Control

Control pairs a 20-core Intel Core Ultra 7 265 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, and the measured frame rates show this combination is heavily GPU-bound across most settings. The strongest performance per preset is found at Medium settings, which delivers a 162 FPS average at 1080p and 122 FPS at 1440p while maintaining a 70 FPS minimum at 4K. Ultra settings still produce playable results, but the drop from Medium to Ultra at 4K is 19 FPS, indicating diminishing returns for the highest preset. This analysis interprets the measured data to recommend the best experience, explains the roles of the CPU and GPU, ranks the combo against all tested systems, and examines how resolution scaling reveals the bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows show Medium as the optimal preset for this combo, balancing visual fidelity with performance headroom. At 1080p, Medium produces 162 FPS average with a 137 FPS minimum, which is 37 FPS higher than Ultra’s 125 FPS average. The gap narrows at 1440p, where Medium averages 122 FPS versus Ultra’s 94 FPS, but the 28 FPS difference still favors Medium. At 4K, Medium maintains 83 FPS average with a 70 FPS minimum, remaining above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while Ultra drops to 64 FPS average with no reported minimum.

High settings sit between Medium and Ultra, offering 144 FPS at 1080p, 109 FPS at 1440p, and 73 FPS at 4K. This preset is a viable alternative for users who want improved visuals over Medium without sacrificing as much performance as Ultra. However, the data indicates Medium is the sweet spot because it provides the largest performance margin at every resolution. At 4K, Medium’s 83 FPS is 19 FPS higher than High’s 73 FPS, and the 70 FPS minimum ensures consistent frame pacing.

Low settings are unnecessary for this hardware. The 228 FPS average at 1080p and 172 FPS at 1440p exceed display refresh rates on most monitors, and even 4K delivers 116 FPS. Since Medium offers 162 FPS at 1080p and 122 FPS at 1440p, the extra 66 FPS from Low at 1080p does not justify the visual quality loss. Ultra settings are only recommended for users prioritizing image quality over frame rate, as the 64 FPS average at 4K remains playable but approaches the lower bound of smoothness.

The recommendation is to use Medium for competitive or high-refresh-rate play, especially at 1440p where 122 FPS exceeds typical 120 Hz displays. For 4K, Medium’s 83 FPS average provides enough headroom for demanding scenes, while High is a reasonable compromise for those who prefer richer detail at 4K’s 73 FPS. The data strongly suggests avoiding Low unless targeting extreme frame rates beyond 228 FPS, which few monitors support.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 has 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This configuration is substantial for a desktop processor, and its benchmark scores reflect strong multi-threaded capability. In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 42,216 in multi-core and 5,960 in single-core, placing it in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 64,640 is within 0.3% of the AMD EPYC 4464P and 0.7% of the AMD EPYC 9124, showing comparable processing power.

For Control, the CPU’s role appears secondary to the GPU, based on the measured FPS scaling. At 1080p, the difference between Low (228 FPS) and Medium (162 FPS) is 66 FPS, which is a 29% reduction. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the GPU is still the primary driver, but the CPU’s single-thread performance (5,960 in R23) is sufficient to feed the GPU at these high frame rates. The 5.30 GHz boost clock provides the per-core speed needed for game logic and physics, which are typically single-threaded.

The CPU’s 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth support fast data access for game assets. In Passmark’s multi-thread test, the CPU scores 49,682, which is 16% higher than its single-thread score of 4,689, indicating strong scaling across its 20 cores. However, Control is not a heavily threaded title, so the multi-core advantage may not translate directly to FPS gains over a processor with fewer cores but similar single-thread speed.

The nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks include the AMD EPYC 4464P, which is 0.3% faster on average, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F, which is 0.3% slower. These deltas are negligible, meaning the 265’s processing power is effectively equivalent to its closest alternatives. For gaming, the CPU’s 20 cores provide headroom for background tasks and future titles, but Control’s measured performance shows the GPU is the limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 8,448 shading units, 264 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. It has 66 ray tracing cores and 264 tensor cores, delivering 44.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The GPU’s boost clock is 2,610 MHz, and it is paired with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is crucial for Control at high resolutions, as the game’s textures and effects can consume significant VRAM.

The GPU’s benchmark scores show a 76th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average score of 31,087. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro M5000, is 0.4% slower, while the TITAN RTX is 1.9% faster. In 3DMark Steel Nomad, the GPU scores 5,569, and in Geekbench OpenCL it achieves 199,267, indicating strong compute performance. The 16 GB VRAM is ample for Control, even at 4K Ultra, where the measured 64 FPS average suggests the GPU is managing memory effectively.

The GPU’s role in Control is evident from the FPS scaling across settings. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces the average from 228 to 125 FPS, a 45% drop. This scaling is consistent with the GPU becoming the bottleneck as settings increase. At 4K, the same settings change yields 116 to 64 FPS, a 45% drop as well, confirming that the GPU’s rendering workload scales linearly with resolution and quality. The 16 GB VRAM prevents any memory-related stuttering, as the game’s highest preset at 4K still maintains a playable average.

The GPU’s 96 ROPs and 250.6 GPixel/s pixel rate handle Control’s post-processing effects well, but the data shows that Ultra settings push the GPU to its limits. The 4K Ultra average of 64 FPS is just above the 60 FPS target, and the lack of a reported minimum suggests potential dips below that threshold in intense scenes. For users with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, the GPU’s 122 FPS average at Medium settings provides excellent smoothness, while 4K users should stick to Medium or High for consistent performance.

How This Combo Ranks

This combo ranks 303rd out of 2,888 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the top 10.5% of all systems. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU, where the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER provides the bulk of the gaming performance, and the Core Ultra 7 265 ensures no bottleneck at lower resolutions. The rank is based on measured FPS data, which shows the combo excels at 1080p and 1440p but is more modest at 4K.

Against other combos, this system’s position suggests it outperforms the majority of tested hardware. The GPU’s 76th percentile ranking among GPUs is the primary driver, while the CPU’s 93rd percentile ranking ensures it does not hold the system back. The combo’s rank of 303 out of 2,888 means it sits ahead of roughly 89.5% of all tested combinations, which is impressive for a mid-to-high-end pairing.

The rank also contextualizes the FPS data. At 1080p Ultra, the 125 FPS average is strong, but the 4K Ultra average of 64 FPS is closer to the median for this GPU class. The combo’s strength is its versatility: it delivers high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, and remains playable at 4K. The rank does not indicate a weakness in any specific area, but rather a well-rounded performance profile that suits most gaming scenarios.

The nearest GPU rivals, such as the TITAN RTX, are only 1.9% faster on average, which explains why this combo’s rank is not higher. If the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER were paired with a faster CPU, the rank might improve slightly, but the data shows the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The 303rd rank is a solid result, placing this combo in the upper echelon of gaming systems.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the combo scales from 1080p to 4K, showing a clear GPU bottleneck. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 144 at 1080p to 109 at 1440p (a 24% decrease) and then to 73 at 4K (a 33% decrease from 1440p). This scaling is consistent with the GPU’s rendering load increasing as resolution rises, while the CPU’s performance remains constant.

The scaling pattern is similar across all settings. At Medium, the FPS drops from 162 at 1080p to 122 at 1440p (25% decrease) and then to 83 at 4K (32% decrease from 1440p). At Low, the drop is from 228 to 172 (25%) and then to 116 (33%). This consistent percentage drop across settings indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as the CPU’s frame generation capability is not changing with resolution.

The 4K to 1080p ratio for each setting is roughly 0.5, meaning the 4K FPS is about half of the 1080p FPS. For example, at High settings, 73/144 = 0.51, and at Medium, 83/162 = 0.51. This halving of FPS when quadrupling the pixel count confirms that the GPU’s fill rate and shading power are the primary constraints. The CPU’s 20 cores and high boost clock are sufficient to maintain frame delivery at all resolutions, but they cannot overcome the GPU’s rendering limits at 4K.

The data suggests that for 4K gaming, users should lower settings to Medium to maintain a 60+ FPS average. The 4K Medium average of 83 FPS is 30% higher than 4K Ultra’s 64 FPS, and the 70 FPS minimum provides a safer margin. For 1080p and 1440p, the combo can handle Ultra settings with FPS above 94, making resolution scaling a matter of preference rather than necessity.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for this combo at 1440p?

A: Medium settings provide the best experience at 1440p, with a 122 FPS average and a 104 FPS minimum. This is 28 FPS higher than Ultra’s 94 FPS average, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At Medium settings, the combo achieves an 83 FPS average with a 70 FPS minimum at 4K. Ultra settings drop to 64 FPS average, which is still playable but closer to the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265 has an average benchmark score of 64,640, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 4464P and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F. It is also 0.7% higher than the AMD EPYC 7343.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the bottleneck in Control?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. The FPS drops by roughly 50% from 1080p to 4K across all settings, indicating the GPU’s rendering load is the limiting factor, while the CPU’s performance remains constant.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 303rd out of 2,888 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the top 10.5% of all systems. The rank reflects its strong performance at 1080p and 1440p, with playable 4K results.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM affect performance at 4K?

A: The 16 GB GDDR6X memory is sufficient for Control at 4K, as the game runs at 64 FPS average on Ultra without memory-related stuttering. The GPU’s 672.3 GB/s bandwidth supports high-resolution textures effectively.