Control

Control is a demanding Action Adventure title that stresses both processor and graphics hardware, and the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with the Intel Arc B580 produces a specific performance profile that shifts depending on resolution and settings. The measured data places this combo at rank 2173 out of 2888 tested combinations, indicating a mid-to-lower tier standing for this particular game, with average frame rates ranging from 32 FPS at 4K Ultra to 114 FPS at 1080p Low. The following analysis breaks down the CPU and GPU roles, scaling behavior, and provides specific recommendations based solely on the measured results.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, featuring a 36 MB shared L3 cache and 192 KB L1 cache per core. Its benchmark results place it in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. In Control, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations, though the game's engine is not exceptionally multi-threaded. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions, as the frame rates scale significantly when the resolution drops, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

The processor's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807, deltaPct 0.2) and the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090, deltaPct 1.1), with the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus being slightly ahead of both. However, its single-thread performance, as indicated by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303, is strong, which is relevant for Control's engine that relies on a few main threads for game logic. The multi-core score of 51731 in Cinebench R23 shows ample headroom, but the game's measured FPS does not improve proportionally with core count; instead, the frame rates are more closely tied to the GPU's capabilities. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 114 FPS, which suggests the CPU can handle the game's demands at that setting, but the drop to 32 FPS at 4K Ultra indicates that the GPU is the limiting component in higher-resolution scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Control?

A: The highest measured average is 114 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 32 FPS, which is below the typical playable threshold of 60 FPS.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 86 at Low settings to 47 at Ultra settings, a decrease of 39 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor. For example, at 1080p High, the combo achieves 72 FPS, but at 4K High, it drops to 37 FPS, showing a strong resolution dependency.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021, placing it in the 68th percentile. It is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, deltaPct -0.2) and slightly ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895, deltaPct 0.6).

Q: What is the best measured setting for a smooth experience at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS, which provides a balanced experience above the 60 FPS target.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 114 FPS at 1080p to 86 FPS at 1440p (a 24.6% decrease), and further to 58 FPS at 4K (a 32.6% decrease from 1440p). This scaling is not linear, suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are being saturated at higher resolutions. The Intel Arc B580 has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial but still limits performance at 4K.

At High settings, the frame rates drop from 72 FPS at 1080p to 54 FPS at 1440p (a 25% decrease), and then to 37 FPS at 4K (a 31.5% decrease). This consistent drop of roughly 25-30% per resolution step indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the CPU's performance headroom is not being utilized differently across resolutions. The Ultra settings show the most severe scaling, with 62 FPS at 1080p, 47 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 32 FPS is particularly telling, as it suggests the GPU is struggling with the combination of high resolution and high graphical fidelity, likely due to the game's rendering features like ray tracing or high-resolution textures. The data shows that the limiting component is clearly the GPU, as the CPU's 24 cores and high boost clock are sufficient to maintain frame rates at lower resolutions, but the GPU's performance ceiling is reached at higher settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal setting depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1080p, the Medium preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS, ensuring no drops below the playable threshold. The High preset at 1080p also works well, achieving 72 FPS, but the Medium preset offers a higher average and better minimum frame rate, making it the safer option for consistent performance. At 1440p, the Low preset provides 86 FPS, which is above 60 FPS, but the Medium preset drops to 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutters in demanding scenes. For a balance between visual quality and performance at 1440p, the Low preset is recommended, as it maintains a high frame rate without the risk of dropping below 60 FPS.

At 4K, the situation is more challenging. The Low preset achieves 58 FPS, which is close to 60 FPS but not quite there, while the Medium preset drops to 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 4K yields 37 FPS, and Ultra drops to 32 FPS, both of which are below acceptable playability standards. Therefore, for 4K gaming, the Low preset is the only viable option, providing a playable but not ideal experience. The data shows that the combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates at lower settings, but it struggles at 4K with anything above Low settings. The Medium preset at 1080p offers the best overall experience, balancing visual fidelity with a high average FPS and a minimum frame rate that stays above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2173 out of 2888 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the 75th percentile of all tested combos. This ranking indicates that while the combo is not at the top of the performance charts, it is not at the bottom either. The CPU's high percentile ranking (96th) contrasts with the GPU's lower ranking (68th percentile), suggesting that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing for this particular game. The combo's rank of 2173 out of 2888 means that about 75% of tested combinations perform better, which is a significant margin. This is likely due to the GPU's performance relative to other tested graphics cards, as the Arc B580's average benchmark score of 23021 places it in the 68th percentile, with its nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895, deltaPct 0.6) and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, deltaPct -0.2).

When compared to the CPU's nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is slightly ahead of the Core Ultra 9 285K (deltaPct 0.2) and the AMD EPYC 4584PX (deltaPct 1.1), but this does not translate to a higher combo rank because the GPU is the limiting factor. The data shows that the combo's rank is more closely tied to the GPU's performance, as the CPU has ample headroom to handle the game's demands. For users looking to improve the combo's ranking, upgrading the GPU would be more effective than upgrading the CPU, as the latter would yield minimal gains given the current GPU bottleneck. The measured FPS data supports this, as the frame rates are consistently lower at higher resolutions and settings, regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: Low settings achieve 114 FPS, Medium settings achieve 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS, High settings achieve 72 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 62 FPS. This shows a clear progression, with a 45.6% drop from Low to Ultra, but even the Ultra setting maintains a playable frame rate above 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, the performance drops: Low settings achieve 86 FPS, Medium settings achieve 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS, High settings achieve 54 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 47 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 45.3%, similar to 1080p, but the absolute frame rates are lower, with Ultra falling below 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance is significantly reduced: Low settings achieve 58 FPS, Medium settings achieve 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS, High settings achieve 37 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 32 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 44.8%, which is consistent with the other resolutions, but the absolute frame rates are much lower, with even Low settings barely achieving 60 FPS. The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings, where the 1080p result of 69 FPS is the highest minimum across all resolutions, while the 4K result of 35 FPS is the lowest. This indicates that the Medium preset provides the most stable experience at lower resolutions, but at 4K, the frame time variance becomes more pronounced, leading to potential stutters. Overall, the data shows that the combo is capable of high frame rates at 1080p, moderate frame rates at 1440p, and limited performance at 4K, with the GPU being the primary constraint.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580, based on the Xe2-HPG architecture and codenamed Battlemage, is a 5 nm GPU with 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. It has 20 ray tracing cores and operates at a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz, with a memory clock of 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Its benchmark scores show a Passmark G3D score of 15748 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3068, placing it in the 68th percentile among all GPUs. The GPU's role in Control is critical, as the measured FPS data shows that it is the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings.

The GPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, deltaPct -0.2) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895, deltaPct 0.6), indicating that the Arc B580 performs at a level similar to these older cards. However, in Control, the GPU's performance is characterized by a significant drop in frame rates as resolution increases, which is consistent with its memory bandwidth and compute capabilities. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures at 4K, but the GPU's raw compute power is not enough to maintain high frame rates at that resolution. The measured 4K Ultra average of 32 FPS suggests that the GPU is heavily stressed, likely due to the game's visual effects and the GPU's limited FP32 performance of 13.67 TFLOPS. The data shows that the GPU is the primary determinant of the combo's performance in Control, and its capabilities dictate that the best experience is achieved at 1080p with Medium or High settings, where the GPU can deliver frame rates above 60 FPS.