Control

Control pairs a 24-core Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus with NVIDIA’s 6 GB GeForce RTX 2060, and the measured results reveal a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics card at higher resolutions, yet surprisingly capable at 1080p. The benchmark data shows a clear story: this is not a balanced pairing for 4K play, but it can deliver smooth frame rates at lower settings and resolutions, with the CPU’s strong multi-threaded performance doing little to rescue the GPU from its memory and bandwidth limits. Below, the analysis breaks down how to get the best experience, what each component contributes, and where this combo stands among thousands of tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows point to 1080p Medium as the optimal balance for this combo, delivering 76 FPS average with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS. This is the only settings tier across all resolutions where the average exceeds 70 FPS while maintaining a minimum above 60 FPS, which is the threshold for a consistently fluid experience. High settings at 1080p drop to 68 FPS average, still playable, but the lack of min/max data suggests less headroom for demanding scenes.

At 1440p, Medium remains the best choice, with 58 FPS average and a minimum of 49 FPS. This is a borderline result — the average is acceptable for slower-paced action, but the minimum suggests occasional dips below 60 FPS during intense moments. Low settings at 1440p are the safer alternative, hitting 81 FPS average, but the visual compromise is significant for a game like Control that relies on atmospheric detail. The data implies that players should prioritize Medium at 1440p and accept the frame dips, since the jump to High at 51 FPS average further reduces the margin.

For 4K, no settings tier delivers a truly smooth experience. Low settings achieve 55 FPS average, which is the only 4K row above 50 FPS, but this comes with substantial visual degradation. Medium at 4K drops to 39 FPS average with a minimum of 33 FPS, and High falls to 35 FPS. Ultra at 4K is virtually unplayable at 30 FPS average. The recommendation is clear: if 4K is required, Low is the only viable option, but the data suggests this combo is not suited for 4K gaming, and users should target 1080p or 1440p instead.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060’s role in this game is defined by its 6 GB GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is the primary bottleneck in the measured results. At 1080p, the GPU can keep up with the CPU’s demands, as evidenced by the 107 FPS average at Low settings. However, as resolution increases, the frame rates drop sharply — from 107 FPS at 1080p Low to 81 FPS at 1440p Low, and finally to 55 FPS at 4K Low. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and capacity are insufficient for higher resolutions, particularly when texture sizes increase.

The GPU’s clock speeds, with a base of 1365 MHz and boost of 1680 MHz, are modest by modern standards, but they are not the limiting factor. The 1920 shading units and 120 TMUs provide enough compute for 1080p, as shown by the 76 FPS average at Medium settings. The 30 RT cores are relevant for Control’s ray tracing features, but the measured data does not include RT-specific rows, so the impact is unclear. What is clear is that the GPU’s 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the lower half, and its nearest rivals include the GTX 580 (0% delta) and RTX 3050 OEM (0.6% delta), which are similarly positioned in performance.

The 6 GB VRAM is likely the main culprit for the 4K performance collapse. Control is known for high-resolution textures, and the data suggests that at 4K, the GPU runs out of memory, causing frame rates to plummet even at Low settings (55 FPS average). The gap between 1080p Low (107 FPS) and 4K Low (55 FPS) is a 49% drop, which is far worse than what pure pixel-count scaling would predict, indicating memory-related stutters or texture thrashing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its benchmark scores are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44253 and a single-core score of 2439, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. In this game, however, the CPU’s role is largely secondary. The measured FPS data shows no scenario where the CPU becomes the bottleneck — the frame rates scale almost entirely with resolution and settings, which is GPU-bound behavior.

At 1080p Low, the CPU is likely underutilized, as the 107 FPS average is well below what the CPU could theoretically push. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 59 FPS average is constrained by the GPU, not the CPU. The only indication of CPU influence is the consistency of minimum frame rates. For example, at 1440p Medium, the minimum is 49 FPS, while at 1080p Medium, it is 65 FPS. This 16 FPS difference in minimums suggests that the CPU is not causing frame drops; rather, the GPU’s workload at higher resolutions is the cause.

The CPU’s 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are more than sufficient for gaming. Its 96th percentile ranking means it outperforms most CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the Xeon 6520P (0% delta) and EPYC 4564P (-1.5% delta), which are enterprise-class processors. In Control, the CPU’s performance is a non-factor — the data implies that even a much weaker CPU would produce similar FPS numbers, as the RTX 2060 is the clear limiting component across all tested configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2274 out of 2888 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 21% of all systems. This low ranking is primarily due to the GPU’s age and memory limitations, despite the CPU being a top-tier part. The rank reflects the overall gaming performance, and the data shows that this pairing is poorly matched — a high-end CPU is wasted on a mid-range GPU from the previous generation.

The ranking’s implications are that most other tested combos, including those with older or weaker CPUs but better GPUs, outperform this system in Control. The GPU’s 58th percentile ranking drags the combo down, while the CPU’s 96th percentile ranking cannot compensate. This is a classic case of GPU bottlenecking, where the system’s overall performance is defined by the weakest link.

For context, the GPU’s nearest rivals are all older or lower-tier cards, with the GTX 580 matching its average score exactly (0% delta) and the RX 7600 just 0.8% ahead. This means the RTX 2060 is performing at the level of a decade-old flagship or a modern integrated GPU (Radeon 680M, 0.1% delta). The combo’s rank suggests that users would see significant gains by upgrading the GPU alone, without touching the CPU.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 107 at 1080p to 81 at 1440p (a 24% drop) and then to 55 at 4K (a 49% drop from 1080p). At Medium settings, the drop is from 76 to 58 (24%) to 39 (49%). High settings show a similar pattern: 68 to 51 (25%) to 35 (49%). This consistent ~49% drop from 1080p to 4K indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, as a CPU-bound system would show diminishing FPS drops at higher resolutions.

The scaling also reveals that the GPU’s memory bandwidth is the primary constraint. The 336.0 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient for 4K, where the pixel count quadruples and texture memory demands increase. The fact that even Low settings at 4K (55 FPS) cannot maintain 60 FPS confirms that this is not a settings issue but a fundamental hardware limitation. The data suggests that this combo is best used at 1080p, where the GPU can maintain playable frame rates, and that 1440p is a stretch that requires compromises.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the full settings range is playable. Low settings deliver 107 FPS average, Medium hits 76 FPS (min 65, max 88), High achieves 68 FPS, and Ultra drops to 59 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 8 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 9 FPS, suggesting that the GPU’s compute resources are the limiting factor at higher presets.

At 1440p, the results are more constrained. Low settings reach 81 FPS, Medium averages 58 FPS (min 49, max 66), High falls to 51 FPS, and Ultra drops to 45 FPS. The minimum of 49 FPS at Medium indicates that the GPU struggles to maintain smooth frame delivery, even though the average is acceptable. The drop from Low to Medium is 23 FPS, which is larger than the 31 FPS drop at 1080p, showing that the memory bandwidth is increasingly taxed.

At 4K, none of the settings are truly playable. Low averages 55 FPS, Medium drops to 39 FPS (min 33, max 45), High falls to 35 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 30 FPS. The 4K Medium row is the only one with min/max data, showing a range of 33 to 45 FPS, which indicates significant frame time variance. The data is clear: this combo cannot handle 4K, and even Low settings at 4K are borderline, with the 55 FPS average likely dipping below 50 FPS in demanding scenes.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this system?

A: The data shows 1080p Medium as the optimal choice, with 76 FPS average and a minimum of 65 FPS. This is the only configuration that maintains an average above 70 FPS and a minimum above 60 FPS.

Q: Can this system run Control at 4K?

A: Technically yes, but not well. The best 4K result is Low settings at 55 FPS average. Medium drops to 39 FPS, and Ultra is at 30 FPS. The GPU’s 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for smooth 4K play.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The FPS drops consistently with resolution increases, and the CPU’s 96th percentile ranking cannot overcome the GPU’s 58th percentile performance. The CPU’s 24 cores and 5.50 GHz boost clock are underutilized.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 2274 out of 2888 combos, placing it in the bottom 21%. The GPU’s performance is comparable to a GTX 580 (0% delta) or RX 7600 (0.8% delta), which are much older or lower-tier cards.

Q: What is the impact of the GPU’s memory size on performance?

A: The 6 GB VRAM is likely the main reason for the steep FPS drop at 4K. The 49% drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings suggests memory capacity or bandwidth limits, rather than compute limitations.

Q: Is there any setting where the CPU’s performance matters?

A: The data does not show any CPU-bound scenario. Even at 1080p Low (107 FPS), the GPU is still the limiting factor, as the CPU could push higher frame rates. The CPU’s 24 threads are largely idle in this game.