Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination produces a highly resolution-dependent experience in Control. At 1080p, this system is overwhelmingly capable, delivering smooth frame rates across all presets. Moving to 1440p, the system remains strong but begins to show limits at the highest settings. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, with only the lowest preset maintaining playability. The data reveals a system that excels at mainstream resolutions but struggles to push high pixel counts without significant compromises.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database, the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D sits in a tightly contested performance cluster. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M posts an average score of 58323, which is just 0.1% behind the AMD chip's 58386 average. Similarly, the Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115, trailing by 0.5%, while the Intel Xeon w5-2545 edges ahead with 58504, a 0.2% lead. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 leads the group with 58826, outperforming the 9850X3D by 0.7%. These deltaPct values are remarkably small, indicating that in synthetic CPU benchmarks, users would see virtually identical performance from any of these processors in most workloads.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4060's nearest rivals paint an interesting picture of its performance tier. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17666, a mere 0.2% above the RTX 4060's 17639 average. The AMD Radeon 780M integrated graphics score 17588, just 0.3% behind, and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 posts 17551, a 0.5% gap. The AMD Radeon Pro 460 trails by 0.7% with 17509. These close margins suggest that in pure compute terms, the RTX 4060 behaves similarly to a range of older and integrated solutions, though the measured FPS data in Control indicates that real-world gaming performance depends heavily on driver optimization and architecture-specific features.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data across resolutions reveals a clear shift in workload balance between the CPU and GPU. At 1080p, the system shows its most balanced behavior, with the RTX 4060 capable of pushing 140 FPS at Low settings. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p drops average FPS from 140 to 77, a 45% reduction, which suggests the GPU is the primary limiter even at this resolution. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, reflected in its 4704 Passmark single-thread score, ensures it is not the bottleneck here.

At 1440p, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced. The average FPS at Low is 106, falling to 58 at Ultra, a 45% drop again. The CPU maintains headroom, as evidenced by the fact that the 1440p High preset (67 FPS) still exceeds the 4K Low preset (71 FPS) performance level. When moving to 4K, the GPU is overwhelmingly dominant in determining performance. The 4K Low preset delivers 71 FPS, but the jump to Medium drops this to 51 FPS, and High falls to 45 FPS. This steep degradation indicates that the RTX 4060's 8GB memory buffer and 128-bit bus become limiting factors at this resolution.

The scaling between resolutions at the same preset tells a compelling story of GPU saturation. At High settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces average FPS from 88 to 67, a 24% drop. The further move from 1440p to 4K at High reduces FPS from 67 to 45, a 33% drop. This accelerating decline confirms that the GPU is the dominant component for this game, with the CPU providing sufficient performance at all tested resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers consistently smooth performance across all presets. The Low preset achieves an average of 140 FPS, with no min or max data recorded. Medium settings produce an average of 99 FPS, with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS, showing stable frame pacing. High settings yield 88 FPS average, and Ultra settings still maintain a solid 77 FPS average. All 1080p presets clear the 60 FPS playable threshold with substantial margin.

Moving to 2560x1440, the system remains playable but with more variance. Low settings deliver 106 FPS average, while Medium produces 75 FPS with a minimum of 64 FPS and maximum of 86 FPS. High settings achieve 67 FPS average, just above the playability threshold. Ultra settings fall to 58 FPS average, dipping below the 60 FPS target. The 1440p data shows that the system can handle most presets comfortably, but Ultra requires a compromise.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4060's limitations become apparent. Low settings manage 71 FPS average, keeping the system playable. Medium drops to 51 FPS average, with a minimum of 43 FPS and maximum of 58 FPS, indicating occasional dips below playable levels. High settings average 45 FPS, and Ultra averages only 39 FPS. The 4K results demonstrate that this combination is only viable at the lowest settings for this resolution.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control, but the experience varies dramatically by resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the system clears 60 FPS on every preset, with the Ultra preset achieving 77 FPS average. This makes 1080p the sweet spot for this combination, offering full visual fidelity without performance concerns.

At 2560x1440, the verdict is more nuanced. High settings deliver 67 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS threshold, and Medium achieves 75 FPS. Low settings reach 106 FPS. However, Ultra settings fall to 58 FPS, missing the playable threshold by a small margin. Users at 1440p should stick to High settings or below for a consistent experience.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset is playable, achieving 71 FPS average. Medium settings drop to 51 FPS, which fails the 60 FPS requirement. High and Ultra are not viable at this resolution. The 4K experience is severely limited by the GPU's memory bandwidth and capacity, making this resolution only suitable for users willing to accept Low settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 4K with High settings?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings is 45 FPS, which falls well below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Only the Low preset at 4K achieves playable performance with 71 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 1440p?

A: The best playable setting at 2560x1440 is High, which delivers an average of 67 FPS. Medium achieves 75 FPS, and Low reaches 106 FPS, but High offers the best balance of visual quality and performance that stays above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the system perform at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The RTX 4060 and Ryzen 7 9850X3D combination achieves 77 FPS average at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, making 1080p Ultra fully playable.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 43 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The 1440p Medium preset shows a minimum of 64 FPS, and 1080p Medium shows a minimum of 84 FPS.

Q: Does the system maintain 60 FPS at 4K Medium settings?

A: No. The 4K Medium preset averages 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS and maximum of 58 FPS. All recorded frame rates at this setting fall below or near the 60 FPS threshold, making it unplayable by the strict standard.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in this game?

A: The RTX 4060's average benchmark score is 17639, which is within 0.7% of its nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon HD 7790, AMD Radeon 780M, and AMD Radeon Pro 560. However, in Control, the measured FPS data shows the GPU's real-world performance is more dependent on resolution and settings than these raw scores suggest.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that maintains 60 FPS or higher is Ultra, achieving 77 FPS average. This provides the full visual experience without sacrificing playability. At 2560x1440, the best setting is High, which delivers 67 FPS average. This preset offers a strong visual experience while keeping performance above the threshold. At 3840x2160, the only playable setting is Low, with 71 FPS average. This limits the 4K experience significantly, but it remains smooth enough for gameplay. The data indicates that users should prioritize 1080p or 1440p for this combination, as 4K requires substantial visual compromises.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination ranks 2008 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places the system in the lower-middle portion of the database, reflecting its performance characteristics. The CPU's strong benchmark standing, with a 92nd percentile ranking among all CPUs, is offset by the GPU's more modest 61st percentile among all GPUs. This disparity explains why the system excels at lower resolutions where the CPU's strengths can be utilized, but falls behind at 4K where the GPU's 8GB memory and 128-bit bus become limiting factors. The ranking suggests that while this combination is capable for mainstream gaming, it is not optimized for high-resolution play in Control, and users seeking 4K performance would need to consider more powerful GPU options.