Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers a decisively overpowered experience in Control, clearing the 60 FPS threshold at every resolution and preset combination measured. At 1080p, even the most demanding Ultra preset produces an average of 163 FPS, while the lowest settings reach 276 FPS. This is a system built to obliterate this title’s frame rate ceilings, with the only meaningful question being how much headroom the user wants for future titles or higher refresh rate displays.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo in Control shows a linear and predictable scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. At 3840x2160 (4K), the average frame rates range from 83 FPS at Ultra to 152 FPS at Low. The Medium preset at this resolution delivers an average of 108 FPS, with a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 124 FPS. High settings at 4K produce 96 FPS on average. Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 69 FPS, indicating that the RTX 5090 D has substantial compute reserves even at the highest pixel count.

Stepping down to 2560x1440 (1440p), the averages jump significantly. Low settings reach 225 FPS, while Medium averages 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 184 FPS. High settings at this resolution hit 142 FPS, and Ultra still manages a robust 124 FPS average. The scaling from 4K to 1440p shows a consistent 46-48% improvement in average FPS across comparable settings, which is slightly less than the pixel count reduction would suggest, pointing to other bottlenecks emerging at lower resolutions.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the system truly flexes. Low settings produce an extraordinary 276 FPS average. Medium settings deliver 211 FPS with a tight 180-243 FPS range. High settings average 188 FPS, and Ultra remains well above refresh rate territory at 163 FPS. The delta between 1440p and 1080p is smaller than between 4K and 1440p, particularly at higher presets — for instance, Ultra only improves from 124 FPS to 163 FPS when moving from 1440p to 1080p, a 31% gain. This compression indicates the CPU’s single-thread performance, which scores 1060 in the 3dmark single-thread test, begins to matter more as resolution drops.

The only settings with recorded min/max data are the Medium presets across all three resolutions. At 4K, the 92 FPS minimum stays well above the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 1440p, the 136 FPS minimum is nearly double the threshold, and at 1080p, the 180 FPS minimum leaves enormous headroom. For all other presets, only average FPS is reported, but the pattern from Medium suggests frame pacing is consistent and never approaches problematic lows.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a classic resolution-dependent shift in component influence. At 4K, the GPU is the dominant factor. The RTX 5090 D, with its 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth, is clearly the limiting factor when pushing 8.3 million pixels. The 69 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 4K demonstrates that the GPU’s workload scales heavily with visual complexity, while the CPU has enough headroom to feed the graphics card without constraining it.

At 1440p, the balance begins to shift. The improvement from 4K to 1440p is substantial but not proportional to the 44% pixel reduction. This suggests the Ryzen 5 7600X, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, starts to assert its presence. The CPU’s 3dmark 8-thread score of 5715 and max-thread score of 6845 indicate moderate multi-threaded capability, but its single-thread score of 1060 is the star. Still, the GPU remains the primary constraint at 1440p, as evidenced by the 101 FPS difference between Low and Ultra presets.

At 1080p, the CPU role becomes more pronounced. The scaling from 1440p to 1080p at Ultra settings yields only a 31% FPS increase, despite a 44% pixel reduction. This gap indicates that the Ryzen 5 7600X’s single-thread performance is becoming a bottleneck at high frame rates. The CPU’s boost clock of 5.30 GHz helps, but the 276 FPS ceiling at Low settings appears to be near the processor’s practical limit for this game engine. The GPU’s enormous compute resources — 21,760 shading units and 680 TMUs — are simply waiting for the CPU to feed them at 1080p.

The presets themselves also tell a story about component roles. At every resolution, the jump from Low to Medium is substantial, but the jump from High to Ultra is smaller. For example, at 4K, Low to Medium is a 44 FPS improvement, while High to Ultra is only 13 FPS. This pattern suggests that Ultra settings introduce diminishing returns in visual quality relative to GPU load, making High a more efficient choice if frame rate is the priority. However, since even Ultra at 4K clears 83 FPS, the user can comfortably choose any preset without concern.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X in terms of average benchmark score are closely matched. The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and Intel Core i5-12600K both score 27578, a mere 0.2% below the 7600X’s 27636 average. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712, which is 0.3% higher, while the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 scores 27535, 0.4% lower. All four alternatives would behave nearly identically to the 7600X in Control, meaning the CPU is unlikely to be the differentiating factor in frame rates when paired with this GPU.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D’s nearest rivals are a mix of mobile and datacenter parts. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT has an average score of 76904, which is 1.1% lower than the 5090 D’s 77712. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940, 1.6% higher, while the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB and 16 GB variants score 79396 and 79605 respectively, representing 2.1% and 2.4% higher scores. These deltas are all within a narrow band, suggesting that any of these GPUs would produce frame rates within a few percent of the RTX 5090 D in Control. However, the Tesla P100 parts lack the gaming-oriented features of the GeForce lineup, so the practical gaming experience may differ despite similar compute benchmarks.

The combination of these rival components would yield a system with nearly identical performance characteristics. Swapping the 7600X for an i5-12600K or Ryzen 7 5700X would not meaningfully change the measured FPS, as the CPU is not the primary constraint at 4K and only mildly influential at 1080p. Similarly, using an RX 6850M XT instead of the RTX 5090 D would produce results within 2% of the measured data, assuming driver and feature parity. This suggests that the overall verdict for this combo is robust to minor hardware variations.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Control at playable frame rates across every measured configuration. The verdict data confirms that all four settings presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable at 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080, with the playable threshold set at 60 FPS. At 4K, the best settings are Ultra, which delivers an average of 83 FPS. This means users can enjoy the game at maximum visual fidelity on a 4K display with a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1440p, the best settings are also Ultra, with an average of 124 FPS. This is ideal for high refresh rate monitors, as the frame rate nearly doubles the playable threshold. Even the minimum recorded FPS at Medium settings, 136 FPS, exceeds the threshold by more than double. At 1080p, Ultra settings average 163 FPS, which is suitable for 144 Hz or even 165 Hz displays, though the 276 FPS average at Low settings indicates the system can push much higher if desired.

The data shows no configuration where this combo fails to meet the 60 FPS threshold. The lowest measured average is 83 FPS at 4K Ultra, and the lowest recorded minimum is 92 FPS at 4K Medium. This leaves a buffer of at least 23 FPS above the playable threshold in the worst case. For users with 120 Hz or 144 Hz displays, the 1440p and 1080p Ultra presets are the sweet spot, offering high visual quality while still exceeding refresh rate capabilities. At 4K, users with 120 Hz displays may prefer High settings at 96 FPS to get closer to their display’s limit, though Ultra’s 83 FPS still provides a smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos for Control, this specific pairing of AMD Ryzen 5 7600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 29th out of 3,720 tested combinations. This places it in the top 0.8% of all tested systems, which is consistent with the raw performance data showing triple-digit frame rates at every resolution. The rank reflects the GPU’s dominant role in this game, as the RTX 5090 D’s 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs carries more weight than the CPU’s 79th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

The rank of 29 out of 3,720 also indicates that there are 28 tested combos that outperform this setup in Control. Given the GPU’s position in the top 8% of all GPUs, those higher-ranked combos likely feature even more powerful GPUs or CPUs with higher single-thread performance. However, the practical difference between rank 29 and rank 1 is likely minimal at 1080p, where the CPU becomes a limiting factor, but more substantial at 4K, where GPU compute dominates. The 69 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 4K shows that the GPU has headroom, but the 83 FPS at Ultra still leaves room for more powerful hardware to push higher.

For context, the CPU’s nearest rivals all fall within 0.4% of its average score, meaning a system with a Ryzen 7 5700X or i5-12600K would likely rank similarly, perhaps shifting a few positions depending on the exact GPU pairing. The GPU’s nearest rivals, which are within 2.4% in score, would also produce comparable ranks. This suggests that the rank 29 position is representative of a broad class of high-end systems rather than a unique sweet spot.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Control at 4K with maximum settings?*

A: Yes. The data shows Ultra settings at 3840x2160 produce an average of 83 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the best settings option for 4K according to the verdict data.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the average FPS is 142. This is more than double the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for high refresh rate displays.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the CPU becomes more influential. The frame rate scaling from 1440p to 1080p is smaller than expected from pixel count alone, indicating the Ryzen 5 7600X’s single-thread performance is a limiting factor at high frame rates.

Q: How does this combo compare to using a Ryzen 7 5700X instead?

A: The Ryzen 7 5700X has an average benchmark score of 27578, which is 0.2% lower than the 7600X’s 27636. This negligible difference would result in nearly identical frame rates in Control.

Q: What is the lowest recorded frame rate for this system?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 92 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is still well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Does the system maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, the average FPS at 4K Ultra is 83, which is 23 FPS above the playable threshold. The data shows no min/max values for Ultra settings, but the average provides a comfortable margin.