Control

Control, the 2019 action-adventure title from Remedy, is a demanding showcase for any hardware combination. For the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, the measured frame rates across resolutions and settings paint a clear picture of a system that is capable of delivering a highly fluid experience at mainstream resolutions, while pushing the GPU to its limits at 4K. The data indicates a strong balance between the 24-core processor and the RDNA 2 architecture, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution scales upward.

Settings Recommendations

Analyzing the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience balances visual fidelity with frame rate stability. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 113 FPS, which is a significant jump from the Ultra preset's 98 FPS. The performance cost of moving from High to Ultra is a 15 FPS drop, which represents a 13% performance penalty for what is often a marginal visual improvement in shadow quality and reflection detail. Conversely, dropping to Medium yields 127 FPS, an increase of 14 FPS over High, but this comes at a noticeable reduction in texture quality and draw distance. For the smoothest 1080p experience, Medium is the most sensible choice, offering a 29 FPS advantage over Ultra while still looking substantially better than Low.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern emerges. The High preset holds an average of 86 FPS, which is perfectly playable, but the Ultra preset drops to 74 FPS. The data shows that the step from High to Ultra at this resolution is a 12 FPS loss, a 14% decrease, which is a steeper penalty than at 1080p. The Medium preset provides 96 FPS, offering a comfortable margin above 60 FPS and a 22 FPS lead over Ultra. For users with 1440p displays, High is the recommended preset, as it provides a smooth 86 FPS while retaining the visual features that define the game's atmosphere. Choosing Ultra forces the system closer to the 60 FPS threshold, and the data shows it is not a worthwhile trade-off for the frame rate loss.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. The High preset produces an average of 58 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target. Medium and Low presets achieve 65 FPS and 92 FPS respectively, while Ultra falls to 50 FPS. The data indicates that High is the highest quality setting that remains playable, but the 58 FPS average is close to the edge. For a consistently smooth 4K experience, the Medium preset is the most prudent selection. It delivers 65 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold, and provides a 15 FPS improvement over High. The gap between Low and Medium is 27 FPS, but the visual degradation at Low is severe, making Medium the clear choice for playable 4K with acceptable visuals.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, is the deciding factor in this game's performance at higher resolutions. The memory bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s is substantial, and the data suggests it is sufficient to feed the GPU's 4608 shading units without causing a memory bottleneck at 1080p or 1440p. The GPU's boost clock of 2250 MHz and game clock of 2015 MHz are the engine behind the frame rates; at 1080p, the card is clearly not the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 179 FPS on Low settings. This high frame rate indicates the GPU can process frames far faster than the CPU can feed them at this resolution.

However, as resolution increases, the GPU's workload scales directly with pixel count. The transition from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 represents a 2.25x increase in pixels, and the measured FPS reflects this stress. The card's performance on High settings drops from 86 FPS at 1440p to 58 FPS at 4K, a 33% reduction. This is a clear indication that the RX 6800 XT is the component that determines the ceiling for performance at 4K. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is a significant asset, as it likely prevents any texture swapping or stuttering that could occur with smaller memory pools at 4K Ultra settings, even if the raw compute power is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at that preset.

The GPU's performance profile in Control showcases its strength as a high-refresh-rate 1440p card and a capable 4K card for less demanding presets. The benchmark results show it ranks in the 85th percentile among all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti, which has a 3% higher average score. This context is useful; the RX 6800 XT is not a top-tier card by synthetic benchmarks, but its real-world performance in Control, as measured, demonstrates that it has the raw throughput to handle this specific game's demands with ease up to 1440p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, is a formidable processor that is not a limiting factor in this game. The CPU's high multi-threaded performance, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44253, ensures that the game's physics and AI systems, which can be demanding in Control's complex environments, are handled without issue. The base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, which is often critical for game logic. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2439 confirms this capability.

The data from the measured FPS confirms that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any tested resolution. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 179 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that many CPUs would struggle to feed. The fact that this combination reaches this number indicates that the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output even when the graphical load is minimal. The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache is also likely beneficial for game data, reducing the need to access slower system memory (DDR5) as frequently.

In contrast to the GPU, which shows a clear performance cliff at 4K, the CPU's influence on frame rates is minimal. When moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings, the FPS drop is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's increased pixel workload. For example, at High settings, the FPS drops from 113 at 1080p to 86 at 1440p and then to 58 at 4K. These drops are consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's benchmark scores, including its 96th percentile ranking against all CPUs, further emphasize that it has ample headroom for this game. The nearest rivals, such as the Intel Xeon 6520P with a 0% delta, show that the CPU is in a performance class where it will not hinder gaming performance.

FAQ

Q: Can this combination run Control at 4K with maximum settings?

A: No. The measured data shows that at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the average FPS is 50. This is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay, indicating that the RX 6800 XT does not have enough compute power for this specific configuration.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 100+ FPS?

A: At 1920x1080, the system can achieve over 100 FPS on all presets except Ultra. The High preset yields 113 FPS, Medium yields 127 FPS, and Low yields 179 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset (136 FPS) and Medium preset (96 FPS) come close to or exceed 100 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti?

A: The FACT PACK shows that the NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti has a 3% higher average benchmark score than the RX 6800 XT. However, the RX 6800 XT still performs strongly in Control, achieving playable frame rates at all resolutions on lower presets.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor at 2560x1440. The FPS drops from 113 at 1080p to 86 at 1440p on High settings, which is a performance reduction consistent with increased GPU load. The CPU's high core count and clock speeds are sufficient to maintain high frame rates at this resolution.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and High settings at 1080p?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 achieves an average of 127 FPS, while the High preset achieves 113 FPS. This is a 14 FPS difference, meaning Medium is approximately 12% faster than High at this resolution.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM on the RX 6800 XT provide any benefit in this game?

A: While the FACT PACK does not include specific VRAM usage data, the 16 GB capacity is a significant asset. It is likely sufficient to handle the game's textures at 4K without exceeding memory limits, which helps prevent stuttering and texture pop-in, even if the GPU's core cannot process the frame fast enough for high FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1920x1080, the system is heavily CPU-bound or at least balanced, with the GPU capable of producing very high frame rates. The High preset at 1080p yields 113 FPS. Stepping up to 2560x1440 reduces this to 86 FPS, a 24% drop. Moving further to 3840x2160 results in 58 FPS, which is a 33% drop from 1440p and a 49% drop from 1080p. This non-linear scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload increases faster than the linear pixel count due to additional shading and texture work.

The trend is identical across all presets. For Medium, the FPS goes from 127 at 1080p to 96 at 1440p (a 24% drop) and then to 65 at 4K (a 32% drop from 1440p). For Low, the sequence is 179, 136, and 92, representing drops of 24% and 32% respectively. This consistent percentage drop across all settings strongly suggests that the scaling is independent of the preset and is a pure function of the GPU's rendering capability. The CPU's performance is not affecting the scaling, as the FPS drops are proportional to the increase in pixel count.

This data indicates that the system is well-suited for 1440p gaming, where it can maintain high frame rates on High settings. At 4K, the GPU's compute limits become apparent, and the user must sacrifice settings to maintain a playable frame rate. The fact that the FPS drops are consistent across presets shows that the RX 6800 XT is the definitive bottleneck at 4K, while at 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to allow the GPU to stretch its legs. The 4K experience is functional, but only with settings reduced to Medium or lower.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 179 FPS. The Medium preset follows with 127 FPS, and the High preset achieves 113 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, averaging 98 FPS. The margin between Low and Ultra is 81 FPS, showing a wide range of performance depending on visual fidelity. The Medium preset also has the only recorded min/max values at this resolution, with a min of 108 FPS and a max of 146 FPS, indicating a stable frame time distribution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset again leads with 136 FPS. The Medium preset produces 96 FPS, and the High preset averages 86 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 74 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 62 FPS at this resolution, as the GPU becomes more stressed. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a min of 82 FPS and a max of 111 FPS, which confirms that even the lower-end frame rates are well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only one to achieve a high frame rate, averaging 92 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 65 FPS, and the High preset falls to 58 FPS. The Ultra preset is the least playable, with an average of 50 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a min of 55 FPS and a max of 75 FPS, which means that even the minimum frame rate is close to the 60 FPS target, making it the recommended preset for this resolution. The progression shows a clear and consistent degradation in FPS as both resolution and settings increase, with the GPU's limitations becoming the dominant factor at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Control, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT holds the rank of 852 out of 2888 total combos. This places it in the top 30% of all tested systems, which is a solid position given the GPU's age and market segment. The GPU itself ranks in the 85th percentile, which is above average, and the CPU ranks in the 96th percentile, which is exceptional. The combo's rank is likely pulled down by the GPU, as the CPU is a top-tier performer.

The rank of 852 indicates that while this system is not a top-tier performer, it is certainly capable of delivering a good experience in Control. The benchmark results show that it can handle 1080p and 1440p with ease, and it can manage 4K with some settings compromises. The data suggests that the CPU is not holding back the system, as its performance is far above what is needed for this game. The GPU is the deciding factor, and its performance is consistent with its mid-to-high range position in the GPU hierarchy. The combination is well-balanced for 1440p gaming, but it will require settings adjustments for a smooth 4K experience.