Control

Control is a demanding action-adventure title that stresses both the CPU and GPU heavily, and the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti delivers a wide range of performance depending on how you configure it. The measured data shows a system that can handle high refresh rate 1080p gaming with ease, but requires careful settings management to maintain smooth gameplay at 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, compares the combo's standing against other tested configurations, and provides practical advice on how to get the best experience from this hardware pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and clearly indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 143 FPS at 1920x1080 to 108 FPS at 2560x1440, and then down to 73 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 24% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 32% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, and the 4K result shows that the RTX 4070 Ti is being pushed hard to maintain a playable frame rate.

The pattern holds true across all quality presets. With Low settings, the average FPS drops from 226 at 1080p to 171 at 1440p and then to 115 at 4K. The delta between 1440p and 4K is roughly 33% across the board, which suggests a consistent GPU-bound scenario where the rendering resolution is the dominant factor. At 1080p, the CPU has more headroom, but the data shows that even at Low settings, the system cannot push past 226 FPS, indicating that the game's engine or the CPU's single-thread performance is a limiting factor at that point.

The most telling comparison is the Ultra preset. Here, the average FPS drops from 124 at 1080p to 94 at 1440p, and then to 63 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for a smooth experience, which highlights the need for settings adjustments at that resolution. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is a 49% reduction, which is more severe than at other presets, suggesting that the combination of high resolution and demanding effects like ray tracing or high-quality textures is particularly taxing on the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 339th out of 2888 combos for Control. This places it in the top 12% of all tested systems, which is a strong result for a high-end desktop configuration. The data indicates that this combo outperforms the vast majority of alternatives, but it also sits below the top-tier systems that likely pair the RTX 4070 Ti with more powerful CPUs or use higher-end graphics cards.

The CPU itself, the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, is a formidable part. It holds a 96th percentile ranking against all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 84003 puts it just 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. It also leads the AMD EPYC 4584PX by 1.1% and the AMD EPYC 9135 by 1.2%, while trailing the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3%. These deltas are minimal, indicating that the 290K Plus is at the top of the performance heap, though the differences among the nearest rivals are negligible in real-world gaming scenarios.

The GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, ranks in the 84th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44795. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, which scores 0.8% higher, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT, which is 1.3% higher. The NVIDIA RTX A6000 is 1.6% lower, and the Intel Arc A730M is 1.7% lower. This places the RTX 4070 Ti in a competitive mid-to-high range, but its overall rank in the combo list is largely driven by the CPU's strong performance, as the GPU is not at the absolute top of the hierarchy. Given that the combo rank is 339 out of 2888, the data shows that this is a well-balanced setup, but there is headroom for improvement if a higher-tier GPU were used.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, which gives it excellent single-threaded performance for gaming. The CPU's benchmark results confirm its strength: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303. These figures are among the highest recorded, and they explain why the system can achieve high frame rates at 1080p where CPU performance matters more.

In Control, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the system hits 226 FPS, which is a clear sign that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to maintain high frame rates. However, the fact that the frame rate does not scale linearly with resolution suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 4K, the average FPS at High settings is 73, which is a 49% drop from the 1080p High result of 143 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor.

The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 24 threads are more than sufficient for Control, which is not known for being heavily multi-threaded. The high boost clock of 5.80 GHz is likely the key factor in delivering consistent frame times, as the game benefits from strong single-core performance. The data shows that the CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4823 is robust, and this translates to a system that can handle the game's physics and AI calculations without becoming a bottleneck at 1440p, where the average FPS at High settings is 108.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers high frame rates across all presets. With Low settings, the average FPS is 226, which is exceptionally smooth. Medium settings produce an average of 161 FPS, with a minimum of 136 and a maximum of 185. High settings yield 143 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 124 FPS. All of these results are well above the 60 FPS threshold, and even the Ultra preset provides a comfortable margin for high refresh rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. Low settings deliver 171 FPS, Medium settings produce 121 FPS with a minimum of 103 and a maximum of 140, High settings drop to 108 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 94 FPS. The 1440p results are all playable, and even the Ultra preset maintains an average above 90 FPS, which is a solid experience for most gamers.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly under stress. Low settings still deliver a respectable 115 FPS, but Medium settings drop to 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 and a maximum of 94. High settings produce 73 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 63 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is just above the 60 FPS line, which means it is playable but not ideal for competitive play. The minimum FPS of 70 at 4K Medium suggests that there are moments of stutter, but the average remains acceptable for a single-player action-adventure game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 2310 MHz and a boost clock of 2610 MHz, which are high figures that contribute to its strong performance. Its 7680 shading units and 60 RT cores are well-suited for a game like Control, which uses ray tracing for its reflective surfaces and lighting effects.

The GPU's role in this combo becomes clear when looking at the 4K results. The drop from 115 FPS at Low settings to 63 FPS at Ultra settings shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution. The 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient for Control at 4K, but the memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s is likely a limiting factor when handling high-resolution textures and effects. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 31624 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5024 confirm its position in the market, but the data shows that it is not a top-tier card for 4K gaming.

The RTX 4070 Ti's performance relative to its nearest rivals is close, with the RTX 5090 Mobile scoring 0.8% higher and the RTX A6000 scoring 1.6% lower. This indicates that the 4070 Ti is a capable card, but it is not designed to dominate at 4K Ultra settings. For a game like Control, where the visual effects are demanding, the GPU's strength at 1080p and 1440p is more evident, as it can easily maintain high frame rates at those resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data suggests that players should prioritize resolution over visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is fully playable with an average of 124 FPS, so there is no reason to lower settings unless aiming for the highest possible refresh rates. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset delivers 94 FPS, which is still smooth, but the High preset at 108 FPS offers a better balance of visual quality and performance for most players.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Ultra preset drops to 63 FPS, which is borderline, and the High preset at 73 FPS is a better choice for a more stable experience. However, the Medium preset at 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 FPS provides the most consistent frame pacing at 4K, making it the recommended setting for this resolution. The Low preset at 115 FPS is an option for those who prioritize frame rate above all else, but it sacrifices the visual effects that make Control stand out.

The measured data shows that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for 4K, as it maintains an average above 80 FPS while still providing a decent level of visual detail. At 1440p, the High preset is the best compromise, offering 108 FPS with a significant improvement in visual quality over Medium. At 1080p, the Ultra preset is the clear choice, as the system has enough headroom to handle all effects without dropping below 124 FPS. For players with high refresh rate monitors, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 226 FPS, which maximizes the potential of the display, but the visual trade-off is substantial.