Control

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is an extreme mismatch for Control. The data shows a combination that ranks 2,854 out of 2,888 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 1.2% of all pairings. This is a CPU that sits in the 90th percentile of all processors, paired with a GPU that sits in the 25th percentile. The result is a system that is entirely GPU-bound, where the processor's considerable power is left unused while the graphics card struggles to maintain playable frame rates.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Control at 1920x1080 with playable frame rates?*

A: At 1080p, the only setting that produces an average above 30 FPS is Low, which yields 46 FPS. Medium drops to 32 FPS, High to 29 FPS, and Ultra to 25 FPS, so only the Low preset clears the 30 FPS bar for average performance.

Q: How does the GTX 1050 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in raw GPU score?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti has an average benchmark score of 4,193. This is 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon R5 M330 (4,170), 1% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M (4,151), 1.1% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro K3000M (4,241), and 1.8% lower than the AMD Radeon Vega 3 (4,268). It is effectively in the same performance tier as these mobile-oriented parts.

*Q: What is the best-case scenario for this hardware in Control?*

A: The highest average frame rate recorded across all tested configurations is 46 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next best is 34 FPS at 2560x1440 with Low settings, which is still not a smooth 60 FPS experience.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 a strong processor in general?

A: Yes, the CPU's average benchmark score of 48,995 places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. It sits 0.4% below the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49,196), 0.5% below the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49,228), 0.6% above the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48,698), and 0.8% above the Intel Core i5-14600K (48,618). Its performance is comparable to these strong desktop and server parts.

Q: Is there a resolution where the frame rate is consistent, not just average?

A: The data includes minimum and maximum frame rates only for Medium settings. At 3840x2160 Medium, the average is 17 FPS with a range of 14 to 19 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average is 24 FPS with a range of 21 to 28 FPS. At 1920x1080 Medium, the average is 32 FPS with a range of 27 to 37 FPS. The narrow ranges suggest stable frame times, but the averages themselves are too low for smooth gameplay.

Q: What do the 4K results look like for this GPU?

A: At 3840x2160, the results are not playable. Low settings produce an average of 23 FPS, Medium 17 FPS, High 15 FPS, and Ultra 13 FPS. All of these are well below the threshold for a responsive experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the decisive factor in this pairing's performance. With 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus providing 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth, the card is fundamentally limited. The GPU's base clock is 1291 MHz with a boost clock of 1392 MHz, and it has 768 shading units. The data shows that the GPU's average benchmark score is 4,193, placing it in the 25th percentile of all GPUs. It is within 1.8% of the AMD Radeon Vega 3 and 1% of the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M, both of which are far from gaming powerhouses.

In Control, the GPU's limitations are stark. The game is clearly demanding on VRAM and fill rate, as even at the lowest resolution tested (1920x1080), the average frame rate only reaches 46 FPS on Low settings. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is likely a major bottleneck, as the game's textures and effects at higher presets will exceed this. The measured FPS data shows a consistent pattern: performance scales primarily with the GPU settings preset, not the resolution. For instance, dropping from High to Low at 1440p increases the average from 22 to 34 FPS, a 55% gain. This indicates the GPU is the primary constraint, and the CPU has ample headroom to spare.

The card's compute capabilities, measured at 2.138 TFLOPS FP32, are simply insufficient for the visual complexity of Control. The pixel rate of 44.54 GPixel/s and texture rate of 66.82 GTexel/s are too low to handle the game's effects at high resolutions. The data suggests that this GPU is only viable for the lowest settings at 1080p, and even then, the experience is not smooth by modern standards. The 25th percentile ranking reinforces that this is an entry-level part, and the measured results in Control confirm that it cannot deliver a high-fidelity experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the GTX 1050 Ti ranks 2,854 out of 2,888 tested combos for Control. This places it in the bottom 1.2% of all pairings, a position that reflects the severe imbalance between the components. The CPU is a top-tier performer in its own right, but the GPU anchors the entire system's gaming performance. This rank is not a reflection of the CPU's capability but rather the GPU's inability to translate the CPU's power into frame rates.

The data indicates that the GTX 1050 Ti is the limiting factor. When compared to other combos, this pairing will be outperformed by almost any system with a more capable graphics card, regardless of the CPU. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking is irrelevant in this context, as the GPU's 25th percentile ranking dictates the outcome. The rank of 2,854 is a clear signal that this is not a balanced gaming configuration for a demanding title like Control. Users with this combo will be experiencing the game at the very bottom of the performance spectrum.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. Low settings yield an average of 23 FPS, Medium 17 FPS, High 15 FPS, and Ultra 13 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 14 FPS and a maximum of 19 FPS, indicating a narrow band of performance. These numbers are all far below the 30 FPS threshold typically considered the minimum for playability.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves only slightly. Low settings produce an average of 34 FPS, which is the only playable average at this resolution. Medium averages 24 FPS, High 22 FPS, and Ultra 19 FPS. The Medium preset range is 21 to 28 FPS. While the Low preset is technically above 30 FPS, the experience will be visually compromised. The data shows a clear step-down in performance as settings increase, with a 15 FPS difference between Low and Ultra.

At 1920x1080, the best results are achieved. Low settings produce an average of 46 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. Medium averages 32 FPS, High 29 FPS, and Ultra 25 FPS. The Medium preset has a range of 27 to 37 FPS. Even at the lowest resolution, the GPU cannot maintain a consistent 60 FPS. The 46 FPS average on Low is the only configuration that approaches a smooth experience, but it requires sacrificing the game's visual fidelity. The pattern is clear: the GPU is the bottleneck, and the CPU's performance is never the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a high-end desktop processor with 14 cores and 14 threads, based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a 24 MB shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,924 and a single-core score of 4,648. The processor's average benchmark score is 48,995, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. This is a powerful part that can handle any modern workload with ease.

In Control, however, the CPU's role is minimal. The measured frame rates are entirely consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The GTX 1050 Ti simply cannot feed frames to the CPU fast enough to utilize its processing power. The CPU's 14 cores and 5.10 GHz boost clock are far more than what is needed for this game at the settings where the GPU is capable of producing frames. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck; if it were, we would see frame rates that scale with resolution or settings in a way that suggests CPU limitations, which is not the case.

The CPU's memory support for DDR5 with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s is also irrelevant here, as the GPU's 112.1 GB/s bandwidth is the limiting factor for data transfer. The processor's high single-thread performance, as measured by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,648, would be beneficial in CPU-intensive scenes, but the GPU's performance floor is so low that these scenes never materialize as a bottleneck. The conclusion from the data is that the CPU is vastly overqualified for this pairing in Control. Users would see identical performance with a much less powerful processor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only viable configuration for this combo is the Low preset at 1920x1080, which produces an average of 46 FPS. This is the only setting across all resolutions and presets that approaches a playable frame rate. While 46 FPS is not ideal for a fast-paced action-adventure game, it is the best the GTX 1050 Ti can manage. The Medium preset at 1080p yields an average of 32 FPS, which is marginally playable but will suffer from more frequent dips, as indicated by the 27 FPS minimum.

For users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, the High preset at 1080p, averaging 29 FPS, is a possible compromise, but it is below the 30 FPS threshold. At higher resolutions, the Low preset at 2560x1440 produces an average of 34 FPS, which is technically playable, but the visual clarity gain from the higher resolution does not offset the lower frame rate compared to 1080p Low. The data strongly suggests that 1920x1080 with Low settings is the sweet spot for this hardware.

Given the GPU's 25th percentile ranking and its performance relative to rivals like the AMD Radeon Vega 3, users should not expect a high-fidelity experience. The measured results indicate that the game's Ultra preset is not feasible, with averages ranging from 13 to 25 FPS across all resolutions. The High and Medium presets offer only marginal improvements over Low at the cost of significant frame rate drops. The practical advice from the data is to set the resolution to 1920x1080 and the preset to Low. This configuration provides the highest average frame rate and the most consistent experience. Any other setting combination will result in a sub-30 FPS average, which is generally considered unplayable for an action game.