Control

Control pairs Intel’s Core Ultra 9 185H with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4070, a combination that lands in the 52nd percentile of tested configurations for this game (rank 1515 out of 2888 combos). The data shows a system that is consistently capable at 1080p and 1440p, but which begins to show its limits at 4K, especially when settings are pushed to Ultra. The measured frames per second (FPS) reveal a clear hierarchy: the GPU is the dominant factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s 16 cores and 22 threads provide ample headroom to avoid bottlenecking at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and telling. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 140 FPS at 1920x1080 to 71 FPS at 3840x2160 — a 49% reduction. This is a massive hit, but it’s not unexpected; the pixel count quadruples, and the RTX 4070’s workload scales accordingly. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is also significant: at Low, the drop is from 140 FPS to 106 FPS, a 24% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings, the fall continues to 71 FPS, another 33% reduction. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component as resolution climbs, with the CPU’s role diminishing.

At High settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The average FPS at 1080p is 88, which drops to 67 at 1440p (a 24% decline) and then to 45 at 4K (a 33% decline from 1440p). The 4K High result is only 51% of the 1080p High result, showing that the RTX 4070 is struggling to maintain playable frame rates at the highest pixel counts. The Medium settings tell a similar story: 99 FPS at 1080p, 75 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset exacerbates this, with 77 FPS at 1080p falling to 58 FPS at 1440p and finally to 39 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that for 4K gaming, the user must accept either Low settings (71 FPS) or Medium settings (51 FPS) to stay above 40 FPS, as the High and Ultra presets dip below 45 FPS.

What does this imply about the limiting component? The consistent percentage drops across settings — roughly 24% from 1080p to 1440p and 33% from 1440p to 4K — point squarely at the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to plateau at lower resolutions, but instead, it scales almost linearly with pixel count. The RTX 4070’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 192-bit bus width are likely factors, but the raw compute throughput (29.15 TFLOPS FP32) is what’s being taxed. At 1080p, the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to hit 140 FPS at Low, but at 4K, the GPU simply runs out of pixel-pushing capacity.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 is a mobile Ada Lovelace part with a boost clock of 2475 MHz and a base clock of 1920 MHz. It features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output pipelines. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. These specs are directly reflected in the measured FPS. The GPU’s 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs (based on average benchmark score) confirms it’s a high-end part, but Control’s demands at 4K Ultra push it to its limits.

The VRAM capacity is worth examining. At 4K, texture-heavy scenes can consume significant memory, but the data doesn’t show a catastrophic stutter or crash, suggesting 12 GB is sufficient for this game at these settings. The fact that 4K Medium yields 51 FPS with a minimum of 43 FPS, while 4K High yields 45 FPS, indicates that the bottleneck is more about compute than memory capacity. The measured FPS at 4K Low (71 FPS) is notably higher, which implies that reducing shading and lighting complexity allows the GPU to work faster, rather than hitting a memory wall.

The GPU’s performance relative to its rivals is telling. The nearestRivals list shows the RTX 4070 is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P4 and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 in average benchmark score, but 1.3% behind the RTX 4080 Mobile. These deltas are small, indicating that in synthetic tests, the RTX 4070 is closely matched with these parts. However, in Control specifically, the combo rank (1515 out of 2888) suggests the CPU-GPU pairing is mid-pack, not top-tier. The 4K Ultra result of 39 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold many gamers target, meaning the GPU is the deciding factor for high-resolution play.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and RTX 4070 combination ranks 1515th out of 2888 tested combos for Control. This places it in the 52nd percentile — exactly in the middle of the pack. This is a surprising result for hardware that individually ranks above 80% of its peers (CPU at 85th percentile, GPU at 81st percentile). The data implies that while each component is strong on its own, the pairing doesn’t produce top-tier results in this specific game. Why might that be? Control is known for its physics and particle effects, which can be CPU-intensive, but the Core Ultra 9 185H’s 16 cores and 22 threads should handle that. More likely, the combo’s mid-pack rank reflects the fact that many other tested systems use desktop-class GPUs or higher-tier mobile parts.

The CPU’s nearest rivals show a tight cluster: the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 is 0.1% behind, the Intel Core 7 250H is 0.2% behind, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 is 0.4% behind, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is 0.7% behind. These deltas are minuscule, meaning the Core Ultra 9 185H is essentially tied with these CPUs in average benchmark score. The GPU’s rivals are similarly close, with the Tesla P4 just 0.1% ahead and the RX Vega 56 0.4% behind. This suggests that the combo’s mid-pack ranking isn’t due to a weak component, but rather that the competition is fierce. The rank of 1515 out of 2888 means there are over 1300 combos that perform better, likely featuring stronger GPUs or more optimized pairings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4070 delivers strong results across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 140 FPS, which is excellent for competitive or high-refresh-rate play. Medium settings drop to 99 FPS, with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS, showing good consistency. High settings yield 88 FPS, and Ultra settings still manage 77 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is never CPU-bound; even at Ultra, the frame rate remains high, suggesting the GPU has headroom to spare.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance is still playable but the GPU’s load increases. Low settings average 106 FPS, which is a 24% drop from 1080p but still smooth. Medium settings average 75 FPS, with a minimum of 64 FPS and a maximum of 86 FPS — the variance is tighter than at 4K, but the average is lower than 1080p Medium by 24 FPS. High settings produce 67 FPS, and Ultra drops to 58 FPS. At 1440p, the system is clearly GPU-limited, as the CPU’s high single-thread performance (1810.5 in Cinebench R23 single-core) is not the constraint.

At 3840x2160, the limitations become stark. Low settings average 71 FPS, which is surprising — it’s higher than 4K Medium (51 FPS) and 4K High (45 FPS), indicating that the Low preset drastically reduces the GPU’s workload. Medium settings average 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. High settings drop to 45 FPS, and Ultra falls to 39 FPS. The 4K results show that the RTX 4070 is capable of 4K gaming, but only at Low or Medium settings; High and Ultra presets will result in noticeable stutter or reduced visual fidelity. The measured rows provide no min/max FPS for Low, High, and Ultra at 4K, but the Medium preset’s range (43-58 FPS) suggests that frame pacing could be an issue at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a 24 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17984.5 and a single-core score of 1810.5, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. In Control, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. At 1080p, the data shows the CPU is not a bottleneck — the FPS scales with GPU settings, not CPU workload. Low settings at 1080p hit 140 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit, but the GPU is still the limiting factor at higher presets.

The CPU’s nearest rivals — the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, Intel Core 7 250H, AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, and AMD Ryzen 7 7700X — all have average benchmark scores within 0.7% of the Core Ultra 9 185H. This suggests that in synthetic tests, these CPUs are interchangeable. In Control, the measured FPS at 1080p Low (140 FPS) is likely constrained by the CPU’s single-thread performance, but the 22 threads provide ample multi-threaded headroom for the game’s physics engine. The CPU’s 45 W TDP and mobile form factor mean it’s designed for laptops, but its performance in this game is sufficient to avoid being the primary bottleneck at any resolution tested. The data implies that upgrading the GPU would yield better results at 4K, while upgrading the CPU would have minimal impact.

FAQ

Q: At what resolution and settings does this combo achieve 60 FPS or higher?

A: The system reaches 60 FPS or above at 1080p across all settings (Low: 140 FPS, Medium: 99 FPS, High: 88 FPS, Ultra: 77 FPS). At 1440p, only Low (106 FPS) and Medium (75 FPS) exceed 60 FPS; High (67 FPS) is close, but Ultra (58 FPS) falls short. At 4K, only Low (71 FPS) surpasses 60 FPS; Medium (51 FPS), High (45 FPS), and Ultra (39 FPS) all fall below.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4070’s average benchmark score is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P4, 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, and 1.3% lower than the RTX 4080 Mobile. It is also 1.3% higher than the AMD Radeon PRO W6400.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 39, which is only 51% of the 1080p Ultra result (77 FPS). The CPU’s high benchmark scores (85th percentile) suggest it has enough headroom, but the GPU’s compute capacity is exhausted at this resolution and preset.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank among tested systems for Control?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and RTX 4070 combination ranks 1515th out of 2888 tested combos, placing it in the 52nd percentile. This is mid-pack, despite both components individually ranking in the 80th percentile or higher.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 have enough VRAM for 4K gaming in Control?

A: The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory appears sufficient, as the measured FPS at 4K Medium (51 FPS) is higher than 4K High (45 FPS), indicating the GPU is compute-limited rather than memory-limited. No stuttering or crashes are evident in the data.

Q: At what settings should a user play at 1440p to maintain a stable frame rate?

A: For a stable 1440p experience, Medium settings (75 FPS) or Low settings (106 FPS) are recommended. High settings (67 FPS) are playable, but Ultra (58 FPS) may result in occasional dips below 60 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance for optimal settings. At 1080p, Ultra settings (77 FPS) are the best choice, as the frame rate remains high and visual fidelity is maximized. There is no reason to drop below High (88 FPS) at this resolution, as even Ultra delivers a smooth experience. For users with 1440p displays, Medium settings (75 FPS) offer the best balance between visual quality and frame rate, with High (67 FPS) being a viable alternative for those who prioritize graphics. Ultra at 1440p (58 FPS) is borderline, but the data shows Medium provides the most consistent experience with a minimum of 64 FPS.

At 4K, the choice is more constrained. Low settings (71 FPS) are the only preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, but the visual sacrifice is significant. Medium settings (51 FPS) are the highest preset that stays above 45 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS, making it the best compromise for 4K playability. High (45 FPS) and Ultra (39 FPS) are not recommended, as the frame rates dip into the 30s and 40s, which may cause noticeable judder in action sequences. The data suggests that 4K gaming on this combo requires accepting either a Low preset for smoothness or a Medium preset for a balance of fidelity and playability. For most users, 1440p Medium or High will deliver the best overall experience, as the system is clearly GPU-bound at 4K, and the CPU has ample headroom to support any settings at lower resolutions.