Control

Intel Core Ultra X9 388H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile delivers a compelling Control experience, but the data reveals a clear hierarchy: at 1080p the combo is gloriously fast, at 1440p it is perfectly playable, and at 4K it drops below the 60 FPS threshold on higher presets. The scaling pattern shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at 4K, while at 1080p the CPU has enough headroom to push frame rates into triple digits.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent performance drop as resolution climbs, a classic sign of GPU limitation. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo averages 112 FPS, but this falls to 84 FPS at 2560x1440, a 25% reduction. Moving to 3840x2160 at High, the average drops to 57 FPS, which is a 49% decline from the 1080p figure. This pattern is nearly linear with pixel count, indicating the RTX 4080 Mobile's rendering pipeline is the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

The Low preset tells a similar story but with higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 177 FPS, at 1440p Low it manages 134 FPS, and at 4K Low it still produced 90 FPS. The delta between Low and High at the same resolution is substantial: at 4K, switching from Low to High costs 33 FPS (90 to 57), while at 1080p, the same switch costs 65 FPS (177 to 112). This widening gap at lower resolutions suggests the CPU can feed more frames when the GPU is less stressed, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases.

Looking at the Medium preset, which includes min/max FPS data, we see smoother performance metrics. At 1080p Medium, the average is 126 FPS with a min of 107 and max of 144. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 95 FPS average (min 81, max 109), and at 4K Medium, the average falls to 64 FPS with a min of 55 and max of 74. The min FPS at 4K Medium is below 60, meaning there are moments of perceptible stutter, even though the average is above the typical playability threshold.

The Ultra preset is the most demanding, and the data shows it is only viable at 1080p. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the combo delivers 97 FPS, which is still very playable. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 73 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 50 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is 47 FPS below the 1080p Ultra figure, representing a 48% performance hit. This confirms that 4K Ultra is beyond the comfortable reach of this hardware for a game like Control, which has demanding real-time effects.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 1234 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. That places it in the 66.8th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of all systems tested in this game. This is a strong result, though not elite, reflecting the mobile nature of both components.

The CPU's overall benchmark percentile is 88 vs all CPUs, which is high, but its nearest rivals show a tight cluster. The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H has an average benchmark score of 44466, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D (44573), 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i9-13950HX (44342), 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (44309), and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i5-13600 (44240). These deltas are all within 1%, indicating that in pure CPU compute, this chip is essentially tied with those desktop and high-end mobile parts.

The GPU's ranking is more stratified. The RTX 4080 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 38135, which is 0.4% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 (38299 is listed as a rival with deltaPct -0.4, meaning the 4080 is 0.4% lower, not higher — the data shows the MX570 has a higher score). Correcting for the sign convention: the RTX 4080 Mobile is 0.4% slower than the MX570, 0.6% slower than the RTX 5080 Mobile (38349), 1.3% faster than the RTX 4070 (37648), and 1.3% faster than the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628). The GPU's percentile vs all GPUs is 81, which is respectable but lower than the CPU's 88, confirming that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing for gaming.

For Control specifically, the combo rank of 1234 out of 3720 suggests that while the CPU is a top-tier mobile part, the GPU's performance limits the overall gaming experience relative to other possible pairings. A system with a slightly weaker CPU but a stronger GPU would likely rank higher in this game's database, given the GPU-bound nature of the scaling data.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. It has 7424 shading units, 232 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units, along with 58 RT cores and 232 tensor cores. The GPU's clock speeds are modest for its class: a base clock of 1290 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz. This is a laptop part, with a TDP of 110 W, which explains why its raw scores are close to desktop mid-range cards.

The memory subsystem is a key strength. The GPU is equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, running at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), delivering a bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. This is ample for Control at 4K, as the game's textures and effects can consume significant VRAM, and the 12 GB capacity avoids potential stuttering from memory swapping at higher resolutions. The pixel rate is 133.2 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 386.3 GTexel/s, which support the measured FPS figures at 1440p and 1080p.

The GPU's FP32 performance is rated at 24.72 TFLOPS. This is the raw compute throughput, and it aligns with the observed 4K performance. At 4K High, the GPU produces 57 FPS average, which is close to the boundary where demanding scenes will dip below 60 FPS. The DirectX 12 benchmark score of 96 and the Passmark G3D score of 24926 are consistent with a mobile GPU that sits in the upper mid-range of the database. The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 4070, is only 1.3% slower in average benchmark score, which explains why the 4080 Mobile does not dominate at 4K — it is not a massive leap over its lower-tier sibling in real-world gaming.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K with High settings?

A: The data shows an average of 57 FPS at 3840x2160 High, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. While it is playable, there will be frequent dips below 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for a locked 60 FPS experience?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo averages 84 FPS, and at Medium it averages 95 FPS. Both are well above 60 FPS, making 1440p the sweet spot for high fidelity with a comfortable frame rate margin.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at the same resolution?

A: At 1080p, Low yields 177 FPS versus Ultra's 97 FPS, an 80 FPS difference. At 1440p, Low produces 134 FPS versus Ultra's 73 FPS, a 61 FPS difference. At 4K, Low gives 90 FPS versus Ultra's 50 FPS, a 40 FPS difference.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: The resolution scaling data points to the GPU as the limiting factor. As resolution increases, frame rates drop proportionally, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p, the CPU (boost clock 5.10 GHz, 16 cores) has enough headroom to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the 177 FPS Low result.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 Mobile compare to the RTX 4070 in this database?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 38135, which is 1.3% higher than the RTX 4070's score of 37648. This is a small margin, meaning in practice the 4080 Mobile is only slightly faster than the 4070.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only preset with min FPS data is Medium. At 1080p Medium, the min is 107 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 81 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it is 55 FPS, which is the lowest recorded min across all tested settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data supports a tiered approach to settings depending on the target resolution. For a 4K display, the only viable option is the Low preset, which delivers an average of 90 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 64 FPS but has a min FPS of 55, meaning there will be noticeable hitches during intense combat or when the game loads new areas. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended, as they average 57 FPS and 50 FPS respectively, both below the playability threshold.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the best balance, averaging 84 FPS with no min FPS data to suggest severe drops. Medium is also excellent at 95 FPS, but High offers better visual fidelity at a still-very-smooth frame rate. Ultra at 1440p averages 73 FPS, which is playable, but the jump from High to Ultra costs 11 FPS, and the visual difference is often minimal in fast-paced action games.

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the recommended choice, as it produces 97 FPS. This is a high frame rate that takes advantage of the CPU's single-core strength (single-core Cinebench R23 score of 2200.5). High at 1080p averages 112 FPS, which is also excellent, but Ultra provides the full visual experience without sacrificing smoothness. Medium at 1080p is 126 FPS, and Low is 177 FPS, but these are unnecessary given the headroom available.

The overall recommendation is to use 1440p High for the best combination of image quality and performance. This setup leverages the GPU's 12 GB VRAM and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth without pushing the chip into the sub-60 FPS territory seen at 4K. If a higher refresh rate monitor is used, 1080p Ultra is the way to go, as it stays above 90 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H is a 16-core, 16-thread processor based on the Panther Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its base clock is 2.10 GHz with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, and it has a TDP of just 25 W, which is remarkably low for a high-performance mobile chip. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3, which is substantial for gaming workloads.

In Control, the CPU's role is to handle the game's physics, AI, and the overhead of the DirectX 12 API. The benchmark data shows the CPU is not the bottleneck at higher resolutions, as frame rates scale directly with pixel count. However, at 1080p Low, the combo hits 177 FPS, which is a strong indicator that the CPU can drive very high frame rates when the GPU is not limiting. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 18911, and its single-core score is 2200.5, both of which are solid for a mobile part.

The CPU's Passmark single-thread score is 4280, and its multithread score is 36811. These numbers place it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it is stronger than most desktop processors. The nearest rival data shows it is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D (0.2% slower), the Intel Core i9-13950HX (0.3% faster), the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (0.4% faster), and the Intel Core i5-13600 (0.5% faster). This tight grouping indicates that for CPU-bound tasks, this chip is competitive with high-end desktop parts.

For Control specifically, the CPU's 16 cores are more than sufficient, as the game is not heavily multi-threaded. The high boost clock of 5.10 GHz is more relevant, as it ensures strong single-thread performance for the game's main thread. The LPDDR5X memory support with dual-channel and 153.6 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for feeding the GPU, though the GPU's own 432.0 GB/s bandwidth is the more critical figure for 4K textures. The CPU's integrated Arc B390 graphics are irrelevant for this test, as the discrete RTX 4080 Mobile handles all rendering.