Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a highly capable Control experience, but the playable envelope depends heavily on your target resolution. At 1080p and 1440p, this combination clears the 60 FPS threshold with headroom to spare across every preset, while 4K demands a significant settings compromise to maintain smooth gameplay. The data shows a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the CPU’s substantial headroom becoming apparent only when the resolution drops.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this configuration reveal a consistent pattern of performance scaling across the three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast. The Low preset produces an average of 162.1 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire dataset. Moving up to Medium yields 114.5 FPS, while High drops to 104.2 FPS. The most demanding Ultra preset at 1080p still maintains a robust 88.6 FPS, leaving considerable performance on the table for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain well above the playable threshold but begin to show the GPU working harder. The Low preset averages 121.6 FPS, a substantial drop from the 1080p Low figure but still exceptionally smooth. Medium delivers 88.6 FPS, and High comes in at 78.4 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the most demanding setting that remains comfortably playable, averaging 64.5 FPS. This shows that the RTX 3070 has enough raw throughput to handle the game’s highest quality settings at this resolution without dipping below the 60 FPS mark.

The picture changes dramatically at 3840x2160. Here, the Low preset is the only option that clears the 60 FPS threshold, averaging 81.4 FPS. The Medium preset falls to 56.3 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. High drops further to 48.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 44.1 FPS. The scaling between 1440p and 4K at the same settings shows the significant toll that 4K resolution takes on the GPU; for instance, the High preset loses nearly 30 FPS when moving from 1440p to 4K. This data indicates that 4K gaming with this hardware requires a strict adherence to the Low preset to maintain consistent smoothness.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only with the Low preset. The measured average at 3840x2160 with Low settings is 81.4 FPS. All other presets at 4K fall below the 60 FPS playable threshold, with Medium at 56.3 FPS, High at 48.7 FPS, and Ultra at 44.1 FPS.

Q: What is the highest quality setting I can use at 1440p while staying above 60 FPS?

A: The Ultra preset is playable at 2560x1440, with an average frame rate of 64.5 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p on the Ultra preset?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 88.6 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same preset averages 64.5 FPS. This represents a drop of 24.1 FPS when increasing the resolution.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D a bottleneck for the RTX 3070 in this game?

A: Benchmark results do not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The CPU’s benchmark scores are exceptionally high, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23230 and a single-core score of 2080. The frame rate scaling between presets and resolutions follows a pattern typical of GPU-limited performance, suggesting the CPU has ample headroom.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this hardware?

A: The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 delivers 88.6 FPS, so there is no need to compromise on visual quality. This is the highest quality setting and it remains well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How does this system rank among all tested hardware combinations for Control?

A: The combination ranks 1570 out of 3720 total tested combos. This places it in the upper half of all configurations tested for this game.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, which produce an average of 88.6 FPS. This is the most demanding preset and it maintains a significant margin above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the clear choice for 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, with an average of 64.5 FPS. While this is the highest quality preset, it leaves only a small buffer above 60 FPS. Players who prioritize consistency over maximum visual fidelity might prefer the High preset at 78.4 FPS, which offers a more comfortable margin.

For 3840x2160, the best settings are Low, yielding 81.4 FPS. This is the only preset at this resolution that stays at or above 60 FPS. The next step up, Medium, drops to 56.3 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. Therefore, Low is the only viable option for 4K gameplay.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS has an average benchmark score of 39603, which is a 0.4% difference from the 9800X3D’s average score of 39768. Similarly, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 scores 40048 (-0.7% delta), and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 scores 39485 (0.7% delta). The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 also falls in this range with a score of 40081 (-0.8% delta). These CPUs would deliver nearly identical gaming performance in a scenario where the GPU is the limiting factor, as is the case with Control at most settings.

On the GPU side, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is the closest rival to the RTX 3070, with an average score of 17083 compared to the 3070’s 17208, a 0.7% difference. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 17037 (1% delta) and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019 (1.1% delta). The NVIDIA Tesla K40c is slightly ahead with a score of 17468 (-1.5% delta). These GPUs would produce very similar frame rates in Control, meaning users with any of these cards can expect comparable performance to the measured results, assuming a similarly capable CPU.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data clearly shows that the GPU is the primary performance driver for Control, especially at higher resolutions and presets. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 1440p and then to 4K shows a consistent decline that aligns with the increased pixel count and rendering load. For example, on the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 104.2 FPS at 1080p to 78.4 FPS at 1440p, and then to 48.7 FPS at 4K. This pattern indicates that the RTX 3070 is the limiting factor.

The CPU’s role becomes more relevant at lower resolutions where the GPU can produce very high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 162.1 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at high throughput. However, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D’s benchmark scores—such as a Passmark multithread score of 40009 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2964—are so high that it is unlikely to bottleneck the RTX 3070 in this title. The difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p is 73.5 FPS, which is a much larger gap than the difference between the same presets at 4K, where the gap is 37.3 FPS. This further confirms that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting, and the CPU’s performance is more than sufficient for this workload.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control successfully across most common gaming scenarios. At 1920x1080, every preset is playable, with the Ultra preset averaging 88.6 FPS, providing a high-quality experience with plenty of performance to spare. At 2560x1440, the system is also fully playable across all presets, with Ultra averaging 64.5 FPS. This makes 1440p a sweet spot for this hardware, allowing for maximum visual settings while staying just above the 60 FPS line.

The situation is more restrictive at 3840x2160. The verdict data shows that only the Low preset is playable, with an average of 81.4 FPS. If you own a 4K monitor, you will need to accept lower graphical fidelity to maintain a smooth frame rate. The Medium, High, and Ultra presets all fall below 60 FPS, making them unsuitable for comfortable gameplay. Overall, this combination of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 3070 is a solid choice for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Control, but it is not a 4K-capable configuration for this game unless you are willing to compromise on settings.