Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers an exceptionally strong performance profile in Control, with measured data showing that every preset at every tested resolution clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. The benchmark results indicate that this combination is not merely capable of running the game but is positioned to deliver high-refresh-rate experiences even at 4K Ultra settings, placing it in the top tier of tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the system produces an average of 272 FPS on Low settings, which is the highest raw frame rate recorded in the dataset. Moving to Medium settings at this resolution, the average drops to 194 FPS, with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS. High settings at 1080p yield 172 FPS on average, while the Ultra preset still maintains a robust 149 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains well above the playability threshold. The Low preset averages 206 FPS, while Medium settings produce 146 FPS with a minimum of 124 FPS and a maximum of 168 FPS. High settings at this resolution deliver 130 FPS on average, and Ultra settings maintain 113 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p shows a reduction of approximately 45% in average frame rate, yet even the most demanding preset leaves substantial headroom above 60 FPS.

The 3840x2160 resolution presents the most demanding scenario, but the data shows the system still excels. Low settings at 4K produce 139 FPS on average, while Medium settings yield 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS. High settings at 4K deliver 88 FPS on average, and the Ultra preset, which represents the maximum visual fidelity, still maintains an average of 76 FPS. The minimum FPS recorded across the entire dataset is 84 FPS at 4K Medium, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals how the CPU and GPU contribute to the overall frame rates in Control. The data shows that as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, the average FPS decreases consistently across all presets, which is the expected pattern when the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low settings, the system produces 272 FPS, indicating that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with a very high number of frames per second. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, demonstrates strong single-thread performance in synthetic benchmarks, scoring 1212 in 3dmark_single_thread and 4430 in passmark_single_thread, which supports its ability to handle high frame rate scenarios.

The GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions. The RTX 4090, with its 16384 shading units and 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, shows its strength in the 4K results. The difference between 1440p and 4K at Ultra settings is 37 FPS (113 to 76), while the difference between 1080p and 1440p at Ultra is 36 FPS (149 to 113). This relatively consistent scaling suggests that the GPU is handling the increased pixel count efficiently, and the CPU is not introducing a significant bottleneck even at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 200 FPS.

The preset scaling provides additional insight into component roles. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 123 FPS, while at 4K, the same preset difference is 63 FPS. This indicates that at lower resolutions, the settings have a larger relative impact on frame rate, which is typical when the CPU can maintain high throughput and the GPU has headroom. At 4K, the GPU is working closer to its limits, so the absolute impact of settings changes is smaller, though still substantial.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, the measured data shows an average of 76 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combination?

A: The highest average FPS in the dataset is 272, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Are there any settings or resolutions where this system drops below 60 FPS?

A: No, all tested configurations remain above 60 FPS. The lowest average FPS recorded is 76 at 4K Ultra, and the lowest minimum FPS is 84 at 4K Medium.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has an average benchmark score of 39768, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS and 0.7% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450, while being 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 and 0.8% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 7700.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings produce an average of 146 FPS, while High settings produce 130 FPS, representing a 16 FPS difference.

Q: Does the system show better scaling from 1080p to 1440p or from 1440p to 4K?

A: The data shows that at Ultra settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36 FPS (149 to 113), and the drop from 1440p to 4K is 37 FPS (113 to 76), indicating very similar scaling between both resolution steps.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rival data for the CPU provides context for what other processors might produce similar results in this combination. The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D has an average benchmark score of 39768, placing it within 1% of several alternatives. The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 scores 40081, which is 0.8% higher, and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 scores 40048, which is 0.7% higher. On the lower side, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS scores 39603, which is 0.4% lower, and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 scores 39485, which is 0.7% lower. These small deltas suggest that all these processors would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Control when paired with the RTX 4090.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a similar pattern of close performance. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 60347. The Intel Arc Pro A60 scores 60326, showing a 0% delta, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60140, which is 0.3% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61896, which is 2.5% higher, and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58657, which is 2.9% lower. These benchmark scores suggest that the RTX 4090's performance in this game would be closely matched by these alternatives, though the variance in gaming performance could differ based on driver optimization and specific workload characteristics.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: this system can run Control at all tested settings with performance well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 149 FPS on average, making it the best setting for this resolution. At 2560x1440, Ultra settings produce 113 FPS on average, again the best choice. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset maintains 76 FPS on average, which clears the playability threshold with a 16 FPS margin. The data indicates that users can select the maximum visual quality at any resolution without concern for frame rate drops below 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 121 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places it in the top 3.3% of all configurations tested for this game. The high ranking is consistent with the measured FPS results, which show that even the most demanding preset at 4K produces frame rates that many systems cannot achieve at lower resolutions. The percentile data for the individual components reinforces this position, with the CPU ranking in the 87th percentile against all CPUs and the GPU ranking in the 88th percentile against all GPUs.

Best Settings per Resolution

The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is the same at every resolution, as all presets clear the threshold. At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra with an average of 149 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra is again the best choice, delivering 113 FPS on average. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset remains the most demanding option that maintains playability, with an average of 76 FPS. The data shows that there is no scenario in the tested matrix where the user would need to compromise on settings to achieve smooth gameplay, as even the highest quality preset at the highest resolution leaves a comfortable buffer above the 60 FPS threshold.