Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers a decisive performance outcome in Control: it is playable at every tested resolution and preset, with the data showing a minimum average of 69 FPS even at the most demanding configuration. This pairing does not merely meet the 60 FPS threshold; it exceeds it by a substantial margin across the board, establishing itself as a high-refresh-rate powerhouse for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination reveals a clear hierarchy of performance across the three tested resolutions, with a consistent pattern of scaling from Low to Ultra settings. At 1920x1080, the system is almost overqualified for the task, delivering frame rates that far exceed the refresh rates of most displays. The Low preset produces an average of 246 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure for this combo. Moving up the quality ladder, the Medium preset yields an average of 175 FPS, with a minimum of 149 FPS and a maximum of 201 FPS. The High preset reduces the average to 156 FPS, while the Ultra preset still maintains a robust 135 FPS average. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the bottleneck is almost entirely on the CPU side, as even the heaviest settings fail to drop the frame rate below 130 FPS.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally strong, though the GPU begins to assert its influence more noticeably. The Low preset averages 186 FPS, a significant drop from the 1080p figure but still far beyond the playable threshold. The Medium preset delivers an average of 132 FPS, with a minimum of 113 FPS and a maximum of 152 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. The High preset averages 118 FPS, and the Ultra preset, which represents the most visually intensive configuration, still manages an average of 102 FPS. This resolution is the sweet spot for this hardware, as it provides a substantial visual upgrade over 1080p while retaining triple-digit frame rates at all settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor, and the performance scaling becomes steeper. The Low preset averages 126 FPS, which is a remarkable result for 4K gaming. The Medium preset averages 89 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS, indicating that even the worst-case frame dips remain comfortably above 60 FPS. The High preset averages 79 FPS, while the Ultra preset, the most demanding configuration in this dataset, produces an average of 69 FPS. The absence of min/max data for the Low, High, and Ultra presets at 4K suggests that the measured averages are representative of a stable experience, but the Medium preset's 76 FPS minimum is the lowest recorded figure in the entire dataset, confirming that the system never drops below the playable threshold at any point.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 holds a rank of 241 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places the pairing in the top 6.5% of all configurations tested for this game, a position that reflects the high-end nature of both components. The percentile rankings for the individual parts corroborate this standing: the CPU sits in the 86th percentile against all tested CPUs, and the GPU also resides in the 86th percentile against all tested GPUs. This symmetry in relative performance means that neither component is dramatically outclassing the other, resulting in a balanced platform that maximizes the potential of both.

The combo rank of 241 is particularly telling when considering the sheer number of possible combinations. With 3720 tested combos, a rank of 241 indicates that only 240 other pairings produce higher average frame rates in Control. These would necessarily include configurations with higher-tier GPUs such as the RTX 4090 or potentially newer generation parts. However, the data shows that this 9700X + 4080 pairing is not far from the top of the hierarchy, and for practical purposes, it delivers a level of performance that is indistinguishable from many more expensive configurations in real-world gaming scenarios, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the limiting factor.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Control at 4K with all settings maxed out?*

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the measured average FPS is 69, which is 9 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict data confirms that all four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, and Ultra) are playable at this resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset to use at 1440p for the highest visual quality?

A: The Ultra preset is the best choice for visual quality at 2560x1440. The data shows it produces an average of 102 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience with maximum graphical fidelity.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At the Ultra preset, the average FPS drops from 135 at 1920x1080 to 69 at 3840x2160, representing a 66 FPS decrease. This indicates a roughly 51% reduction in frame rate, which is expected given the four-fold increase in pixel count.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 or the Ryzen 7 9700X the limiting factor in this game?

A: The limiting factor depends on the resolution. At 1080p, the CPU is more likely to be the constraint, as evidenced by the small gap between Medium (175 FPS) and Low (246 FPS) presets. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, with the Ultra preset (69 FPS) showing a much larger drop from Low (126 FPS).

Q: Does the system maintain a stable frame rate, or are there significant dips?

A: The only preset with recorded min/max data is Medium across all resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rate ranges from 149 to 201 FPS; at 1440p, it ranges from 113 to 152 FPS; and at 4K, it ranges from 76 to 103 FPS. These ranges indicate stable performance with no severe frame drops.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this hardware?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 246, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This is the maximum frame rate in the dataset and indicates that the system is capable of very high refresh rate gaming at lower resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For users seeking similar performance characteristics, the nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide interesting alternatives. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X has an average benchmark score of 37943, and its closest rival is the Intel Core i9-14901E, which scores 37911, a negligible 0.1% difference. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 also scores 37904, matching the 9700X within 0.1%. The Intel Core 5 211E scores 37829, a 0.3% delta, and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 scores 37804, a 0.4% delta. These rivals would produce virtually identical CPU-bound performance in Control, meaning that at 1080p, where the CPU is more relevant, the frame rates would be nearly indistinguishable from the 9700X.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, which scores 54209, a mere 0.1% difference. This indicates that the 4080 SUPER would deliver almost exactly the same frame rates in Control, making it a direct and obvious alternative. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, which is 1.1% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, which is 2.6% higher. Interestingly, these AMD cards score higher on the aggregate benchmark, but the differences are small enough that in-game performance would be similar. The AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757, 2.7% higher than the 4080. These rival GPUs would provide a comparable experience, with the 4080 SUPER being the closest match in terms of raw compute.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 in Control shifts predictably as resolution changes. At 1920x1080, the CPU plays a disproportionately large role. The evidence for this is the relatively small frame rate drop when moving from Low (246 FPS) to Medium (175 FPS), a 71 FPS reduction, followed by a further drop to High (156 FPS) and Ultra (135 FPS). The total reduction from Low to Ultra is 111 FPS, but the incremental decreases become smaller as settings increase, which is characteristic of a CPU-bound scenario where the GPU has spare capacity. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its Geekbench single-core score of 3023 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2211, ensures that the game's physics and logic threads are well-served, preventing the CPU from becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts towards the GPU, but the CPU still contributes meaningfully. The frame rates are lower than at 1080p across all presets, with the Low preset dropping from 246 to 186 FPS, a 60 FPS reduction. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 84 FPS (from 186 to 102 FPS), which is proportionally larger than the 111 FPS gap at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is now starting to become a more significant constraint. However, the fact that the Low preset still exceeds 180 FPS suggests that the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is the dominant component by a wide margin. The Low preset averages 126 FPS, which is a 60 FPS drop from the 1440p Low figure and a 120 FPS drop from the 1080p Low figure. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 57 FPS reduction (from 126 to 69 FPS), which is the steepest relative drop of any resolution, confirming that the RTX 4080 is fully saturated at this resolution. The CPU's role at 4K is diminished, as the GPU is unable to render frames fast enough to be limited by the processor. This is typical for a high-resolution workload, where pixel throughput becomes the primary challenge.

The Verdict

This system can unequivocally run Control at playable frame rates across all tested configurations. The verdict data confirms that all four settings presets are playable at every resolution. At 3840x2160, the best settings preset is Ultra, with an average FPS of 69, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset yields an average of 102 FPS, providing a substantial margin over the playable threshold. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 135 FPS, which is more than double the 60 FPS requirement. The minimum recorded frame rate in any configuration is 76 FPS, observed at 4K Medium, which means the system never drops below 60 FPS at any point in the dataset. For gamers who prioritize maximum visual fidelity, the 4K Ultra setting is viable, while those with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1440p will be able to take full advantage of their displays with this hardware combination.