Control

Control, Remedy’s action-adventure title, presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination. The measured data indicates that this pairing is firmly oriented toward 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K resolution proving to be a significant hurdle that requires substantial settings compromises to remain playable. The benchmark results show a clear hierarchy where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strong single-threaded performance ensures consistent frame pacing at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K exposes the fundamental performance ceiling of this hardware configuration. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 118 FPS, which drops to 89 FPS at 1440p and further to 60 FPS at 4K. This scaling pattern shows a 49.2% performance reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 49.2% reduction again from 1440p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is being pushed progressively harder as pixel count increases. The 4K Low result of 60 FPS represents the playable threshold for this resolution, but the margin for error is minimal.

Moving to High settings, the scaling becomes more punishing. The system delivers 74 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and just 38 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop of 24.3% is significant, but the 1440p to 4K drop of 32.1% is even steeper, suggesting that the RX 6600 XT’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are severely taxed at 4K. The Ultra settings tell a similar story, with 65 FPS at 1080p falling to 49 FPS at 1440p and finally 33 FPS at 4K, a 49.2% reduction from 1440p to 4K.

The Medium preset provides the most complete data, including minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the system averages 84 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS. The 4K Medium result shows an average of 43 FPS with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 49 FPS. The minimum frame rates are particularly telling: at 4K Medium, the 36 FPS minimum indicates that the GPU is struggling to maintain consistent frame delivery, which could result in noticeable stuttering during intense combat sequences.

The data suggests that the limiting component at 4K is unequivocally the GPU. The RX 6600 XT’s 8 GB of VRAM and 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are insufficient for the demands of Control at 4K with high visual fidelity, as evidenced by the 33 FPS Ultra result. At 1080p, however, the CPU’s capabilities come into play, with the Core Ultra 5 235’s 5.00 GHz boost clock helping to drive frame rates above 100 FPS at Low settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is the dominant performance factor in this configuration, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU’s 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs, combined with a boost clock of 2589 MHz, deliver a measured FP32 performance of 10.60 TFLOPS. This compute capacity is sufficient for 1080p gaming at high settings, where the system achieves 74 FPS, but the 4K Ultra result of 33 FPS demonstrates the card’s limitations at higher pixel densities.

The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. This bandwidth constraint becomes apparent when comparing the 4K Low result of 60 FPS to the 4K High result of 38 FPS. The 36.7% performance penalty for moving from Low to High at 4K suggests that texture loading and memory throughput are significant bottlenecks. The 4K Medium minimum frame rate of 36 FPS further confirms that the GPU is operating at its limits, struggling to maintain playable performance as the settings increase.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 70th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24442. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, which scores 0.7% lower, and the Intel Arc A350M, which scores 0.8% higher. The RX 6600 XT also outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER by 1.1% in these aggregated benchmarks, despite the RTX 2080 SUPER being a higher-tier product. This positioning indicates that the RX 6600 XT offers competitive raw performance for its class, but the measured FPS data shows that Control specifically pushes the card to its limits at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s 32 RT cores are present but Control’s measured results do not isolate ray tracing performance, so their impact cannot be quantified from this data. The 165.7 GPixel/s pixel rate and 331.4 GTexel/s texture rate provide the fill rate necessary for 1080p gaming, but these figures halve in effective throughput when scaling to 4K, explaining the dramatic FPS drops observed.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 plays a supporting role in this configuration, but its performance characteristics are nonetheless critical for achieving high frame rates at lower resolutions. The CPU features 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The architecture is Arrow Lake-S, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The absence of hyperthreading means 14 threads total, which is a notable design choice for a desktop processor.

The CPU’s benchmark results demonstrate strong single-threaded performance, which is essential for gaming. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085 and multi-core score of 14769 indicate a balanced processor that excels in lightly threaded workloads. The PassMark single-thread score of 4516 places the CPU in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46062. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, which scores 0.1% higher, and the Intel Core i9-13900HX, which scores 0.1% lower.

In Control, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p with Low settings, where the system achieves 118 FPS. This frame rate suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough draw calls to maintain high performance, even with a relatively modest GPU like the RX 6600 XT. The 5.00 GHz boost clock likely contributes to this, as Control’s physics and AI systems benefit from high per-core performance.

However, the CPU’s 14-thread configuration may become a limiting factor in scenes with numerous simultaneous physics calculations or AI agents. The data shows that at 1080p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 65 FPS, which is a 44.9% reduction from Low settings. This drop is more likely attributable to GPU load than CPU limitations, as the RX 6600 XT’s compute resources are taxed by the increased visual complexity. The CPU’s 24 MB of L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth provide sufficient data throughput for gaming workloads, but the lack of additional threads could theoretically impact performance in CPU-bound scenarios, though the measured data does not show evidence of this in Control.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1080p as the optimal resolution. At 1080p with High settings, the system achieves 74 FPS, and at Low settings it reaches 118 FPS. 1440p is playable with 56 FPS on High, but 4K requires Low settings to reach 60 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 74 FPS at 1080p to 38 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 48.6%. At Low settings, the drop is from 118 FPS to 60 FPS, a 49.2% reduction.

Q: Is the RX 6600 XT sufficient for 1440p gaming in Control?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 1440p High, the system achieves 56 FPS, which is playable. At 1440p Medium, it reaches 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 49 FPS, which may be less desirable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 5 235 scores 46062 on average, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i9-13900HX. It also outperforms the AMD EPYC 4364P by 0.2%.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate at 4K Medium settings?

A: The measured minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 36 FPS, with an average of 43 FPS and a maximum of 49 FPS. This minimum suggests potential stuttering during demanding scenes.

Q: How does the GPU compare to the RTX 2080 SUPER in benchmarks?

A: The RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 24442, which is 1.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER’s score of 24170. This indicates the RX 6600 XT outperforms this rival in aggregated benchmarks.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 74 FPS, which is an excellent balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset reduces this to 65 FPS, a 12.2% penalty for marginal visual improvements. For players prioritizing frame rate, the Low preset at 118 FPS offers the smoothest experience, but the Medium preset at 84 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS provides a better visual experience while maintaining high performance.

At 1440p, the High preset at 56 FPS is the recommended choice for a balance of quality and playability. The Medium preset at 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS offers a more stable experience, making it the safer option for ensuring consistent frame delivery. The Ultra preset at 49 FPS is borderline, and the Low preset at 89 FPS sacrifices too much visual fidelity for the resolution. The data suggests that Medium or High are the optimal presets for 1440p.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset at 60 FPS is the only option that achieves a consistent 60 FPS average, making it the recommended choice for 4K gaming. The Medium preset at 43 FPS with a minimum of 36 FPS may be acceptable for players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, but the minimum frame rate indicates potential stuttering. The High preset at 38 FPS and Ultra at 33 FPS are not recommended for a smooth experience. The data clearly indicates that 4K gaming with this configuration requires significant settings compromises, with Low being the only preset that hits the 60 FPS target.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers the highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 118 FPS, making it the fastest configuration. The Medium preset averages 84 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS, providing a stable experience. The High preset averages 74 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 65 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 44.9% reduction in average frame rate, from 118 FPS to 65 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. The Low preset averages 89 FPS, which is 24.6% lower than the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS. The High preset averages 56 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 49 FPS. The 1440p results show a similar scaling pattern to 1080p, with the Ultra preset delivering 44.9% lower performance than Low.

At 3840x2160, the RX 6600 XT is clearly overwhelmed at higher settings. The Low preset averages 60 FPS, which is the only playable option. The Medium preset averages 43 FPS with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 49 FPS, showing significant frame time variance. The High preset averages 38 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 33 FPS. The 4K results demonstrate that the GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM and 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are insufficient for maintaining high frame rates with increased visual complexity.

The complete data set shows a consistent pattern: the RX 6600 XT performs admirably at 1080p across all settings, adequately at 1440p with medium to high settings, and only at Low settings for 4K. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 provides sufficient CPU performance to avoid becoming a bottleneck, as evidenced by the high frame rates achieved at 1080p Low settings. The combination of this CPU and GPU is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p as a secondary option for players willing to adjust settings.