Control

Control is an action-adventure title that stresses both the CPU and GPU, but in this configuration, the recorded data shows a system that is heavily limited by the graphics component. The benchmark results place this AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and Intel Arc B390 combination at rank 3311 out of 3720 tested combos, which places it in the lower percentile of all recorded systems. The database measurements indicate that this PC can only reliably hit the 60 FPS playable threshold at 1080p with the lowest settings, and it falls short at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded FPS data for Control on this system is presented across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the most promising results appear. With Low settings, the average FPS is 65, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium settings drop the average to 46 FPS, with a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 53. High settings produce an average of 41 FPS, and Ultra settings average 36 FPS. This resolution is the only one where any preset reaches the playable mark, and it does so solely at the Low preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades noticeably. Low settings average 50 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40. High settings average 31 FPS, and Ultra settings average 27 FPS. None of these presets at 1440p achieve the playable threshold; the best result is the Low preset at 50 FPS, which is 10 FPS short.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles further. Low settings average 33 FPS, Medium averages 24 FPS with a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 27, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. The 4K results are uniformly below 35 FPS, making this resolution unsuitable for smooth gameplay on this hardware.

The scaling across resolutions is consistent: each step down in resolution yields a substantial improvement. From 4K to 1440p, the Low preset improves from 33 to 50 FPS, a gain of 17 FPS. From 1440p to 1080p, the same preset improves from 50 to 65 FPS, another 15 FPS gain. The data shows that this system benefits significantly from reduced pixel counts, but even at 1080p, only the lowest quality setting crosses the playable line.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU benchmarks place the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X at the 81st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29713. The nearest rivals in the database are closely matched. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE scores 29656, a delta of 0.2 percent. The AMD Ryzen 7 7840H scores 29868, a delta of -0.5 percent. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT scores 29879, a delta of -0.6 percent. The AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS scores 29955, a delta of -0.8 percent. These four processors all sit within one percent of the 9600X, meaning any of them would produce nearly identical CPU-bound behavior in Control.

The GPU, however, is a different story. The Intel Arc B390 ranks at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482. Its nearest rivals are all significantly older NVIDIA parts. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, a delta of 1.3 percent. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, a delta of 1.5 percent. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, a delta of 2.5 percent. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, a delta of 2.7 percent. These GPUs are all within 3 percent of the Arc B390, which indicates that the B390 performs in the same tier as these legacy mobile and entry-level desktop parts. For Control, any of these GPUs paired with a similar CPU would produce comparable FPS numbers, meaning the playable settings would remain limited to 1080p Low.

The CPU is far stronger than the GPU in this pairing. The 9600X sits at the 81st percentile, while the B390 sits at the 9th percentile. That imbalance means the GPU is the clear bottleneck in Control, and swapping the CPU for one of its near-equal rivals would change nothing in the measured results. Swapping the GPU for one of its near-equal rivals would also change little, since the delta between them is under 3 percent.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals that the GPU dominates the performance picture in Control for this system. The measured FPS scales dramatically with resolution changes, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound workloads. At 1080p Low, the system hits 65 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 50 FPS. At 4K Low, it falls to 33 FPS. This proportional decline tracks directly with pixel count, and the CPU's strong benchmark scores suggest it is not the limiting factor at any resolution.

The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, scores 17528.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2183.5 in single-core. These are robust numbers, placing it at the 81st percentile. The GPU, in contrast, has a peak FP32 throughput of 7.680 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s, but its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 is very low. The GPU's percentile rank of 9 versus the CPU's rank of 81 shows the disparity clearly.

The settings scaling also points to GPU limitation. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium drops the average from 65 to 46 FPS, a 19 FPS penalty. From Medium to High, the drop is 5 FPS, and from High to Ultra, another 5 FPS. The largest gap is between Low and Medium, which suggests that the Low preset removes significant shading and post-processing loads that the GPU cannot handle. The same pattern appears at 1440p and 4K, where the Low preset is always the highest performer and the gap between Low and Medium is consistently the largest.

At higher resolutions, the GPU load increases, and the CPU's role diminishes further. The fact that the 4K results are all below 35 FPS, even at Low, confirms that the GPU is saturated. The CPU is never the constraint; a weaker CPU would likely produce identical FPS at 4K, while a stronger GPU would improve all resolutions. For players, this means the system's performance in Control is entirely dependent on the Arc B390, not the Ryzen 5 9600X.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 60 FPS?

A: The database shows that the system only reaches 60 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where it averages 65 FPS. At 1440p and 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS; the best results are 50 FPS at 1440p Low and 33 FPS at 4K Low.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system?

A: The recorded data indicates that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the playable threshold is met. The 1080p Low preset averages 65 FPS, while all other resolution and preset combinations fall below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to the GPU in this system?

A: The CPU is far stronger. The Ryzen 5 9600X ranks at the 81st percentile among CPUs, while the Intel Arc B390 ranks at the 9th percentile among GPUs. The GPU is the bottleneck in Control, as shown by the large FPS drops when resolution increases.

Q: What settings should I use at 1440p?

A: The data shows no playable settings at 2560x1440. The best average is 50 FPS at Low, which is 10 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra all average below 36 FPS.

Q: Is this system better than a system with a similar GPU but weaker CPU?

A: The nearest GPU rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, score within 2.7 percent of the Arc B390. Swapping the GPU for one of these would produce nearly identical FPS in Control. The CPU's strength does not help because the GPU limits performance.

Q: What is the lowest FPS recorded at 1080p Medium?

A: The measured minimum at 1080p Medium is 40 FPS, with a maximum of 53 FPS and an average of 46 FPS. This preset is below the playable threshold despite the average being reasonably close.

The Verdict

This PC cannot run Control at a consistent 60 FPS except in a narrow configuration. The verdict data lists only one playable setting set: 1920x1080 with Low settings, which averages 65 FPS. At 2560x1440, the playable settings list is empty, meaning no preset clears the 60 FPS bar. The best 1440p result is 50 FPS at Low, which is 10 FPS short. At 3840x2160, the situation is worse, with the best average at 33 FPS on Low.

The system's rank of 3311 out of 3720 combos places it in the lower portion of the database, and the GPU's 9th percentile ranking is the primary cause. The CPU is not the issue; the Ryzen 5 9600X is a strong processor. The Arc B390, however, is comparable to GPUs from over a decade ago, such as the GeForce GT 710. For Control, this means the experience is limited to 1080p with the lowest graphical settings to achieve smooth gameplay. At higher resolutions, the frame rates drop below 60 FPS, and at 4K, they fall below 35 FPS, making the game unplayable by the 60 FPS standard.

Players with this system should target 1080p Low for a playable experience. Attempting 1440p or 4K will result in sub-60 FPS performance, with the frame rate dropping as low as 18 FPS at 4K Ultra. The data is clear: this PC is only viable for Control at 1080p with the lowest preset.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 65 FPS. This is the only playable option in the entire dataset. Medium averages 46 FPS, High averages 41 FPS, and Ultra averages 36 FPS, all below the threshold.

At 2560x1440, there is no preset that reaches 60 FPS. The best result is Low at 50 FPS, which is below the playable bar. Medium averages 35 FPS, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 27 FPS. None of these are recommended for smooth play.

At 3840x2160, no preset is playable. Low averages 33 FPS, Medium averages 24 FPS, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. The minimum recorded FPS at 4K Medium is 20, and the maximum is 27, confirming that the GPU cannot handle this resolution in Control.

The data supports a single conclusion: for this system, Control is only playable at 1080p Low. Any increase in resolution or quality preset will push the frame rate below 60 FPS, and at 4K, the game becomes a slideshow. The GPU is the limiting factor, and the CPU's high benchmark scores do not compensate for the Arc B390's low performance in this title.