Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 presents a striking contrast: a modern, high-end 8-core CPU from the 7000 series working alongside an older Polaris-based GPU from 2017. In Control, the recorded data shows that the GPU becomes the overwhelming bottleneck, forcing the system into sub-60 FPS territory at almost every setting. This analysis breaks down the exact measured performance, the division of labor between the two components, and what the results mean for playability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database contains measured average FPS for this combo across three resolutions and four quality presets. No minimum or maximum FPS values were recorded, so all figures below refer to the average frame rate.

At 3840x2160 (4K), performance is uniformly low. The results are as follows:

• Low: 27.0 FPS
• Medium: 18.4 FPS
• High: 17.3 FPS
• Ultra: 19.0 FPS

The data shows that even at the lowest settings, the system only manages 27 FPS. Interestingly, the Ultra preset at 19 FPS is slightly faster than High at 17.3 FPS, which suggests the settings' penalties are not strictly linear, but both are far below any playable threshold. The difference between Low and the next preset (Medium) is a drop of 8.6 FPS, indicating the GPU hits a hard compute wall at this resolution.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the situation improves but remains non-playable:

• Low: 43.9 FPS
• Medium: 32.5 FPS
• High: 28.2 FPS
• Ultra: 24.9 FPS

The scaling from Low to Ultra is consistent, with each step reducing the frame rate. The drop from Low to Medium is 11.4 FPS, while the drop from Medium to High is 4.3 FPS, and then to Ultra is another 3.3 FPS. At 1440p, the Low preset is the only one that comes within 16 FPS of the 60 FPS target, but it still misses it by a wide margin.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the most commonly used resolution, the results are:

• Low: 57.7 FPS
• Medium: 41.6 FPS
• High: 38.9 FPS
• Ultra: 33.7 FPS

The Low preset nearly reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold, but still falls short by 2.3 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium removes 16.1 FPS, a substantial penalty. High and Ultra continue the downward trend, with the gap between Medium and High being 2.7 FPS and between High and Ultra being 5.2 FPS. This is the only resolution where the combo gets close to a smooth experience, but the data is unambiguous: no preset hits 60 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data strongly suggests that the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the primary limiter in this system. The Ryzen 7 7700 is a high-end processor, but the GPU's performance is capped by its older GCN 4.0 architecture. The scaling between resolutions confirms this. When moving from 1080p to 1440p, at the same preset (Low), the FPS drops from 57.7 to 43.9, a loss of 23.9%. Moving from 1440p to 4K on Low, the FPS falls from 43.9 to 27.7, another 36.9% loss. This type of scaling is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering resolution directly pressures the graphics card's fillrate and memory bandwidth.

The CPU's role is minimal in this game at these settings. The Ryzen 7 7700, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, has a benchmark percentile of 87 against all CPUs. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 18760, and single-core is 1930. However, the game's frame rate does not reflect this processing headroom. For instance, at 1080p Ultra, the FPS is 33.7, while at 1080p Low it is 57.7, a difference of 24 FPS. If the CPU were the primary constraint, we would expect the frame rates to remain relatively flat across different presets, since lowering graphics settings reduces GPU load but not CPU load. The data shows a 40% change in FPS between Low and Ultra at 1080p, which is a clear sign of GPU limitation.

The GPU's own benchmark scores support this. The RX 570 has a 74th percentile ranking against all GPUs. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad score is 880, and its Geekbench Vulkan score is 42752. These scores, while moderate, are not enough for a demanding title like Control. The game's measured FPS at 1080p Low is 57.7, which is just below the playable threshold. This indicates that the CPU is waiting on the GPU to finish each frame. If the CPU were at fault, the frame rates would likely be higher, as this processor can easily handle game logic at these settings.

The scaling between presets also points to GPU dependency. At 1080p, going from Low to Medium drops the FPS from 57.7 to 41.6, which is a 28% decrease. At 4K, the same preset change drops from 27.7 to 18.4, a 33.6% decrease. The relative FPS hits remain large across resolutions, which is characteristic of a GPU that is saturated at every setting. The CPU is not changing its workload based on these presets; only the GPU's workload is changing.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database lists the playable threshold at 60 FPS. The verdictByResolution field shows no playable settings for any resolution. The data confirms this, as no measured average FPS ever reaches or exceeds 60.

• 3840x2160: No settings are playable. The highest recorded FPS is 27.7 at Low, which is far below the target. The best setting would technically be Low, but it does not meet the playability criteria.
• 2560x1440: No settings are playable. The highest recorded FPS is 43.9 at Low, which is still 16.1 FPS short of the target.
• 1920x1080: No settings are playable. The highest recorded FPS is 57.7 at Low, which is 2.3 FPS below the target. This is the only preset that comes within a hair of the 60 FPS mark.

The data shows that the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is "none" for every resolution. For 1080p, the Low preset is the best option, but it still produces a sub-60 FPS average. The system cannot run the game at a playable frame rate anywhere.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo occupies a low position in the database. It ranks 3501 out of 3720 tested combinations for Control. This means there are over 3,500 other CPU-GPU pairings that deliver better performance in this specific game. The rank is driven almost entirely by the GPU's limitations.

To visualize the CPU side, the Ryzen 7 7700 has an average benchmark score of 40081. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, scores 40048, which is 0.1% higher than the 7700. The Intel Core 5 221E scores 40144, 0.2% higher. The AMD Ryzen 9 270 scores 40246, which is 0.4% higher, and the Intel Core i9-13905H scores 40313, which is 0.6% higher. This shows that the CPU is in the top tier of performance, but it is not the reason for the low score in this game.

On the GPU side, the RX 570 has an average benchmark score of 28766. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M with a score of 28874, which is 0.4% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 470 with a score of 28996, which is 0.8% higher. The AMD Radeon R9 M295X scores 28580, which is 0.7% lower. These rivals are all within a couple of percentage points of the 570's performance, which is that the GPU is a mid-low tier part. This ranking shows that the combo is in the bottom 6% of all tested systems, making it a poor match for Control.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 1080p with the Low preset?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings is 57.7 FPS, which is 2.3 FPS below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best performance this combo can achieve in Control?

A: The best measured performance is at 1080p with Low settings, yielding an average of 57.7 FPS. There are no settings that achieve 60 FPS at any resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the main limitation for this game?

A: The data points to the GPU. The frame rates scale heavily with resolution and settings, which are GPU-dependent factors. The CPU has a high benchmark percentile (87) and strong single-thread scores, but the game's frame rate never exceeds 57.7 FPS, which is a GPU limit.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 3501 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 6% of the database for Control.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between the Low and Medium presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 43.9 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 32.5 FPS. That is a difference of 11.4 FPS.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 4K?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is only 19.0, which is far below the 60 FPS threshold.

The Verdict

This PC cannot run Control at the playable threshold. The verdictByResolution data is clear: there are no playable settings at 3840x2160, 2560x1440, or 1920x1080. The best-case scenario is the 1080p Low preset, which produces an average of 57.7 FPS. This is close to 60 FPS but not enough to clear the threshold.

For 1440p, the highest FPS is 43.9 (also Low), and for 4K, the highest is 27.7 (also Low). The system is consistently below the target. The data indicates that the RX 570 is the limiting factor. Even with a powerful Radeon Graphics iGPU and a high-end CPU, the RX 570's Polaris chip cannot deliver the performance required by Control.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rival CPU to the Ryzen 7 7700 in the database is the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, which is 0.1% faster in average benchmark score. The Intel Core 5 221E is 0.2% faster. The AMD Ryzen 9 270 is 0.4% faster, and the Intel Core i9-13905H is 0.6% faster. If you were to swap the CPU to any of these, the game's frame rates would stay essentially identical, because the GPU is the bottleneck.

On the GPU side, the nearest performer is the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, which is only 0.4% faster in average score. The AMD Radeon RX 470 is 0.8% faster, while the AMD Radeon R9 M295X is 0.7% slower. If you swapped the RX 570 for an RX 6800M or RX 470, the Control frame rates would remain in the same general range, meaning you would still not reach 60 FPS. The data suggests that to get a playable experience, you would need a significantly faster GPU than any of these immediate rivals, as all of them are within 1.2% of the RX 570's performance.