Control

Control, the 2019 action-adventure title, presents a demanding workload that scales predictably with resolution, and the data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile shows a configuration that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher settings. The measured results indicate that this combo delivers a highly playable experience at 1440p and a respectable, though less consistent, one at 4K, with the CPU’s 14 cores providing ample headroom to feed the mobile flagship GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, confirming that the graphics card is the primary limiting factor in this configuration. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 122 FPS at 1920x1080 to 93 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 29 FPS, and then to 62 FPS at 3840x2160, another 31 FPS drop. This trajectory is characteristic of a system where the GPU’s rendering throughput, rather than the CPU’s instruction processing, dictates the final output. The scaling is not linear, but the consistent decline highlights the increasing pixel burden placed on the RTX 4090 Mobile.

The pattern is similar when examining the Low and Medium presets, though the absolute numbers are higher. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p (194 FPS) to 1440p (147 FPS) is a 47 FPS loss, and moving to 4K (99 FPS) costs another 48 FPS. This indicates that even when graphical fidelity is reduced, the resolution scaling remains significant, as the GPU is still tasked with filling those extra pixels. The Medium preset, which includes measured minimum and maximum frame times, shows a tighter band at 1440p (89-120 FPS) compared to 4K (60-81 FPS), suggesting that frame pacing becomes less stable as resolution increases, even with a capable GPU.

The data reveals that at 4K, the system is firmly in GPU-bound territory. The Ultra preset, the most demanding, yields only 54 FPS at 3840x2160, which is below the 60 FPS threshold often considered ideal for smooth gameplay. In contrast, at 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 106 FPS, showing that the CPU can easily sustain high frame rates when the GPU is not overwhelmed. The benchmark results indicate that for a consistent 60 FPS experience, 1440p is the practical ceiling for this pairing at the highest fidelity settings, while 1080p provides a significant performance buffer for high-refresh-rate displays.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. In Control, a game that is not heavily threaded, this processor’s role is to ensure that no frame is left waiting on game logic or physics calculations. The benchmark data suggests it performs this task admirably, as the frame rates are consistently high at 1080p, where the GPU is less likely to be the bottleneck. The processor’s 24 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory contribute to its ability to feed data to the GPU efficiently.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its capability. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 34731 and single-core score of 4903 indicate strong all-around performance, placing it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. This is a significant margin over its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, which has an average score that is only 0.2% different. The fact that the CPU’s performance is so close to these desktop-class processors in synthetic benchmarks suggests that it is not a limiting factor in a real-world gaming scenario like Control, where the GPU workload is typically dominant.

The absence of any significant frame rate discrepancy between 1080p Low (194 FPS) and 1080p High (122 FPS) further supports the notion that the CPU is not the bottleneck. If the CPU were struggling, we would expect to see a smaller difference between these settings, as the GPU would be less utilized at Low. Instead, the data shows a clear scaling with graphical fidelity, which is the expected behavior when the GPU is the limiting component. The processor's high boost clock is likely a key factor in maintaining these high frame rates, as it allows for quick responses to per-frame rendering commands.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is the undisputed performance driver in this configuration. With 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, it provides a memory bandwidth of 576.0 GB/s, which is ample for the textures and effects in Control, even at 4K resolution. The GPU's Ada Lovelace architecture, with 9728 shading units and a boost clock of 1695 MHz, delivers a raw compute capability of 32.98 TFLOPS, which is what allows for the high frame rates observed in the data. The benchmark results clearly show that this component is doing the heavy lifting.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 43667. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A6000, which has a score that is 0.9% lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile, which is 0.9% higher. This positioning indicates that the RTX 4090 Mobile is a top-tier mobile part, and its performance in Control aligns with this status. The data shows that at 1080p Medium, it achieves 138 FPS, and at 1440p High, it maintains 93 FPS, which are both strong results for a laptop GPU.

However, the GPU’s limits are exposed at 4K. The average frame rates of 62 FPS at High and 54 FPS at Ultra show that the card, while powerful, is not able to sustain a completely smooth experience at the highest resolution with maximum settings. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is not the issue, as the game is unlikely to exceed this allocation at 4K; rather, the GPU’s raw shading power is the constraint. The transition from 1440p to 4K represents a 71% increase in pixel count, and the data reflects this challenge, with frame rates dropping by approximately 33% at High settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile ranks 866th out of 3720 combos for Control. This places it in the top 23% of all tested systems, which is a strong result, but not a top-tier one. The ranking suggests that while this is a very capable system, there are other combinations that achieve higher average frame rates, likely those pairing even more powerful desktop-class CPUs with the same or higher-tier GPUs.

The ranking is a function of the entire system, not just the GPU. A higher-ranked combo might feature a CPU with higher single-thread performance, or a more robust cooling solution that allows the RTX 4090 Mobile to sustain its boost clock for longer periods. The data shows that this combo is well-balanced, but the CPU’s position in the 91st percentile and the GPU’s in the 84th percentile suggest that the GPU is slightly more of a limiting factor in this specific benchmark. The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-14700 which is 0.4% behind in average score, are minimal, indicating that CPU choice is unlikely to be the primary differentiator in this game's performance.

The rank also implies that other combinations with lower-tier GPUs might achieve a similar ranking if paired with a significantly stronger CPU, but the overall experience would be limited by the GPU. For this specific combo, the data indicates that it is a high-performing setup that will excel in most gaming scenarios, but it is not at the absolute peak of the benchmark charts. The fact that it is in the top quarter of all tested systems confirms its overall capability, but it also highlights the competitive nature of high-end hardware.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal balance of visual quality and performance for this combo is the High preset. At 2560x1440, High settings yield an average of 93 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS target and provides a smooth, detailed experience. At 1920x1080, High settings deliver 122 FPS, which is excellent for a high-refresh-rate monitor. The jump to Ultra provides a modest visual improvement but costs a significant amount of performance, dropping the frame rate to 80 FPS at 1440p and 106 FPS at 1080p.

For users with a 4K display, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. At 3840x2160, Medium achieves an average of 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS, ensuring that the experience stays above the playable threshold. The High preset at 4K, with an average of 62 FPS, is technically playable, but the lack of a measured minimum means there is a risk of drops below 60 FPS. Medium offers a more stable frame pacing, as evidenced by the measured 60-81 FPS range, making it the safer option for a consistent experience.

The Low preset is not recommended for this configuration, as it sacrifices too much visual fidelity for performance that is not necessary given the hardware’s capabilities. While it does produce high frame rates, such as 194 FPS at 1080p, the graphical downgrade is not worth the extra frames when High or Medium provide such strong results. The data suggests that this combo is best utilized with a focus on balanced settings, prioritizing a stable 60 FPS at 4K or a high frame rate at 1440p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across all tested resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: Low settings achieve 194 FPS, Medium settings achieve 138 FPS with a minimum of 117 FPS and a maximum of 158 FPS, High settings achieve 122 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 106 FPS. These numbers show that the system is capable of very high performance at this resolution, with even the most demanding Ultra preset remaining well above the 100 FPS mark. The performance scaling from Low to Ultra is a 45% reduction in frame rate, which is a typical cost for maximum visual quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates are: Low at 147 FPS, Medium at 104 FPS (minimum 89 FPS, maximum 120 FPS), High at 93 FPS, and Ultra at 80 FPS. This resolution represents a sweet spot for the combo, as all settings except Ultra maintain an average above 90 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 89 FPS ensures that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate rarely dips below a smooth level. The gap between High and Ultra is 13 FPS, which is a noticeable but not massive penalty for the extra graphical effects.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates drop significantly: Low settings yield 99 FPS, Medium yields 70 FPS (minimum 60 FPS, maximum 81 FPS), High yields 62 FPS, and Ultra yields 54 FPS. This is the first resolution where the Ultra preset drops below the 60 FPS threshold, and even High settings are not consistently above it. The Medium preset is the only one that guarantees a 60 FPS minimum, making it the most viable option for 4K gaming. The data clearly shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, as the frame rates are much lower than at 1440p, despite the CPU having ample headroom.