Control

# How This Combo Ranks

This Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900M combination ranks 1607 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the database. The rank reflects a balanced pairing where neither component dramatically bottlenecks the other, though the data suggests the GPU carries more weight in determining final frame rates. Being in the 43rd percentile of all tested combos means there is substantial headroom among top-tier systems, but this pairing still delivers playable performance across most configurations tested.

The CPU's overall benchmark percentile sits at 93, meaning it outperforms 93% of all tested processors in general compute tasks, while the GPU's percentile is 94 against all tested graphics cards. These near-identical percentile placements indicate a well-matched duo on paper, and the measured game results largely confirm that balance. However, the game's specific demands at higher resolutions shift the workload more heavily toward the GPU, which is reflected in the FPS scaling patterns discussed later.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 100 frames per second, which indicates a smooth experience for most display refresh rates.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to Medium at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium produces an average of 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 and maximum of 98, while Ultra drops to 66 FPS average. The gap between these presets is 19 FPS, suggesting that Ultra's additional visual effects come at a noticeable performance cost.

Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM sufficient for 4K gaming in Control?

A: The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo achieves 44 FPS average, indicating the memory capacity is not the limiting factor; the GPU's compute throughput is what constrains performance at this resolution.

Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining 60+ FPS on High settings?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with High settings delivers 76 FPS average, while 1920x1080 with High pushes to 100 FPS. At 3840x2160 with High, the average drops to 51 FPS, so 1440p is the highest resolution that stays comfortably above 60 FPS on High.

Q: How does this combo rank relative to other tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 1607 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the upper half of all tested configurations. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13790F, scores nearly identically with a 0.1% difference, while the GPU's closest competitor, the AMD Radeon Pro VII, is 0.4% ahead in average benchmark score.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900M is built on the Navi 31 chip using RDNA 3.0 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It packs 4608 shading units, 288 texture mapping units, and 192 raster operation pipelines, along with 72 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1825 MHz and boosts up to 2090 MHz, with memory running at 2250 MHz effectively delivering 18 Gbps across a 256-bit bus for 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Control, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 71 FPS (158 vs 87), which shows the GPU has ample headroom to handle the game's visual features. Moving to 1440p, that spread narrows to 54 FPS (120 vs 66), and at 4K it tightens further to 37 FPS (81 vs 44). This pattern indicates that the GPU's raw compute capacity is the primary driver of frame rate changes across quality presets, with the CPU providing consistent support without becoming a bottleneck even at lower resolutions.

The GPU's 16 GB VRAM capacity proves sufficient across all tested configurations, as no memory-related stuttering or min-FPS anomalies appear in the data. The minimum FPS values recorded at Medium settings show 49 FPS at 4K, 72 at 1440p, and 96 at 1080p, which aligns with the average FPS progression and suggests consistent frame pacing rather than memory swapping issues.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 158 FPS, Medium reaches 112 FPS with a minimum of 96 and maximum of 129, High achieves 100 FPS, and Ultra drops to 87 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 45% reduction in average FPS, reflecting the increasing GPU workload from enhanced lighting, shadows, and post-processing effects.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decline predictably. Low settings maintain 120 FPS, Medium delivers 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 and maximum of 98, High produces 76 FPS, and Ultra settles at 66 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at this resolution is 10 FPS, which is proportionally smaller than the 13 FPS gap seen at 1080p, suggesting that higher resolution mitigates the relative cost of Ultra settings somewhat.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits. Low settings achieve 81 FPS, Medium drops to 57 FPS with a minimum of 49 and maximum of 66, High manages 51 FPS, and Ultra falls to 44 FPS. The transition from High to Ultra at 4K costs only 7 FPS, indicating that the GPU is already heavily loaded at High settings and the additional Ultra features have diminishing returns on visual fidelity per frame lost.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 100 at 1080p to 76 at 1440p (a 24% reduction) and then to 51 at 4K (a 49% reduction from 1440p). This scaling factor is steeper than the pixel count increase would suggest if the CPU were the limiting factor, confirming that the RX 7900M is the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

Low settings show a similar but slightly less dramatic pattern: 158 FPS at 1080p, 120 at 1440p (24% drop), and 81 at 4K (33% drop from 1440p). The relatively smaller 4K penalty at Low settings suggests that when the GPU has less work per frame, it can better maintain throughput even at higher pixel counts. Medium settings follow the same trend with 112, 85, and 57 FPS across the three resolutions.

Ultra settings exhibit the most severe scaling: 87 FPS at 1080p, 66 at 1440p (24% drop), and 44 at 4K (33% drop from 1440p). The consistent ~24% reduction from 1080p to 1440p across all presets indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources scale predictably with pixel count, while the 4K drops vary more because the GPU approaches its thermal and power limits. The 180 W TDP of this mobile GPU likely contributes to the steeper 4K penalties, as sustained loads at 4K push the silicon to its efficiency ceiling.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p displays, the data supports using High settings as the sweet spot. The 100 FPS average provides ample margin above 60 FPS for smooth gameplay, while Ultra's 87 FPS offers only a 13 FPS improvement in visual quality at a 13% performance cost. If maximizing frame rate is the priority, Low settings at 158 FPS will satisfy high-refresh-rate monitors, but the visual compromise may not be worth the extra frames.

At 1440p, Medium settings present the best balance between visual fidelity and performance. The 85 FPS average with a 72 FPS minimum ensures consistent gameplay, whereas High drops to 76 FPS and Ultra to 66 FPS, both of which risk dipping below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. The Medium preset's minimum of 72 FPS provides a comfortable buffer against frame time spikes.

For 4K gaming, Low settings are the only preset that reliably exceeds 60 FPS, achieving 81 FPS average. Medium at 57 FPS and High at 51 FPS are playable if the user can tolerate occasional dips below 60, but the minimum of 49 FPS at Medium suggests potential stuttering in action-heavy sequences. Ultra at 44 FPS is not recommended for competitive play but may be acceptable for slower-paced exploration.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX features 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It draws 55 W TDP and is built on Arrow Lake architecture using a 3 nm process from TSMC, with 30 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 40642 and a single-core score of 5737.

In Control, the CPU's role is supportive rather than dominant. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 158 FPS, which is high enough that a weaker processor might begin to bottleneck, but the 20-core design ensures frame delivery remains consistent. The gap between Low and Medium at 1080p is 46 FPS (158 vs 112), while the gap between Medium and High is only 12 FPS (112 vs 100), suggesting that the game's CPU workload increases more dramatically when moving from minimal to moderate settings, then plateaus.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the Intel Core i7-13790F with a 0.1% higher average score, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G at 0.2% lower, the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P185 at 0.5% higher, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX at 0.7% higher. These tight deltas indicate that the 265HX sits in a competitive performance tier, and its 93rd percentile ranking confirms it will not limit the RX 7900M in most gaming scenarios. The 20-thread configuration handles the game's background tasks and physics calculations without introducing frame pacing issues, as evidenced by the consistent min-FPS values across all tested settings.