Control

Control pairs a 14-core Intel Core Ultra 5 235 with an AMD Radeon RX 570, producing benchmark results that are heavily constrained by the graphics card. Across the measured resolutions and settings, average frame rates range from 16 FPS at 4K Ultra to 57 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this combination is only suitable for lower-resolution gaming with reduced graphical demands. The data shows a clear pattern where the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases, while the CPU's strong multi-core performance remains largely underutilized in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, revealing that the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the primary bottleneck in this system. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 36 at 1920x1080 to 27 at 2560x1440, then further to 18 at 3840x2160. This represents a 25% reduction when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and another 33% reduction when stepping up to 4K. The scaling pattern is similar for other presets, with Low settings dropping from 57 FPS at 1080p to 43 FPS at 1440p and 29 FPS at 4K.

The resolution scaling behavior suggests that pixel throughput, not geometry or shading complexity, is the dominant factor limiting performance. The RX 570's 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 32 ROPs are insufficient to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions, even with reduced settings. At 4K, the GPU is overwhelmed: the difference between Low and Ultra settings is only 13 FPS (29 vs 16), which is a narrow margin compared to the 26 FPS spread at 1080p (57 vs 31). This compression of performance at high resolution indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory subsystem are fully saturated regardless of the graphical workload.

When interpreting the scaling, it is important to note that the CPU's contribution becomes negligible at 4K. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235, with its 14 cores and boost clock of 5.00 GHz, has ample headroom to feed the GPU, but the RX 570 cannot translate that CPU capability into higher frame rates. The benchmark results demonstrate that this combo is only viable at 1080p, where the GPU can still maintain playable averages, while 1440p and 4K are reserved for lower presets or are simply not recommended based on the measured data.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where average frame rates exceed 30 FPS across multiple settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 57 FPS, and at 1080p Medium it reaches 40 FPS, while 1440p and 4K averages remain below 43 FPS even at Low settings.

Q: How does the RX 570's memory configuration affect Control's performance?

A: The GPU has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The data shows that at 4K, frame rates drop to 16-29 FPS depending on settings, which indicates that the memory capacity and bandwidth are insufficient for high-resolution textures and rendering loads in this game.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 a bottleneck in Control?

A: No, the CPU's performance is not the limiting factor in these results. The Ultra 5 235 has a multi-thread benchmark score of 37816 in PassMark and a single-thread score of 4516, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. The frame rate drops are consistent with GPU limitations rather than CPU processing constraints.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 57 at Low to 31 at Ultra, a difference of 26 FPS. This indicates that graphical settings have a significant impact on performance, allowing users to trade visual fidelity for smoother gameplay.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Control?

A: The data shows 4K averages of 16 FPS at Ultra, 18 FPS at High, 21 FPS at Medium, and 29 FPS at Low. None of these results are playable, confirming that 4K is not a viable option for this combination in this game.

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

A: The combo ranks 2768 out of 2888 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the bottom 5% of systems. This low ranking is consistent with the measured frame rates, which are only comfortable at 1080p with lower presets.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the dominant component in determining Control's performance, and its specifications explain why the benchmark results are so limited. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz, paired with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory running at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). This configuration delivers a pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 5.095 TFLOPS. These figures place the RX 570 in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, but this percentile does not guarantee adequate performance for demanding titles like Control.

The 4 GB memory capacity is a particular concern. At higher resolutions, the game's texture and buffer requirements exceed what the GPU can store locally, forcing data transfers that degrade performance. The measured data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is only 16, which is the lowest recorded score in the entire dataset. Even at 4K Low, the 29 FPS average is barely above the threshold for playability. The 256-bit memory bus and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot compensate for the capacity shortfall, as the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is nearly linear with the increase in pixel count.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the RX 570's average benchmark score of 28766 is within 1.2% of the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 and 0.7% of the AMD Radeon R9 M295X. However, these scores do not translate into consistent gaming performance, as Control's specific demands on fill rate and memory bandwidth expose the GPU's weaknesses. The GPU's end-of-life production status and 150 W TDP suggest that it is an older design, and the benchmark results reflect that it struggles with modern game engines at high settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the resolution where this combo performs best, the average FPS varies from 57 at Low settings to 31 at Ultra. The Medium preset records 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46, providing the most balanced performance for users who want a mix of visual quality and smoothness. High settings drop to 36 FPS, which is still playable but requires compromises in demanding scenes. The 26 FPS spread between Low and Ultra shows that settings have a substantial impact, allowing users to prioritize frame rate or fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 43 FPS at Low, 30 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 26 and maximum of 35), 27 FPS at High, and 24 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p is marginally playable, but the low minimum of 26 FPS suggests occasional stutters. At 1440p High and Ultra, the frame rates fall below 30 FPS, making these settings unsuitable for a smooth experience. The data indicates that 1440p is only viable with Low settings, and even then, the 43 FPS average is not ideal for fast-paced action sequences.

At 3840x2160, the performance is uniformly poor across all settings. Low settings achieve 29 FPS, Medium reaches 21 FPS with a minimum of 17 and maximum of 24, High drops to 18 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 16 FPS. These results are consistent with the GPU's limited pixel throughput and memory bandwidth. The 4K data confirms that this resolution is not practical for this combo, as even the most aggressive settings reduction cannot push the average above 30 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 provides substantial processing capability that goes largely unused in Control due to the GPU bottleneck. The CPU features 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, built on Intel's 3 nm process node. Its cache configuration includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 14769 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2085 in single-core, with a PassMark multi-thread score of 37816 and single-thread score of 4516.

The CPU's performance percentile of 89 places it well above average, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (within 0.1%) and the Intel Core i9-13900HX (within 0.1%). These results indicate that the Ultra 5 235 is more than capable of handling game logic, physics, and AI calculations in Control. The measured frame rates, however, are limited by the RX 570, meaning that even a significantly faster CPU would not improve the FPS in this configuration.

The 65 W TDP and 102.4 GB/s dual-channel memory bandwidth of the CPU support smooth data flow to the GPU, but the bottleneck occurs at the graphics card's output stage. The data shows no evidence of CPU-induced frame pacing issues, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, which are GPU-dependent variables. For users considering upgrades, the CPU would not be the limiting factor in this game; replacing the GPU would yield far greater performance gains.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's resolution preference. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers the best balance, with an average of 40 FPS and a minimum of 34 FPS that keeps gameplay smooth. The 34 FPS minimum is the highest among all Medium presets across resolutions, and the 40 FPS average provides enough headroom for action sequences. For users who prioritize frame rate, Low settings at 1080p deliver 57 FPS, which is the highest recorded score in the entire dataset and suitable for competitive or fast-paced play.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only recommended option, achieving 43 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 30 FPS but has a minimum of 26 FPS, which can cause noticeable hitches during intense combat. High and Ultra settings at 1440p are not recommended, as their averages of 27 and 24 FPS fall below the playability threshold. For 3840x2160, none of the settings are recommended, with even Low averaging only 29 FPS and dropping to 17 FPS at Medium. Users should avoid 4K entirely with this hardware.

The data suggests a clear trade-off: at 1080p Medium, users get 40 FPS with better visual fidelity, while 1080p Low doubles the frame rate to 57 FPS at the cost of reduced details. The Ultra preset at 1080p, at 31 FPS, is not worth the performance loss relative to High's 36 FPS, as the visual difference is minimal in most scenes. For the best experience, prioritizing the Medium preset at 1080p provides a playable and visually acceptable balance, with Low as a fallback for smoother motion.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 2768 out of 2888 tested combos in Control, placing it in the bottom 4.2% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's inability to handle the game's graphical demands at higher resolutions, despite the CPU's strong performance. The Ultra 5 235's 89th percentile CPU ranking is negated by the RX 570's 74th percentile GPU ranking, as the latter becomes the definitive performance limiter.

The measured FPS data confirms this low ranking: the combo achieves playable frame rates (above 40 FPS) only at 1080p Low, and even then, the 57 FPS average is modest compared to what higher-end GPUs would deliver. The rank of 2768 indicates that the vast majority of tested systems outperform this combo, with only 120 combinations performing worse. This positions the combo as a legacy or entry-level configuration in the context of Control, suitable for 1080p gaming with reduced settings but not for higher resolutions.

The ranking also highlights a mismatch between the two components. The Ultra 5 235, with its 14 cores and 5.00 GHz boost clock, is a modern CPU capable of handling demanding workloads, but the RX 570, released in 2017 with a 14 nm process, is an older GPU that cannot keep pace. The data shows that this combo is best suited for users who prioritize CPU performance for other tasks while accepting lower frame rates in Control, or for those who plan to upgrade the GPU in the future.