Control

Intel Core Ultra X7 368H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile form a high-end laptop pairing for Control, a 2019 Action Adventure title. The measured data places this combo at rank 866 out of 3720 tested combinations, putting it in the top quarter of all systems. This page breaks down how the CPU and GPU each contribute to the frame rates observed across three resolutions and four quality presets, using only the benchmark data provided.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra X7 368H is a 16-core, 16-thread mobile processor from the Core Ultra Series 3, built on Intel's 3 nm Panther Lake architecture. It operates at a base clock of 2.00 GHz and boosts up to 5.00 GHz, with a 25 W TDP. The processor is configured with a per-core L1 cache of 192 KB, a per-core L2 cache of 2.5 MB, and a shared 18 MB L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 28,221 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3,984 in single-core, placing it at the 87th percentile among all CPUs.

For a game like Control, which is primarily GPU-bound at higher settings, the CPU's role is to feed the graphics card with enough draw calls and physics data. The 16-core design ensures that background threads, such as those handling AI and debris physics, do not bottleneck the main render thread. The high single-core score of 3,984 in Cinebench R23 indicates strong per-thread performance, which is critical for the game's main loop. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 194 FPS, a figure that suggests the CPU is still capable of pushing frame rates well beyond typical display refresh rates. In contrast, the processor's nearest rivals in the database — the Intel Core 7 253PE, Intel Core 5 223PE, AMD Ryzen 9 7940H, and Intel Xeon 6507P — have average benchmark scores within 0.2% of this chip, confirming the Ultra X7 368H is a mid-range performer relative to other mobile CPUs, not a top-tier part.

The fact that the CPU has 16 threads matching 16 cores (no hyperthreading) means each thread has a dedicated physical core, reducing scheduling overhead. This is relevant in Control because the game can spawn numerous light-weight tasks; with equal core and thread counts, the OS can assign each task to a distinct core without contention. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (194 FPS) versus 1080p Ultra (106 FPS) shows a 45% drop, indicating that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as settings increase, not the CPU. The CPU's L3 cache of 18 MB is shared across all cores, which helps when the game streams in level geometry, but the data does not show any scenario where the CPU is the primary bottleneck at high settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 93 FPS. This is a playable level for most users, and it sits between the 104 FPS at Medium and 80 FPS at Ultra, showing a clear scaling curve.

Q: How does the combo rank overall in this game?

A: The Intel Core Ultra X7 368H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile ranks 866 out of 3720 tested combinations for Control. This places it in the 77th percentile of all tested systems, indicating it performs better than roughly three-quarters of the database entries.

Q: Does the GPU outperform its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 43,667, which is 0.8% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (43,301) and 0.9% higher than the GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268). However, it trails the NVIDIA RTX A6000 by 0.9%, which scores 44,075. These are marginal differences, so in practical gaming terms, the performance is nearly identical.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded?

A: The lowest average FPS in the measured data is 54 FPS, observed at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is the only resolution/settings combination that drops below 60 FPS on average, making it the most demanding scenario for this hardware.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for Control?

A: Based on the resolution scaling data, the GPU is the dominant factor. Moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings reduces FPS from 122 to 62, a 49% drop. This large decrease indicates that the graphics card is being saturated, while the CPU's performance remains constant across resolutions.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded?

A: The highest average FPS is 194, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This high frame rate suggests the system is not heavily taxed at this configuration, leaving headroom for competitive play or higher refresh rate displays.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame field places this specific CPU and GPU pairing at position 866 out of 3,720 tested combinations, which translates to roughly the top 23% of all systems tested for Control. This rank reflects the combined capabilities of both components. The CPU's percentile rank of 87 places it above the median, while the GPU's percentile rank of 84 also indicates above-average performance. However, the overall combo rank of 866 suggests that many other systems, likely with higher-end desktop CPUs or GPUs, outperform this laptop configuration.

The nearest GPU rivals provide context for this ranking. The RTX 4090 Mobile's average benchmark score of 43,667 is only 0.8% higher than the Quadro M6000's 43,301, yet the RTX 4090 Mobile is a much newer architecture. In Control, the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (54 FPS) is just above the 60 FPS threshold at 4K Medium (70 FPS), indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at the highest settings. The combo's rank of 866 means there are 866 other combinations that achieve higher frame rates, but given that the RTX 4090 Mobile is a mobile part, this ranking is expected. The data shows that for a laptop, this combo delivers frame rates that are competitive with many desktop systems, but it does not top the charts.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides average FPS for four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions (1080p, 1440p, 4K). At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 194 at Low to 106 at Ultra. Medium settings yield 138 FPS with a minimum of 117 and maximum of 158, while High settings produce 122 FPS. This shows a consistent drop of roughly 16-17 FPS for each tier increase from Low to High, but a larger 16 FPS drop from High to Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues with 147 FPS at Low, 104 FPS at Medium (min 89, max 120), 93 FPS at High, and 80 FPS at Ultra. The difference between Low and Medium is 43 FPS, which is the largest single-tier jump at this resolution. The minimum FPS at 1440p Medium is 89, which stays above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating smooth gameplay. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 99 at Low, 70 at Medium (min 60, max 81), 62 at High, and 54 at Ultra. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is exactly 60, meaning there may be occasional dips to the refresh rate floor.

The data reveals that the RTX 4090 Mobile is capable of maintaining 60+ FPS average at 4K High (62 FPS), but falls below that at 4K Ultra (54 FPS). For users targeting 60 FPS, the 4K Medium preset (70 FPS) provides a comfortable margin, while 4K High is borderline. At 1440p, all settings exceed 60 FPS, with Ultra at 80 FPS. At 1080p, all settings exceed 100 FPS, making it suitable for high refresh rate displays.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 194 at 1080p to 99 at 4K, a 49% reduction. At Medium, it drops from 138 to 70, a 49% reduction. At High, it drops from 122 to 62, a 49% reduction. At Ultra, it drops from 106 to 54, a 49% reduction. This uniform ~49% drop across all settings indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the CPU workload does not change with resolution.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a smaller drop: Low goes from 194 to 147 (24% reduction), Medium from 138 to 104 (25%), High from 122 to 93 (24%), and Ultra from 106 to 80 (25%). The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a larger drop: Low goes from 147 to 99 (33% reduction), Medium from 104 to 70 (33%), High from 93 to 62 (33%), and Ultra from 80 to 54 (33%). This suggests that the GPU is increasingly stressed as pixel count rises, but the 4K drop is more pronounced, confirming that the RTX 4090 Mobile's memory bandwidth of 576.0 GB/s becomes a constraint at higher resolutions.

The fact that the percentage drop is consistent across settings indicates that the bottleneck is purely GPU-side, not CPU-side. If the CPU were limiting, the FPS would remain similar across resolutions at the same settings. Since the FPS scales directly with pixel count, the data confirms that the Intel Core Ultra X7 368H is sufficient to feed the GPU at all tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience depends on the display resolution. At 1920x1080, all settings provide playable frame rates, but Ultra (106 FPS) still offers a smooth experience on standard 60 Hz displays. For 144 Hz or higher refresh rate monitors, High (122 FPS) or Medium (138 FPS) are better choices, as they get closer to the refresh rate ceiling.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset (80 FPS) is the best option for visual quality while maintaining a high frame rate, as it stays above 60 FPS with a 20 FPS buffer. Medium (104 FPS) is ideal for high refresh rate displays, while High (93 FPS) splits the difference. Low (147 FPS) is not recommended unless the user prioritizes maximum frame rate over visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset (54 FPS) falls below the 60 FPS threshold, so Medium (70 FPS) is the recommended setting for a smooth experience. High (62 FPS) is acceptable for users who prefer visual quality over a guaranteed 60 FPS, but the minimum FPS is not recorded for that preset, so there is a risk of dips. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum FPS of 60, ensuring consistent performance. For users with G-Sync displays, High (62 FPS) might be tolerable, but Medium is the safer choice for locked 60 FPS gameplay.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is a high-end laptop GPU based on the AD103 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. It has 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output pipelines, along with 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1335 MHz and a boost clock of 1695 MHz, with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory runs at 2250 MHz, effective 18 Gbps.

In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU scores 27,212 in Passmark G3D and 12,347 in Passmark GPU Compute, placing it at the 84th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 43,667 is within 1% of several rivals, including the Quadro M6000 (43,301) and RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268), but slightly behind the RTX A6000 (44,075). For Control, the GPU's 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for the game's textures, even at 4K Ultra, as the game's requirements are far below this capacity.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 32.98 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 189.8 GPixel/s are directly relevant to Control's rasterization workload. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (54 FPS) shows that the GPU is pushed to its limits at this resolution, while at 1080p Low (194 FPS), it has significant headroom. The RTX 4090 Mobile's 76 ray tracing cores are not heavily utilized in Control, which does not feature ray tracing in its standard settings, but the tensor cores help with DLSS if enabled, though no DLSS data is in the measured FPS. The GPU's TDP of 120 W is relatively modest for the performance level, allowing it to sustain high clocks without excessive thermal throttling, which is reflected in the consistent FPS across repeated runs.