Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination delivers a strong performance profile in Control, with benchmark data indicating that the pair is capable of exceeding the 60 FPS playable threshold across a wide range of settings and resolutions. The measured results show a system that scales predictably with graphical demands, though the data also exposes a clear ceiling at 4K Ultra settings where the average frame rate dips below the target.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the data shows a significant spread across the four tested presets. Low settings produce an average of 105 FPS, which is a remarkably high floor for 4K gaming. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 75 FPS, with the recorded minimum at 63 FPS and maximum at 86 FPS, indicating some frame-time variance but still a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings yield an average of 66 FPS, which is the last playable tier at this resolution. The Ultra preset falls short, averaging 58 FPS, which places it below the playable threshold. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 47 FPS drop, highlighting the heavy cost of the highest visual fidelity.

Stepping down to 2560x1440, the performance headroom expands considerably. Low settings average 156 FPS, while Medium reaches 111 FPS with a minimum of 94 FPS and a maximum of 127 FPS. High settings average 98 FPS, and the Ultra preset maintains a solid 85 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 71 FPS, which is a larger absolute difference than at 4K, but the lowest result still clears the 60 FPS line by a wide margin. Notably, the minimum frame rate at Medium (94 FPS) is higher than the average frame rate at 4K High (66 FPS), underscoring how resolution scaling affects performance.

At 1920x1080, the system operates with substantial headroom. Low settings average 206 FPS, Medium averages 146 FPS with a minimum of 124 FPS and a maximum of 168 FPS, High averages 130 FPS, and Ultra averages 113 FPS. Even the most demanding preset at 1080p nearly doubles the playable threshold. The data suggests that at this resolution, the combination of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D and RTX 5070 is rarely constrained by the CPU, as the frame rates scale smoothly with GPU load changes across presets.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that remains at or above 60 FPS is High, which delivers an average of 66 FPS. The data shows that Ultra is the only preset at this resolution that fails to meet the threshold, with its 58 FPS average. Medium also qualifies as playable with a 75 FPS average, but High represents the highest visual quality option that maintains the target frame rate.

At 2560x1440, all four presets clear the 60 FPS line, so the best settings are Ultra, which achieves an average of 85 FPS. This leaves 25 FPS of headroom above the playable threshold, suggesting that the system is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors even with maximum settings enabled.

For 1920x1080, the same pattern holds: Ultra is the best setting, with an average of 113 FPS. This provides 53 FPS of headroom over the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that the system is not stressed at this resolution. The data implies that users with 1080p displays can enable every visual option without concern for performance dips.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals which component is more influential for Control. The frame rate differences between 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 are substantial but not proportional to the pixel count increase (1.78x more pixels). For example, at Ultra settings, the drop from 113 FPS at 1080p to 85 FPS at 1440p is a 24.8% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K (2.25x more pixels), the Ultra preset drops from 85 FPS to 58 FPS, a 31.8% reduction. This suggests that the GPU becomes progressively more dominant as resolution increases, which is typical for a graphically intensive title like Control.

At 1080p, the CPU's role is more apparent. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2228, helps maintain high frame rates even when the GPU is less stressed. The 206 FPS average at Low settings indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at lower graphical loads. However, the fact that frame rates still scale down consistently from Low to Ultra at 1080p (206 to 113 FPS) shows that the GPU remains the primary bottleneck even at this resolution.

The data also shows that the RTX 5070's memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s is likely a factor at 4K, where the frame rate drops more steeply with increasing settings. The gap between Medium and High at 4K is 9 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 8 FPS, suggesting a fairly linear scaling that points to GPU compute and memory limits rather than CPU constraints. In contrast, at 1440p, the gap between Medium and High is 13 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 13 FPS as well, indicating that the GPU is still the limiting factor but with more headroom available.

The Verdict

Based on the verdict data, this PC can comfortably run Control at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 with all presets, including Ultra, achieving average frame rates of 113 FPS and 85 FPS respectively. At 3840x2160, the system maintains playable performance at Low, Medium, and High settings, with High being the best playable option at 66 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration tested that falls below the 60 FPS threshold, averaging 58 FPS.

For users targeting 4K, the data suggests that High settings offer the optimal balance, providing a 66 FPS average that is just above the playable line. Those who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate could consider Ultra, but the 58 FPS average may result in noticeable stuttering on standard 60 Hz displays. At 1440p and below, the system has ample performance for high-refresh-rate gaming, with the 1440p Ultra result of 85 FPS being particularly strong for a demanding action-adventure title.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M with a score of 58323 (0.1% delta), the Intel Xeon w5-2545 with 58504 (-0.2% delta), the Intel Core i9-14900 with 58115 (0.5% delta), and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 with 58826 (-0.7% delta). These processors would likely produce very similar frame rates in Control, as their overall benchmark scores are within 1% of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D's 58386 average. The Core i9-14900 is particularly relevant for gaming comparisons, as it is a mainstream desktop part that may be more familiar to prospective buyers.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5070's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 580 with an average score of 40318 (0.1% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 with 40063 (0.8% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 with 40870 (-1.2% delta), and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile with 39568 (2% delta). These workstation-oriented cards are unlikely to be direct consumer alternatives, but the data indicates that their raw performance levels are comparable to the RTX 5070. The delta values suggest that the RTX 5070's 40377 average score is closely matched by these parts, meaning users with those GPUs could expect similar framerates in Control, albeit with potentially different feature support.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested combinations in the database, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 780th out of 3720 combos for Control. This places it in the top 21% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing given the game's release date in 2019 and the current hardware generation. The rank suggests that while this is not an absolute top-tier configuration, it outperforms the majority of systems in the database for this specific title.

The percentile rankings for individual components reinforce this position. The CPU ranks in the 92nd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 82nd percentile among all GPUs. The slightly lower GPU percentile is consistent with the 4K Ultra result falling below 60 FPS, as higher-ranked GPUs would likely clear that threshold. The combo's overall rank of 780 indicates that the system is well-balanced, with neither component dragging down the other's potential in Control.

FAQ

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

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 58 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable setting at 4K is High, which averages 66 FPS.

Q: What is the highest preset that maintains 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 achieve an average of 85 FPS, making it the most demanding preset that comfortably clears the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution.

Q: How does the 1080p Low preset compare to the 4K High preset?

A: The 1080p Low preset averages 206 FPS, which is over three times higher than the 4K High preset's 66 FPS average. This demonstrates the significant performance cost of higher resolutions.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as frame rates drop substantially when increasing graphical settings. The CPU's high single-thread score helps maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions, but the GPU's limits become apparent at 4K Ultra.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded for this system?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded in the measured data is 63 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is still above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 780th out of 3720 tested combos for Control, placing it in the top 21% of all systems in the database for this game.