Control

Control is a 2019 Action Adventure title that remains a demanding showcase for modern hardware, particularly when ray tracing and physics are pushed to their limits. This analysis focuses on the specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 processor and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER graphics card, using measured frame rate data across three resolutions and four quality presets. The data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while still delivering exceptional performance at 1080p, making it a versatile option for high-refresh-rate displays.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data across the three tested resolutions paints a clear picture of where the bottleneck lies in this system. At 1080p, the combination of the Core Ultra 5 235 and RTX 4080 SUPER produces an average of 245 FPS on Low settings, which is a staggering 196% higher than the 4K Low result of 125 FPS. This massive jump when lowering resolution indicates that at 1080p, the system has significant headroom, and the CPU is likely playing a more substantial role in dictating the final frame rate. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is also significant, with the 1440p Low average of 185 FPS representing a 24.5% drop from 1080p, while the 4K Low average of 125 FPS is a further 32.4% drop from 1440p.

This trend continues across all settings presets, but the magnitude of the drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly telling. For High settings, the system delivers 155 FPS at 1080p, 117 FPS at 1440p (a 24.5% decrease), and 79 FPS at 4K (a 32.5% decrease from 1440p). The scaling pattern suggests that the RTX 4080 SUPER's compute and memory bandwidth, which is rated at 736.3 GB/s, are being fully utilized as pixel count increases. The 4K results, which range from 69 FPS on Ultra to 125 FPS on Low, demonstrate that even a top-tier GPU like the RTX 4080 SUPER is challenged by Control's rendering engine at this resolution, particularly with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory being taxed by higher-resolution textures and effects.

The fact that the 4K Ultra average of 69 FPS is only 12.7% lower than the 4K High average of 79 FPS, while the 1080p Ultra average of 134 FPS is 13.5% lower than the 1080p High average of 155 FPS, indicates that the performance cost of moving from High to Ultra is consistent, but the absolute impact is more noticeable at lower resolutions where the CPU can keep up. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is the limiting factor, and the Core Ultra 5 235's 14 cores and 24 MB of shared L3 cache are sufficient to feed it. For users targeting 4K, the data shows a clear trade-off: High settings at 79 FPS provides a playable experience, while Ultra at 69 FPS edges closer to the 60 FPS threshold, making High the more balanced choice for smoother gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the extensive database of tested hardware combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER holds a notable position. The combo rank in Control is 203 out of 2888 total combinations, placing it in the top 7% of all tested systems. This is a strong showing, indicating that the hardware pairing is well-suited for this specific title. The GPU's percentile ranking of 86 and the CPU's percentile ranking of 89 further corroborate this, showing that both components are in the upper echelon of their respective categories.

The nearest rival comparisons for the GPU highlight the consistency of the RTX 4080 SUPER. It performs within 0.1% of the standard RTX 4080, which is essentially a statistical tie. It is 1.1% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X and 2.7% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB in synthetic benchmarks, but these differences are unlikely to translate into meaningful frame rate differences in real-world gaming. On the CPU side, the Core Ultra 5 235 is virtually identical in average benchmark score to the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, Intel Core i9-13900HX, and AMD EPYC 4364P, with deltas of only 0.1% to 0.2%. This suggests that the processor is providing a consistent level of performance that will not bottleneck the GPU in most scenarios, as evidenced by the high frame rates achieved even at 1080p.

Given that the CPU and GPU are both performing near the top of their respective ranges and the combo ranks in the 203rd position, the data indicates that this is a balanced system. The high rank is more attributable to the GPU's raw power than the CPU's specific capabilities, as the RTX 4080 SUPER's 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 80 RT cores are crucial for a game like Control that heavily utilizes ray tracing. The Core Ultra 5 235, with its 14 threads, provides sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a limiting factor, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU workload is more demanding.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance for this hardware combination. At 1080p, all presets deliver well above 60 FPS, making the choice more about display refresh rate and personal preference. The Ultra preset at 134 FPS is ideal for high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, while the Medium preset at 174 FPS offers even more headroom for competitive play. The Low preset at 245 FPS is exceptionally high, but it sacrifices visual quality that the RTX 4080 SUPER can easily afford to render, making High at 155 FPS a sensible middle ground for most users.

At 1440p, the recommendation becomes more nuanced. The Ultra preset averages 102 FPS, which is still very playable and provides the best visual experience. The High preset at 117 FPS offers a 14.7% performance increase over Ultra, which might be preferable for those seeking to maintain a higher frame rate on a 144Hz monitor. The Medium preset at 132 FPS is also a strong contender, as it sits comfortably above 120 FPS. The Low preset at 185 FPS is overkill and would not be recommended due to the unnecessary reduction in visual quality.

For 4K resolution, the data suggests that High settings are the sweet spot. The High preset delivers an average of 79 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset drops to 69 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less margin for demanding scenes with heavy particle effects or complex physics interactions. The Medium preset at 89 FPS is a viable alternative if the user prefers a higher frame rate over maximum visual fidelity, but the jump from High to Medium does not provide a significant enough performance boost to justify the visual downgrade. The Low preset at 125 FPS is not recommended at 4K, as it would negate the benefits of the high resolution. Therefore, the optimal experience across all resolutions is to use High settings at 4K, Ultra at 1440p, and either High or Ultra at 1080p depending on the refresh rate of the display.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The detailed frame rate data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the system shows its maximum potential. With Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 245 FPS. Moving to Medium settings reduces the average to 174 FPS, with a minimum of 148 FPS and a maximum of 200 FPS, indicating consistent performance. High settings further reduce the average to 155 FPS, while Ultra settings bring the average down to 134 FPS. These figures show that even at the highest quality preset, the system is capable of driving a 144Hz monitor at 1080p without any issues.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. The Low preset averages 185 FPS, which is a 24.5% reduction from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 132 FPS, with a minimum of 112 FPS and a maximum of 152 FPS, showing a tighter frame time distribution. The High preset averages 117 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 102 FPS. At this resolution, the system remains highly capable, with all presets exceeding the 100 FPS mark, making it an excellent choice for 1440p gaming on high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the system is pushed to its limits. The Low preset averages 125 FPS, which is still remarkably high for 4K. The Medium preset averages 89 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS, highlighting the increased variance at this resolution. The High preset averages 79 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 69 FPS. These numbers confirm that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary driver of performance at 4K, and while it delivers playable frame rates, users will need to make compromises on settings to achieve higher refresh rates. The minimum FPS data for Medium settings at all resolutions (148 FPS at 1080p, 112 FPS at 1440p, and 76 FPS at 4K) is particularly useful for understanding the worst-case scenario, showing that the system rarely experiences significant frame drops.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve over 100 FPS on Ultra settings?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 102 FPS. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 134 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset only averages 69 FPS, so 1440p is the highest resolution where Ultra settings consistently break the 100 FPS barrier.

Q: How much of a performance hit does moving from High to Ultra settings incur at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rate drops from 79 FPS on High to 69 FPS on Ultra. This represents a 12.7% decrease in performance for the visual uplift provided by the Ultra preset.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in Control?

A: The data suggests it is not a significant bottleneck. The high frame rates at 1080p (245 FPS on Low) indicate the CPU can keep up with the GPU. The combo's rank of 203 out of 2888 also suggests a well-balanced pairing, and the CPU's benchmark scores are on par with other high-end processors.

Q: What kind of frame rates can users expect with Medium settings at 1440p?

A: The measured data shows an average of 132 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings. The minimum FPS recorded was 112 FPS, and the maximum was 152 FPS, indicating a smooth experience with no major frame drops.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to the standard RTX 4080 in synthetic benchmarks?

A: Based on the nearest rivals data, the RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 54209, while the RTX 4080 has a score of 54247. This results in a delta of -0.1%, meaning the SUPER is slightly slower in these aggregate benchmarks, though this difference is negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: Does the game support high refresh rates at 4K with this hardware?

A: The system can achieve high refresh rates at 4K, but only with lower settings. The Low preset averages 125 FPS at 3840x2160. For a more visually rich experience, the High preset averages 79 FPS, which is better suited for a 60Hz or 75Hz display.

CPU Role

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 node. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This configuration is notable for its lack of hyper-threading, meaning the 14 cores operate on a 1:1 thread ratio. In a game like Control, which is known for its physics simulations and complex AI, this core count is sufficient, as the measured frame rates show no signs of CPU limitation, even at 1080p where the CPU workload is relatively higher.

The processor's cache hierarchy consists of 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and a 24 MB shared L3 cache. This design provides ample fast memory for game data, reducing latency and improving overall system responsiveness. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates that it outperforms the vast majority of processors on the market. Its nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and Intel Core i9-13900HX, all have nearly identical average benchmark scores, with deltas of 0.1% or less. This shows that the Core Ultra 5 235 is a solidly mid-to-high-range performer that competes well with mobile and desktop flagship processors from previous generations.

In the context of Control, the CPU's role is to feed the RTX 4080 SUPER with draw calls and game state information. The data shows that the CPU is more than capable of doing so, as the frame rate scales consistently with resolution. The performance drop from 1080p to 1440p and then to 4K is directly proportional to the increase in pixel count, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. Therefore, while the CPU's 14 cores and 5.00 GHz boost clock are powerful, they are not the primary driver of performance in this game; the RTX 4080 SUPER's 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores are the decisive factors. The CPU simply provides a stable platform that allows the GPU to operate at its full potential.