Control

Control, the 2019 action-adventure from Remedy, is a visually dense game that stresses the GPU heavily, and the data for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 reflects this dynamic. The measured frames per second across resolutions and presets reveal a component balance that shifts from a GPU-bound scenario at 4K to a more balanced, but still GPU-limited, state at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured performance data to provide a clear picture of what users can expect from this combination.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, clearly identifying the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 as the primary limiting factor in this configuration. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 88 FPS at 1920x1080 to 67 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 45 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 49% reduction in average FPS when moving from 1080p to 4K. The pattern is even more pronounced at the Ultra preset, where the average drops from 77 FPS at 1080p to 58 FPS at 1440p, and then down to 39 FPS at 4K—a 49% decrease from 1080p to 4K as well.

The scaling behavior indicates that the game is heavily dependent on pixel throughput. The RTX 4060, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus, shows its limitations as the resolution increases. The data suggests that the CPU, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265, is not the bottleneck in this scenario; were it the limiting factor, the frame rate would remain relatively flat across resolutions. Instead, the consistent and significant frame rate drops point directly to the GPU's rendering capacity being saturated.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution decreases. At 4K, the difference between Low (71 FPS) and Ultra (39 FPS) is 32 FPS. At 1440p, the gap grows to 48 FPS (106 FPS Low vs. 58 FPS Ultra). At 1080p, the spread is 63 FPS (140 FPS Low vs. 77 FPS Ultra). This widening gap at lower resolutions implies that while the GPU is still the primary constraint, the CPU has more headroom to feed frames when the pixel workload is lower, allowing the higher preset settings to have a more pronounced impact on the frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions, providing a significant visual upgrade over Low while maintaining playable frame rates. At 4K, the Medium preset delivers an average of 51 FPS with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 58 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that stays above the 40 FPS threshold consistently. The High preset at 4K dips to 45 FPS average, which is playable but closer to the edge of smoothness. For a 60 FPS target, users would need to step down to 1440p, where the Medium preset achieves an average of 75 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the High preset is the recommended choice for a premium experience, delivering an average of 88 FPS. This setting provides a substantial improvement over Medium's 99 FPS average in terms of visual fidelity while still maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 77 FPS average, which is still smooth, but the performance cost of the final preset tier is evident. The data suggests that for users prioritizing a locked 60 FPS experience, the High preset at 1440p, with its 67 FPS average, is the sweet spot for this hardware combination.

The Low preset, while achieving high frame rates (140 FPS at 1080p), sacrifices too much visual quality for a marginal performance gain in most scenarios. The Low setting at 4K (71 FPS) is the only way to get a high refresh rate experience at that resolution, but the visual compromise is substantial. Ultimately, the data supports Medium as the default recommendation for a stable experience, with High being the choice for users with 1080p displays or those who can tolerate slightly lower frame rates at 1440p.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1515 out of 2888 tested combos for Control. This places it in the 52nd percentile of all tested configurations, indicating a middle-of-the-pack performance profile. The rank suggests that while this is a capable setup, it is not optimized for maximum performance in this specific title, likely due to the RTX 4060's position as a mid-range GPU.

The ranking is more a reflection of the GPU's tier than the CPU's capability. The RTX 4060 sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (with a -0.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon 780M (with a +0.3% delta), which are significantly older or lower-tier parts. This indicates that the GPU is performing as expected for its class, but it is not a high-end part capable of topping the charts in a demanding game like Control.

The CPU, in contrast, is a high-end part, sitting at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 64640. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 4464P (with a -0.3% delta) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (with a +0.3% delta). This discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's mid-tier rank strongly implies that the GPU is the bottleneck, dragging the overall combination down in the rankings. Users with this setup are leaving performance on the table, as the CPU is capable of driving a more powerful GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 140 FPS on Low, 99 FPS on Medium, 88 FPS on High, and 77 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS, indicating a stable frame time distribution. The Low preset's 140 FPS average demonstrates the CPU's ability to push high frame rates when the GPU load is minimal.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 106 FPS on Low, 75 FPS on Medium, 67 FPS on High, and 58 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset again shows a consistent range with a minimum of 64 FPS and a maximum of 86 FPS. The 1440p data shows that the High preset is still viable for 60 FPS gaming, but the headroom is reduced. At 3840x2160, the averages fall to 71 FPS on Low, 51 FPS on Medium, 45 FPS on High, and 39 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 58 FPS, showing that even at this demanding resolution, the frame rate is relatively stable, though below the 60 FPS threshold.

The data reveals a clear hierarchy: Low is the fastest, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra. The performance cost of each preset step is not linear. For instance, at 1080p, moving from Medium to High costs 11 FPS, while moving from High to Ultra costs another 11 FPS. However, at 4K, moving from Medium to High costs 6 FPS, and High to Ultra costs another 6 FPS. This suggests that the GPU is becoming increasingly saturated at higher resolutions, reducing the relative impact of each preset change.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the decisive component in this system's Control performance. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s, which is a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 2460 MHz and base clock of 1830 MHz are standard for the Ada Lovelace architecture, but the 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is modest for a modern GPU. The data shows that the RTX 4060 is the bottleneck in this configuration, as evidenced by the significant frame rate drops at 4K.

The GPU's 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639, confirms its mid-range positioning. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon 780M (with a +0.3% delta), are integrated graphics solutions, which highlights that the RTX 4060 is a discrete part that is only slightly ahead of the best iGPUs in synthetic tests. In Control, this translates to playable but not exceptional performance. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 128-bit bus width limits the data transfer rate, which is a likely contributor to the steep performance drop at 4K.

The GPU's end-of-life production status and its position as a successor to the GeForce 30 series indicate that it is a last-generation mid-range part. The data suggests that for Control, the RTX 4060 is best suited for 1080p High or 1440p Medium settings. Pushing to 4K requires significant compromises, and even then, the frame rates are below 60 FPS. The GPU's 115 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a power-efficient part, but its performance ceiling in this game is clearly defined by its memory subsystem and compute throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for a 60 FPS experience with this combo?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440 with the High preset, the average FPS is 67, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 88 FPS average, providing more headroom.

Q: Can this system achieve 4K 60 FPS in Control?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 71 FPS on the Low preset, but the Medium preset drops to 51 FPS average, and the Ultra preset falls to 39 FPS average. None of the presets at 4K reach a sustained 60 FPS average.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 61st percentile. The frame rate drops significantly with resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7790, scores 17666, which is a -0.2% delta. The AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588, a +0.3% delta, showing the RTX 4060 is only marginally ahead of these parts.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 140 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 77 FPS. This is a difference of 63 FPS, representing a 45% reduction in performance when moving to the highest quality settings.

Q: Does the Medium preset provide stable frame times?

A: Yes. At all three resolutions, the Medium preset has recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. For example, at 1920x1080, the range is 84 to 114 FPS; at 2560x1440, it is 64 to 86 FPS; and at 3840x2160, it is 43 to 58 FPS. This indicates consistent frame pacing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a high-end processor that is more than capable of handling Control's CPU demands, but its performance is largely untapped in this configuration. With 20 cores and 20 threads, the CPU does not appear to be a limiting factor in the measured results. The data shows that at 1080p with the Low preset, the average FPS reaches 140, which is a frame rate that requires a strong CPU to feed the GPU. This suggests that the Core Ultra 7 265 has sufficient single-thread performance to drive high frame rates.

The CPU's boost clock of 5.30 GHz and base clock of 2.40 GHz are respectable for a desktop part, and its 30 MB of shared L3 cache is ample for gaming workloads. The 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 64640, places it in the top tier of processors. In synthetic tests, it is nearly identical in performance to the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (a +0.3% delta) and the AMD EPYC 4464P (a -0.3% delta), confirming its position as a high-performance part.

The fact that the combo ranks 1515 out of 2888 in Control, despite the CPU's top-tier status, underscores that the processor is not the bottleneck. The CPU's performance is likely sufficient to support a more powerful GPU, such as a higher-tier RTX 40-series card, without becoming a constraint. The 20 cores and 20 threads provide ample multi-threaded performance for background tasks, but Control is a game that primarily relies on single-thread performance, where this CPU excels. The data indicates that users with this CPU should consider pairing it with a stronger GPU to fully realize its potential in GPU-bound titles like Control.