Control

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for this AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination in Control shows a clear progression of performance as resolution and settings change. At 1920x1080, the game runs comfortably across most presets. Low settings produce an average of 107 FPS, while Medium delivers 76 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS. High settings drop the average to 68 FPS, and Ultra sits at 59 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates step down noticeably. Low settings still manage an average of 81 FPS, which is a strong result for this resolution. Medium averages 58 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 66 FPS. High settings fall to 51 FPS, and Ultra drops further to 45 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at this resolution is 23 FPS, indicating that the preset scaling has a substantial impact on the GPU workload.

At 3840x2160, the combination struggles to maintain playable frame rates in most configurations. Low settings average 55 FPS, which is close to the playable threshold but still under it. Medium averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS. High settings produce 35 FPS, and Ultra drops to 30 FPS. The data shows that 4K resolution is largely beyond what this hardware can handle in Control, at least with the settings tested.

The minimum and maximum values were only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the spread from minimum to maximum is 23 FPS, suggesting some variability in demanding scenes. At 1440p Medium, the spread is 17 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 12 FPS. The narrower range at higher resolutions may indicate that the GPU is more consistently saturated, leaving less room for frame time fluctuations.

Best Settings per Resolution

The verdict data provides clear guidance on which settings keep the game at or above 60 FPS. At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays playable is High, with an average of 68 FPS. This is a meaningful result because it means the user does not have to sacrifice much visual quality to get a smooth experience at 1080p. Medium also clears the threshold at 76 FPS, and Low exceeds it at 107 FPS, but High is the best balance of quality and performance according to the data.

At 2560x1440, the only preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 81 FPS. Medium falls short at 58 FPS, which is close but technically below the playable threshold. This means that at 1440p, the user must accept the lowest settings to maintain smooth gameplay. The jump from Low to Medium costs 23 FPS, and the game cannot afford that loss if the goal is 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. Low comes closest with an average of 55 FPS, but it still falls short of the playable threshold. Medium averages 39 FPS, High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. The verdict data lists no playable settings for 4K, confirming that this combination cannot deliver a 60 FPS experience at that resolution in Control.

The pattern is consistent: each resolution step down allows for a higher quality preset to hit the target. At 1080p, High is the ceiling. At 1440p, Low is the ceiling. At 4K, there is no ceiling, the hardware simply runs out of headroom.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets in the measured data reveals how the CPU and GPU share the workload in Control. The CPU, an AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Zen 5 architecture with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark results are strong, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17528.5 and a single-core score of 2183.5. The GPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, is a Turing architecture card with 1920 shading units, 6 GB of GDDR6 memory, and a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU is likely playing a more significant role relative to the GPU. The difference between Low (107 FPS) and Ultra (59 FPS) is 48 FPS, which shows that the GPU is still the primary limiter as settings increase. However, at lower settings, the CPU's single-thread performance becomes more relevant, as the game has fewer GPU-bound tasks to hide behind.

At 2560x1440, the GPU workload increases, and the frame rates drop accordingly. The gap between Low (81 FPS) and Medium (58 FPS) is 23 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is only 7 FPS. This nonlinear scaling suggests that certain settings at Medium introduce a significant GPU cost, but the CPU is not the bottleneck at this resolution. The RTX 2060's 6 GB memory capacity may also be a factor at higher settings, as texture memory demands can exceed the available VRAM.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint. The frame rates range from 30 FPS at Ultra to 55 FPS at Low, and none reach the playable threshold. The CPU's performance is largely irrelevant at this point, as the RTX 2060 cannot push enough pixels to keep up with the game's demands. The 4K results align with the GPU's percentile ranking of 58, which places it below many modern graphics cards.

The data indicates that this game is GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the CPU's strong single-thread and multi-thread scores ensure it is not the limiting factor in any tested configuration. The Ryzen 5 9600X has a passmark single-thread score of 4570 and a passmark multithread score of 30027, both of which are well above what Control requires. The RTX 2060, with a passmark G3D score of 14111, is the component that determines whether the game stays above 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: Yes. The recorded average FPS at 1080p High is 68, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 2560x1440?

A: Low is the only playable preset at 1440p, with an average of 81 FPS. Medium falls below the threshold at 58 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this hardware?

A: No. The highest average at 3840x2160 is 55 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS requirement. No 4K preset is listed as playable.

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

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 is nearly identical with a delta of 0%, and the AMD Radeon 680M is 0.1% faster. The RTX 3050 OEM is 0.6% faster, and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is 0.8% faster.

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

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 29713. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE is 0.2% slower, while the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H is 0.5% faster, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is 0.6% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS is 0.8% faster.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p Ultra?

A: The average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 59, which is just below the 60 FPS playable threshold. It is not listed as a playable setting.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide useful context for what other hardware might deliver similar results in Control. The Ryzen 5 9600X sits at the 81st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29713. Its closest competitor is the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, which scores 29656, a delta of 0.2% slower. The AMD Ryzen 7 7840H scores 29868, which is 0.5% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT scores 29879, 0.6% faster. The AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS is the fastest rival listed, scoring 29955, 0.8% faster than the 9600X. These differences are small enough that in a game like Control, the frame rates would be nearly indistinguishable.

On the GPU side, the RTX 2060 sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15290. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 has a score of 15283, a delta of 0%, meaning the two are effectively tied in synthetic benchmarks. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, 0.1% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, 0.6% slower. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is the fastest rival listed, scoring 15171, 0.8% slower than the RTX 2060. In real-world gaming, these GPUs would likely produce similar frame rates in Control, though the RTX 2060's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and ray tracing could provide advantages in other titles.

For someone considering a similar build, the data suggests that any of these CPUs paired with any of these GPUs would land in the same performance ballpark. The deltas are all under 1%, so the choice between them would come down to platform features, power consumption, or availability rather than raw gaming performance in Control.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is clear. At 1920x1080, this PC can run Control with playable settings at High, Low, and Medium. High is the best playable preset, delivering an average of 68 FPS. Ultra is not playable, as it averages 59 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, only Low is playable, with an average of 81 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, no settings are playable, and the best average is 55 FPS on Low.

The practical takeaway is that this system is well-suited for 1080p gaming in Control, with room to spare on most presets. It can also handle 1440p, but only with the lowest settings, which may not be acceptable to players who prioritize visual fidelity. 4K is not viable without reducing resolution or accepting frame rates well below the playable threshold.

The RTX 2060 is the limiting factor in this setup, especially at higher resolutions. The CPU has ample headroom, as evidenced by its high benchmark scores and the fact that frame rates scale primarily with resolution and settings rather than CPU load. Users who want better 1440p or 4K performance would need a more powerful GPU, but for 1080p, this combination is sufficient.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's list of tested combinations for Control, this CPU and GPU pairing ranks 2950 out of 3720 combinations. This places it in the lower portion of the rankings, which is consistent with the GPU's 58th percentile standing and the CPU's 81st percentile standing. The combination outperforms roughly 20% of tested configurations, though the exact distribution is not specified in the data.

The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's capabilities. The Ryzen 5 9600X is a strong processor with an average benchmark score of 29713 and a percentile rank of 81, meaning it outperforms most CPUs in the database. The RTX 2060, however, has an average benchmark score of 15290 and a percentile rank of 58, placing it just above the median. In a game like Control, which is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, the GPU drags the overall ranking down.

The rank of 2950 out of 3720 suggests that most other tested combinations deliver better performance in this game. This is not surprising given the age of the RTX 2060, which was released in early 2019 and is now marked as end-of-life. The CPU, by contrast, is a current-generation part with a release date in late 2024. The mismatch between the two components is reflected in the ranking, which measures the combined result rather than either part individually.

For players with this specific hardware, the ranking confirms that the system is best used at 1080p or 1440p with reduced settings. The data does not indicate that the combination is a poor choice for Control, only that it sits below the majority of tested configurations. The playable results at 1080p High and 1440p Low demonstrate that the hardware can still deliver a satisfactory experience, even if it is not at the top of the rankings.