Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a playable experience in Control across all tested resolutions, though the settings ceiling varies significantly. At 1080p, the combination clears the 60 FPS threshold at every preset, while 1440p requires dropping to Medium or below, and 4K is only viable at Low settings. The data indicates a system that is well-balanced for 1080p gaming but becomes progressively GPU-limited at higher resolutions, with the RTX 5050’s 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus acting as the primary constraint.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combination show a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the system produces an average of 124 FPS at Low settings, which drops to 88 FPS at Medium, 78 FPS at High, and 68 FPS at Ultra. The only preset with min/max data at this resolution is Medium, which records a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS, indicating that even the lower bound stays well above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages step down noticeably. Low settings yield 94 FPS, Medium delivers 67 FPS, High falls to 59 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 52 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution has the only complete min/max dataset, showing 57 FPS minimum and 77 FPS maximum. This means that while the average for Medium is above 60 FPS, the minimum can dip below it, suggesting occasional stutter during intense scenes.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low settings produce an average of 63 FPS, which is the only preset at this resolution to clear the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS and maximum of 52 FPS, High averages 40 FPS, and Ultra averages 35 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is substantial — an 18 FPS drop — indicating that the rendering load at this resolution quickly overwhelms the GPU’s capabilities.

The scaling between resolutions is steep. From 1080p Low to 4K Low, the average FPS drops from 124 to 63, a reduction of roughly half. The same comparison at High settings shows a drop from 78 to 40 FPS, which is a 49% decrease. This suggests that the RTX 5050’s memory bandwidth and shader throughput become the limiting factors as pixel count rises, with the CPU’s 8-core/16-thread configuration having ample headroom even at lower resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains an average at or above 60 FPS is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves an average of 68 FPS, making it the optimal choice for maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing playability. This is a comfortable margin above the threshold, and the data shows that even this demanding setting leaves room for stable performance.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the highest playable option, averaging 67 FPS. While this clears the threshold, the minimum recorded FPS of 57 suggests that the experience is not uniformly smooth; players may notice brief dips during combat or particle-heavy sequences. The High preset at 59 FPS average falls just short of the playability line, so it is not recommended for consistent performance.

For 3840x2160, only the Low preset remains viable, with an average of 63 FPS. This is a marginal pass, and the lack of min/max data for this preset means there is no confirmation of how low frame times might dip. The jump from Low to Medium at this resolution costs 18 FPS on average, which is a severe penalty for modest visual gains, reinforcing that 4K is only playable with reduced settings.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X sits within a tight performance band. The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is 0.1% faster in average benchmark score, while the Intel Xeon Phi 7210 is 0.4% slower and the Intel Core i5-13500HX is 0.5% slower. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT is 0.6% faster. These deltas are negligible in real-world gaming, meaning any of these processors would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Control when paired with the same GPU.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 has a wider spread of comparable alternatives. The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL is 0.6% faster, the AMD Radeon HD 8970M is 1% faster, and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile is 1.6% faster. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT is 1.6% slower. These differences are small enough that swapping in any of these GPUs would produce similar FPS numbers in Control, though the RTX 5050’s newer architecture and feature set may offer advantages in other titles.

The practical implication is that this system’s performance in Control is representative of a broad mid-range tier. Users with similar hardware from the rival lists should expect comparable results, with variance of only a few percentage points in average frame rates across all resolutions and settings.

The Verdict

The verdict is clear: this PC can run Control, but the experience depends heavily on the chosen resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable, with Ultra averaging 68 FPS. This is the sweet spot for this combination, offering the full visual experience without compromise.

At 2560x1440, the system remains playable but with restrictions. Low and Medium both clear the 60 FPS threshold, with Medium at 67 FPS being the best visual option. High and Ultra fall short, at 59 and 52 FPS respectively, so users must accept reduced settings to maintain smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, only Low settings achieve playable performance, averaging 63 FPS. This is a marginal pass, and the steep drop to Medium at 45 FPS means that 4K gaming requires significant visual sacrifices. The data suggests that this resolution is not the intended target for this hardware, and users seeking 4K should consider lower presets or accept frame rates below the playability threshold.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Control at 1080p with maximum settings?*

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 averages 68 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the best playable preset at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 averages 67 FPS, making it the highest settings option that maintains playable performance.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware?

A: Only at Low settings, which averages 63 FPS at 3840x2160. Medium drops to 45 FPS, which is below the playability threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 5050 is within 1.6% of the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (slower) and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (faster) in average benchmark scores.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this system?

A: The lowest recorded minimum is 38 FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 57 FPS, and at 1920x1080 Medium, it is 75 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, given the steep FPS drops from 1080p to 4K. The CPU’s benchmark scores place it well above the GPU’s percentile ranking, suggesting it has headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 2296 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places it in the lower half of the database, which aligns with the measured performance: the system is capable of 60 FPS at 1080p and 1440p at moderate settings, but it is not a high-end configuration. The rank reflects that while the CPU is strong (81st percentile among all CPUs), the GPU is only in the 66th percentile among all GPUs, dragging the overall combination down.

The ranking suggests that many other tested systems achieve higher frame rates, particularly at 1440p and 4K. For context, the GPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, which is a previous-generation card, and the RTX A4000 Mobile, a professional mobile GPU. This indicates the RTX 5050 is positioned in the mid-range segment, and the combo rank reflects that positioning within the full test pool.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear division of labor between the CPU and GPU in Control. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 124 FPS at Low settings, which is likely CPU-bound given that the GPU has more headroom at this resolution. The CPU’s 8-core/16-thread configuration and high single-thread performance (3dmark single thread score of 943) support this, as the game’s physics and AI systems can utilize multiple threads.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the GPU begins to dominate. The average FPS at Low drops from 124 to 94, a 24% reduction, while the CPU workload remains relatively constant. This trend accelerates at 3840x2160, where Low settings produce only 63 FPS — a 49% drop from 1080p. The GPU’s 8 GB memory and 320 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to maintain high throughput at 4K, causing the severe performance penalty.

The settings scaling further confirms the GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 56 FPS (124 to 68), while at 4K, the same comparison yields only a 28 FPS difference (63 to 35). This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU can still feed the GPU enough data to benefit from higher settings, but at 4K, the GPU is already saturated and additional graphical features have diminishing returns. For users targeting 1080p, the CPU plays a more significant role; for 1440p and above, the GPU is the definitive limiting factor.