Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination presents a curious case for running Control, a 2019 Action Adventure title. The benchmark data captures a wide performance spread across resolutions and presets, and the results indicate that while the pairing is capable of smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, 4K requires specific settings compromises. The measured FPS shows a clear pattern: the RTX 5050’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly stressed as resolution climbs, while the CPU’s 8 cores and 16 threads remain largely untaxed. This analysis breaks down the exact numbers, compares nearby hardware, and answers the core question of whether this system can run Control effectively.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 5050 delivers its strongest results. With Low settings, the combo reaches an average of 124 FPS, which is more than double the playable threshold of 60 FPS. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS. High settings yield 78 FPS average, while Ultra settings still maintain a solid 68 FPS average. Notably, the Ultra preset at 1080p keeps the frame rate above 60 FPS, making it the highest visual quality option that fully clears the playability bar. The data shows no minimum or maximum values for Low, High, or Ultra at this resolution, but the Medium preset’s spread of 75-101 FPS indicates that frame pacing remains tight.

At 2560x1440, the performance takes a noticeable step back. Low settings average 94 FPS, which remains well ahead of the 60 FPS target. Medium settings produce an average of 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS — the minimum dips below the playable threshold, suggesting occasional stutters in demanding scenes. High settings drop to 59 FPS, just under the 60 FPS line, and Ultra falls to 52 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium is 27 FPS, while the drop from Medium to High is 8 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 7 FPS. This scaling shows diminishing returns as settings rise, but the key observation is that only Low and Medium presets maintain an average at or above 60 FPS at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 5050 struggles at higher presets. Low settings produce an average of 63 FPS, which barely clears the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings drop to 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS. High settings average 40 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 18 FPS, while between Medium and High is 5 FPS, and between High and Ultra is also 5 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium (38) is far below the average, indicating that even the 45 FPS average is not a stable experience. The data shows that at 4K, only Low settings provide a playable average, and even that 63 FPS figure is close to the limit.

Comparing across resolutions, the performance loss from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 30 FPS (from 124 to 94), and from 1440p to 4K at Low is 31 FPS (from 94 to 63). For Medium, the drops are 21 FPS (1080p to 1440p) and 22 FPS (1440p to 4K). At High, the drops are 11 FPS (1080p to 1440p) and 19 FPS (1440p to 4K). These numbers reveal that the RTX 5050’s 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus are the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the arithmetic scaling of pixel count outpaces the memory bandwidth. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2502 and Passmark G3D score of 17326 place the GPU at the 66th percentile of all GPUs, which aligns with its mid-range positioning.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearestRivals data for the RTX 5050 provides context on which GPUs would deliver similar frame rates. The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL has an average benchmark score of 21153, which is only 0.6% higher than the RTX 5050’s 21035. This means a system with that GPU would produce nearly identical FPS numbers in Control, assuming the same CPU. The AMD Radeon HD 8970M scores 21237 (1% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT scores 20713 (1.6% lower). The NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 21379 (1.6% higher). In practice, these rivals would yield FPS within a few frames of the measured results. For example, at 1080p Ultra, the 68 FPS average could see a variance of roughly 1 FPS in either direction, making the experience indistinguishable. The deltaPct values are small enough that any of these GPUs would place the same settings as playable or not.

For the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D, the nearestRivals show a different story. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M has an average score of 58323 (0.1% higher), the Intel Xeon w5-2545 scores 58504 (0.2% lower), the Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 scores 58826 (0.7% lower). All of these are within 1% of the 9850X3D’s 58386 average benchmark score. In gaming terms, the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution in Control, as the game is GPU-bound. The CPU’s Passmark single-thread score of 4704 and multithread score of 41318 indicate no shortage of processing power. The 96 MB L3 cache and 4.70 GHz base clock provide ample headroom for the game’s physics and AI, but the measured FPS differences are entirely driven by the GPU resolution scaling.

The data also shows the CPU’s 92nd percentile rank among all CPUs, which means it outperforms 92% of tested CPUs. This is consistent with the negligible CPU impact on the FPS numbers. For users who already own these rival CPUs, the gaming experience would be essentially identical, as the RTX 5050 is the limiting factor. The CPU’s nearestRivals are all server or high-end desktop parts, but their performance in Control would mirror the 9850X3D’s because the game’s threading requirements are modest.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 4K with playable framerates?

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low preset reaches an average of 63 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. Medium 45 FPS avg, High 40 FPS, and Ultra 35 FPS all fall below. The verdictByResolution confirms that Low is the only playable setting at 4K, with an average of 63 FPS.

Q: What is the best visual quality at 1440p that stays above 60 FPS?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings produce an average of 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS. High settings drop to 59 FPS, so Medium is the highest preset that maintains an average above the 60 FPS threshold. The verdictByResolution lists Low and Medium as playable, with Medium being the best.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT in this game?

A: The RX 5600 XT has an average score of 20713, which is 1.6% lower than the RTX 5050’s 21035. In practical terms, the RX 5600 XT would produce about 1-2 FPS less at each setting. For example, at 1080p Ultra, the RTX 5050 hits 68 FPS, so the RX 5600 XT would likely stay around 66-67 FPS, still above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: At 1080p, which settings are playable?

A: All four presets are playable at 1920x1080. Low averages 124 FPS, Medium 88 FPS (min 75, max 101), High 78 FPS, and Ultra 68 FPS. The verdict confirms that all settings clear the 60 FPS playable threshold, with Ultra providing the best visual quality at 68 FPS.

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 9850X3D bottleneck the RTX 5050?

A: No. The CPU’s benchmarks (Cinebench R23 multicore 22807, singlecore 2228, Passmark multithread 41318) and 92nd percentile rank are far above what Control requires. The FPS scaling with resolution (e.g., 124 to 94 to 63 FPS at Low from 1080p to 1440p to 4K) is purely GPU-driven, indicating no CPU limitation.

Q: How does the 4K Medium minimum FPS compare to the 4K Low average?

A: At 4K Medium, the minimum is 38 FPS and the maximum is 52 FPS, with an average of 45 FPS. At 4K Low, the average is 63 FPS. The 38 FPS low frame is far below the playable threshold, showing that Medium at 4K is not only slower but also unstable, while Low’s 63 FPS average is steady.

The Verdict

The data defines a clear playability picture across three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the combo can run Control at all four presets, exceeding the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset averages 68 FPS, High 78 FPS, Medium 88 FPS, and Low 124 FPS. This means a player can choose any visual quality level at 1080p and stay well above the playable threshold. At 2560x1440, the system becomes selective: only Low (94 FPS) and Medium (67 FPS) average above 60 FPS. High (57 FPS) and Ultra (52 FPS) fall short, so 1440p play requires either lowering preset or accepting 57 FPS average, which is near the threshold. At 3840x2160, only Low averages 63 FPS, while Medium (45 FPS), High (40 FPS), and Ultra (35 FPS) are all below 60 FPS. The verdict by resolution states exactly that: 1080p Ultra 68 FPS, 1440p Medium 67 FPS, and 4K Low 63 FPS as the best settings.

The practical takeaway is that the RTX 5050 is a 1080p card for Control, with 1440p possible at medium, and 4K only at minimum settings. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus are the likely constraints, as the 320.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes saturated at higher pixel counts. For players targeting 60 FPS, the 1920x1080 Ultra preset is the highest visual quality that comfortably clears that bar, while 1440p Medium and 4K Low are the only options above the threshold. The data shows no scenario where the game is unplayable, but 4K High and Ultra are not viable.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results reveal a stark division of labor between the CPU and GPU. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22807 and Passmark multithread score of 41318 place it in the 92nd percentile, and it has the single-thread performance (Cinebench R15 single-core 343, Passmark single-thread 4704) to handle the game’s physics and logic without bottlenecking. The data shows that as resolution increases, the FPS drops proportionally: at 1080p Low the average is 124 FPS, at 1440p Low it is 94 FPS, and at 4K Low it is 63 FPS. This is a 49% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is typical of GPU-bound behavior. The CPU’s performance does not change with resolution, so the lower FPS is entirely due to the GPU’s rendering workload.

The setting presets corroborate this: at 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 28 FPS (63 to 35 FPS), while at 1080p, the same difference is 56 FPS (124 to 68 FPS). This narrowing at 4K indicates that the GPU is already at its limit even at Low settings, and the extra work from Ultra further reduces the FPS. The RTX 5050’s FP32 of 13.17 TFLOPS and texture 205.8 GTexel/s are the hardware that scales with resolution and settings. The CPU’s 120W TDP and 8 cores are not stressed by Control, which is a 2019 title with moderate threading. The benchmark results indicate that at 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, while at 1080p, the GPU still governs, but with more headroom.

The scaling between resolutions also shows that the CPU does not become a factor at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low (124 FPS) versus 1440p Low (94 FPS), the drop is 30 FPS, and 1440p Low to 4K Low is 31 FPS. Linear scaling like this is purely GPU-side. If the CPU were limiting, the 1080p FPS would plateau, but it does not. The RTX 5050’s 3Dmark Steel Nomad score of 2502 and Passmark G3D 17326 confirm its position—this is a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU, and Control’s performance is dictated by the former. The data for the game’s settings, such as the 1440p Medium min FPS of 57, is the GPU’s memory bandwidth limit, not the CPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank is 2296 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the 61.7th percentile of all CPU-GPU pairs tested for Control. This is a mid-pack ranking, which aligns with the RTX 5050’s 66th percentile among GPUs and the CPU’s 92nd percentile. The rank reflects the GPU’s performance ceiling: while the CPU is excellent, the overall frame rates are limited by the 5050. For comparison, the RTX 5050’s nearestRivals (RX Vega M GL, HD 8970M, RX 5600 XT, RTX A4000 Mobile) would all yield a similar rank because they have similar average benchmark scores (21153, 21237, 20713, 21379, respectively). The CPU’s rivals (Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, Xeon w5-2545, Core i9-14900, Ryzen AI 9 HX 470) would not change the rank because they are within 0.5% of the 9850X3D’s performance.

The 2296th rank out of 3720 means that 1424 combinations scored higher in Control. This is not a top-tier rank, but it is not bottom-of-the-barrel either. Given the RTX 5050’s specifications (2560 shading units, 8GB GDDR6, 128-bit bus), this is an expected mid-range result. The CPU contributes to the rank by not holding the GPU back, but the rank is ultimately GPU-bound. The 1080p Ultra 68 FPS and 1440p Medium 67 FPS are decent scores, but 4K High 40 FPS drags the average down. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, with 4K only possible at lowest settings. For players who want higher 4K performance, the CPU could be paired with a stronger GPU, but that is outside the scope of this data.

Best Settings per Resolution

The best settings are determined by the highest preset that maintains an average FPS at or above the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 1920x1080, that is Ultra, with an average of 68 FPS. This is the most demanding preset at this resolution, and it clears 60 FPS by 8 FPS. The data for Medium shows 88 FPS, High 78 FPS, and Low 124 FPS, all of which are also above 60, but Ultra provides the best visual quality. At 2560x1440, the best preset is Medium, averaging 67 FPS. High averages 57 FPS, which is below 60 FPS, so 1440p players must choose Medium or lower. Low averages 94 FPS, but Medium offers better visuals while still clearing the threshold. At 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low, with an average of 63 FPS. Medium averages 45 FPS, High 40 FPS, and Ultra 35, all below 60 FPS. The verdict confirms these: 1080p Ultra (68 FPS), 1440p Medium (67 FPS), and 4K Low (63 FPS).

These choices are based on the average FPS alone, but the 1440p Medium minimum of 57 FPS is worth noting—the average is above 60, but the minimum falls below. However, the average is the primary criterion for the verdict, and the data lists Medium as playable. At 1080p Ultra, no minimum is provided, but the average suggests stability. The 8 GB memory and bandwidth are the limiting factors at 4K, as the 63 FPS Low is barely above the 60 threshold. Players who prioritize frame rate over visuals should consider lower settings at 4K to maintain a more stable margin, but the data shows that 63 FPS is the only option above 60.