Control

# Control with Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a high-refresh-rate experience across all tested resolutions in Control, with 1080p averages ranging from 149 FPS at Ultra to 272 FPS at Low, while 4K Ultra still holds 76 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern: this combo is heavily GPU-bound at 4K, but at 1080p the CPU's single-thread strength becomes the limiting factor, capping the ceiling at very high but not extreme frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal how dramatically performance scales with resolution. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 272 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops the average to 206 FPS, a reduction of roughly 24%. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls further to 139 FPS, which is about 49% below the 1080p Low figure. This scaling pattern indicates that at Low settings, the performance delta between resolutions is driven primarily by the GPU's pixel throughput capabilities, as the RTX 4090's 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate and 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth become increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

The High preset shows a similar but less steep trajectory. At 1080p High, the average is 172 FPS; at 1440p High, it drops to 130 FPS (a 24% decrease); and at 4K High, it reaches 88 FPS (a 49% decrease from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and High presets suggests that resolution scaling is largely independent of the specific settings level, pointing to a GPU-bound scenario where the RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 384-bit bus width are the primary determinants of performance at higher resolutions.

The 4K Ultra result of 76 FPS is particularly telling. Compared to 1080p Ultra at 149 FPS, this represents a 49% drop, matching the pattern seen at other settings. However, the absolute frame rate at 4K Ultra remains above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that the combo can handle maximum settings at 4K for this game. The 4K Medium average of 99 FPS, with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 114 FPS, shows that even at the demanding 4K resolution, there is headroom for smooth gameplay without needing to drop to Low settings.

The fact that 1080p Low (272 FPS) versus 4K Low (139 FPS) shows a 133 FPS gap underscores the GPU's dominance in this equation. The RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient to handle the workload at 1080p with ease, but the pixel count at 4K quadruples the fillrate demands, cutting performance roughly in half. This is classic GPU-bound scaling, where the CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured results. The GPU features 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. These figures translate to the high frame rates observed across all resolution and settings combinations.

At 4K Ultra, the average of 76 FPS demonstrates that the RTX 4090's raw compute power is sufficient for Control's maximum visual fidelity. The GPU's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are relevant here, as Control uses ray tracing effects that leverage these dedicated units. The 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate and 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate ensure that even at 4K, the GPU can sustain the required fillrate and texture sampling rates. The memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s is particularly critical at 4K, where large texture sets and high-resolution framebuffers demand rapid data movement.

The 4K Medium result of 99 FPS average, with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 114 FPS, shows how the GPU scales with reduced settings. Dropping from Ultra to Medium at 4K yields a 23 FPS improvement, indicating that the GPU has additional headroom when less demanding settings are applied. The 4K Low average of 139 FPS further confirms this, showing that the RTX 4090 can nearly double its 4K Ultra frame rate when settings are minimized.

Comparing the GPU's benchmark scores to its in-game performance, the PassMark G3D score of 38194 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223 indicate a high-performing graphics card. The GPU's percentile ranking of 88 among all GPUs places it in the upper tier, though not at the absolute top, which aligns with its measured in-game results. The nearest rivals, including the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% delta), have similar average benchmark scores, but the RTX 4090's real-world gaming performance in Control is clearly superior, as evidenced by the high frame rates achieved.

The GPU's 24 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Control at all tested settings and resolutions. Even at 4K Ultra, there is no indication of memory capacity being a bottleneck, as the 88 FPS average suggests the GPU is compute-bound rather than memory-limited. The 21 Gbps effective memory speed and 384-bit bus width provide the bandwidth necessary for high-resolution textures and effects without stuttering or frame drops.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 106th out of 2,888 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the top 3.7% of all combos. This ranking is impressive given the game's age and the variety of hardware configurations tested. The rank of 106 out of 2,888 indicates that the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and RTX 4090 pairing outperforms the vast majority of other CPU-GPU combinations in this specific game.

The CPU alone holds a percentile ranking of 96 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 93,785. This places the Ultra 7 270K Plus in the top 4% of all processors, and its nearest rivals — the Intel Xeon 6520P (0% delta), AMD EPYC 4564P (-1.5% delta), AMD EPYC 9175F (-1.9% delta), and AMD EPYC 4565P (-2.1% delta) — all have similar average scores. The fact that the CPU's benchmark performance is closely matched by several EPYC server processors suggests that the Ultra 7 270K Plus is a strong multi-threaded performer, which benefits games that can utilize multiple cores.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 88 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60,347, is lower than the CPU's ranking. This suggests that while the RTX 4090 is a high-end graphics card, its benchmark scores are not as dominant as the CPU's, which could explain why the combo ranks 106th rather than higher. The GPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% delta), AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (-2.5% delta), and AMD Radeon PRO V710 (2.9% delta), indicating that the RTX 4090's benchmark averages are not dramatically superior to some workstation-class GPUs.

However, in Control specifically, the combo's rank of 106 out of 2,888 demonstrates that the pairing works exceptionally well for this game. The high frame rates across all resolutions and settings, combined with the strong CPU performance, suggest that this combo is optimized for Control's specific engine and rendering requirements. The data shows that the combo outperforms 96.3% of all tested combinations, making it a top-tier choice for this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Control?

A: The highest average FPS is 272, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 206 FPS at 2560x1440 Low, followed by 194 FPS at 1920x1080 Medium.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, the 4K Ultra average is 76 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K Medium average is 99 FPS, with a minimum of 84 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even during demanding scenes.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark performance compare to its in-game results?

A: The RTX 4090 has a PassMark G3D score of 38,194 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9,223, with a percentile ranking of 88. In Control, it achieves frame rates ranging from 76 FPS at 4K Ultra to 272 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating strong real-world performance that aligns with its benchmark scores.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations in Control?

A: The combo ranks 106th out of 2,888 tested combinations, placing it in the top 3.7% of all CPU-GPU pairings tested for this game.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 1080p Low?

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 272, which is very high but not unlimited. The CPU's single-thread performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,439 and a PassMark single-thread score of 5,068, likely becomes the limiting factor at this resolution and settings level, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames faster.

Q: What is the difference between 4K High and 4K Low average FPS?

A: The 4K High average is 88 FPS, while the 4K Low average is 139 FPS, a difference of 51 FPS. This indicates that the GPU's workload scales significantly with settings at 4K, with Low settings providing a substantial performance boost.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus plays a crucial role in this combo, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. The CPU features 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This configuration, built on TSMC's 3 nm process with 17,800 million transistors, delivers strong multi-threaded performance as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,253 and PassMark multithread score of 68,574.

The CPU's single-thread performance is equally important for gaming. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,439 and PassMark single-thread score of 5,068 indicate that the Ultra 7 270K Plus can handle game logic and physics calculations efficiently. This is particularly relevant at 1080p Low, where the CPU must feed the GPU with enough data to sustain the 272 FPS average. The 5.50 GHz boost clock ensures that single-threaded workloads are processed quickly, reducing the risk of CPU bottlenecks at high frame rates.

The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample cache capacity for game data, reducing memory latency and improving performance. The dual-channel DDR5 memory support, with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, ensures that the CPU can quickly access game assets stored in system memory. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 93,785, places it in the top tier of processors, which is reflected in its ability to sustain high frame rates in Control.

At 4K resolutions, the CPU's role diminishes as the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The 4K Ultra average of 76 FPS, compared to 1080p Ultra at 149 FPS, shows that the CPU is not limiting performance at higher resolutions. However, at 1080p, the CPU's single-thread performance is likely the ceiling for frame rates, as the 272 FPS Low average approaches the practical limit for many game engines. The CPU's PassMark data compression score of 804,322 and integer math score of 175,986 further demonstrate its capability in handling complex calculations, which is beneficial for game physics and AI.

The CPU's 24 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient for Control, which is not a heavily multi-threaded game. The fact that the combo ranks 106th out of 2,888 in this game suggests that the CPU's performance is well-matched to the GPU's capabilities, with neither component significantly bottlenecking the other across the tested resolution range.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience for different scenarios. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 149 FPS average, while Medium achieves 194 FPS, and Low reaches 272 FPS. The 1080p Medium result, with a minimum of 165 FPS and maximum of 223 FPS, offers an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, providing a 45 FPS improvement over Ultra while still maintaining high visual fidelity. For players with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p, Medium is the recommended preset, as it ensures frame rates well above 144 Hz without sacrificing too much visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 130 FPS average, while Medium reaches 146 FPS, and Ultra drops to 113 FPS. The 1440p Medium result, with a minimum of 124 FPS and maximum of 168 FPS, is the best choice for most players, as it maintains frame rates above 120 FPS while offering a reasonable visual experience. The 1440p Ultra average of 113 FPS is still playable, but the 33 FPS difference between Ultra and Medium at this resolution makes Medium the more sensible option for smoother gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 88 FPS average, Medium achieves 99 FPS, and Ultra drops to 76 FPS. The 4K Medium result, with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 114 FPS, is the recommended preset for 4K gaming, as it provides the best combination of visual quality and performance. The 23 FPS difference between Medium and Ultra at 4K is significant, and the 76 FPS Ultra average, while above 60 FPS, leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The 4K Low preset at 139 FPS is available for players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, but Medium offers a better overall experience.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides the best balance between visual quality and performance. The data shows that the jump from Low to Medium is relatively modest in terms of FPS cost, while the jump from Medium to Ultra incurs a more substantial penalty. For example, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Medium is 78 FPS, while the difference between Medium and Ultra is 45 FPS. At 4K, the difference between Low and Medium is 40 FPS, and between Medium and Ultra is 23 FPS. This suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, offering most of the visual benefits of higher settings without the disproportionate performance cost.