Control

Control is a demanding action-adventure title that stresses both processor and graphics hardware, and the measured results for the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile reveal a system that is capable but must make compromises at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy across the tested settings, with the GPU emerging as the primary bottleneck in most scenarios. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results, CPU and GPU roles, and offers practical guidance for optimizing the experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate achieved at 1080p with this combo?

A: The highest recorded average is 124 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the more demanding High preset, the average drops to 79 FPS, while Medium and Ultra yield 88 FPS and 68 FPS, respectively.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 Mobile compare to its nearest rival in raw benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 22729. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, scores slightly higher at 22895, a difference of -0.7%. Conversely, the RTX 4060 Mobile is 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile, which scores 22435.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX a top-tier processor in terms of overall performance?

A: Yes, the CPU sits in the 94th percentile when compared to all other CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 67469, which is nearly identical to the Intel Xeon w5-3525 (67673, -0.3% difference) and the AMD EPYC 4484PX (67822, -0.5% difference).

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the benchmark recorded a minimum FPS of 57 and a maximum FPS of 77, with an average of 67 FPS. This is the only resolution/settings combination that includes min/max data in the provided results.

Q: Where does this specific CPU and GPU combination rank among all tested combos in Control?

A: The combo ranks 2278 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the lower half of all systems tested for this game. This indicates that while it can play the game, many other combinations deliver higher performance.

Q: Does the RTX 4060 Mobile have more shading units or tensor cores?

A: The GPU has 3072 shading units and 96 tensor cores. It also features 24 ray tracing cores and 96 texture mapping units, with 48 raster operation pipelines.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its base clock is 2.70 GHz, which can boost up to 5.40 GHz, and it has a 36 MB shared L3 cache. This is a high-end mobile CPU, evidenced by its 94th percentile standing among all CPUs. In synthetic benchmarks, it achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35589 and a single-core score of 2204, showing strong capability in both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads.

In the context of Control, a CPU with such a high core count and boost clock is more than sufficient to feed the GPU. The game's physics and AI systems can benefit from multi-threading, and the 24 threads provide ample headroom. The processor's strong single-core performance is also critical, as many game logic tasks are still single-threaded. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in these test results. For instance, at 1080p Low settings, the average FPS reaches 124, which is a high frame rate that still leaves the GPU as the likely constraint. The CPU's performance is so robust that even in the most demanding scenarios, it is unlikely to cause frame drops due to processing bottlenecks, allowing the GPU to be the primary driver of the final frame rate.

The nearest rivals to the Core Ultra 9 275HX, such as the Intel Xeon w5-3525 and AMD EPYC 4484PX, all have average scores within 0.7% of each other, suggesting that the performance tier this CPU occupies is tightly contested. However, these are all high-end parts, and the Ultra 9 275HX holds its own, providing the computational muscle needed for a game like Control. The 55W TDP is a consideration for mobile thermal design, but the performance data shows that this power budget is used effectively to deliver high clock speeds and strong multi-core results.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is an Ada Lovelace architecture GPU with 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. It operates at a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1890 MHz. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. This GPU is positioned in the 67th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22729. Its nearest rivals include the desktop RTX 2080 and the newer RTX 5060 Mobile, showing that it competes with previous-generation high-end parts and current-generation mid-range parts.

In this pairing, the RTX 4060 Mobile is the dominant component in determining the playable settings and resolutions. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it could be a constraint at 4K with high-texture settings. The measured FPS data confirms this, as the average frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases. At 1080p High, the average is 79 FPS, which is smooth. At 1440p High, it drops to 59 FPS, still playable. However, at 4K High, the average falls to 40 FPS, indicating the GPU is struggling to maintain a fluid experience. The benchmark results show the GPU's raw compute power is the primary factor; with a FP32 performance of 11.61 TFLOPS, it has a decent amount of throughput, but the memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s can become a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The GPU's performance relative to its rivals is telling. It is only 0.7% slower than the RTX 2080 and 1.3% faster than the RTX 5060 Mobile. This places it in a specific performance envelope. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a double-edged sword; it is enough for most current games at 1080p and 1440p, but the 128-bit memory bus and resulting bandwidth are not as high as some competing solutions. This is a key reason why the 4K performance is weaker. The GPU is not a top-tier part, but it is a capable mid-range mobile solution that can handle Control well at lower resolutions and settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data provides a clear picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers strong results. The Low preset averages 124 FPS, providing a very high refresh rate experience. Medium settings average 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS. The High preset averages 79 FPS, which is still very smooth. The most demanding Ultra preset averages 68 FPS, which is a solid playable frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. The Low preset still manages an impressive 94 FPS average. Medium settings drop to 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS. High settings average 59 FPS, which is on the edge of the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset falls to 52 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The Low preset averages 64 FPS, which is surprisingly playable. However, Medium settings drop to 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS. The High preset averages 40 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the most demanding, averaging only 35 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K is only viable at the Low settings preset for a consistently smooth experience.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the gap between Low and Ultra settings is significant. At 1080p, the difference is 56 FPS (124 FPS to 68 FPS). At 1440p, the difference is 42 FPS (94 FPS to 52 FPS). At 4K, the difference is 29 FPS (64 FPS to 35 FPS). This suggests that the cost of higher visual fidelity is substantial, and the impact is relatively larger at lower resolutions where the CPU is more capable of keeping up.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and clearly demonstrates the GPU-bound nature of the system. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 79 at 1080p to 59 at 1440p and then to 40 at 4K. This represents a 25% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 32% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 49%, meaning that 4K performance is roughly half of 1080p performance.

This scaling is typical of a system where the GPU is the limiting factor. As resolution increases, the number of pixels that need to be rendered grows exponentially, placing a much heavier load on the GPU's shaders and memory bandwidth. The CPU's workload does not increase at the same rate. The 24-core Ultra 9 275HX can easily handle the game logic at any resolution, but the RTX 4060 Mobile's GPU must work much harder to push more pixels.

The pattern is similar across all settings. At Low settings, the drop is from 124 FPS at 1080p to 94 FPS at 1440p and 64 FPS at 4K. This is a 49% drop from 1080p to 4K, identical to the High preset. This consistency suggests that the relative cost of resolution is independent of the settings preset. The limiting component is clearly the GPU, as the frame rate scales inversely with the number of pixels, a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU is not holding the system back; it is the GPU's rendering capabilities that dictate the final performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a smooth 60+ FPS experience, the 1080p High preset (79 FPS) is an excellent choice, offering a good balance of visual quality and performance. For higher refresh rate monitors, the 1080p Low preset (124 FPS) or Medium preset (88 FPS) are the best options. The Ultra preset at 1080p (68 FPS) is also viable if visual fidelity is the priority over frame rate.

At 1440p, the Low preset (94 FPS) is the only one that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. The Medium preset (67 FPS) is also playable, providing a better visual experience while still being above 60 FPS. The High preset (59 FPS) is just below the 60 FPS target, which may be acceptable for some players, but Medium is the recommended choice for a more consistent experience. The Ultra preset (52 FPS) is not recommended for action-heavy sequences.

At 4K, the options are limited. The Low preset (64 FPS) is the only one that provides a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset (45 FPS) is borderline, and the High (40 FPS) and Ultra (35 FPS) presets are not recommended for a game that requires quick reflexes and smooth camera movement. For 4K gaming, players should prioritize the Low preset, or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p to enable higher quality settings.

The data suggests that the sweet spot for this combo is 1080p with High settings or 1440p with Medium settings. Both configurations provide an average frame rate in the 60-80 FPS range, which is ideal for a smooth and responsive experience in a game like Control. Pushing to Ultra settings at any resolution results in a significant performance penalty that is not justified by the visual upgrade, given the frame rate targets most players have.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Control, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile ranks 2278 out of 3720. This places it in the 61st percentile, meaning that 61% of tested systems perform worse, but 39% perform better. This is a mid-pack ranking, reflecting the fact that while the CPU is very powerful, the GPU is a mid-range mobile part that limits the overall gaming performance.

The ranking is a holistic measure of the combo's ability to run the game. It takes into account all the measured FPS data across different resolutions and settings. A higher rank would indicate a system that can maintain higher frame rates at higher settings and resolutions. This combo's ranking is dragged down by its weaker 4K performance, where it falls below the 60 FPS threshold at most settings. However, its strong 1080p and 1440p performance shows that it is a capable gaming machine for most users.

Compared to other combos, this pairing is a sensible match in terms of tier. The CPU is not a bottleneck, and the GPU is the limiting factor. Upgrading the GPU would yield a significant improvement in performance, especially at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU would still have plenty of headroom. The mid-pack ranking is a fair representation of its capabilities: it is not a top-tier gaming rig, but it is far from a low-end one, offering a solid experience at mainstream resolutions.