undisputed workhorse of this pairing, and its specifications explain why it performs so well in Control. The GPU features a base clock of 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and it operates on the Ada Lovelace architecture built on a 5 nm process. This results in a massive 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is more than enough to handle the physics and particle effects that Control is known for.

Memory configuration plays a critical role in this game's performance. The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is essential for feeding the 16384 shading units at high resolutions. Control's environments are dense with destructible objects and floating debris, and the data shows that the GPU's memory subsystem is well-equipped to handle these demands. The 4K High preset achieving 88 FPS is particularly impressive given the game's complex rendering requirements.

The GPU's clock behavior is worth noting in context. With a boost clock of 2520 MHz, the RTX 4090 maintains high frequency under load, which contributes to the consistent frame times seen in the Medium settings measurements. The minimum FPS values of 84 at 4K Medium and 124 at 1440p Medium suggest that the card sustains its boost clocks without significant thermal throttling, even during intense combat sequences with multiple particle effects.

The raw compute capabilities of this GPU are reflected in its benchmark scores, with a Passmark G3D score of 38194 and an average benchmark score of 60347. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223 further confirms that this card is built for extreme performance in modern titles. In Control specifically, the GPU's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores provide ample resources for the game's optional ray tracing features, though the measured FPS data appears to be from rasterized rendering given the high frame rates achieved.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 106 out of 2888 tested combos, this configuration places in the top 3.7% of all systems tested for Control. This is an exceptional result, though it's important to contextualize this ranking. The RTX 4090 is the most powerful consumer GPU in the database, and when paired with a capable modern CPU like the Core Ultra 5 225, it's expected to perform near the top of the charts. The ranking indicates that this CPU does not bottleneck the GPU significantly in this title.

The CPU's performance metrics help explain why this combo ranks so well. The Core Ultra 5 225 achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and a single-core score of 3655, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F with an average score of 36945 (0% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D at 37018 (-0.2% delta), and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 at 37093 (-0.4% delta). These benchmarks show that the CPU is competitive with mid-range Ryzen options, though it's not a top-tier processor by any means.

The fact that this combo still ranks at 106 despite the CPU being mid-range relative to the GPU highlights how GPU-bound Control is at high settings. The data suggests that even a significantly weaker CPU would likely not reduce the 4K Ultra frame rate by much, since the GPU is the limiting factor. However, at 1080p Low where the system achieves 272 FPS, the CPU's limitations might become more apparent, as frame rates this high require rapid draw call processing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings presets. The Low preset achieves 272 FPS average, which is exceptional for any game and indicates that the GPU is not being fully utilized at this resolution. Medium settings produce 194 FPS average with a tight range of 165 to 223 FPS, showing excellent frame pacing. The High preset drops to 172 FPS, while Ultra settings still manage a very playable 149 FPS. These numbers suggest that at 1080p, the system has significant headroom, and users could enable additional graphical features without sacrificing smoothness.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. Low settings average 206 FPS, which is still extremely high and indicates that the GPU has plenty of bandwidth to handle the increased pixel count. Medium settings produce 146 FPS average with minimums of 124 and maximums of 168, which is ideal for high refresh rate 1440p monitors. High settings hit 130 FPS, while Ultra settings deliver 113 FPS. All of these numbers are well above the 60 FPS threshold and even exceed 100 FPS for most presets, making 1440p an excellent choice for this combo.

At 3840x2160, the system starts to show its limits. Low settings average 139 FPS, which is still highly playable and demonstrates the RTX 4090's raw power. Medium settings drop to 99 FPS average with a minimum of 84 FPS, which is still smooth but closer to the edge of what some users might consider ideal. High settings produce 88 FPS, while Ultra settings average 76 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K gaming is viable with this combo, but users may need to make a choice between maximum visual fidelity and frame rate smoothness depending on their display's refresh rate.

Settings Recommendations

For users with a 4K display, the data suggests that Medium settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance. The 99 FPS average at 4K Medium is significantly higher than the 88 FPS at High settings, and the minimum FPS of 84 ensures that the game stays above the 60 FPS threshold even during intense scenes. The jump from Medium to High costs 11 FPS on average, which may not be worth the visual improvement if you're targeting a 120Hz display.

At 1440p, the High settings preset appears to be the sweet spot. The 130 FPS average at High settings is only 16 FPS less than Medium's 146 FPS, but the visual quality improvement is substantial. For users with 144Hz or 165Hz monitors, the High preset's 130 FPS average is close enough to the refresh rate that the experience will feel smooth, and the game's detailed environments will look much better than at Medium settings.

For 1080p users, Ultra settings are clearly the best choice. The 149 FPS average at Ultra is still high enough for most displays, and the visual fidelity of Control at maximum settings is worth the performance cost. The difference between Ultra and High at 1080p is only 23 FPS, which is negligible when both are well above 100 FPS. This allows users to experience the game exactly as the developers intended without worrying about frame rate issues.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 plays a supporting role in this combo, but it's a capable one. With 10 cores and 10 threads running at a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, this Arrow Lake processor provides solid single-threaded performance that's crucial for game logic and physics calculations. The lack of hyperthreading is notable, but Control appears to not require it based on the measured frame rates.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides fast access to frequently used data, which is important for maintaining consistent frame times. The fact that the 1080p Low preset achieves 272 FPS indicates that the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output even at very high frame rates, suggesting that the processor is not a significant bottleneck in this game.

The CPU's benchmark scores show it's a well-rounded performer. With a Cinebench R15 multi-core score of 2609 and a single-core score of 368, it handles both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads competently. The Passmark single-thread score of 4412 is particularly relevant for gaming, as it indicates strong per-core performance. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all processors confirms that it's a solid choice for gaming, even if it's not the absolute fastest option available.

The data suggests that this CPU is well-matched with the RTX 4090 for Control. At 4K resolutions, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, and the CPU has enough headroom to feed it effectively. At 1080p, the CPU may start to become more relevant, but the frame rates are so high that it's unlikely to cause any perceptible issues. The Core Ultra 5 225's performance is competitive with its nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and Ryzen 5 5500X3D, making it a sensible choice for a high-end gaming build focused on this title.