Control

Control pairs the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile, producing a high-end mobile configuration that handles this 2019 Action Adventure title with authority. The measured data shows this combo lands at rank 866 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the top quarter of all systems. The benchmark results indicate a platform capable of delivering smooth framerates at high resolutions, though the specific settings chosen will determine whether the experience leans toward maximum visual fidelity or maximum refresh rate.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows reveal a clear hierarchy across the four quality presets at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 106 FPS, which is perfectly playable on a standard 60Hz display and adequate for high-refresh panels. However, the High preset at 1080p jumps to 122 FPS average, and the Medium preset reaches 138 FPS with a minimum of 117 FPS recorded. The Low preset pushes to 194 FPS average, but that sacrifices most of the visual atmosphere that makes Control's environments memorable.

For 2560x1440, the data suggests High is the sweet spot. The High preset averages 93 FPS, while Ultra drops to 80 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 104 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS, which is also a strong choice for competitive or fast-paced play. The Ultra preset at 1440p remains smooth at 80 FPS average, but the 13 FPS gap between High and Ultra is significant enough that most users will prefer the extra headroom.

At 3840x2160, the story changes. The High preset averages 62 FPS, which is right at the edge of 60Hz display refresh rates. The Medium preset averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS, making it the safest choice for a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K. The Ultra preset drops to 54 FPS average, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold and introduces visible judder on standard displays. The Low preset at 4K averages 99 FPS, but the visual compromise is substantial.

The optimal configuration depends on the display. For 1080p panels, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with 122 FPS average providing headroom for dips. For 1440p, the Medium preset's 104 FPS average with a 89 FPS minimum guarantees a stable experience while retaining decent visual fidelity. For 4K, the Medium preset stands out as the only row that provides both a minimum above 60 FPS and a reasonable average. The measured data indicates that Medium at 2160p is the recommended preset for a locked 60 FPS experience, while High at 1440p is the best all-around choice for most users.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 866 out of 3720 tested combinations places this system in the 77th percentile of all pairings tested in Control. This is a strong result, but not a top-tier one. The ranking suggests that while the RTX 4090 Mobile is a flagship mobile GPU, the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H holds the system back from the absolute top positions. The data shows the GPU sits at the 84th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU also sits at the 84th percentile among all CPUs, yet the combined result ranks lower than the individual percentiles might suggest.

The nearest rival comparisons for the CPU show tight grouping. The Core Ultra 7 165H has an average benchmark score of 34083, which is 0.3% above the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H at 33989. The AMD EPYC 4244P and AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 both score 34220 and 34222 respectively, putting them 0.4% ahead of the Core Ultra 7 165H. The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is 0.5% ahead at 34260. These deltas are small, indicating that the CPU is not a differentiator in this pairing—any of these rivals would produce nearly identical frame rates in Control.

The GPU side shows a similar pattern. The RTX 4090 Mobile averages 43667 in benchmark scores, placing it 0.8% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 at 43301 and 0.9% ahead of both the RTX 5050 Mobile and the Quadro M6000 24 GB at 43268 and 43262. The NVIDIA RTX A6000 is 0.9% ahead at 44075. The rank of 866 out of 3720 indicates that roughly 23% of tested combos outperform this pairing, which aligns with the GPU's 84th percentile standing.

The implication is that this combo is well-matched for Control, with neither component dramatically bottlenecking the other. The rank reflects a system that handles the game's physics and rendering demands capably, though users seeking the absolute highest frame rates in Control would need to look at combos in the top percentile—likely those pairing the RTX 4090 Mobile with a higher-end desktop-class CPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile carries the primary rendering load in Control. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Control's textures and effects at any resolution, as the game's asset sizes do not approach the 16 GB ceiling even at 4K Ultra. The 2250 MHz memory clock translates to 18 Gbps effective, which supports the high frame rates observed in the measured data.

The GPU's clock speeds are modest for a flagship—1335 MHz base and 1695 MHz boost—but the Ada Lovelace architecture compensates with 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. The 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing and DLSS, though the measured FPS data does not specify whether these features were enabled. The 32.98 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is substantial, and the 515.3 GTexel/s texture rate allows the GPU to feed the high polygon counts in Control's brutalist environments without stuttering.

The GPU's benchmark results support its role in this pairing. The PassMark G3D score of 27212 and the Geekbench OpenCL score of 180831 indicate strong raw compute capability. The Vulkan score of 170774 is particularly relevant, as Control uses DirectX 12 with features that can benefit from modern API overhead reduction. The GPU's 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms it is a top-tier mobile part, and the measured FPS data reflects that positioning.

The VRAM capacity becomes a factor at 4K resolution. The 16 GB frame buffer ensures that even the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 does not experience texture thrashing, which would manifest as stutters or reduced minimum frame rates. The measured minimum FPS of 60 at 4K Medium and 89 at 1440p Medium indicate that memory bandwidth is not a limiting factor—the 576.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the card to maintain consistent frame pacing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 194 FPS, which is the highest recorded value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 138 FPS with a minimum of 117 FPS and a maximum of 158 FPS. The High preset averages 122 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 106 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 88 FPS, indicating that the GPU has substantial headroom at this resolution and that the CPU becomes a more significant factor as settings decrease.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 147 FPS, dropping 47 FPS from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 104 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS. The High preset averages 93 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 80 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent reduction of roughly 24-25% across all presets, which aligns with the pixel count increase of 78%. This suggests the GPU is not bandwidth-limited at 1440p and that the rendering pipeline scales predictably.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 99 FPS, which is remarkable for 4K. The Medium preset averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 81 FPS. The High preset averages 62 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 54 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a more dramatic drop—the High preset falls from 93 FPS to 62 FPS, a 33% reduction. This indicates that the GPU is approaching its rendering limits at 4K, particularly with the Ultra preset where the 54 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

The minimum FPS data is only provided for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p, the minimum of 117 FPS represents a 15% drop from the average. At 1440p, the minimum of 89 FPS is a 14% drop. At 4K, the minimum of 60 FPS is a 14% drop. This consistent 14-15% minimum-to-average ratio indicates stable frame pacing without severe spikes, which is characteristic of a well-balanced system. The absence of minimum FPS data for the other presets suggests either that they were not recorded or that they did not exhibit notable dips.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K with a locked 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at the Medium preset. The measured data shows 3840x2160 Medium averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS. The High preset averages 62 FPS with no recorded minimum, which risks dropping below 60, and the Ultra preset averages 54 FPS, which is below the threshold.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144Hz 1440p monitor?

A: The Low preset at 2560x1440 averages 147 FPS, which is just above 144 FPS. The Medium preset averages 104 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS, which is playable but will not saturate a 144Hz panel. For a 144Hz display, the Low preset is the only measured row that consistently exceeds the refresh rate.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H compare to its nearest rivals in this system?

A: The Core Ultra 7 165H has an average benchmark score of 34083. It is 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H, and 0.4% behind the AMD EPYC 4244P and AMD Ryzen AI 7 350. The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is 0.5% ahead. These differences are negligible for gaming performance.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 Mobile's 16 GB VRAM sufficient for Control at maximum settings?

A: Yes. The measured data shows the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 54 FPS, indicating the GPU is compute-limited rather than memory-limited. The 16 GB GDDR6 frame buffer with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures no texture thrashing occurs at any resolution or preset.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with the High preset?

A: The measured average is 122 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS and leaves headroom for demanding scenes. The High preset at 1080p is the recommended choice for a balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Control?

A: This combo ranks 866 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the top 23% of all systems. The GPU ranks in the 84th percentile among all GPUs, and the CPU also ranks in the 84th percentile among all CPUs, indicating a balanced pairing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H provides the processing foundation for this combo. This Meteor Lake architecture chip features 16 cores and 22 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The 28W TDP is modest for a mobile part, but the 7 nm process node from Intel allows the chip to maintain competitive performance within that power envelope. The CPU's memory support includes DDR5 with dual-channel configuration, delivering 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which feeds the GPU's 576.0 GB/s bandwidth without creating a bottleneck in most scenarios.

The CPU's benchmark scores indicate strong multi-threaded performance. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14551 and the PassMark multithread score of 25933 demonstrate that the 16 cores are effectively utilized. The single-thread performance is represented by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1759 and the PassMark single-thread score of 3509. For Control, which is primarily a GPU-bound title at high resolutions, the CPU's single-thread performance is sufficient to feed the RTX 4090 Mobile without bottlenecking at 1080p.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3. This 24 MB L3 is critical for gaming workloads, as it allows frequently accessed game code and data to reside on-die. The PassMark data compression score of 291161 and integer math score of 89415 show that the CPU handles computational tasks efficiently, which matters for Control's physics simulation and object interactions.

The CPU's 84th percentile ranking places it in the upper tier of all CPUs, but the nearest rival data reveals it is not a standout performer. The 0.3-0.5% deltaPct against its nearest rivals means that swapping the Core Ultra 7 165H for an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 would produce nearly identical frame rates in Control. The CPU's role in this pairing is to provide consistent frame pacing rather than maximum performance, and the measured FPS data confirms that the system does not exhibit CPU-related stuttering at any resolution or preset.

The integrated Arc Xe-LPG 128EU graphics are present but irrelevant for this gaming workload, as the discrete RTX 4090 Mobile handles all rendering. The CPU's PCIe Gen 5 support with 8 lanes provides sufficient bandwidth for the GPU's PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, ensuring no data transfer bottlenecks. The 22 threads are more than adequate for Control's threading model, which typically utilizes 4-8 threads for game logic and rendering tasks. The CPU's 5.00 GHz boost clock ensures that single-threaded game logic runs at high frequency, which is beneficial for maintaining consistent frame times in scenes with complex AI or physics calculations.