Control

Control pairs a heavily threaded Intel Core Ultra 5 235 with the Intel Arc B570, and the measured frame rates across three resolutions reveal a system that is consistently bound by the graphics card. The CPU’s 14 cores and 14 threads, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, provide ample headroom, as evidenced by the scaling patterns in the data. The Arc B570’s 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s, becomes the defining constraint as resolution increases, pushing the combo to the 2307th spot out of 2888 tested configurations in this game. This analysis details exactly how the two components interact, where the bottlenecks lie, and which settings deliver the most playable experience based solely on the measured rows.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear and predictable drop as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 101 FPS average, which falls to 76 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 51 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 25% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 50% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The pattern is consistent across all settings: High drops from 63 FPS at 1080p to 48 FPS at 1440p and 32 FPS at 4K, while Medium goes from 71 to 54 to 36 FPS in the same progression.

The scaling behavior indicates a pixel-bound workload where the Arc B570’s compute resources are the limiting factor. The GPU’s FP32 throughput of 11.52 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s are fixed hardware characteristics, and the data shows that doubling the pixel count from 1080p to 4K roughly halves the frame rate at every preset. This linear degradation is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck, as the CPU’s 14 threads are not being stressed by the increasing resolution. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution also widens with resolution, suggesting that the GPU’s 80 ROPs and 144 TMUs are saturated when handling both higher pixel counts and more complex shading.

The most telling data point is the Medium preset, which is the only one with min/max values recorded. At 3840x2160, the Medium average is 36 FPS with a min of 31 and max of 42, a spread of 11 FPS. At 1920x1080, the same preset averages 71 FPS with a min of 61 and max of 82, a spread of 21 FPS. The larger variance at lower resolution indicates that the CPU is occasionally able to push the GPU harder, but the overall trend remains GPU-limited. The Core Ultra 5 235’s 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s are sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p, but the data does not show any CPU-induced stuttering at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the dominant factor in this game’s performance, and its memory subsystem plays a critical role. With 10 GB of GDDR6 memory clocked at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective) on a 160-bit bus, the card delivers 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In Control, a game that can be demanding on memory capacity at high resolutions, the 10 GB frame buffer is adequate but not generous. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (28 FPS average) versus 4K Low (51 FPS average) shows a 45% performance penalty for maxing out settings, which is attributable to both increased memory pressure and higher shader complexity.

The GPU’s 18 ray tracing cores and 2304 shading units are part of the Xe2-HPG architecture, but the benchmark data does not isolate RT performance. The base and boost clocks are both 2500 MHz, which is a relatively modest clock speed for a modern GPU, and the 150 W TDP suggests the card is power-constrained in sustained workloads. The nearest rival comparisons show the Arc B570’s average benchmark score is 20556, placing it just 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and 0.1% behind the Intel Arc A750 (20582). This tight grouping indicates that the B570 is a mid-range performer, and the measured FPS in Control aligns with that positioning.

The PCIe 4.0 x8 interface is worth noting, as it provides half the bandwidth of a x16 slot, but the data does not show this as a bottleneck. The 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is the more likely constraint, especially at 4K where the pixel throughput demands are highest. The fact that the GPU’s percentile ranking is 65th among all GPUs, while the CPU sits in the 89th percentile, further confirms that the graphics card is the weaker link in this pairing. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 and Passmark G3D score of 14195 are consistent with a GPU that excels at 1080p but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K.

FAQ

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so significantly from 1080p to 4K?

A: The Arc B570’s fixed hardware resources are the cause. The GPU’s pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and FP32 throughput of 11.52 TFLOPS must process four times the pixels at 4K compared to 1080p. The data shows a 50% FPS reduction at Low settings (101 to 51 FPS) and a 49% reduction at High (63 to 32 FPS), which is consistent with the GPU being the primary bottleneck.

Q: Is the Core Ultra 5 235 holding back the Arc B570?

A: No, the data indicates the opposite. The CPU’s 14 cores and 14 threads, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, provide sufficient processing power. The benchmark scores show the CPU in the 89th percentile of all processors, and the FPS scaling with resolution follows the GPU’s limits, not the CPU’s. At 1080p Low (101 FPS), the CPU is likely near its limit, but the GPU still dominates the performance curve.

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

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all presets achieve playable frame rates. The lowest average at 1080p is Ultra at 55 FPS, while Medium hits 71 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low (76 FPS) and High (48 FPS) are marginally playable, and at 4K, every preset falls below 51 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its nearest rivals in raw performance?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 20556, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and 0.1% lower than the Arc A750 (20582). This places it in a very tight performance band, meaning the B570 is neither a standout nor a laggard in its class. The Passmark G3D score of 14195 reinforces this mid-range positioning.

Q: Does the 10 GB VRAM cause any issues at 4K?

A: The data does not show explicit VRAM overflow, but the 4K Ultra average of 28 FPS suggests the GPU is struggling with both memory capacity and bandwidth. The 160-bit bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors, not necessarily the 10 GB capacity alone. The 4K Low setting (51 FPS) still performs poorly, indicating the GPU’s compute limits are reached before VRAM becomes a hard constraint.

Q: Which settings provide the most consistent performance?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded min and max FPS values. At 1080p, it ranges from 61 to 82 FPS with a 71 FPS average, while at 1440p it ranges from 46 to 62 FPS with a 54 FPS average. This suggests Medium offers the most predictable frame pacing, whereas Low and High lack min/max data but likely have wider variance.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2307 out of 2888 tested combos in Control, placing it in the bottom 20% of all configurations. This low ranking is surprising given the individual component performance: the CPU is in the 89th percentile of all processors, and the GPU is in the 65th percentile. The disconnect suggests that Control is particularly demanding on the GPU, and the B570’s mid-range capabilities are not sufficient to leverage the CPU’s strength.

The combo’s rank is more reflective of the GPU’s limitations than the CPU’s. The Arc B570’s nearest rivals, the RTX 3070 Mobile and Arc A750, have nearly identical average benchmark scores (20534 and 20582 respectively), and all three would likely rank similarly in this game. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030 avg score, 0.1% ahead) and Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098 avg score, 0.1% ahead), are close in raw compute, but this does not translate into better game performance when paired with a weaker GPU.

The 2888 total combos include many with high-end GPUs that dominate Control, so the 2307th rank is not a condemnation of the Core Ultra 5 235’s capabilities. Rather, it highlights that this pairing is unbalanced for a game like Control, where the GPU is the sole determinant of frame rates at higher resolutions. In CPU-bound scenarios, this combo would rank much higher, but the measured data shows that Control is not such a case.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured FPS values across all resolutions and settings is as follows:

• 1920x1080: Low averages 101 FPS, Medium averages 71 FPS (min 61, max 82), High averages 63 FPS, and Ultra averages 55 FPS.
• 2560x1440: Low averages 76 FPS, Medium averages 54 FPS (min 46, max 62), High averages 48 FPS, and Ultra averages 42 FPS.
• 3840x2160: Low averages 51 FPS, Medium averages 36 FPS (min 31, max 42), High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS.

The data shows that the Low preset is the only one that maintains an average above 60 FPS at 1080p, while at 1440p, only Low exceeds 60 FPS (76 FPS). At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS, and the best-case scenario is Low at 51 FPS. The Medium preset’s min/max values reveal a consistent 15-20 FPS variance at both 1080p and 1440p, which indicates stable frame delivery without severe spikes.

The gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 46 FPS (101 vs 55), at 1440p it is 34 FPS (76 vs 42), and at 4K it is 23 FPS (51 vs 28). This narrowing gap suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so heavily loaded that the settings have a relatively smaller impact on absolute FPS, as the pixel throughput becomes the dominant constraint.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 offers the best balance of performance and visual quality. It delivers a 71 FPS average with a min of 61 FPS, ensuring that the frame rate rarely dips below the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 1080p drops to 63 FPS average, which is still playable, but the lack of min/max data makes it riskier than Medium. Ultra at 1080p (55 FPS average) is borderline, and the 16 FPS drop from Medium to Ultra is not justified by the visual gains in a game like Control.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset (76 FPS) is the only option that provides a consistently smooth experience. Medium at 1440p averages 54 FPS with a min of 46 FPS, which falls below the ideal 60 FPS target and could cause noticeable stuttering in action sequences. High and Ultra at 1440p (48 and 42 FPS respectively) are not recommended for any player seeking a responsive experience.

At 3840x2160, the data suggests avoiding all presets, as even Low (51 FPS) fails to reach 60 FPS. The Medium preset’s 36 FPS average with a 31 FPS minimum is below the playable threshold for most users. If 4K is a requirement, the Low preset is the least objectionable, but the measured performance indicates the Arc B570 is not suited for this resolution in Control.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 contributes to this combo’s performance by providing a strong foundation that does not become a bottleneck. With 14 cores and 14 threads, the CPU has enough parallelism to handle Control’s game logic and physics without starving the GPU. The boost clock of 5.00 GHz is high for a non-unlocked processor, and the Cinebench R23 scores (14769 multi-core, 2085 single-core) place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, ensuring that single-threaded performance is not a limiting factor.

The CPU’s memory support is DDR5 with a dual-channel bus and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth, which is sufficient for feeding the Arc B570’s 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth in most scenarios. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, and the Passmark multithread score of 37816 indicates strong sustained performance. The nearest CPU rivals, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and Intel Core i9-13900HX, have average scores within 0.1% of this chip, confirming that the Core Ultra 5 235 is not the weak link.

However, the CPU’s role diminishes as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the CPU may be near its limit at 101 FPS, but at 4K, the GPU’s 28-51 FPS range means the CPU is largely idle. The data does not show any CPU-bound frame rate ceilings, as the FPS scales linearly with GPU load. This suggests that in Control, the Core Ultra 5 235 is more than adequate, and any performance gains would require a stronger GPU, not a faster CPU. The Intel integrated graphics (Arc Xe-LPG 24EU) are present but irrelevant to this discrete GPU configuration.