Control

# Control with Intel Core Ultra 7 265 + AMD Radeon RX 9070

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination delivers a robust Control experience across all tested resolutions, with performance that scales predictably from 1080p to 4K. This pairing ranks 819th out of 2,888 tested combos in the database, placing it comfortably in the upper third of all configurations measured for this title. The CPU's 20-core, 20-thread Arrow Lake design and the GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory create a balanced platform that handles Control's demanding physics and particle effects without obvious bottlenecks at any setting level.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread processor built on Arrow Lake architecture using a 3 nm process from TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and boosts up to 5.30 GHz, with 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core. The chip's multithreaded performance is strong, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42,216 and a Passmark multithread score of 49,682, while single-thread performance reaches 5,960 in Cinebench R23 and 4,689 in Passmark single-thread tests. These scores place the CPU at the 93rd percentile among all processors in the database, indicating it is well above average for demanding workloads.

In Control, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with geometry and physics data. The game's environmental destruction and telekinetic object manipulation rely heavily on single-thread performance, but the 265's 5.30 GHz boost clock ensures it never becomes the limiting factor at the tested settings. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 4464P (average score 64,823, 0.3% slower), the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (average score 64,438, 0.3% faster), and the AMD EPYC 7343 (average score 64,202, 0.7% faster), all of which are within a percentage point of the 265's average benchmark score of 64,640. This narrow performance band suggests that the 265 is not dramatically faster or slower than its direct competitors, but its combination of 20 cores and high boost clock makes it particularly well-suited for games like Control that can utilize multiple threads for background simulation while maintaining high single-thread responsiveness.

The processor's 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth provide ample bandwidth for Control's streaming assets, though the game's 2019 release date means it was designed with older memory architectures in mind. The 265's integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 32EU is present but irrelevant for this discrete GPU configuration. The CPU's nearest rival deltas in the database are all within 0.7%, meaning that swapping to any of these alternatives would produce nearly identical frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios. However, the 265's 93rd percentile standing suggests it outperforms the vast majority of installed CPUs, ensuring that Control's CPU demands are met with headroom to spare at every resolution tested.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is built on the Navi 48 chip using RDNA 4.0 architecture and a 4 nm process from TSMC. It features 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 raster operation pipelines, with 56 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1,330 MHz, a boost clock of 2,520 MHz, and a game clock of 2,070 MHz, with memory running at 2,518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial for a game like Control that uses high-resolution textures and complex lighting effects.

The RX 9070's benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 25,381 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,290, with Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores of 131,539 and 58,705 respectively. These figures place the GPU at the 69th percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 23,877. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (average score 23,736, 0.6% slower), the AMD Radeon RX 6800S (average score 24,063, 0.8% faster), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (average score 24,170, 1.2% faster). The RX 9070's 16 GB VRAM capacity is particularly relevant for Control at 4K Ultra settings, where texture memory usage can spike, and the measured frame rates indicate that the GPU has sufficient memory headroom even at the highest preset.

In Control, the GPU is the primary driver of frame rate at higher resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the combination achieves 182 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 51 FPS, clearly demonstrating that the RX 9070's compute and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors at 4K. The GPU's 36.13 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 564.5 GTexel/s texture rate are substantial, yet Control's heavy use of volumetric effects and screen-space reflections at Ultra settings pushes the card to its limits. The 220 W TDP and dual-slot cooler design suggest the card is built for sustained gaming loads, and the PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensures no bandwidth bottleneck from the CPU side.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows clear resolution scaling patterns that highlight where the bottleneck shifts between CPU and GPU. At 1080p Low, the system produces 182 FPS, which drops to 137 FPS at 1440p Low (a 24.7% reduction) and 93 FPS at 4K Low (a 48.9% reduction from 1080p). This scaling indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as resolution rises, though the CPU still has ample headroom at 1080p to push frame rates well beyond typical display refresh rates.

For Medium settings, the pattern is similar but with slightly different percentages. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 129, dropping to 98 at 1440p Medium (a 24.0% reduction) and 66 at 4K Medium (a 48.8% reduction from 1080p). The minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 110, at 1440p Medium is 83, and at 4K Medium is 56, with maximum values of 148, 112, and 76 respectively. This data reveals that the frame time variance increases at higher resolutions, with the gap between minimum and maximum FPS widening from 38 FPS at 1080p to 29 FPS at 1440p and 20 FPS at 4K, indicating more consistent performance at lower resolutions where the CPU can better mask GPU stalls.

High settings show a similar trend: 115 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p (a 24.3% reduction), and 59 FPS at 4K (a 48.7% reduction from 1080p). Ultra settings produce 100 FPS at 1080p, 75 FPS at 1440p (a 25.0% reduction), and 51 FPS at 4K (a 49.0% reduction from 1080p). The consistent ~24-25% drop from 1080p to 1440p and ~49% drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings presets strongly suggests that the GPU is the primary scaling bottleneck. The percentage reductions are nearly identical regardless of quality preset, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where resolution directly impacts the pixel throughput required. The CPU's performance is sufficient to maintain these frame rates without introducing additional bottlenecks, as evidenced by the fact that even at 1080p Low (182 FPS), the frame rate continues to scale with resolution rather than plateauing due to CPU limits.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1080p, all settings presets deliver playable frame rates, with Low at 182 FPS, Medium at 129 FPS, High at 115 FPS, and Ultra at 100 FPS. For players with high refresh rate monitors (144Hz or above), Low or Medium settings are necessary to fully utilize the display's capability, but High settings at 115 FPS still provide a smooth experience for most users. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 100 FPS, which is acceptable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

At 1440p, the recommended sweet spot is High settings at 87 FPS, which balances visual quality with smooth gameplay. Medium at 98 FPS offers a slightly better frame rate with modest visual compromises, while Ultra at 75 FPS remains playable but approaches the threshold where frame pacing may become noticeable in fast-paced combat sequences. Low at 137 FPS is ideal for competitive play but sacrifices significant visual fidelity in a game known for its atmospheric environments and detailed destruction physics.

At 4K, the data suggests that Medium settings (66 FPS) provide the best balance between visual quality and performance. High settings at 59 FPS are borderline playable, but the 51 FPS at Ultra settings may result in noticeable stuttering during intense scenes. Low settings at 93 FPS are the only preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS at 4K, but this requires substantial visual compromises. For the best overall experience at 4K, Medium settings are recommended, as the 66 FPS average with a 56 FPS minimum ensures that the game remains fluid even during demanding sequences, while the visual upgrade from Low to Medium is significant in Control's detailed environments.

How This Combo Ranks

This Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination ranks 819th out of 2,888 tested configurations for Control, placing it in the 71.6th percentile of all combos measured. This ranking indicates that the pairing performs better than approximately 72% of tested systems while being outperformed by the top 28% of configurations. The CPU's 93rd percentile standing among all processors and the GPU's 69th percentile among all graphics cards suggest that the ranking is limited by the GPU rather than the CPU, as the processor has more headroom relative to its peers than the graphics card does.

The combo's performance characteristics in Control are consistent with its overall benchmark scores. The CPU's average benchmark score of 64,640 places it just 0.3% behind the AMD EPYC 4464P and 0.7% behind the AMD EPYC 7343, while being 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F and 0.7% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9124. The GPU's average score of 23,877 puts it 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z and 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile, while trailing the AMD Radeon RX 6800S by 0.8% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER by 1.2%. These narrow deltas mean that the combo's rank is more influenced by the specific game's optimization than by raw hardware capability, as Control's engine appears to favor certain architectural characteristics.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing's 819th rank out of 2,888 suggests it is a mid-to-upper tier configuration that can handle Control at high settings with good frame rates, but it is not among the elite systems that can maintain 60+ FPS at 4K Ultra. The measured data shows that the system achieves playable frame rates at all resolutions up to High settings, with only 4K Ultra falling below 60 FPS. This places the combo in a strong position for gamers who prioritize smooth gameplay at 1440p or 1080p with high visual quality, while acknowledging that 4K Ultra requires either lower settings or a more powerful GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the expected frame rate at 1440p High settings with this combo?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 High settings is 87 FPS, which provides a smooth gameplay experience for Control's action sequences.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings or lower. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 66 with a minimum of 56, while 4K High averages 59 FPS and 4K Ultra averages 51 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems for Control?

A: The combination ranks 819th out of 2,888 tested combos, placing it in the upper third of all configurations measured for this game.

Q: Which settings preset offers the best frame rate at 1080p?

A: Low settings produce the highest average FPS at 182, followed by Medium at 129, High at 115, and Ultra at 100 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this configuration?

A: The GPU is the primary limiting factor, as frame rates scale consistently with resolution (~24-25% drops from 1080p to 1440p and ~49% from 1080p to 4K) regardless of quality preset, indicating GPU-bound performance.

Q: How does the RX 9070 compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The RX 9070 has an average benchmark score of 23,877, which is 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z, 1.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile, 0.8% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6800S, and 1.2% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER.