Control

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Control, but 4K Ultra pushes the GPU to its limits, resulting in a borderline playable frame rate. The data shows a clear pattern: the combination is capable of high refresh rates at lower resolutions, but the demanding nature of 4K resolution requires settings compromises to maintain smooth gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a significant performance drop as resolution increases, indicating that the AMD Radeon RX 9070 becomes the primary limiting factor at higher pixel counts. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 115 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings, the average drops to 87 FPS, a reduction of 28 FPS. The jump to 4K at High settings yields an average of just 59 FPS, which is only slightly above the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth.

This scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 182 FPS at 1080p to 137 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 93 FPS at 4K. The performance hit from 1440p to 4K is substantial in every case, with the average FPS dropping by roughly 32-44% depending on the preset. This steep decline suggests that the GPU's rendering workload, not the CPU, is the bottleneck at 4K resolution.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, provides ample processing headroom. At 1080p, the high frame rates of 182 FPS at Low settings and 115 FPS at High settings indicate that the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output. However, the fact that frame rates still scale down consistently with resolution increases points to the GPU being the limiting component. The Radeon RX 9070, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth, is a capable card, but the data shows it struggles to maintain high frame rates at the 3840x2160 resolution.

The frame time data available for Medium settings further confirms this trend. At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 110 with a maximum of 148. At 1440p Medium, the minimum drops to 83 and the maximum to 112. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 56 and the maximum is 76. The narrowing of the frame rate range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is consistently working near its limit, with less variance available for bursts of performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS for the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination at 2560x1440 with High settings is 87 FPS.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: At 4K with High settings, the average FPS is 59, which is just below the 60 FPS mark. However, at 4K with Medium settings, the average FPS is 66, which achieves a playable frame rate above 60.

Q: How does the CPU's core count relate to the game's performance?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has 24 cores and 24 threads. The benchmark results show that at 1080p, the system can reach high frame rates like 182 FPS at Low settings, suggesting the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the average FPS at Low settings is 182, while at Ultra settings it is 100. This represents a significant 82 FPS difference between the lowest and highest quality presets.

Q: What is the combo's rank among other tested combinations in this game?

A: The combination ranks 819th out of 2888 tested combos in Control, placing it in the upper half of all tested systems.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 4K with Medium settings?

A: For the 3840x2160 resolution at Medium settings, the minimum FPS recorded is 56, with a maximum of 76 and an average of 66.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting a smooth 60 FPS experience, the data suggests that Medium settings at 4K are the optimal choice for this hardware combination. The 4K Medium preset delivers an average of 66 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS target. In contrast, the High preset at 4K falls just short of this goal with an average of 59 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops further to 51 FPS. The Low preset at 4K achieves 93 FPS but sacrifices visual quality significantly.

At 1440p, the High settings preset provides an excellent balance between visual fidelity and performance, with an average of 87 FPS. This is high enough for a smooth experience on most displays. For users with high refresh rate monitors, the Low preset at 1440p offers an average of 137 FPS, which would be suitable for displays with refresh rates up to 144Hz. The Medium preset at 1440p also performs well at 98 FPS, providing a good middle ground.

At 1080p, all settings presets deliver high frame rates. The High preset achieves 115 FPS, making it the recommended choice for users who want a great visual experience without sacrificing performance. The Medium preset at 129 FPS and Low preset at 182 FPS are better suited for competitive play or very high refresh rate displays. The Ultra preset at 1080p still provides a very playable 100 FPS, ensuring that maximum visual quality is an option for users who prioritize graphics.

The data clearly indicates that the GPU workload is the primary factor in choosing settings. At 4K, dropping from High to Medium provides a 7 FPS average gain, which is enough to cross the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p and 1080p, the performance headroom allows for more flexibility, but the High preset appears to be the sweet spot for a balanced experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured FPS data for this combination in Control is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low settings preset yields an average of 182 FPS. The Medium settings preset produces an average of 129 FPS, with a minimum of 110 and a maximum of 148. The High settings preset achieves an average of 115 FPS. The Ultra settings preset delivers an average of 100 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low settings preset produces an average of 137 FPS. The Medium settings preset has an average of 98 FPS, with a minimum of 83 and a maximum of 112. The High settings preset achieves an average of 87 FPS. The Ultra settings preset delivers an average of 75 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low settings preset produces an average of 93 FPS. The Medium settings preset has an average of 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 and a maximum of 76. The High settings preset achieves an average of 59 FPS. The Ultra settings preset delivers an average of 51 FPS.

The progression across resolutions shows a consistent pattern: for each settings preset, the average FPS decreases as resolution increases. The most significant drop occurs between 1440p and 4K, where the workload on the GPU increases dramatically. The frame time data for Medium settings shows that the variance also decreases at higher resolutions, indicating a more consistent but lower performance envelope.

How This Combo Ranks

In the overall ranking for Control, the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination holds the 819th position out of 2888 tested combinations. This places the system in the upper 28% of all tested configurations, indicating that it is a high-performing setup for this game.

The CPU component itself ranks in the 96th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 93785. This is a very strong showing, placing it among the top tier of processors. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6520P with an average score of 93786, the AMD EPYC 4564P with a score of 95183, and the AMD EPYC 9175F with a score of 95615. The delta percentages are minimal, with the Intel Xeon 6520P being exactly 0% different, the AMD EPYC 4564P being 1.5% higher, and the AMD EPYC 9175F being 1.9% higher. This demonstrates that the Ultra 7 270K Plus is competitive with high-end server and workstation processors.

The GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 9070, ranks in the 69th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23877. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z with a score of 23736, the AMD Radeon RX 6800S with a score of 24063, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile with a score of 23628. The delta percentages are small, with the GTX TITAN Z being 0.6% higher, the RX 6800S being 0.8% lower, and the RTX 3080 Mobile being 1.1% higher. This indicates that the RX 9070 performs in a similar tier to these other graphics cards in synthetic benchmarks.

The combination's 819th rank out of 2888 is a strong result, reflecting the synergy between the high-tier CPU and the upper-midrange GPU. The system is clearly capable of delivering a high-quality gaming experience in Control, particularly at 1080p and 1440p resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. With a TDP of 125 W, it is a high-performance desktop part. The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44253 and a single-core score of 2439. Its Passmark multithread score is 68574, and its single-thread score is 5068. These scores indicate a very powerful processor that can handle demanding workloads.

In the context of Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data and process game logic. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p, the system can exceed 180 FPS at Low settings, which indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck at that resolution. The high single-core performance, evidenced by the 2439 score in Cinebench R23, is crucial for this type of game, which often relies on a few heavily utilized threads.

The 24 cores and 24 threads provide substantial multi-threaded headroom, which may help with background tasks and other system processes while gaming. The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core help keep frequently accessed data close to the processing units, reducing latency. The processor supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, which ensures that the CPU and GPU have fast access to system memory.

The performance data suggests that the CPU is more than capable of keeping up with the Radeon RX 9070 in this game. The frame rates at 1080p are exceptionally high, and the scaling pattern across resolutions is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's strong performance in both single-threaded and multi-threaded benchmarks ensures it won't hold back the graphics card in most gaming scenarios, including Control.