Control

# Control with Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 produces a capable Control experience, with measured frame rates ranging from 50 FPS at 4K Ultra to 177 FPS at 1080p Low. The data places this combination at rank 879 out of 2,888 tested combos, putting it in the top third of all configurations. The RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and the CPU's 20-core design both play distinct roles across the tested resolutions, as detailed below.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Control?

A: The measured data shows 1440p as the sweet spot. At High settings, 2560x1440 delivers 84 FPS average, while 4K High drops to 57 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K, suggesting diminishing returns at the highest resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in raw GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score is 54,247, which is 0.1% ahead of the RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209) and 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828). The GPU sits at the 86th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a playable experience at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 50, which is technically playable but below the 57 FPS of High settings. The frame rate drops by 7 FPS from High to Ultra at 4K, making High the better choice for smoother motion.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-core performance relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265HX scores 40,642 in Cinebench R23 multi-core. It is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13790F (63,080 average score) and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX (62,738). The CPU ranks at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs.

Q: How much FPS difference is there between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The difference is 80 FPS. Low settings produce 177 FPS, while Ultra produces 97 FPS at 1920x1080. Intermediate settings fall between these values, with Medium at 126 FPS and High at 112 FPS.

Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM sufficient for Control at high resolutions?

A: The RTX 4080's 16 GB GDDR6X memory with 716.8 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient based on measured results. The 4K Ultra preset still achieves 50 FPS, indicating the VRAM capacity does not bottleneck the game at any tested resolution or setting.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 uses the AD103 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. The GPU has a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, with 9,728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. Memory consists of 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's compute capabilities include 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 76 RT cores, which are relevant for Control's hybrid rendering approach.

In Control, the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences between settings. At 4K, the average FPS spans from 50 (Ultra) to 90 (Low), a range of 40 FPS. The same settings spread at 1080p is 80 FPS (97 to 177), showing that the GPU's workload scales significantly with resolution. The RTX 4080's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,247, places it as a high-end part that can handle Control's demands at most configurations.

The GPU's memory subsystem is particularly relevant for Control's texture-heavy scenes. The 16 GB capacity and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth allow the game to maintain stable performance even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS of 50 suggests the GPU is compute-limited rather than memory-limited. The measured data shows no anomalies like sudden frame drops that would indicate VRAM swapping.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves rank 879 out of 2,888 tested combos in Control. That places it in the 69.6th percentile of all configurations tested for this game. The ranking reflects the combined capabilities of both components, with the GPU's strong rasterization performance and the CPU's high single-thread speed working together effectively.

The CPU alone sits at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 63,173. Its nearest rivals in CPU performance are the Intel Core i7-13790F (63,080, +0.1% for the 265HX), AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G (63,331, -0.2%), AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P185 (62,839, +0.5%), and Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX (62,738, +0.7%). These deltas are all within 1%, meaning the CPU performance tier is highly competitive with similar mobile processors.

The GPU ranks at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,247. Its closest rivals are the RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209, +0.1% for the 4080), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828, -1.1%), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698, -2.6%), and AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757, -2.7%). The GPU's performance is essentially tied with the 4080 SUPER, while trailing the AMD options by small margins.

The combo's rank of 879 suggests that while both components are individually strong, Control's performance depends heavily on the GPU, and the RTX 4080's position relative to other high-end cards determines where this combo lands. The 2,888 total combos include both mobile and desktop configurations, so this rank reflects a competitive but not top-tier position.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides four settings presets across three resolutions, allowing for clear recommendations based on frame rate targets. At 1920x1080, all presets produce playable frame rates, but the choice depends on whether the user prioritizes visual fidelity or maximum smoothness. Low settings yield 177 FPS, Medium 126 FPS, High 112 FPS, and Ultra 97 FPS. For a 144 Hz display, High settings provide a comfortable margin above the refresh rate, while Ultra still exceeds 90 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts. Medium achieves 95 FPS average (with min 81 and max 109), which is the best balance for smooth gameplay on most monitors. High settings drop to 84 FPS, still playable but closer to the edge for high-refresh displays. Low at 134 FPS is the only preset that comfortably exceeds 120 FPS at this resolution. Ultra at 73 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced exploration but may feel less responsive in combat.

At 3840x2160, High settings at 57 FPS is the recommended preset. It provides a stable experience above the 50 FPS of Ultra, while Medium at 64 FPS offers a small improvement. Low at 90 FPS is the only preset that approaches high-refresh territory at 4K. For users with VRR displays, Medium at 64 FPS (with min 55 and max 74) provides the most consistent frame pacing, as the minimum frame rate stays above 55 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are 177 for Low, 126 for Medium (min 107, max 144), 112 for High, and 97 for Ultra. The step between Low and Medium is 51 FPS, while the step between Medium and High is 14 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 15 FPS. The diminishing returns pattern indicates that the largest performance gain comes from dropping from Medium to Low, while the visual quality differences between Medium and Ultra are smaller than the FPS differences suggest.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 134 for Low, 95 for Medium (min 81, max 109), 84 for High, and 73 for Ultra. The resolution scaling from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS by 43 FPS at Low (177 to 134), 31 FPS at Medium (126 to 95), 28 FPS at High (112 to 84), and 24 FPS at Ultra (97 to 73). The absolute FPS drops are larger at lower settings, but the percentage drop is more consistent across presets.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are 90 for Low, 64 for Medium (min 55, max 74), 57 for High, and 50 for Ultra. The step from 1440p to 4K reduces FPS by 44 FPS at Low (134 to 90), 31 FPS at Medium (95 to 64), 27 FPS at High (84 to 57), and 23 FPS at Ultra (73 to 50). This pattern shows that higher settings have smaller absolute FPS drops when moving to 4K, because the baseline frame rate is already lower.

The minimum FPS data is only recorded for Medium settings. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 107 FPS with a maximum of 144 FPS, giving a range of 37 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 81 FPS with a maximum of 109 FPS, a range of 28 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 55 FPS with a maximum of 74 FPS, a range of 19 FPS. The tightening range at higher resolutions indicates more consistent frame pacing as the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX is a 20-core, 20-thread processor (unusual for having no hyperthreading) based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on TSMC's 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with 30 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's memory support is dual-channel DDR5 with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, and it uses the Intel BGA 2114 socket for mobile platforms.

Benchmark results show the CPU's strengths. In Cinebench R23, it scores 40,642 multi-core and 5,737 single-core. The single-core score is particularly relevant for Control, which relies on a few threads for game logic and physics. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 63,173, indicates strong performance for a mobile processor. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13790F, scores 63,080 (0.1% behind), while the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G scores 63,331 (0.2% ahead).

In the context of Control, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions but becomes more significant at 1080p. At 1920x1080 Low, the 177 FPS average suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, as the frame rate is high enough that even minor CPU bottlenecks would show. The 5.30 GHz boost clock provides the single-thread speed needed for Control's physics and AI calculations. However, the 55 W TDP indicates a power-constrained mobile part, which may limit sustained performance compared to desktop CPUs.

The PassMark multithread score of 47,985 and single-thread score of 4,500 further illustrate the CPU's capability. For Control, the single-thread performance matters more than the 20-core count, since the game does not scale well beyond a few threads. The CPU's 20 cores provide headroom for background tasks while gaming, but they are not a primary factor in the measured FPS results.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component at each resolution. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 177, which drops to 134 at 1440p (-24.3%) and then to 90 at 4K (-32.8% from 1440p). The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests the CPU is still contributing to performance at 1080p, since a purely GPU-limited scenario would show a more predictable scaling based on pixel count.

At High settings, the FPS values are 112 at 1080p, 84 at 1440p (-25.0%), and 57 at 4K (-32.1% from 1440p). The percentage drops are consistent with GPU-limited scaling, where each resolution increase adds roughly 1.8x the pixel count (1080p to 1440p) and 2.25x (1440p to 4K). The actual FPS drops are less than the pixel count increases, indicating that the GPU has some headroom at lower resolutions.

At Ultra settings, the FPS values are 97 at 1080p, 73 at 1440p (-24.7%), and 50 at 4K (-31.5% from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across all settings presets (around 25% from 1080p to 1440p and around 32% from 1440p to 4K) indicate that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at all resolutions. The CPU's influence is only visible at 1080p Low, where the 177 FPS suggests the GPU is not fully saturated.

The data shows that the RTX 4080's rendering load scales predictably with resolution, and the CPU is not limiting performance in most cases. At 4K, the 50 FPS at Ultra is the lower bound, and the 57 FPS at High shows that dropping one preset level provides a 14% improvement. The scaling pattern confirms that for Control, this combo is GPU-bound across the tested settings, with the CPU's 20-core design and high boost clock ensuring it stays out of the way.