Control

Control is a 2019 Action Adventure title that stresses both GPU rasterization and CPU physics, and the pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 produces a combo that lands in the middle of the pack. The data indicates this system ranks 1632 out of 2888 tested combinations, placing it in the 56th percentile of all combos tested for this game. This is a solidly mid-table result, suggesting that while the hardware is capable, it does not deliver the top-tier frame rates that the most powerful configurations achieve. The following analysis breaks down how this pairing handles Control's demands, examining the individual roles of the CPU and GPU, scaling across resolutions, and the exact measured performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1632 out of 2888 tested combinations places this system in the upper-middle tier of all hardware pairings benchmarked in Control. This position reflects a balance between the CPU's strong synthetic performance and the GPU's more modest standing among its peers. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a high-end desktop processor, holding a 94th percentile ranking against all CPUs in the database, which gives the combo a strong foundation for physics and game logic. However, the AMD Radeon RX 9060 sits at only the 59th percentile against all GPUs, acting as the limiting factor that prevents this combo from climbing higher in the rankings.

The delta between these two components is significant. The CPU's average benchmark score of 70879 is far above the GPU's average score of 16014. In practical terms for Control, this means the system is heavily GPU-bound at most settings, as the graphics card is likely to reach its limits before the processor does. The rank of 1632 out of 2888 suggests that while this is not a bottom-tier setup, there are over 1600 other configurations that achieve higher frame rates in this specific title, likely due to more powerful GPUs paired with similar or lesser CPUs. The data suggests that upgrading the graphics card would yield a much larger improvement in this game than upgrading the processor.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the primary driver of visual output in Control, and its specifications explain the frame rates observed across the benchmark results. The GPU is based on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 44 chip, manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. In a game like Control, which features heavy use of textures and particle effects, this memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but can become a bottleneck at 4K, especially when texture quality is set to High or Ultra.

The GPU's clock speeds are notable, with a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. This high boost clock helps the card achieve its 21.43 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is a respectable figure for its class. However, the GPU's performance percentile of 59 and its average benchmark score of 16014 place it in direct competition with older mid-range cards. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, has an average score of 16129, meaning the RX 9060 is only 0.7% behind it. This close proximity in raw compute power is reflected in the game's frame rates, which show the GPU struggling to maintain high refresh rates at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling as resolution increases, highlighting the GPU's dominance as the limiting factor. At 1080p with High settings, the combo averages 82 FPS. Moving to 1440p at High settings drops the average to 62 FPS, a reduction of 24%. At 4K with High settings, the average falls to 42 FPS, which is a 49% drop from 1080p and a 32% drop from 1440p. This steep decline demonstrates that the RX 9060's rendering capabilities are being saturated as pixel count increases, while the Core Ultra 7 265K has ample headroom.

The scaling across settings at each resolution further confirms this. At 1080p, the jump from Low to Ultra settings shows a decrease from 130 FPS to 71 FPS, indicating that the GPU is managing the workload but with a significant cost. At 4K, the difference is more compressed: Low delivers 66 FPS, Medium 47 FPS, and Ultra drops to 36 FPS. The fact that 1080p Low achieves 130 FPS suggests that the CPU is capable of driving frame rates far beyond what the GPU can deliver at higher settings. This is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario, where the processor is waiting for the graphics card to finish rendering each frame. The data suggests that for smooth 60 FPS gameplay, users should target 1080p with High settings or 1440p with Medium settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and setting combo for a stable 60 FPS experience?

A: The data shows that 1080p with High settings achieves an average of 82 FPS, while 1440p with Medium settings hits 70 FPS. For a locked 60 FPS, 1440p High at 62 FPS is close, but 1080p High provides more headroom. 4K is not advisable, as even Medium settings only average 47 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest competitor in terms of raw performance?

A: The RX 9060's average benchmark score is 16014, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti's score of 16129. This indicates they are nearly identical in synthetic performance, though game-specific results may vary.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K holding back the RX 9060 in this game?

A: No, the CPU is not the bottleneck. The Core Ultra 7 265K has a 94th percentile ranking and a multithread score of 58594 in PassMark, which is far higher than what Control requires. The GPU's 59th percentile ranking is the clear limiting factor.

Q: What is the minimum FPS observed in the benchmark results?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 40 FPS, which occurs at 4K resolution with Medium settings. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 59 FPS, and at 1080p Medium, it is 78 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance drop is there from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 71 at 1080p to 54 at 1440p, and then to 36 at 4K. This represents a total drop of 49% from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Does the CPU's memory bandwidth affect the game's performance?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265K supports dual-channel DDR5 with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. While this is a solid figure, the data suggests that the GPU's 288.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is the more critical factor for frame rates in Control, as the game is GPU-bound.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average frame rates measured for this combo across all tested resolutions and settings.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|---------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 42 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 66 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 47 | 40 | 54 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 36 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 62 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 98 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 70 | 59 | 80 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 54 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 82 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 130 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 92 | 78 | 106 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 71 | - | - |

The data shows a clear trend: the system is quite capable at 1080p, delivering playable frame rates across all settings, with Low settings exceeding 130 FPS for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 1440p, the system remains playable, with High settings at 62 FPS and Ultra at 54 FPS, though users seeking 60+ FPS will need to stick with Medium settings. At 4K, the system struggles, with only Low settings achieving over 60 FPS. The inclusion of minimum FPS data for Medium settings at each resolution shows that frame pacing is generally stable, with the 4K minimum of 40 FPS being the only result that dips below the 45 FPS threshold typically considered for smooth gameplay.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. This is a powerful desktop CPU that ranks in the 94th percentile of all processors tested, with an average benchmark score of 70879. In Control, which is primarily a GPU-bound title, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics calculations, and draw calls without becoming a bottleneck. The data suggests it performs this role admirably.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Xeon 6511P, which is only 0.2% faster, and the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which is 1% slower. This places the 265K in a competitive position among high-end desktop and server processors. However, the game's frame rates are not limited by this CPU. The fact that 1080p Low settings achieve 130 FPS, while 4K Low settings drop to 66 FPS, indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint. The CPU's high single-thread performance, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 2713, ensures that it can keep up with the GPU's demands at all settings.

The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate data throughput for the game. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU is irrelevant for gaming with a discrete GPU, but the processor's overall architecture is well-suited for this workload. In summary, the Core Ultra 7 265K provides a robust foundation, but in this specific game, it is the RX 9060 that determines the final frame rates. The combo's rank of 1632 out of 2888 is a direct reflection of the GPU's mid-range positioning, not the CPU's capability.