Control

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 lands at rank 2979 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. That places this configuration in the lower third of the database, which is not a surprise given the GPU's age relative to the CPU's current-generation status. The 9800X3D is a top-tier processor by any measure, sitting in the 87th percentile against all CPUs, while the RTX 2060 sits in the 58th percentile against all GPUs. The pairing creates a significant imbalance: the CPU has far more headroom than the GPU can utilize in this title.

The recorded data shows that this combo's position is driven almost entirely by the graphics card. The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 15290 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions and presets. Meanwhile, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's average benchmark score of 39768 places it well above the GPU in relative capability. The rank of 2979 out of 3720 means roughly 80 percent of tested combos outperform it in Control, which aligns with the GPU's mid-pack standing. The CPU's percentile ranking is nearly 30 points higher than the GPU's, and that gap shows up clearly in the measured frame rates across resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals in the database, the RTX 2060 sits extremely close to several other GPUs. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 has an average score of 15283, a delta of 0 percent from the RTX 2060's 15290. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, just 0.1 percent lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, 0.6 percent lower, and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171, 0.8 percent lower. In practical terms, any of these cards would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Control at the same settings and resolution. The differences are within measurement noise.

On the CPU side, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's nearest rivals are a mixed bag of mobile and desktop parts. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS scores 39603, just 0.4 percent lower. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 scores 40048, 0.7 percent higher. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 scores 39485, 0.7 percent lower, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 scores 40081, 0.8 percent higher. For a game like Control, which is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, swapping the 9800X3D for any of these CPUs would produce almost no measurable difference in frame rates. The GPU is the bottleneck, so CPU choice matters little beyond ensuring it can feed the GPU at lower resolutions.

If you were to build a system with similar overall behavior, the takeaway is that the GPU tier determines the experience. Any of the four rival GPUs listed would behave nearly identically to the RTX 2060 in Control, regardless of which of the rival CPUs sits alongside them.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the RTX 2060 in Control is clear from the resolution scaling. At 1920x1080, the combo averages 110.3 FPS on Low settings, 77.2 FPS on Medium, 68.5 FPS on High, and 58.6 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 2560x1440, those numbers drop to 78.7, 59.3, 51.2, and 42.9 respectively. At 3840x2160, the averages fall to 53.2, 37.4, 34.1, and 31.2.

The pattern shows that the GPU is the dominant factor at every resolution. From 1080p Low to 1440p Low, the frame rate drops from 110.3 to 78.7, a 29 percent reduction. From 1440p Low to 4K Low, it drops from 78.7 to 53.2, another 32 percent reduction. These are classic GPU-bound scaling curves. The CPU, despite being one of the fastest gaming processors in the database, cannot compensate for the RTX 2060's limited rasterization throughput.

The preset scaling reinforces this. At 1080p, going from Low to Ultra costs 51.7 FPS, from 110.3 down to 58.6. At 1440p, the same preset swing costs 35.8 FPS. At 4K, it costs 22 FPS. The diminishing absolute impact of presets at higher resolutions indicates the GPU is saturated and additional graphical load has less headroom to absorb. The CPU's role is essentially to stay out of the way, and the 9800X3D does that easily. Its multi-threaded and single-threaded benchmark scores are far beyond what Control needs. The data shows the RTX 2060 is the sole determinant of playability in this pairing.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Control? Yes, but with clear limits. The verdict by resolution is straightforward. At 3840x2160, no settings preset reaches 60 FPS. The best recorded average is 53.2 FPS on Low, which falls short of the playable threshold of 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low settings clear 60 FPS, with an average of 78.7 FPS. Medium sits at 59.3 FPS, just under the threshold, and High and Ultra are well below. At 1920x1080, three presets are playable: High at 68.5 FPS, Medium at 77.2 FPS, and Low at 110.3 FPS. Ultra misses the mark at 58.6 FPS.

So the practical verdict is that this combo is a 1080p machine for Control. For smooth gameplay at 60 FPS or higher, stick to 1080p with High settings, which delivers 68.5 FPS on average. If you want higher visual fidelity, Ultra at 1080p is close but not quite there at 58.6 FPS. At 1440p, you can play on Low settings comfortably, but anything higher will dip below 60 FPS. At 4K, this combination is not viable for 60 FPS play under any preset.

The best settings per resolution, based on the database, are: 1080p High at 68.5 FPS, 1440p Low at 78.7 FPS, and no playable setting at 4K. For a 60 FPS target, the recommendation is clear: 1080p with High preset is the sweet spot for this pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded measurements cover three resolutions and four presets each. All values are average FPS; minimum and maximum frame times were not recorded in the database for this combo.

At 1920x1080:

• Low: 110.3 FPS
• Medium: 77.2 FPS
• High: 68.5 FPS
• Ultra: 58.6 FPS

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 78.7 FPS
• Medium: 59.3 FPS
• High: 51.2 FPS
• Ultra: 42.9 FPS

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 53.2 FPS
• Medium: 37.4 FPS
• High: 34.1 FPS
• Ultra: 31.2 FPS

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at the same preset is roughly 25 to 30 percent. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is another 30 to 35 percent. The RTX 2060's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the combination of memory bandwidth and compute throughput is insufficient to maintain high frame rates.

The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 51.7 FPS, which is a 47 percent reduction. At 1440p, the same preset gap is 35.8 FPS, a 45 percent reduction. At 4K, the gap narrows to 22 FPS, a 41 percent reduction. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so overloaded that even dropping to Low settings cannot recover enough performance to approach 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Control at 60 FPS on 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, the High preset averages 68.5 FPS, Medium averages 77.2 FPS, and Low averages 110.3 FPS. Ultra is the only 1080p preset that misses 60 FPS, at 58.6 FPS.

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

A: Only Low settings clear 60 FPS at 2560x1440, with an average of 78.7 FPS. Medium falls just short at 59.3 FPS, and High and Ultra are below that.

Q: Is 4K playable with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average is 53.2 FPS on Low settings. All other presets are below 40 FPS, so no preset reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in this game?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score is 15290. The GTX 580 scores 15283, the Radeon 680M scores 15270, the RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, and the RX 7600 scores 15171. All are within 0.8 percent, so they would perform nearly identically in Control.

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 9800X3D bottleneck the RTX 2060?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark scores are far above what Control requires, and the frame rate scaling across resolutions and presets follows a GPU-bound pattern. The RTX 2060 is the limiting component in every scenario.

Q: What rank does this combo hold in the database for Control?

A: It ranks 2979 out of 3720 tested combos. That places it in the lower third, consistent with the GPU's 58th percentile standing among all GPUs.