Control

Control pairs a 14-core Intel Core Ultra 5 245 with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3080, a combination that the measured data shows is capable of running this 2019 action-adventure at smooth frame rates across most settings. The benchmark results place this specific CPU and GPU pairing in the 771st percentile slot out of 2,888 tested combos for Control, indicating a solidly above-average configuration for this title. The CPU, part of the Arrow Lake-S generation on a 3 nm process, offers a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, while the GPU, based on the Ampere architecture with 10 GB of GDDR6X memory, delivers the graphical horsepower. The measured FPS data reveals a clear performance hierarchy: at 1080p the pairing can exceed 180 FPS on Low settings, while at 4K it drops to just above 60 FPS on High settings, showing where the system’s limits lie.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in Control?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 provides the best balance of performance and visual fidelity. At this resolution, the combo achieves 88 FPS on High settings and 99 FPS on Medium settings, both well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while 4K High only hits exactly 60 FPS and 4K Ultra drops to 52 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48,995, which places it within 0.8% of the Intel Core i5-14600K and 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900. It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G by a negligible 0.4%, showing it is tightly clustered with other high-end desktop CPUs in synthetic tests.

Q: Is the RTX 3080’s 10 GB of VRAM sufficient for Control?

A: The measured frame rates indicate that 10 GB of GDDR6X memory is adequate for this title across all tested settings. At 4K Ultra, the combo still manages 52 FPS, suggesting the VRAM capacity does not bottleneck performance, though the overall GPU load is clearly high at that resolution.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The data shows a significant spread. At 1920x1080, Low settings produce an average of 185 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 101 FPS. This represents an 84 FPS drop, or roughly 45% fewer frames, when moving from the lowest to the highest preset at this resolution.

Q: Which component is more likely to limit performance in Control at 4K?

A: The measured FPS scaling suggests the GPU is the primary limiter at 3840x2160. The CPU is powerful enough to drive high frame rates at lower resolutions, but at 4K the average FPS across all settings stays between 52 and 94, indicating the RTX 3080’s rendering workload is the constraint.

Q: Does the combo rank well among all tested systems for Control?

A: Yes, the pairing ranks 771st out of 2,888 tested combinations, placing it in the top 27% of all configurations. This is consistent with the measured FPS numbers showing playable performance at most settings and resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 brings 14 cores and 14 threads to the table, a configuration that is well-suited for the demands of Control’s engine. With a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, the processor can quickly ramp up single-thread performance when needed, which is critical for game logic and physics calculations. The CPU’s 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 192 KB of L1 cache per core provide fast access to frequently used data, reducing latency during intensive gameplay moments. The data shows that this CPU is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions; at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 185 FPS, indicating that the processor can feed the GPU with frames well beyond typical display refresh rates.

Benchmark results for the Core Ultra 5 245 reinforce its strong standing. In Cinebench R23, it scores 32,924 in multi-core and 4,648 in single-core tests, showing balanced performance across both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads. Its PassMark multithread score of 38,706 and single-thread score of 4,394 further demonstrate that it can handle the mixed workloads present in modern games. The CPU’s 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48,995, places it just 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K. This tight clustering means that in CPU-bound scenarios, the Core Ultra 5 245 will perform nearly identically to its closest competitors.

In the context of Control specifically, the CPU’s role is to maintain consistent frame pacing, particularly in scenes with heavy particle effects or destructible environments. The measured FPS at 1080p Ultra, 101 FPS, and 1440p Ultra, 77 FPS, suggest that even at higher settings, the CPU has headroom left. The processor’s support for DDR5 memory with dual-channel bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s helps ensure that data transfer between the CPU and memory does not starve the GPU, especially at higher resolutions where more assets are loaded. The Core Ultra 5 245’s 65 W TDP also indicates efficient power delivery, allowing sustained boost clocks without excessive thermal throttling during long gaming sessions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the workhorse of this pairing, and its specifications explain why it is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The GPU features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. This high bandwidth is essential for feeding the 8,704 shading units and 272 texture mapping units, which process the complex lighting and material effects that Control is known for. The GPU’s boost clock of 1710 MHz, up from a base of 1440 MHz, allows it to push through demanding scenes, while its 68 RT cores provide hardware acceleration for ray-traced effects if enabled.

The RTX 3080’s benchmark performance places it at the 68th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 23,172. Its closest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA P106-100 and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16, which are within 0.3% of its average score, though these comparisons are based on synthetic tests rather than gaming performance. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the GPU scores 4,407, and in Geekbench OpenCL it achieves 152,423, indicating strong compute capabilities. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 25,086 is particularly relevant, as it reflects DirectX 11 and 12 performance, which are the primary APIs used by Control.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU’s influence clearly. At 4K, the RTX 3080 produces 94 FPS on Low settings, but this drops to 60 FPS on High and 52 FPS on Ultra, showing a 45% performance decrease from Low to Ultra at this resolution. The GPU’s 320 W TDP and dual-slot design mean it requires robust cooling, but the frame rates achieved suggest it is well-utilized. The 10 GB VRAM allocation is sufficient for Control’s textures, as the performance scaling from Medium to Ultra is gradual rather than a cliff, indicating that memory capacity is not a hard limitation at these settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive view of how this combo performs across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers excellent performance across the board. Low settings produce an average of 185 FPS, which is well above any high-refresh-rate display’s needs. Medium settings yield 131 FPS with a minimum of 111 FPS and a maximum of 151 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. High settings drop to 117 FPS, while Ultra settings still manage a very playable 101 FPS. This resolution is clearly GPU-bound at higher settings, but the CPU ensures that even at Low settings, the frame rate is not artificially capped.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected scaling. Low settings average 140 FPS, which is a 24% drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings hit 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS, maintaining smooth gameplay. High settings produce 88 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 77 FPS. The 1440p results indicate that the RTX 3080 is still capable of delivering high refresh rates, though Ultra settings may push the system closer to its limits in demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings average 94 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K, but this drops significantly as settings increase. Medium settings yield 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS, dipping close to the 60 FPS threshold. High settings produce exactly 60 FPS on average, which is playable but leaves no headroom for frame drops. Ultra settings fall to 52 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The 4K data clearly shows that this combo is best used with Low or Medium settings at this resolution for a consistent experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the GPU’s dominance as the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 185 at 1080p to 140 at 1440p (a 24% reduction) and then to 94 at 4K (a 49% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the number of pixels being rendered quadruples from 1080p to 4K, while the CPU’s workload (game logic and draw calls) remains relatively constant.

At High settings, the drop is even more pronounced. The average FPS goes from 117 at 1080p to 88 at 1440p (a 25% reduction) and then to 60 at 4K (a 49% reduction from 1080p). The fact that the percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is nearly identical to the drop from 1080p to 1440p suggests that the RTX 3080 is being saturated consistently, with no sudden bottleneck from VRAM or bandwidth. The 10 GB VRAM does not appear to cause a cliff at 4K, as the performance decline is gradual and predictable.

The scaling from Medium to Ultra at each resolution further confirms the GPU limitation. At 4K, the difference between Low (94 FPS) and Ultra (52 FPS) is 42 FPS, while at 1080p the difference is 84 FPS. This indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU’s pixel throughput becomes the primary constraint, and the additional work from higher settings has a smaller absolute impact because the GPU is already working near its maximum capacity. For users seeking a stable 60 FPS experience at 4K, the data suggests High settings are the ceiling, while Medium settings offer a small safety margin with a minimum FPS of 57.

Settings Recommendations

For 1920x1080, the data supports using Ultra settings without concern. The average FPS of 101 is well above the 60 FPS target, and even the most demanding scenes are unlikely to drop below playable levels. If a high-refresh-rate monitor is in use, Medium settings at 131 FPS or Low settings at 185 FPS are viable options, but Ultra provides the best visual experience for the performance cost. The 117 FPS average on High settings is also a strong choice, offering a balance between visual fidelity and frame rate headroom.

At 2560x1440, High settings at 88 FPS represent the sweet spot for this combo. The 88 FPS average is comfortably above 60 FPS, and the visual improvement over Medium (99 FPS) is noticeable in a game like Control with its detailed environments. Ultra settings at 77 FPS are also playable, but the 11 FPS drop from High may not be worth the additional graphical effects. Medium settings at 99 FPS provide the best margin for competitive or fast-paced play, while Low at 140 FPS is only recommended if frame rate is the absolute priority.

For 3840x2160, the recommendation is more conservative. High settings at exactly 60 FPS average is playable, but the lack of headroom means any demanding scene could cause dips below the target. Medium settings at 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS offer a safer experience, though the 10 FPS difference from High is noticeable. Low settings at 94 FPS are the best choice for 4K if frame rate consistency is paramount, but this sacrifices much of the visual quality that makes Control impressive. Ultra settings at 52 FPS are not recommended for a smooth experience, as the average is already below the 60 FPS threshold. Overall, the measured data suggests that 1440p High is the most balanced configuration, while 1080p Ultra is the best choice for those prioritizing visual quality without sacrificing performance.