Control

Control, Remedy’s 2019 action-adventure title, presents a demanding mix of physics-based combat and complex lighting that stresses both CPU and GPU. Based on the measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, this combination delivers a playable experience at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K. The benchmark results indicate a system where the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, while the CPU provides ample headroom for high-refresh-rate gaming at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a significant performance drop as resolution scales from 1080p to 4K, a pattern that clearly identifies the GPU as the bottleneck. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 74 FPS. Moving to 1440p reduces this to 56 FPS, a 24% decrease, and at 4K the average plummets to 38 FPS, which is 49% lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline is typical of a system where the graphics card is struggling to fill the increasing number of pixels, and the CPU’s performance is not the limiting factor.

The scaling behavior across all settings reinforces this conclusion. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 118 FPS at 1080p to 89 FPS at 1440p (a 25% reduction) and then to 60 FPS at 4K (a 49% reduction from 1080p). The consistent percentage drops across different quality presets indicate that the performance ceiling at higher resolutions is strictly tied to the GPU's rendering capabilities, not the CPU's ability to feed it data. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a much smaller frame rate difference between 1440p and 4K, as the CPU workload would remain constant.

The data suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Control, but it is not powerful enough for a consistent 4K experience. The jump from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings, for instance, shows a drop from 63 FPS to 43 FPS, pushing the frame rate into a range where gameplay may feel less fluid. This is a classic case of resolution scaling where the pixel throughput demands of 4K simply exceed what this GPU can deliver while maintaining high visual quality.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested hardware combinations for Control, this specific pairing of the Core Ultra 5 245 and RTX 2060 SUPER performs in the lower-middle tier. The combo ranks 2054 out of 2888 tested combos, placing it in approximately the 29th percentile of all systems tested. This ranking reflects that while this setup is capable of running the game, a significant majority of other tested configurations deliver higher average frame rates.

This ranking is largely influenced by the GPU's performance class. The RTX 2060 SUPER sits at the 62nd percentile among all GPUs in the database, indicating that it is a mid-range card. When paired with a high-end CPU like the Core Ultra 5 245, which sits at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, the overall system's gaming performance is tethered to the GPU's capabilities. The result is a combo that is less competitive than one might expect from the CPU's performance alone, as the graphics card is the limiting factor in this title.

The benchmark results show that this combo is not designed for top-tier 4K performance but rather for solid 1080p and acceptable 1440p gaming. Its rank of 2054 suggests that users seeking maximum frame rates in Control would need a more powerful GPU to move up the leaderboard. The data confirms that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the component that holds this combo back from higher rankings, as the CPU has ample processing power to support a faster graphics card.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the defining component in this system's performance in Control. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, it offers a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for the game’s textures and effects at 1080p and 1440p. The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 1470 MHz and a boost of 1650 MHz, are the key drivers of its rendering performance. The data shows that these clocks are not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K, where the GPU is working at its limit.

The GPU's memory capacity of 8 GB is a factor at higher resolutions. While it is not explicitly measured in the FPS data, the substantial frame rate drops at 4K suggest that the GPU is not only limited by its processing power but may also be constrained by memory bandwidth and capacity when handling the larger textures and higher resolution buffers. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while respectable, is a limiting factor at 4K, where the demand for texture data increases exponentially.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's overall benchmark scores place it at the 62nd percentile, with an average score of 18093. Its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, perform within 0.4% of its score, indicating that it is a well-known quantity in the mid-range market. In the context of Control, its performance characteristics are clear: it can deliver high frame rates at 1080p, good frame rates at 1440p, but only playable frame rates at 4K with reduced settings. The GPU is the primary component determining the experience, and its limitations are exposed at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this combo?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution, with an average of 74 FPS on High settings. At 2560x1440, the average drops to 56 FPS on High, while at 3840x2160, it falls to 38 FPS, making 1080p the only resolution that consistently exceeds 60 FPS on High settings.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995. It performs within 0.8% of the Intel Core i5-14600K, which has a score of 48618, and is 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which has a score of 49228. This indicates it is a very competitive high-end processor.

Q: Can this system handle Control at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 60 FPS. However, at Medium settings, the average drops to 43 FPS, and at High settings, it is 38 FPS. The experience is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action at higher quality presets.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average frame rate is 89 FPS on Low settings and 49 FPS on Ultra settings. This represents a 45% performance decrease when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset, showing a significant performance cost for maxing out visual fidelity.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the main bottleneck for this game?

A: The benchmark results clearly indicate the GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU is a high-end model at the 90th percentile, while the GPU is a mid-range model at the 62nd percentile, and the performance scaling aligns with the GPU's capabilities.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only settings with recorded minimum FPS values are at Medium quality. At 1080p, the minimum is 71 FPS, at 1440p it is 54 FPS, and at 4K it is 36 FPS. These minimums show that even at 1080p Medium, there can be dips below the average, but they remain playable.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data suggests that the High preset offers the most compelling experience at 1080p and 1440p. At 1080p, High settings yield an average of 74 FPS, providing a smooth and responsive experience. At 1440p, the High preset produces 56 FPS, which is acceptable for a slower-paced action-adventure game but may not be ideal for players who prefer higher frame rates.

If a player prioritizes a high refresh rate experience, the Low preset is the only option that can consistently deliver over 100 FPS, with an average of 118 FPS at 1080p and 89 FPS at 1440p. This comes at the cost of visual fidelity, but for competitive play or for those with 144Hz monitors, it may be the preferred choice. The Ultra preset, while offering the best visuals, only manages 65 FPS at 1080p and 49 FPS at 1440p, making it less desirable for smooth gameplay.

At 4K, the Low preset is the only one that achieves a playable 60 FPS average. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 43 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. Therefore, for 4K, it is recommended to use Low settings to maintain a consistent frame rate. Overall, the High preset is the recommended default for most users, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over Low while maintaining playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p.

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. Its performance is exceptional, as evidenced by its 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs and its strong benchmark scores, such as 32924 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 4648 in single-core. However, in the context of Control, this CPU's power is not the limiting factor, as the game's performance is more dependent on the GPU.

The CPU's high clock speeds, with a base of 3.50 GHz and a boost of 5.10 GHz, ensure that it can easily keep up with the game's physics and AI calculations, which are significant in Control's combat scenarios. The benchmark data supports this, as the frame rate scales almost entirely with GPU load and resolution, not with CPU workload. This indicates that the Core Ultra 5 245 provides a solid foundation for the RTX 2060 SUPER, ensuring that the GPU is not starved of data.

The CPU's performance relative to its rivals is also noteworthy. It performs within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and is 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K, according to the benchmark data. This places it in the upper echelon of processors, making it an excellent match for any GPU. In this system, the CPU is a supporting player, providing the necessary compute power for the game's logic while the GPU handles the rendering, but it is not the component that determines the final frame rate in Control.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured FPS data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the combo achieves an average of 118 FPS on Low settings, 84 FPS on Medium, 74 FPS on High, and 65 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS, indicating some frame time variance.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 89 FPS on Low, 63 FPS on Medium, 56 FPS on High, and 49 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset records a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS, suggesting that even at this resolution, the system can experience noticeable dips.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates drop significantly to 60 FPS on Low, 43 FPS on Medium, 38 FPS on High, and 33 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 49 FPS, highlighting the difficulty this GPU faces at 4K resolution.

This data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern. The frame rate decreases as resolution increases, and also decreases as visual quality settings are raised. The most playable experience is found at 1080p with any setting, while 1440p is viable with Low to High settings, and 4K is only playable with Low settings. The performance gap between Low and Ultra settings is substantial, with a 45% difference at 1080p (118 FPS vs 65 FPS) and a 45% difference at 1440p (89 FPS vs 49 FPS), demonstrating the significant cost of maxing out the game's visual features.