Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers a commanding performance in Control, exceeding the 60 FPS threshold at every tested resolution and preset. The data shows a system with enough headroom to max out the game's visual settings at 4K, while lower resolutions push frame rates into territory that suits high-refresh-rate displays. This combination ranks in the 94.5th percentile of all tested combos for this title, placing it ahead of the vast majority of hardware configurations.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is Ultra, which produces an average of 72 FPS. This is a significant finding because it means the system does not require any graphical compromises at 4K; the full visual fidelity of Control is playable with room to spare above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Stepping down to High yields 82 FPS, while Medium and Low reach 93 FPS and 130 FPS respectively, all of which are comfortably above the playable mark.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset again is the best choice, delivering an average of 106 FPS. The performance scaling here is steep: High runs at 122 FPS, Medium at 137 FPS, and Low at 193 FPS. The gap between Medium and Low is particularly notable, representing a 56 FPS jump, which suggests that the Low preset removes a substantial amount of GPU workload, likely related to lighting and particle effects that are central to Control's visual identity.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves 140 FPS on average, which is more than double the 60 FPS threshold. The lower presets push even higher: High reaches 161 FPS, Medium 181 FPS, and Low hits 255 FPS. The 1080p results indicate that this combination is not merely playable but is instead suited for competitive or high-refresh-rate gaming, where the extra frames beyond 144 FPS can be leveraged by capable displays. Across all three resolutions, the Ultra preset remains the recommended setting because it never drops below the playable threshold, and the average FPS figures show substantial headroom.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear pattern where the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as resolution increases, while the CPU's role diminishes. At 1920x1080, the gap between Low and Ultra is 115 FPS (255 vs 140), indicating that the graphics card is still the primary limiter, but the CPU is feeding frames fast enough to allow for very high output. The fact that Low at 1080p produces 255 FPS suggests the Ryzen 7 9850X3D is not a bottleneck at this resolution; the frame rate is high enough that any further increase would likely require a faster GPU.

Scaling to 2560x1440, the difference between Low and Ultra narrows to 87 FPS (193 vs 106). This reduction in the spread indicates that the GPU is beginning to take on more work per frame, and the CPU's headroom becomes less relevant. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum FPS of 117, which is still far above the 60 FPS threshold, proving that even in demanding scenes, the system holds its ground.

At 3840x2160, the Low-to-Ultra gap compresses further to 58 FPS (130 vs 72). This is the clearest evidence of GPU-bound behavior: the pixel count at 4K places a heavy load on the RTX 5080, and the frame rate differences between presets shrink because the GPU is working near its limits. The CPU's role at 4K is minimal; the Ryzen 7 9850X3D's strong single-thread performance, as indicated by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2228, ensures it can keep up with the GPU's demands without becoming the limiting factor. The data shows that at 1080p and 1440p, the GPU still matters more, but the CPU's capability allows for maximum frame rates; at 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the system delivers an average of 72 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold. All four tested presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at 4K.

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combination achieves in Control?*

A: The highest recorded average is 255 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. The High preset at 1080p still produces 161 FPS, and Ultra at 1080p yields 140 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 2560x1440 Ultra, the average FPS is 106, while at 3840x2160 Ultra, it drops to 72. This represents a 32% reduction in average frame rate when scaling up to 4K.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9850X3D or the RTX 5080 more important for this game?

A: At 4K, the GPU is the clear limiting factor, as evidenced by the smaller performance gap between presets (58 FPS difference between Low and Ultra). At 1080p, the CPU's strong performance allows for very high frame rates (up to 255 FPS on Low), indicating the GPU is still the main constraint but the CPU provides ample headroom.

Q: Does the Medium preset offer a good balance of visual quality and performance at 1440p?

A: Yes, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 produces an average of 137 FPS with a minimum of 117 FPS. This ensures a consistently smooth experience well above the 60 FPS threshold, with better visual fidelity than Low.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded across all tested settings?

A: The lowest average is 72 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. This is still 12 FPS above the playability threshold, meaning no tested configuration dips below 60 FPS on average.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 204th out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the top 5.5% of all configurations, indicating that it outperforms the overwhelming majority of systems tested for this game. The percentile ranking for the CPU alone is 92 (meaning it is better than 92% of all CPUs), and the GPU sits at the 87th percentile, both of which are strong individual showings.

The high combo ranking is a result of both components being well above average, but the data suggests the GPU's performance is more critical for Control. The RTX 5080's PassMark G3D score of 36565 and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637 are strong indicators of its capability, while the CPU's PassMark multithread score of 41318 and single-thread score of 4704 ensure it does not hold the system back. In practical terms, a rank of 204 means that only a small fraction of tested systems can match or exceed the frame rates this combo achieves, particularly at 4K Ultra where the 72 FPS average is a strong result.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (delta of +0.1%), the Intel Core i9-14900 (delta of +0.5%), and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (delta of -0.7%). These processors would behave similarly in Control, meaning they would not be the limiting factor in most scenarios. The Core i9-14900, in particular, is a mainstream desktop part that would offer comparable gaming performance, as the benchmark scores are within 1% of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D. The Xeon Platinum 8260M is a server-class chip, but its score indicates it could also keep up in this game, though its platform is less suited for gaming.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (delta of +0.7%), the AMD Radeon 8060S (delta of +0.6%), and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (delta of -2.2%). These cards would produce very similar frame rates in Control. The RX 9070 GRE is the closest competitor, being 2.2% slower on average, which would translate to a few FPS difference in practice. The RX 6750 GRE and 8060S are essentially on par with the RTX 5080 according to the aggregate scores, though the RTX 5080's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and higher bandwidth (960.0 GB/s) may give it an edge in texture-heavy scenes that the benchmark scores do not fully capture. Users with these alternative GPUs can expect nearly identical performance in Control at all resolutions.

The Verdict

This system can absolutely run Control, and it does so with exceptional headroom. The verdict by resolution is clear: at 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Ultra with an average of 72 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold by a healthy margin. At 2560x1440, Ultra runs at 106 FPS, and at 1920x1080, Ultra reaches 140 FPS. Every single tested preset at every resolution produces an average FPS above 60, meaning the user has complete freedom to choose settings based on visual preference rather than performance constraints.

The only caveat is that the minimum FPS values are only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution (79 FPS at 4K, 117 FPS at 1440p, and 154 FPS at 1080p). These minimums are all well above 60 FPS, suggesting that even in the most demanding scenes, the system will not stutter or drop below playability. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the 1440p and 1080p results are particularly compelling, as the system can drive frame rates in the 106-255 FPS range depending on settings, making it suitable for displays with 144 Hz or 240 Hz refresh rates. In summary, this is a top-tier configuration for Control that offers max settings at 4K and exceptionally high frame rates at lower resolutions.