Control

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination delivers an average of 68 FPS on High settings, with the Medium preset averaging 81 FPS and a recorded minimum of 69 FPS alongside a maximum of 93 FPS. Dropping to Low settings pushes the average to 108 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, falls below the playable threshold with an average of 49 FPS.

Stepping down to 2560x1440, the same setup shows significantly stronger performance. The Low preset averages 144 FPS, while Medium delivers 123 FPS with a minimum of 104 FPS and a maximum of 141 FPS. High settings average 102 FPS, and even the most demanding Ultra preset stays comfortably above 60 FPS with an average of 74 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the pair produces its highest frame rates. Low settings average 158 FPS, Medium averages 142 FPS with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 164 FPS, and High averages 134 FPS. The Ultra preset still clears the 60 FPS bar decisively, averaging 99 FPS.

The data reveals a clear pattern: resolution scaling is steep, but the RTX 5090's raw throughput keeps every tested preset at 1080p and 1440p above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Only at 4K with Ultra settings does the combination dip below that mark.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Ryzen 7 3700X sits at the 84th percentile among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 34,260. The nearest rivals in the database are tightly clustered. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 scores 34,222, a negligible 0.1% difference. The AMD EPYC 4244P matches that with 34,220, also 0.1% behind. The Intel Core i5-13450HX leads the group slightly at 34,333, which is 0.2% ahead of the 3700X. The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H trails at 34,083, 0.5% behind. In practice, any of these processors would produce near-identical frame pacing in Control, as the game's CPU load is modest relative to the GPU's massive headroom.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5090 ranks in the 92nd percentile of all tested graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 79,842. Its nearest rivals are unexpected: the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605, just 0.3% lower. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB follows at 79,396, 0.6% behind. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78,940, 1.1% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X is the only rival ahead, scoring 80,959, which is 1.4% higher. These are not gaming cards in most cases, but the benchmark data shows that their compute-class performance translates into similar aggregate scores. For Control specifically, frame rates would be nearly indistinguishable among this group, though the RTX 5090's dedicated ray tracing hardware and modern driver optimizations are not captured in these aggregate scores.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 68 FPS. Medium also qualifies at 81 FPS, and Low runs at 108 FPS, but High is the highest visual quality tier that maintains playability.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 74 FPS, making it the best choice for maximum visual fidelity while remaining above the 60 FPS threshold. All lower presets also clear the bar, but Ultra is the recommended ceiling.

At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 99 FPS, so there is no reason to compromise on settings. The full Ultra preset is the best option, delivering well over 60 FPS with substantial headroom for demanding scenes.

The recorded data indicates that the RTX 5090 provides enough performance to run Control at its highest settings at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K requires dropping to High to stay playable.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control, and it runs it very well. At 1920x1080, all four tested presets clear 60 FPS, with Ultra averaging 99 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same holds true: Ultra averages 74 FPS, and every lower preset remains playable. At 3840x2160, the situation changes slightly. The High preset averages 68 FPS, Medium averages 81 FPS, and Low averages 108 FPS, all of which are playable. Only Ultra falls short, averaging 49 FPS.

The verdict by resolution is unambiguous. For 1080p and 1440p gaming, the Ultra preset is fully playable, and the combination of the Ryzen 7 3700X and RTX 5090 leaves considerable performance in reserve. For 4K, High settings are the practical ceiling, with Medium offering a safer margin for frame dips. The gap between High at 68 FPS and Ultra at 49 FPS is a steep 28% drop, which suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects are disproportionately expensive at 4K. Players targeting a locked 60 FPS at 4K should choose High, as the recorded average of 68 FPS provides a small buffer above the threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling data across resolutions reveals which component dominates in Control. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are extremely high, with Low averaging 158 FPS and Ultra averaging 99 FPS. The CPU's role becomes more visible at this resolution, as the RTX 5090 is capable of far more than 158 FPS in lighter scenes, but the Ryzen 7 3700X's single-thread performance appears to be a limiting factor. The 3700X has a PassMark single-thread score of 2,656 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1,593, which are solid but not exceptional figures. The CPU percentile of 84 confirms it is a capable processor, yet at 1080p the GPU is often waiting on the CPU to issue draw calls.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU load increases, and frame rates drop accordingly. Low averages 144 FPS, down from 158 FPS at 1080p, while Ultra averages 74 FPS, down from 99 FPS. The GPU is now the primary bottleneck, as the resolution increase directly reduces the RTX 5090's output. The CPU's influence fades relative to the GPU's pixel throughput demands.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmingly dominant. Low averages 108 FPS, a 32% drop from the 1440p Low result, and Ultra averages 49 FPS, a 34% drop from 1440p Ultra. The RTX 5090's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth are being fully exercised, while the CPU's workload remains relatively constant. The 3700X's multi-thread score of 22,458 in PassMark and Cinebench R15 multi-core score of 2,092 are sufficient to feed the GPU at 4K, where the pixel pipeline dominates.

The pattern is clear: at 1080p, the Ryzen 7 3700X is a meaningful partner, and its performance ceiling shows in the relatively modest gap between Low and Ultra. At 1440p and especially 4K, the RTX 5090 becomes the sole limiting factor. The 3700X's 8 cores and 16 threads are never a liability, as Control's action-adventure gameplay does not appear to scale heavily with multi-threaded CPU performance. The recorded data shows a smooth progression of frame rates as resolution increases, which indicates that the CPU is not causing sudden stutters or bottlenecks.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 3700X and RTX 5090 ranks 834th out of 3,720 tested combinations in the database for Control. This places it in the top 22.4% of all recorded systems. The rank reflects the CPU's position at the 84th percentile and the GPU's position at the 92nd percentile, with the GPU contributing more to the overall ranking due to Control's graphics-intensive nature.

The high rank is driven almost entirely by the RTX 5090, which is one of the most powerful GPUs in the database. The Ryzen 7 3700X, while competent, is not a top-tier processor by the database's metrics. Its average benchmark score of 34,260 places it near the middle of the CPU distribution, though its 84th percentile ranking indicates it beats most CPUs in aggregate performance. The combination works because Control does not demand an exceptionally fast CPU at 1080p and above, and the RTX 5090 provides enough raw power to overcome the 3700X's moderate single-thread speed.

Compared to other combos in the database, this system is well above the median, and the frame rate data confirms it. At 1440p Ultra, it averages 74 FPS, which is a demanding setting for most systems. At 4K High, it averages 68 FPS, a result that many combinations cannot reach. The rank of 834 out of 3,720 is a strong outcome, and the only weakness is the 4K Ultra preset, which drops to 49 FPS. That single data point prevents a higher ranking, as many top-tier combos would clear 60 FPS at 4K Ultra in this game.

The database shows that this pairing is a high-performance match for Control, with the GPU doing the heavy lifting and the CPU providing adequate support. Players with this system should prioritize GPU-bound settings at high resolutions, and they will enjoy smooth gameplay across most of the settings spectrum.