Control

Control, the 2019 action-adventure from Remedy Entertainment, places players in a shifting brutalist world where physics and architecture are weapons. The benchmark data for this title, captured with an Intel Core Ultra 7 165H processor paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, reveals a system that is decisively GPU-bound at higher resolutions but shows surprising CPU sensitivity at the lowest settings. The measured frames per second (FPS) across the three standard resolutions and four quality presets paint a clear picture of a high-end mobile CPU holding its own while the desktop-class GPU dominates the rendering workload, though the gap between the 1080p and 4K results exposes where the bottleneck truly lies.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H is a 16-core, 22-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on a 7 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and can boost up to 5.00 GHz, with a 24 MB shared L3 cache. Its position in the benchmark hierarchy is solid: it sits at the 84th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34,083. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing are the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H, which scores 33,989 (a delta of 0.3% in favor of the 165H), and the AMD EPYC 4244P and AMD Ryzen AI 7 350, both scoring 34,220 and 34,222 respectively (deltas of -0.4%). This places the 165H in a tightly contested performance band, but in Control, its role is less about raw compute and more about feeding the GPU.

At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 190 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. This number indicates that the CPU is capable of driving the game engine to very high frame rates when the GPU is not the limiting factor. The 165H’s single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1,759, is sufficient to handle the game's physics and logic at these frame rates. However, as the resolution increases, the CPU's influence wanes. The data shows that the delta between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is 86 FPS (from 190 down to 104), which is a massive gap. This suggests that at 1080p, the GPU is still the primary driver of performance changes between presets, but the CPU’s headroom allows the GPU to stretch its legs. The processor is not a bottleneck here; it provides enough throughput to keep the RTX 5080 fed at all settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience balances visual fidelity with frame rate stability. The Medium preset offers the best compromise, providing average FPS of 135 at 1080p, 102 at 1440p, and 69 at 4K, with recorded minimum FPS of 115, 87, and 59 respectively. This preset delivers a playable experience across all resolutions, with the 4K minimum of 59 FPS just barely touching the 60 FPS threshold. For users with high-refresh-rate 1080p displays, the High preset at 120 FPS is a strong choice, sacrificing only 15 FPS compared to Medium but offering improved visual quality. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, incurs a significant performance cost: it drops average FPS to 104 at 1080p, 79 at 1440p, and 53 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only setting that fails to maintain a smooth 60 FPS average, indicating that this preset is too demanding for the RTX 5080 at that resolution. The Low preset, while achieving 190 FPS at 1080p, 144 FPS at 1440p, and 97 FPS at 4K, is not recommended for general play due to the substantial reduction in visual quality, though it serves as a benchmark for CPU performance. The data suggests that Medium is the "sweet spot" for a consistent experience, while High is preferable for those prioritizing visual quality on 1080p and 1440p displays.

FAQ

Q: Can the RTX 5080 handle Control at 4K with maximum settings?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system produces an average of 53 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay, indicating that the Ultra preset at 4K is too demanding for a locked 60 FPS experience with this combo. Dropping to High settings yields 61 FPS, which is just above the target.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at lower resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches 190 FPS, the highest score in the dataset. This high frame rate suggests that the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H has sufficient single-thread performance to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions, allowing the RTX 5080 to render frames as fast as possible.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 102 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 79 FPS. This represents a 23 FPS drop for the higher visual quality, which is a significant trade-off. The Medium preset’s minimum FPS of 87 also indicates better frame pacing stability.

Q: Is the RTX 5080 a bottleneck in this game?

A: Yes, the benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions. The frame rate decreases consistently as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K across all settings, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. The CPU’s role is more evident only at 1080p Low, where the frame rate is highest.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems?

A: This specific configuration of Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 730th out of 2,888 tested combos in Control. This places it in the top 25% of all tested systems, indicating strong overall performance for this game.

Q: What is the best setting for a 1440p display with a 100 Hz refresh rate?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 produces an average of 102 FPS and a minimum of 87 FPS. This aligns well with a 100 Hz display, as the average frame rate exceeds the refresh rate, and the minimum stays above 85 FPS for a smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves a rank of 730 out of 2,888 tested combos in Control. This places the system in the 75th percentile of all recorded configurations, meaning it outperforms roughly three-quarters of the systems tested in this game. This ranking confirms the strength of the RTX 5080, as the CPU’s synthetic benchmark percentile is lower (84th) than the GPU’s (87th), but the game’s heavy reliance on GPU rendering pushes the combo higher. In comparison to other pairings, the data suggests that the 165H does not negatively impact the overall result; the 5080 is the dominant component. The rank indicates that while this is not a top-tier enthusiast configuration for Control, it is a very capable setup that will deliver high frame rates at most settings, with the only exception being 4K Ultra. The gap between this combo and the top performers is likely due to systems equipped with higher-end desktop CPUs and potentially more powerful GPUs, but for a mobile CPU paired with a high-end desktop GPU, the performance is commendable.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and the GB203 chip, is the undisputed performance driver in this configuration. It features 10,752 shading units, 84 RT cores, and 336 tensor cores, with a boost clock of 2,617 MHz. Its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s, which is more than sufficient for the textures and effects in a 2019 title like Control. The GPU’s synthetic benchmark scores are strong, placing it at the 87th percentile among all GPUs with an average score of 56,083. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 8060S (scoring 55,757, a delta of 0.6%), the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698, a delta of 0.7%), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828, a delta of 2.3%), while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE scores higher at 57,367 (a delta of -2.2%). This places the 5080 in a competitive position, but its real-world performance in Control shows it is a formidable card.

The measured FPS data confirms the 5080’s dominance. At 1080p, the GPU is capable of delivering 190 FPS at Low settings, which is likely near the engine’s or CPU’s limit. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 86 FPS drop (190 to 104), which is a significant cost for maxed-out settings. At 4K, the GPU’s workload increases dramatically, with the average FPS falling from 190 at 1080p Low to 97 at 4K Low, a reduction of 93 FPS. This scaling is characteristic of a GPU that has ample headroom at lower resolutions but is eventually constrained by the pixel count at 4K. The 16 GB VRAM is likely sufficient for Control at all settings, as the game is not known for extreme VRAM usage, and the 960.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures high-resolution textures are streamed without stutter. The 5080 is the component that dictates the frame rate in most scenarios, and its performance is the reason this combo ranks as high as it does.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data provides a complete matrix of average FPS across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 190 FPS on Low, 135 FPS on Medium, 120 FPS on High, and 104 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a recorded minimum of 115 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 144 FPS on Low, 102 FPS on Medium, 91 FPS on High, and 79 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. At 3840x2160, the averages are 97 FPS on Low, 69 FPS on Medium, 61 FPS on High, and 53 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS. These numbers illustrate a clear step-down in performance as resolution increases. The most notable data point is the 1080p Low result of 190 FPS, which is the only measurement exceeding 150 FPS. Conversely, the 4K Ultra result of 53 FPS is the only average below 60 FPS. The consistency of the frame rate drops between resolutions suggests a stable, predictable scaling pattern, which is typical for a GPU-bound title.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K provides clear insight into the system’s limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 190 at 1080p to 144 at 1440p (a 24.2% decrease) and then to 97 at 4K (a 32.6% decrease from 1440p). This progressive decline is a textbook example of GPU-bound scaling, where the rendering workload increases with pixel count. The CPU’s performance, which is resolution-independent, remains constant, but the GPU’s fill rate and pixel processing capabilities are stretched thinner. The same pattern is observed at Ultra settings, where FPS drops from 104 at 1080p to 79 at 1440p (a 24.0% decrease) and then to 53 at 4K (a 32.9% decrease from 1440p). The percentage drops are remarkably similar across settings, reinforcing that the GPU is the sole bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS at lower resolutions, but the data shows no such plateau; the FPS continues to rise as resolution falls, with no sign of a CPU-imposed ceiling at 1080p. This indicates that the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H is more than capable of keeping up with the RTX 5080 in this game, and the user’s choice of resolution will directly determine the playable settings. For 4K, the user must accept Medium settings to stay above 60 FPS, while at 1080p, even Ultra settings provide a smooth experience above 100 FPS.