Control

Control with Intel Core Ultra 5 235 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a playable but demanding experience, with the combination ranking 2274 out of 2888 tested configurations. The data shows a system that is firmly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the CPU's strong single-thread performance provides a solid foundation for the game's physics and logic at lower settings. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates, while 4K remains a challenge reserved for the lowest visual presets.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU's memory bandwidth is rated at 102.4 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 support. In synthetic benchmarks, the chip achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and a single-core score of 2085, indicating a strong balance between multi-threaded throughput and single-thread responsiveness.

In the context of Control, the measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at high resolutions. At 1440p and 4K, the frame rates change significantly with GPU settings, indicating that the RTX 2060 is the limiting factor. However, at 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS jumps to 107, which is the highest measured value across all configurations. This suggests that the CPU's capability, particularly its single-core performance, is sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions where the rendering load is lighter.

The Core Ultra 5 235's 14 cores and 14 threads (with no hyper-threading) are more than adequate for a title like Control, which is primarily GPU-bound in its rendering pipeline. The processor's PassMark single-thread score of 4516 places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, reinforcing that its per-core performance is a strength. The nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (avg score 46030, deltaPct 0.1%) and the Intel Core i9-13900HX (avg score 46098, deltaPct -0.1%), show that the 235 sits in a competitive performance tier, though these differences are negligible in real-world gaming scenarios.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS rows provide a clear picture of how different presets impact performance. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 107 FPS, which is the highest recorded in the dataset. Medium reduces this to 76 FPS, High to 68 FPS, and Ultra to 59 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 31 FPS drop, while the step from High to Ultra is only 9 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the higher end.

For a smooth experience, the Medium preset at 1080p offers a strong balance, with an average of 76 FPS and a minimum of 65 FPS, ensuring that frame pacing remains consistent even in demanding scenes. The High preset at 68 FPS is also viable, but the Ultra preset at 59 FPS sits close to the edge of what might be considered ideal for a fast-paced action game. At 1440p, the Low preset provides 81 FPS, which is playable, but the Medium preset at 58 FPS (min 49, max 66) is likely the best compromise for visual fidelity and responsiveness. At 4K, even the Low preset only reaches 55 FPS, with Medium at 39 FPS and Ultra at 30 FPS, making the Low preset the only sensible choice for maintaining playability.

The data indicates that the Medium preset is the sweet spot across most resolutions, as it offers a noticeable visual improvement over Low without the steep performance cost of High or Ultra. The min FPS values at Medium (65 at 1080p, 49 at 1440p, 33 at 4K) show that the system can maintain a playable floor, though the 4K minimum of 33 FPS borders on stutter territory.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the system averages 107 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 81 FPS, a 24% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 55 FPS, a further 32% drop from 1440p. This pattern is consistent across all settings, with the High preset going from 68 FPS at 1080p to 51 FPS at 1440p (a 25% drop) and then to 35 FPS at 4K (a 31% drop from 1440p).

This scaling behavior strongly indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the limiting component. The consistent percentage drops as pixel count increases point to the GPU's rendering throughput being the primary constraint, rather than the CPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, particularly at lower settings where the GPU load is lighter. The fact that the gap between 1080p and 4K widens with higher settings (e.g., 107 to 55 FPS at Low versus 59 to 30 FPS at Ultra) further confirms that the GPU's fill rate and shading capabilities are being saturated.

The RTX 2060's memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s and 6 GB of GDDR6 memory also play a role. At 4K, the higher memory pressure and bandwidth demands likely contribute to the steep performance decline. The data shows that the CPU's strong single-thread performance is not enough to overcome the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions, making resolution scaling a pure function of GPU capability in this pairing.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system consistently exceeds 60 FPS across multiple presets. At 1080p, the Low preset averages 107 FPS, Medium 76 FPS, and High 68 FPS, while at 1440p, only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS at 81 FPS. 4K remains below 60 FPS on all settings.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 51 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 45 FPS. This 6 FPS difference is minor, but the Ultra preset's performance is closer to the 30 FPS range seen at 4K, making High the better choice for maintaining a smoother experience at this resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this system?

A: The resolution scaling data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The RTX 2060's performance drops by roughly 25-32% when moving from 1080p to 1440p and again from 1440p to 4K, which is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU's high single-thread score (4516 in PassMark) suggests it has ample headroom.

Q: What is the lowest FPS recorded in the dataset?

A: The lowest average FPS is 30, recorded at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. The lowest minimum FPS is 33, also at 4K but with the Medium preset, which has a min FPS of 33 and a max of 45.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, has an average score of 15283 (deltaPct 0%), indicating near-identical performance. The AMD Radeon 680M (15270, deltaPct 0.1%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15199, deltaPct 0.6%) are also within a narrow margin.

Q: Can the system maintain 60 FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: No, the measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 68, which is above 60, but the minimum FPS is not provided for this preset. The Medium preset, however, shows a minimum of 65 FPS, indicating that it can sustain frame rates above 60 with more consistency.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip, manufactured on a 12 nm process. It features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs, with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. Its FP32 performance is rated at 6.451 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate.

In the context of Control, the RTX 2060's role is clearly defined by the measured FPS data. The GPU's 6 GB VRAM may be a limiting factor at 4K, where the Ultra preset averages only 30 FPS. The memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s appears insufficient for the higher resolution and texture loads, as evidenced by the steep drop at 4K. The GPU's benchmark scores show it is a mid-range performer, with a PassMark G3D score of 14111 and a percentile rank of 58. Its nearest rivals include the GTX 580 (avg score 15283, deltaPct 0%) and the RX 7600 (avg score 15171, deltaPct 0.8%), indicating that the RTX 2060 is competitive with more modern cards in synthetic tests, but the real-world gaming data in Control suggests it struggles with higher resolutions.

The GPU's boost clock of 1680 MHz is relatively modest, and the measured FPS at 1080p Low (107 FPS) shows that it can handle lighter loads efficiently. However, the scaling to 4K reveals its limits, as the pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s are not sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 8.3 million pixels. The data suggests that the RTX 2060 is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p with medium settings, where it can provide a playable experience without being overtaxed.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how the system performs across all settings and resolutions.

1920x1080:

• Low: Average 107 FPS
• Medium: Average 76 FPS, Minimum 65 FPS, Maximum 88 FPS
• High: Average 68 FPS
• Ultra: Average 59 FPS

At 1080p, the system shows a clear hierarchy. The Low preset delivers the highest frame rate at 107 FPS, which is more than double the Ultra preset's 59 FPS. The Medium preset offers a solid middle ground with an average of 76 FPS and a minimum of 65 FPS, indicating that it can hold frame rates above 60 in most scenarios. The High preset at 68 FPS is also playable, but the Ultra preset at 59 FPS is borderline, with no min/max data provided.

2560x1440:

• Low: Average 81 FPS
• Medium: Average 58 FPS, Minimum 49 FPS, Maximum 66 FPS
• High: Average 51 FPS
• Ultra: Average 45 FPS

At 1440p, the performance drops become more pronounced. The Low preset averages 81 FPS, which is still smooth, but the Medium preset falls to 58 FPS, with a minimum of 49 FPS that could cause occasional judder. The High preset at 51 FPS and Ultra at 45 FPS are both below the 60 FPS threshold, making them less ideal for fast-paced action. The Medium preset's min/max range of 49-66 FPS shows variability, suggesting that the GPU is working harder at this resolution.

3840x2160:

• Low: Average 55 FPS
• Medium: Average 39 FPS, Minimum 33 FPS, Maximum 45 FPS
• High: Average 35 FPS
• Ultra: Average 30 FPS

At 4K, the RTX 2060 is clearly overmatched. The Low preset averages 55 FPS, which is the only preset approaching playability, but it still dips below 60. The Medium preset averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS, which is likely to feel stuttery. The High preset at 35 FPS and Ultra at 30 FPS are at the edge of playability, with the Ultra preset hitting the lowest average in the entire dataset. The data shows that 4K is not a viable target for this combination, as even the lowest settings cannot maintain a consistent 60 FPS.