Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a decisive performance victory in Control, clearing the 60 FPS playable threshold at every resolution and preset combination tested. The data shows this combo is not merely capable; it is overwhelmingly dominant, with even the most demanding Ultra preset at 4K producing an average of 76 FPS, leaving substantial headroom for high-refresh-rate displays at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo operates in a performance tier that approaches the limits of the game engine's frame pacing. The Low preset delivers an average of 272 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure across all tests. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 194 FPS, with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS. The High preset yields 172 FPS on average, while the Ultra preset, the most visually demanding option, still maintains a robust 149 FPS average. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is entirely GPU-bound in a manner that saturates even high-refresh-rate 240Hz monitors, though the gap between Medium and High (a 22 FPS difference) is smaller than the leap from Low to Medium (a 78 FPS difference), suggesting diminishing returns in settings scaling at this resolution.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally high but begins to show the increased pixel workload. The Low preset records an average of 206 FPS, a 66 FPS reduction from the 1080p Low result. Medium delivers 146 FPS on average, with a minimum of 124 FPS and a maximum of 168 FPS. The High preset produces 130 FPS, and Ultra still comfortably exceeds triple-digit performance with 113 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows an average performance reduction of roughly 24-32% across presets, which is consistent with the increase in pixel count, yet the absolute numbers remain far above the 60 FPS threshold. Notably, the minimum FPS at Medium (124 FPS) is still higher than the average FPS for Ultra at the same resolution, indicating consistent frame delivery without severe dips.

At the demanding 3840x2160 resolution, the RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth come into play. The Low preset averages 139 FPS, which is a significant 67 FPS drop from the 1080p Low result but still over double the 60 FPS target. Medium maintains a solid 99 FPS average, with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS, showing a tight frame window that suggests minimal stuttering. High settings yield 88 FPS, and Ultra, the most punishing configuration, still delivers 76 FPS on average. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 63 FPS spread, with each settings tier costing roughly 10-13 FPS, indicating that the GPU has enough raw compute headroom to absorb the additional shading and post-processing loads without collapsing below playable levels.

CPU and GPU Roles

Benchmark results indicate a clear shift in system bottleneck behavior as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the data reveals that the CPU, an 8-core 16-thread AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D with a 4.70 GHz base and 5.60 GHz boost clock, is frequently the limiting factor. Evidence for this comes from the scaling behavior: moving from 1080p Low (272 FPS) to 1440p Low (206 FPS) incurs a 66 FPS penalty, but moving from 1440p Low to 4K Low (139 FPS) incurs a 67 FPS penalty. This nearly linear relationship across resolution suggests that at Low settings, the CPU's frame generation capability is being taxed, and the GPU is not yet fully saturated until the 4K resolution point.

The GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher settings and resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 76 is only 37% of the 1080p Ultra result of 149 FPS, demonstrating that the RTX 4090's shading units, texture units, and ray tracing cores are working near their limits. The Medium preset with its recorded minimum/maximum data points further clarifies this: at 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 165, while at 4K Medium, the minimum drops to 84. This 81 FPS reduction in minimum frame time is far larger than the 48 FPS reduction in average FPS (194 to 99), indicating that the GPU's memory subsystem and pixel throughput are causing more pronounced frame time variance at 4K.

The scaling between presets also reveals the CPU's strength. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D's 96 MB of shared L3 cache and Zen 5 architecture provide sufficient single-thread performance to feed the RTX 4090 at 1080p, where the average FPS across all presets is 196.75. At 4K, the average across all presets is 100.5, meaning the GPU is delivering roughly half the frames per second, which aligns with the fourfold increase in pixel count. This pattern confirms that while the GPU is the primary performance driver at 4K, the CPU is never the cause of a performance collapse at any resolution, as even the lowest 4K result (76 FPS Ultra) remains above the 60 FPS threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the optimal choice, delivering an average of 149 FPS. This is the most visually demanding configuration and it still maintains a frame rate that exceeds 144Hz refresh rates, making it suitable for high-refresh monitors. The 149 FPS average at Ultra is 23 FPS higher than the 60 FPS playable threshold, providing a comfortable margin for demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, Ultra remains the recommended setting, with an average of 113 FPS. This result indicates that the combo can run the game at maximum visual fidelity on a 1440p display while staying well above the 60 FPS floor. The 113 FPS average is nearly double the playable threshold, allowing for G-Sync or FreeSync operation without frame drops below the display's refresh range.

At 3840x2160, Ultra is still the best setting, achieving an average of 76 FPS. While this is the lowest average across all tested configurations, it is 16 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold, confirming that 4K Ultra is not just playable but also retains a safety buffer for intense combat sequences or particle-heavy environments. The Medium preset at 4K offers a minimum of 84 FPS, which is higher than the Ultra average, but since Ultra clears the threshold, it remains the preferred choice for maximum visual quality.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 60 FPS on maximum settings at 4K?

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 76 FPS, which is 16 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data confirms all four presets at 4K are playable.

Q: What is the highest FPS recorded for this combo in Control?

A: The highest average FPS is 272, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This is the only configuration to exceed 270 FPS, indicating extreme headroom for competitive or high-refresh gameplay.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 149 at 1080p Ultra to 113 at 1440p Ultra, a reduction of 36 FPS or approximately 24%. This is a typical penalty for the increased pixel count.

Q: Is the minimum FPS ever below the 60 FPS threshold?

A: No. The lowest recorded minimum FPS is 84, which occurs at 4K Medium settings. All other presets have either no recorded minimum or a minimum above 84 FPS, meaning the system never dips below 84 FPS in any measured scenario.

Q: Which resolution provides the best balance of visual quality and frame rate?

A: The 2560x1440 Ultra preset offers an average of 113 FPS, which is above the 100 FPS mark while still delivering the highest visual fidelity. This represents a 37 FPS improvement over the 4K Ultra result, making 1440p the sweet spot for high refresh rates.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested systems in Control?

A: This combination ranks 121st out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the top 3.3% of all systems tested for this game. This high percentile confirms its elite status for Control.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control with exceptional authority at every resolution and preset combination. The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: at 3840x2160, all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable, with Ultra as the best setting delivering 76 FPS on average. At 2560x1440, all settings are playable, with Ultra achieving 113 FPS. At 1920x1080, all settings are playable, with Ultra achieving 149 FPS. The data shows no configuration where the average FPS falls below 76, meaning the system never approaches the 60 FPS limit. The minimum FPS recorded across all tests is 84, which occurs at 4K Medium, further reinforcing the system's ability to maintain smooth frame delivery even under load. This is a definitive "yes" for any user seeking to play Control at maximum settings on a 4K display or at refresh rates up to 144Hz at 1440p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a rank of 121 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 3.3% of all systems evaluated. This ranking is driven by the GPU's 88th percentile score among all GPUs and the CPU's 92nd percentile score among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 58,386 for the CPU and 60,347 for the GPU. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (0.1% faster) and the Intel Core i9-14900 (0.5% slower), show that the processor is competitively positioned, but the real differentiator is the GPU, which sits near the top of the performance heap. The RTX 4090's nearest rivals, including the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (2.5% faster) and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 (2.9% slower), highlight its strong standing. This rank of 121 indicates that while there are 120 faster combos tested, they are a tiny fraction of the total, and for the vast majority of players, this system represents an elite-tier configuration that will run Control without compromise.