Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 is a combination that targets 1080p gaming, but the data for Control shows a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card. The recorded measurements reveal a clear performance ceiling, with the GPU struggling to maintain high frame rates as resolution and settings scale up. The Ryzen 5 8400F provides a strong foundation, but the RX 580, an older Polaris architecture part, limits the overall experience in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Control with this combination shows a wide variance across resolutions and presets. At 3840x2160, the system cannot deliver playable performance under any setting. The Low preset averages 35.1 FPS, which is the best result at this resolution. Medium drops to 21.7 FPS, High falls to 22.6 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 19.9 FPS. None of these figures approach the 60 FPS playable threshold, and the gap between Low and Ultra is a 15.2 FPS spread, indicating that even reducing settings does not unlock a smooth experience at 4K.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation improves slightly but remains below playable standards. The Low preset delivers an average of 46.4 FPS, which is the only setting here that comes close to being usable. Medium reaches 35.8 FPS, High drops to 27.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 24.3 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium is a 10.6 FPS drop, while High and Ultra represent diminishing returns as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The data shows that 1440p requires significant setting reductions just to approach 60 FPS, and even then, the average falls short by 13.6 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the combination finally finds a playable configuration. The Low preset produces an average of 61.1 FPS, barely clearing the 60 FPS threshold. Medium drops to 43.8 FPS, High to 41.1 FPS, and Ultra to 38.0 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 17.3 FPS, which is a substantial penalty for moving up one preset level. High and Ultra are nearly identical in performance, with only a 3.1 FPS difference between them, suggesting that the GPU is saturated and further visual upgrades cost more than they deliver. The max and min FPS values are not recorded in the database, so the analysis relies on average frame rates, which consistently show a GPU-bound system.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F in the database are closely matched in average benchmark score. The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F scores 24964, a 0.2% delta from the 8400F's 25005 average. The Intel Core i7-11850H scores 24935, a 0.3% delta, and the Intel Core i7-13620H scores 24911, a 0.4% delta. On the other side, the AMD EPYC 9474F scores 25103, a -0.4% delta, meaning it edges out the 8400F by a small margin. In practical terms for Control, any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame pacing, as the game's performance is dictated by the GPU rather than the processor in this configuration.

For the AMD Radeon RX 580, the nearest rivals show similar average scores. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 12940, a -0.1% delta from the RX 580's 12928 average. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER scores 12986, a -0.4% delta, placing it slightly ahead. The AMD Radeon 740M scores 12870, a 0.5% delta, and the AMD FirePro W5100 scores 12847, a 0.6% delta. The data indicates that swapping the RX 580 for a GTX 1660 SUPER would produce nearly identical FPS in Control, with less than a half percent difference in overall GPU benchmark performance. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, despite being a newer architecture, is statistically indistinguishable from the RX 580 in this metric, so users should expect similar behavior in demanding titles like Control.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 8400F and RX 580 ranks 3389 out of 3720 tested combos in the database for Control. This places it in the lower percentile of tested systems, reflecting the RX 580's age and performance class. The rank is not a reflection of the CPU, which sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs in the database, but rather the GPU, which rests at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs. The 331-position gap between the combo's rank and the total number of combos indicates that most other tested hardware pairs outperform this one in Control. The data shows that the RX 580 is the limiting factor, as the CPU has ample headroom for higher frame rates if paired with a more capable graphics card.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 1080p with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only on the Low preset. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings is 61.1, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below that threshold, with averages of 43.8, 41.1, and 38.0 respectively.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: There is no playable setting at 2560x1440. The best average FPS is 46.4 on Low, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra produce 35.8, 27.9, and 24.3 FPS respectively, all of which are unplayable.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 8400F ranks at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, while the RX 580 ranks at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs. The measured frame rates scale significantly with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 12928. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER scores 12986, a -0.4% delta, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 12940, a -0.1% delta. These are statistically comparable performance levels.

Q: What is the playable threshold for this game, and does the system meet it?

A: The playable threshold is 60 FPS. The system only meets this at 1920x1080 with Low settings, averaging 61.1 FPS. All other settings and resolutions fall below the threshold.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 8400F compare to the Ryzen 5 7500F?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25005, while the Ryzen 5 7500F scores 24964. This is a 0.2% delta, meaning the two CPUs perform nearly identically in the database's measurements.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Ryzen 5 8400F and the RX 580 in Control is clearly weighted toward the GPU. The CPU's benchmark data shows a strong processor: it scores 20851 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2943 in single core, with a Passmark multithread score of 24389. These figures place it at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, indicating it is more than capable of feeding frames to a faster graphics card. However, the RX 580's performance metrics tell a different story. Its Passmark G3D score is 8813, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1005, both of which are modest figures for a modern game like Control.

The scaling between resolutions confirms the GPU bottleneck. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 61.1 FPS, but dropping to 2560x1440 Low reduces that to 46.4 FPS, a 24.1% decrease. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 35.1 FPS, another 24.4% decrease from 1440p. This consistent drop with resolution is a classic sign of a pixel-bound GPU. The CPU's performance is nearly constant across these scenarios, as the workload shifts entirely to the rasterizer and memory subsystem of the RX 580. The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings, but even at 1080p Low, the GPU is still the limiting factor, as evidenced by the substantial frame rate drop when moving to Medium.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the only playable configuration is the Low preset, which delivers an average of 61.1 FPS. This is the most demanding setting that stays at or above the 60 FPS threshold, and it is the only one that does so. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall short, with averages of 43.8, 41.1, and 38.0 respectively. Users seeking smooth gameplay at 1080p must accept Low settings with this hardware combination.

At 2560x1440, there is no playable setting. The best average FPS is 46.4 on Low, which is 13.6 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold. The database records no playable settings for this resolution, and the same applies to 3840x2160, where the best average is 35.1 FPS on Low. The verdict data confirms that this system is limited to 1080p Low for Control, and any higher resolution or preset will result in frame rates below the playable threshold.