Control

Control, Remedy’s 2019 action-adventure, presents a demanding mix of physics-based combat and destructible environments. The measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H paired with the AMD Radeon 8060S reveals a configuration that scales predictably across resolutions, with the integrated GPU acting as the primary constraint at higher settings. This analysis breaks down the frame rate data, CPU and GPU roles, and provides actionable settings guidance based solely on the observed benchmarks.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear and consistent frame rate progression as resolution increases, which is the expected pattern for a system where the graphics processor is the limiting factor. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 82 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that average to 62 FPS, a reduction of 20 FPS (approximately 24%). At 4K, the average falls further to 42 FPS, another 20 FPS drop from the 1440p figure. This linear decline in performance directly correlates with the increasing pixel count, indicating that the AMD Radeon 8060S is being pushed progressively harder.

The scaling pattern becomes more revealing when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 130 FPS, which is a very high frame rate. At 1440p Low, it drops to 98 FPS, and at 4K Low, it reaches 66 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is roughly 49%, which is slightly less severe than the drop at High settings (which is about 49% as well, from 82 to 42). The absolute frame rate at 4K Low (66 FPS) is still comfortably playable, suggesting that the GPU has enough headroom to handle the resolution when graphical effects are minimized.

Looking at the Medium preset, which includes minimum and maximum frame rate data, the scaling is further clarified. At 1080p Medium, the average is 92 FPS, with a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 70 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS. The frame time consistency appears to hold up well, as the minimums are not drastically lower than the averages, suggesting a stable experience rather than one with severe stutters.

The most important takeaway from the resolution scaling is that the Ultra preset is the most demanding. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 71 FPS. This drops to 54 FPS at 1440p Ultra and further to 36 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that falls below the 40 FPS threshold, indicating that this preset is too heavy for the GPU to maintain a smooth experience at that resolution. The bottleneck is clearly the GPU, as the CPU’s performance remains constant across all resolutions; the frame rate is entirely dictated by the graphical workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. In the context of Control, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, physics calculations, and draw calls, which are substantial given the game’s focus on telekinetic object manipulation and destructible environments. The benchmark data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this pairing, as frame rates scale inversely with resolution, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck.

To assess the CPU’s standalone capability, its synthetic benchmark scores are useful. In Cinebench R23, it scores 14,551 points in multi-core and 1,759 points in single-core. These scores place the processor in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, indicating strong overall performance. Its average benchmark score is 34,083, which puts it in close competition with the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H (a 0.3% difference) and the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X (a -0.5% difference). This positioning suggests that the CPU has ample compute headroom for gaming workloads.

Given that the GPU is shared with system memory, the CPU’s memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s is a relevant factor. While not directly measured in the game’s FPS, the CPU’s ability to feed data to the GPU is critical. The fact that frame rates drop consistently with resolution implies that the CPU is not starved for data; it is the GPU’s pixel processing capabilities that are being exhausted. In essence, the data indicates that the Core Ultra 7 165H is a capable partner that allows the Radeon 8060S to reach its full potential, but it does not contribute to higher frame rates at higher resolutions because the GPU cannot keep up.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this hardware for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: The data shows that 60 FPS is achievable at 1440p High (62 FPS average) and 1080p High (82 FPS average). At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS; the closest is 4K Low with an average of 66 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset yields an average of 62 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 54 FPS. This represents an 8 FPS (approximately 13%) performance cost for enabling the highest settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for limiting performance at 4K?

A: The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent across all settings, which indicates the AMD Radeon 8060S is the limiting component. The CPU’s performance is constant, so the GPU’s rendering workload is the primary constraint.

Q: What is the lowest frame rate recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 36 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. The lowest minimum frame rate recorded is 40 FPS, also at 4K, but with the Medium preset.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score of 34,083 is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H and 0.5% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X. This indicates near-identical performance between these processors on average.

Q: Can this system achieve 100 FPS in Control?

A: Yes, at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset, the average FPS is 130. This is the only measured configuration that exceeds 100 FPS, suggesting that high refresh rates are only possible at lower graphical settings and resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

This section details every measured frame rate data point for the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and AMD Radeon 8060S combination in Control.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: Average 130 FPS.
• Medium: Average 92 FPS, with a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS.
• High: Average 82 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 71 FPS.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: Average 98 FPS.
• Medium: Average 70 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS.
• High: Average 62 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 54 FPS.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: Average 66 FPS.
• Medium: Average 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS.
• High: Average 42 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 36 FPS.

The data reveals a consistent hierarchy: Low is always the fastest, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra. The gap between Medium and High is generally smaller than the gap between Low and Medium, particularly at higher resolutions. For instance, at 4K, the jump from Low to Medium is a 19 FPS drop, while the jump from Medium to High is only a 5 FPS drop. This suggests that the Medium preset offers a significant visual improvement over Low with a manageable performance hit, whereas the jump to High is less impactful on performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and AMD Radeon 8060S combination ranks 1,632nd out of 2,888 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 57th percentile of all configurations. This ranking indicates that while the system is capable of running the game, it is not a top-tier performer. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU, where the integrated GPU’s performance holds the combo back from higher positions.

The GPU’s individual percentile is 87, which is notably higher than the combo’s overall rank. This discrepancy is likely because the combo rank includes the CPU’s influence and the specific pairing. The AMD Radeon 8060S’s average benchmark score is 55,757, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and 2.8% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080. This puts the GPU in a strong position relative to its peers. However, in the game-specific test, the combo’s rank suggests that the overall system performance is average, meaning many other CPU and GPU pairings can achieve higher frame rates.

The CPU’s rank of 84th percentile is also strong, reinforcing that the processor is not the weak link. The combination of a high-performing CPU and a high-performing GPU, yet a mid-pack game rank, implies that other factors, such as system memory bandwidth or driver optimization for this specific game title, may play a role. The data does not suggest the combo is poorly matched, but it does indicate that more powerful dedicated graphics solutions will yield better results in Control.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings depend on the user’s priority for resolution and smoothness. For a 60 FPS target, the data shows that the High preset is the most demanding setting that still meets this goal at 1440p (62 FPS average) and 1080p (82 FPS average). At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS, so users with a 4K display must sacrifice settings or accept lower frame rates.

For a 4K display, the Low preset is the only viable option for a smooth experience, yielding 66 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 47 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but is below the 60 FPS threshold. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are not recommended, as they produce 42 FPS and 36 FPS, respectively, which can lead to a less fluid experience.

For 1440p displays, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance at 62 FPS. Users wanting higher fidelity can try Ultra at 54 FPS, but the 8 FPS cost may not be worth it. For 1080p displays, the Ultra preset is playable at 71 FPS, and the High preset provides a more comfortable margin at 82 FPS. In summary, the data suggests that the High preset is the sweet spot for this hardware, providing a consistent experience across all resolutions without dipping below 42 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 8060S is an integrated graphics processor based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process. It features 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, with a base clock of 1,295 MHz and a boost clock of 2,900 MHz. The GPU’s memory is system shared, meaning its bandwidth is dependent on the system’s memory configuration. Its theoretical performance is rated at 14.85 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6.

The GPU’s synthetic benchmark scores are strong. It scores 2,162 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 84,626 in Geekbench OpenCL. Its average benchmark score of 55,757 places it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, which is a high ranking. The nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, which scores 0.1% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, which scores 2.8% lower. This indicates that the 8060S offers performance comparable to a mid-range dedicated desktop GPU.

In Control, the GPU’s role is the primary driver of frame rates. The benchmark data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at all resolutions, as increasing resolution consistently lowers FPS. The GPU’s 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs are responsible for pixel and texture processing, and at 4K Ultra, the workload becomes too heavy, resulting in a 36 FPS average. The GPU’s boost clock of 2,900 MHz is high, which helps maintain performance, but the system-shared memory architecture means that the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which can be a limiting factor in memory-intensive scenarios. Overall, the data confirms that the Radeon 8060S is a capable integrated solution that can handle Control at moderate settings and resolutions, but it is not a substitute for a high-end discrete GPU.