Control

Control, Remedy’s 2019 action-adventure, is a demanding title that stresses both the CPU and GPU in unusual ways. The data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800M reveals a combination that is heavily skewed toward 1080p and 1440p gameplay, with 4K remaining a stretch goal. This analysis breaks down the measured frames per second (FPS) to understand where the bottleneck lies and how the hardware scales across presets.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a clear story about the limiting component in this combo. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 120 FPS at 1920x1080 to 91 FPS at 2560x1440, then plummets to 61 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 49% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, which is a massive hit that points directly at the GPU struggling to fill the increasing pixel count. The RX 7800M has a 192-bit memory bus and 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is decent for mobile parts, but the sheer pixel throughput at 4K overwhelms it.

The scaling pattern persists across all presets. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 85 at 1080p to 64 at 1440p, and finally to 43 at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K is consistently larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p, suggesting that the GPU’s compute units and memory bandwidth are saturated as resolution increases. For example, the High preset drops from 76 FPS at 1080p to 57 FPS at 1440p (a 25% loss), but then falls to 39 FPS at 4K (a 32% loss from 1440p). The GPU is clearly the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

What is more revealing is the performance delta between Low and Ultra at a fixed resolution. At 1080p, the difference between 120 FPS (Low) and 66 FPS (Ultra) is 54 FPS. At 4K, the same preset swing only yields 27 FPS (61 to 34). This compression of the frame rate range at 4K indicates that the GPU is so bound by pixel fill rate that the added shading complexity from higher presets has less relative impact. The data suggests that the Core Ultra 9 185H is not the limiting factor at 4K; the RX 7800M simply cannot keep up with the workload.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing sits at rank 1927 out of 2888 combos for Control. That places it in the lower third of all tested systems, which is surprisingly low for a modern mobile CPU and a discrete GPU. The combo rank of 1927 (out of 2888) indicates that while this setup can play the game, it is not competitive with many other configurations in the benchmark database. The percentile ranking for the GPU alone is 73 out of all GPUs, and the CPU sits at 85, yet their combined performance in this specific title is middling.

The CPU’s nearest rivals help contextualize its performance. The Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670, which is -0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 and -0.2% behind the Intel Core 7 250H. It is also -0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 and -0.7% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X. These are negligible differences, meaning the CPU is performing exactly as expected for its class. The GPU’s nearest rivals show a similar story: the RX 7800M scores 27883 on average, which is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 and -0.3% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X.

The low combo rank is more a reflection of the game’s specific demands than a condemnation of the hardware. Control is known for its heavy use of asynchronous compute and ray tracing effects, which can penalize certain architectures. The fact that this combo ranks in the 33rd percentile (1927/2888) suggests that the RX 7800M’s RDNA 3.0 architecture is not optimally utilized by this title, or that the mobile implementation is power-limited. The GPU has 60 ray accelerators, but the measured FPS suggests they are not being fully leveraged at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M is a mobile GPU based on the Navi 32 chip, fabricated on TSMC’s 5 nm process. It features 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation pipelines. The memory configuration is 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. The clock speeds are notable: a base clock of 1295 MHz, a game clock of 2145 MHz, and a boost clock of 2335 MHz. These are high clocks for a mobile part, and they explain why the GPU performs reasonably at 1080p.

The FP32 performance is rated at 35.87 TFLOPS, which is substantial on paper. However, the measured FPS in Control tells a different story. At 1080p Low, the GPU produces 120 FPS, which is excellent. But at 4K Ultra, it drops to 34 FPS, which is barely playable. The 12 GB VRAM is not the issue; Control is not a VRAM-heavy game at these settings. Instead, the 192-bit memory bus and the 432.0 GB/s bandwidth appear to be the bottleneck.

The GPU’s benchmark scores corroborate this. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 2994, which is a moderate result. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 120778, and in Vulkan, it scores 126668. These are mid-range numbers, and the Passmark G3D score of 17613 puts it in the 73rd percentile. The direct X scores are telling: DirectX 11 scores 176, DirectX 12 scores 89, and DirectX 9 scores 174. The DirectX 12 score is half the DirectX 11 score, which might indicate driver overhead or architectural inefficiencies in this specific title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 120 FPS, High hits 76 FPS, Medium reaches 85 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 66 FPS. The Medium preset has a recorded minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 98 FPS, showing some frame time variance but generally staying above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset lacks min/max data, but the 66 FPS average suggests it is viable for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers drop significantly. Low averages 91 FPS, which is still smooth. High averages 57 FPS, which is borderline for a 60 Hz display. Medium averages 64 FPS, with min and max of 55 and 74 FPS respectively, indicating occasional dips below 60 FPS. Ultra averages 50 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The step from High to Ultra at 1440p is only 7 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns from the highest preset.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles. Low averages 61 FPS, which is surprisingly playable. Medium averages 43 FPS with min and max of 37 and 50 FPS, showing significant frame pacing issues. High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra drops to 34 FPS. None of these are smooth experiences for a game like Control, which has intense combat sequences. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 27 FPS, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the best experience for this combination is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. The average of 85 FPS is well above the 60 FPS target, and the minimum of 72 FPS ensures that even the most chaotic scenes remain fluid. The High preset at 1080p yields 76 FPS, which is also acceptable, but the Medium preset offers a better balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 1080p, with an average of 66 FPS, is playable but leaves little headroom for drops.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the sweet spot. The 64 FPS average is just above the 60 FPS line, but the 55 FPS minimum means there will be occasional stutters. If you prefer a locked 60 FPS, the Low preset at 91 FPS is the safer choice. The High preset at 57 FPS is not recommended for competitive play, but it is fine for casual exploration. Ultra at 50 FPS is too inconsistent for a game that requires precise timing.

For 4K, the data suggests avoiding it unless you are willing to accept Low settings. The 61 FPS average at Low is playable, but the visual downgrade is significant. Medium at 43 FPS and High at 39 FPS are not fluid enough for this title. The Ultra preset at 34 FPS is a slideshow. Given the GPU’s 12 GB VRAM and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, the 4K performance is disappointing, but the architecture is clearly not designed for that resolution in this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. It is built on Intel’s 7 nm process (Meteor Lake) and has a 24 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 17984.5, single-core scores 1810.5, and Geekbench multi-core scores 11657. These numbers place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, is essentially tied at -0.1% in average score.

In Control, the CPU’s role is less critical than the GPU’s, but it still matters at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 120 FPS average suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough frames. The boost clock of 5.10 GHz is likely the key driver here, as Control benefits from high single-thread performance. The Cinebench R15 single-core score of 264.5 and R20 single-core score of 1462 indicate strong single-thread capability.

However, the CPU’s multi-threaded prowess (Cinebench R23 multi-core 17984.5) does not translate to higher FPS at 4K, where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The 22 threads are underutilized in this title, as Control is not heavily multi-threaded. The 16 cores and 22 threads are more than sufficient for this game, and the data shows that the CPU is not holding back the combo at any resolution. The Passmark multi-thread score of 29376 and integer math score of 98302 further confirm that the CPU has ample headroom.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Control?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 offers the highest frame rates, with Low achieving 120 FPS and Medium hitting 85 FPS. At 2560x1440, Medium averages 64 FPS, which is still playable. At 3840x2160, only Low (61 FPS) is near playable.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670, which is -0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 and -0.2% behind the Intel Core 7 250H. It is also -0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 and -0.7% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X.

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck at 4K?

A: Yes. The FPS drops from 61 at Low to 34 at Ultra, and the gap between 1440p and 4K is larger than between 1080p and 1440p. The GPU’s 432.0 GB/s bandwidth and 192-bit bus are insufficient for 4K.

Q: What is the GPU’s performance percentile?

A: The Radeon RX 7800M sits in the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27883. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20, is only 0.2% behind.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM cause any issues?

A: The 12 GB VRAM does not appear to limit performance in Control. The bottleneck is the memory bandwidth (432.0 GB/s) and the GPU’s compute throughput, not the VRAM capacity.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: This pairing ranks 1927 out of 2888 combos for Control, placing it in the lower third. This rank is lower than expected given the individual component percentiles, indicating the game’s specific demands are not well met by this hardware.