Control

# Control with Intel Core Ultra X9 388H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H pairs with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 in a mobile configuration that delivers playable frame rates across most of Control's settings and resolutions, though the data reveals a system that leans heavily on its GPU while the CPU remains largely underutilized. This combo ranks 2295th out of 2888 tested combinations in this game, placing it in the lower third of the database, which is a surprising result given the hardware's specifications — the CPU sits in the 88th percentile of all processors, while the GPU is in the 66th percentile. The measured frames per second tell a story of a GPU-bound experience at higher resolutions, with the CPU's 16 cores and 5.10 GHz boost clock providing ample headroom that never becomes a limiting factor in this title.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H brings 16 cores and 16 threads to the table, running at a base clock of 2.10 GHz with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This is a Panther Lake architecture chip built on Intel's 3 nm process, with a 25 W TDP that makes it suitable for mobile implementations. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache, which provides solid data locality for games that benefit from large caches.

In Control, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 103 FPS average, which represents the highest frame rate in the entire measured set. This suggests the CPU is more than capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions where the graphics workload is lighter. The processor's single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2200.5 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4280, indicates strong per-core performance that handles game logic and physics well.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the Core Ultra X9 388H scores an average benchmark of 44466, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D at 44573 (a -0.2% delta), the Intel Core i9-13950HX at 44342 (+0.3%), the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 at 44309 (+0.4%), and the Intel Core i5-13600 at 44240 (+0.5%). These extremely tight deltas — all within half a percent — indicate that the CPU's raw compute capabilities are competitive with a broad range of desktop and mobile processors, yet none of this headroom translates into meaningful FPS differences in Control because the game's demands on the CPU are modest relative to what this chip offers.

The multi-threaded performance is robust as well, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18911 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 36811. These numbers suggest that even in CPU-intensive scenarios, the Core Ultra X9 388H would not bottleneck the RTX 5050. The data shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases — frame rates drop from 103 FPS at 1080p Low to 52 FPS at 4K Low, a pattern that points squarely at the graphics card rather than the processor.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB207 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU runs at a base clock of 2317 MHz with a boost clock of 2572 MHz, and memory operates at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective). With 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, the RTX 5050 offers 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 205.8 GTexel/s of texture fill rate.

In Control, the RTX 5050's 8 GB VRAM and 320 GB/s bandwidth appear adequate for the game's demands across all tested settings. The measured frame rates show a clear scaling pattern: at 1080p, the GPU delivers 103 FPS on Low, 73 FPS on Medium, 65 FPS on High, and 56 FPS on Ultra. These numbers indicate that the GPU has enough headroom to handle the game at 1080p with high refresh rates, but the gap between settings narrows as resolution increases.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 66th percentile of all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 21035. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL at 21153 (-0.6% delta), the AMD Radeon HD 8970M at 21237 (-1.0%), the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT at 20713 (+1.6%), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile at 21379 (-1.6%). These close comparisons show that the RTX 5050 performs in a similar band to these cards, though the RX 5600 XT edges it out slightly in raw benchmark terms.

The memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s is a notable factor in Control's performance at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 29 FPS average, which is barely playable, and even at 4K High it only achieves 33 FPS. The 8 GB VRAM capacity may also contribute to these results, as higher resolutions and quality settings demand more memory for textures and effects. The GPU's 32 ROPs and 82.30 GPixel/s pixel rate could be limiting factors at 4K, where fill rate requirements increase dramatically.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combined system ranks 2295th out of 2888 tested combinations for Control, placing it in the bottom 20% of all configs in the database. This ranking is notably lower than what the individual component percentiles might suggest — the CPU at the 88th percentile and the GPU at the 66th percentile would imply a mid-range pairing, yet the actual game performance tells a different story.

This discrepancy likely stems from the mobile nature of this configuration. The RTX 5050, despite being a current-generation GPU, delivers performance comparable to older desktop cards like the Radeon RX 5600 XT, and Control's demands at high settings with ray tracing features can tax even capable GPUs. The 4K results are particularly weak — 29 FPS at Ultra and 33 FPS at High — which drags down the overall ranking when compared to desktop systems that can push 60+ FPS at those resolutions.

The ranking distribution suggests that most of the 2888 tested combos achieve better frame rates in Control. This could be due to the game's age (released in 2019) and its optimization patterns favoring higher-end desktop GPUs. The RTX 5050's position in the 66th percentile of all GPUs means roughly a third of GPUs in the database outperform it, and when paired with the CPU's high performance, the combination still lands in a low rank because the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this hardware?

A: The 1080p resolution provides the most playable experience, with all settings achieving at least 56 FPS average. At 1440p, only Low settings reach above 60 FPS (78 FPS), while Medium drops to 55 FPS. At 4K, no setting exceeds 52 FPS, making it difficult to maintain smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H has an average benchmark score of 44466, essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D (44573, -0.2%), Intel Core i9-13950HX (44342, +0.3%), AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (44309, +0.4%), and Intel Core i5-13600 (44240, +0.5%). All deltas are within half a percent, indicating near-identical performance.

Q: What is the GPU's performance ranking relative to other cards?

A: The RTX 5050 sits in the 66th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 21035. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, scores 20713, putting the RTX 5050 1.6% ahead. The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL is 0.6% ahead at 21153.

Q: Does the system achieve 60 FPS at any resolution and setting combination?

A: Yes, at 1080p Low (103 FPS) and 1080p Medium (73 FPS), as well as 1440p Low (78 FPS). At 1080p High it reaches 65 FPS, just above the 60 FPS threshold. All other combinations fall below 60 FPS.

Q: How does frame rate scale from 1080p to 4K?

A: At Low settings, FPS drops from 103 at 1080p to 78 at 1440p to 52 at 4K. At High settings, the progression is 65 to 49 to 33. The scaling shows a roughly 50% reduction from 1080p to 4K across most settings.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in this game?

A: The combination ranks 2295th out of 2888 tested combos, placing it in the lower 20% of all configurations tested in Control.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data reveals a consistent pattern of frame rate reduction as resolution increases, which clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 103 at 1080p to 78 at 1440p (a 24% reduction) and then to 52 at 4K (a 33% further reduction from 1440p). This steep decline at higher resolutions is characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios where the rendering workload increases with pixel count.

At Medium settings, the progression is 73 FPS at 1080p, 55 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K. The High settings show 65, 49, and 33 FPS respectively, while Ultra goes from 56 at 1080p to 43 at 1440p and 29 at 4K. The consistent ~50% drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates that the RTX 5050's rendering capabilities, rather than any CPU limitation, dictate these results.

The fact that the CPU maintains its strong benchmark position (88th percentile) while the combined system ranks poorly (2295th of 2888) reinforces this conclusion. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to remain relatively flat across resolutions, with the CPU limiting performance even at 1080p. Instead, the data shows that higher resolutions always result in lower FPS, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound workload. The RTX 5050's 8 GB VRAM and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and even 1440p, but at 4K, the GPU's compute throughput (13.17 TFLOPS) and pixel rate (82.30 GPixel/s) become the determining factors.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 1080p appears to be the optimal choice from the measured data. It delivers 73 FPS average with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay without dipping below the 60 FPS threshold. This represents a 24% improvement over High settings (65 FPS) while still providing better visual fidelity than Low (103 FPS).

At 1440p, the Medium preset is also the recommended option, achieving 55 FPS average with a minimum of 47 FPS. While this falls below 60 FPS, the frame rate remains playable for a single-player action-adventure game like Control. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 78 FPS, but the visual quality reduction may not be worth the performance gain unless competitive play is a priority. High at 1440p drops to 49 FPS, which is noticeably less fluid.

At 4K, none of the settings provide a consistently smooth experience. The Low preset achieves 52 FPS, which is the only option above 50 FPS, but the visual compromises are substantial. Medium at 4K offers 37 FPS with a minimum of 32 FPS, and High drops to 33 FPS while Ultra falls to 29 FPS. For 4K play, Low settings are the only viable option, though players may prefer to reduce resolution to 1440p for a better experience.

The Ultra preset is generally not recommended at any resolution, as it only provides a marginal visual improvement over High while costing significant frame rates — 56 FPS at 1080p, 43 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K. The measured data suggests that Medium at 1080p or 1440p provides the best compromise between image quality and performance for this hardware combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 103 FPS average
• Medium: 73 FPS average, 62 FPS minimum, 84 FPS maximum
• High: 65 FPS average
• Ultra: 56 FPS average

At 1080p, the system comfortably handles all settings, with even Ultra maintaining above 55 FPS. The Medium preset shows a tight frame time distribution (62-84 FPS range), indicating stable performance.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 78 FPS average
• Medium: 55 FPS average, 47 FPS minimum, 63 FPS maximum
• High: 49 FPS average
• Ultra: 43 FPS average

At 1440p, performance drops below 60 FPS for most settings. Low remains playable at 78 FPS, while Medium dips to 55 FPS with a 47 FPS minimum that may cause occasional stutter. High and Ultra fall further to 49 and 43 FPS respectively.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 52 FPS average
• Medium: 37 FPS average, 32 FPS minimum, 43 FPS maximum
• High: 33 FPS average
• Ultra: 29 FPS average

At 4K, the system struggles to maintain smooth frame rates. Even Low settings only reach 52 FPS, and every other preset falls below 40 FPS. The Medium preset's 32 FPS minimum indicates significant frame drops during demanding scenes, while Ultra's 29 FPS average is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay.

The data shows a clear pattern: 1080p is the only resolution where all settings remain playable, 1440p offers a playable experience only at Low or Medium settings, and 4K is marginal even at the lowest settings. The RTX 5050's performance characteristics, combined with Control's rendering demands, make this a system best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming with medium quality presets.