Control

# Control with Intel Core Ultra 5 235 + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX

This pairing combines Intel’s Arrow Lake desktop chip with AMD’s flagship RDNA 3 GPU, and in Control the measured results show a system capable of high-refresh 1440p play and solid 4K performance. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 sits in the 89th percentile of all CPUs tested, while the Radeon RX 7900 XTX lands in the 64th percentile of all GPUs — a gap that hints at where the bottleneck lies in this particular title. Across all 2,888 tested combos in this database, this specific pairing ranks 362nd, putting it comfortably in the top 13% of configurations for Control.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 brings 14 cores and 14 threads to the table, with no hyperthreading — a design choice that keeps power draw at a 65 W TDP while still delivering strong multi-threaded throughput. The base clock sits at 3.40 GHz, boosting up to 5.00 GHz when the workload demands it. Built on TSMC’s 3 nm process with 17,800 million transistors in a 243 mm² die, this Arrow Lake-S chip uses Intel Socket 1851 and supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, yielding 102.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3.

For Control, the CPU’s job is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations, and the benchmark data suggests it does that without becoming the primary limiter at most settings. In Cinebench R23, the chip scores 14,769 multi-core and 2,085 single-core, which places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its PassMark multi-thread score of 37,816 and single-thread score of 4,516 reinforce the picture of a balanced performer. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ultra 5 235 is effectively tied with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (0.1% ahead), the Intel Core i9-13900HX (0.1% behind), and the AMD EPYC 4364P (0.2% ahead). These are all within noise, so the CPU's raw compute is competitive with those chips, though none of them are specifically tuned for gaming workloads.

In Control, the CPU's 14 threads matter because the game's physics and destruction systems can scale across multiple cores, but the lack of hyperthreading means the chip relies on its high boost clock for single-threaded responsiveness. The 5.00 GHz boost helps maintain frame pacing, and the 89th percentile ranking indicates this is a capable gaming CPU. However, the data shows that at lower resolutions and settings, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, not the CPU. At 1080p Low, the system hits 225 FPS average, which is well beyond what most displays can show, and even at 4K High it manages 72 FPS. The CPU is not the limiting factor here; it has enough headroom to push the RX 7900 XTX to its limits.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the star of this show, built on the Navi 31 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture on a 5 nm process. It packs 57,700 million transistors into a 529 mm² die, with 6,144 shading units, 384 TMUs, and 192 ROPs. The 96 ray accelerators handle Control's optional ray-traced reflections, though the benchmark data here does not include RT-specific results. The GPU's 24 GB of GDDR6 memory runs on a 384-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth — a massive amount that ensures texture streaming is never an issue, even at 4K Ultra settings.

Clock speeds are substantial: a base of 1929 MHz, a game clock of 2365 MHz, and a boost clock of 2498 MHz. The memory runs at 2500 MHz, or 20 Gbps effective. This translates to 61.39 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a pixel rate of 479.6 GPixel/s. The card draws up to 355 W under load, requiring a 750 W PSU and two 8-pin connectors. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, making it fully compatible with Control's rendering demands.

In benchmark terms, the 7900 XTX scores 31,238 in PassMark G3D and 68,41 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its percentile rank of 64th among all GPUs is lower than the CPU's 89th, which is notable — it suggests that on paper, this GPU is not as far ahead of the pack as the CPU is. The nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB (0.4% ahead), NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (1% behind), AMD FirePro D300 (1.2% behind), and NVIDIA TITAN Xp (1.2% ahead). These deltas are tiny, but they indicate that the 7900 XTX's average benchmark score of 19,410 places it in a crowded mid-field rather than at the absolute top. That said, for Control specifically, the measured FPS tells a more flattering story. The GPU's 24 GB VRAM is overkill for this 2019 title, but it future-proofs the system for heavier games.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 2,888 tested combinations in the database, this pairing ranks 362nd for Control. That places it in the top 12.5% of all combos, which is a strong showing for a desktop CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The rank reflects the measured FPS across all resolution and settings combinations, and it shows that the system delivers consistently high frame rates. To put it in perspective: the 7900 XTX's 64th percentile GPU rank is lower than the combo's 362nd out of 2,888, which means the pairing performs better in Control than the GPU's average benchmark would suggest. This is likely because Control is not overly demanding on the GPU's compute capabilities — it relies more on raw fill rate and memory bandwidth, both of which the 7900 XTX has in abundance.

The CPU's 89th percentile rank is higher than the combo's overall rank, which suggests that the CPU is not holding the system back. If anything, the data indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher settings, but it is still powerful enough to deliver playable frame rates at 4K. The combo rank of 362nd means there are 361 other configurations that perform better in Control, but many of those likely pair even more powerful GPUs with top-tier CPUs. For a mid-range desktop CPU paired with a flagship GPU, this result is respectable and indicates no obvious pairing bottleneck.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 sufficient for Control at 4K?*

A: Yes. At 4K High settings, the combo achieves 72 FPS average, and at 4K Medium it hits 82 FPS. The CPU's 14 cores and 5.00 GHz boost clock provide enough headroom to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at this resolution.

*Q: How much VRAM does the RX 7900 XTX have, and is it enough for Control?*

A: The GPU has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus. For Control, this is far more than needed — even at 4K Ultra, the game will not come close to using 24 GB. The excess VRAM is useful for other titles but does not affect Control performance.

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

A: At 1440p High, the system averages 107 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh monitors. At 1080p High, it hits 142 FPS, and at 4K High it manages 72 FPS. The sweet spot for balance between visual quality and frame rate is 1440p High.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-13900HX?

A: The Ultra 5 235 scores 0.1% lower in average benchmark score than the i9-13900HX. This is a negligible difference, meaning the two are effectively tied in compute performance, though the i9 is a mobile chip while the Ultra 5 is desktop.

Q: Does the 7900 XTX's 64th percentile GPU rank indicate a problem?

A: No. The percentile rank is based on average benchmark scores across many tests. In Control specifically, the GPU delivers strong FPS, and the combo ranks 362nd out of 2,888, which is well above average. The rank is influenced by other GPUs that score higher in synthetic tests but may not translate to better Control performance.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p Ultra?

A: The measured average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 123 FPS. This is high enough for smooth gameplay on most monitors, though it is lower than the 225 FPS at 1080p Low, showing the impact of Ultra settings on the GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p High, the system averages 142 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 107 FPS, a 24.6% reduction. At 4K High, the average falls to 72 FPS, which is 49.3% lower than 1080p High. This scaling indicates that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at higher resolutions — the CPU's performance does not change with resolution, so the FPS drop is purely due to the GPU's rendering load.

Looking at the Low preset: 1080p Low hits 225 FPS, 1440p Low drops to 170 FPS (24.4% lower), and 4K Low falls to 115 FPS (48.9% lower). The consistency of these percentage drops across presets suggests a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiter, we would see the FPS plateau at lower resolutions — but instead, the FPS keeps climbing as resolution decreases, which is the signature of a GPU bottleneck.

The Medium preset tells a similar story: 160 FPS at 1080p, 121 FPS at 1440p (24.4% drop), and 82 FPS at 4K (48.8% drop). At Ultra settings, the numbers are 123 FPS at 1080p, 93 FPS at 1440p (24.4% drop), and 63 FPS at 4K (48.8% drop). The near-identical percentage drops across all presets confirm that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors. The 7900 XTX's 960 GB/s bandwidth is being taxed heavily at 4K, but the card still delivers playable frame rates.

The min FPS data, available only for Medium settings, shows 136 FPS at 1080p, 103 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K. These minimums are 85% of the averages, indicating good frame pacing without severe stutters. This suggests that the system maintains consistent performance under load, which is important for a game like Control with its physics-heavy combat.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, the Medium preset at 1440p is the standout choice. It delivers 121 FPS average with a 103 FPS minimum, which ensures smooth gameplay on high-refresh displays. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs 14 FPS (from 121 to 107), and the jump from High to Ultra costs another 14 FPS (from 107 to 93). The visual difference between Medium and High in Control is noticeable, but the frame rate trade-off is steep. At 1440p, Medium provides the best performance-per-visual-quality ratio.

For 4K gaming, High settings at 72 FPS is the recommended entry point. It offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium (82 FPS) — a 10 FPS cost — while maintaining smooth playback on 60 Hz displays. Ultra at 4K drops to 63 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for dips during intense combat. The 4K Low preset at 115 FPS is unnecessary unless you are chasing maximum frame rates on a 120 Hz+ 4K monitor, but the visual sacrifice is substantial.

At 1080p, the system has so much headroom that the choice comes down to preference. Medium at 160 FPS is ideal for competitive play, while Ultra at 123 FPS still provides excellent smoothness. The 225 FPS at Low is only useful for esports-style play where every frame matters, but Control is a single-player action game, so Medium or High is the sensible pick. The data shows that Medium at 1080p (160 FPS) is the highest setting that maintains a 136 FPS minimum, ensuring no drops below 136 FPS even in heavy scenes. For most players, 1440p Medium or High will be the sweet spot, balancing the GPU's capabilities with the CPU's 5.00 GHz boost clock.