Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers an exceptionally strong performance profile in Control, with measured data showing that the combination handles the game’s maximum settings at every tested resolution. The benchmark results indicate a system that is not merely playable but overwhelmingly capable, leaving substantial headroom across the board.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination covers three resolutions and four settings presets, with average frame rates consistently high. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces an average of 232 FPS, while Medium averages 194 FPS with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS. The High preset averages 172 FPS, and Ultra still maintains an average of 149 FPS. These numbers show that even the most demanding preset at 1080p delivers nearly two and a half times the playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains robust. The Low preset averages 206 FPS, Medium averages 146 FPS with a minimum of 124 FPS and a maximum of 168 FPS, and High averages 130 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p achieves an average of 113 FPS. The data shows a predictable scaling pattern where each step up in settings costs a measurable but not dramatic amount of frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the results are still well above the playable threshold. Low settings average 139 FPS, Medium averages 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS, and High averages 88 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 76 FPS. This represents a significant drop from the 1080p Ultra score of 149 FPS, but the absolute numbers remain high enough for smooth gameplay with room to spare.

The frame time consistency, where available, shows that the Medium preset at all three resolutions maintains a narrow band between minimum and maximum FPS. At 4K, the difference between the 84 FPS minimum and 114 FPS maximum is 30 FPS, while at 1440p it is 44 FPS, and at 1080p it is 58 FPS. This suggests that higher resolutions produce more consistent frame pacing, likely due to the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck rather than any CPU-side variability.

Best Settings per Resolution

The verdict data indicates that the Ultra preset is the best settings choice at every resolution, as it remains at or above 60 FPS in all cases. At 1920x1080, Ultra delivers an average of 149 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra delivers an average of 113 FPS. At 3840x2160, Ultra delivers an average of 76 FPS.

The fact that Ultra is the recommended setting at all three resolutions is notable. Many high-end combinations struggle to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with maximum settings, but this pairing does so with a 16 FPS margin above the 60 FPS threshold. The 1440p Ultra score of 113 FPS suggests that users with high refresh rate monitors could enjoy the maximum visual quality while still benefiting from frame rates that exceed most display capabilities.

For users who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 4K offers 139 FPS, which is nearly double the Ultra score. However, given that Ultra already clears the playable threshold comfortably, there is no practical need to sacrifice settings for performance. The data does not show any settings preset that fails to reach 60 FPS, meaning every configuration tested is playable.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions and settings reveals which component exerts more influence on Control’s frame rate. Comparing the same settings preset across resolutions shows a clear pattern. At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 149 at 1080p to 113 at 1440p, a decrease of 24.2%, and then to 76 at 4K, a further decrease of 32.7%. This substantial drop with increasing resolution indicates that the GPU is the primary performance limiter at higher resolutions.

The CPU’s role becomes more apparent when examining the scaling between settings presets at a fixed resolution. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces the average FPS from 232 to 149, a 35.8% decrease. This large delta at a resolution where the GPU is less burdened suggests that the Ryzen 9 5950X is capable of feeding the RTX 4090 enough data to maintain high frame rates, but the GPU’s workload still dominates the final output.

At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is from 139 FPS to 76 FPS, a 45.3% decrease. The larger percentage drop at 4K compared to 1080p reinforces that the GPU becomes increasingly important as resolution rises. However, the 5950X’s 16 cores and 32 threads provide ample headroom so that CPU-side bottlenecks do not appear even at the lowest settings and highest frame rates.

The data suggests that for this specific game, the RTX 4090 is the limiting factor at all resolutions, but the CPU is never a constraint. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 232 FPS without the CPU holding back indicates that the 5950X’s single-thread and multi-thread performance is more than sufficient for Control’s demands. The benchmark scores support this, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1614 and multi-core score of 26017.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provides context for what other hardware would deliver similar results in this combination. For the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, the closest alternatives based on average benchmark scores include the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX with a delta of -0.2%, the AMD EPYC 8124P with a delta of -0.3%, the Intel Core i9-13900F with a delta of 0.4%, and the Intel Core i7-14700 with a delta of -0.7%. These deltas are all within one percentage point, meaning any of these CPUs would behave nearly identically to the 5950X in this game.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, the nearest rivals are the Intel Arc Pro A60 with a delta of 0%, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 with a delta of 0.3%, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M with a delta of -2.5%, and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 with a delta of 2.9%. The Intel Arc Pro A60 is effectively a performance match, while the AMD options are within a few percentage points. A user swapping the RTX 4090 for any of these GPUs would see very similar frame rates in Control.

It is worth remembering the GPU rivals listed here are not consumer gaming cards in most cases, but the benchmark data shows they achieve comparable average scores. In practical terms, swapping the 5950X for an i9-13900F or i7-14700 would yield nearly identical gameplay experience, as would swapping the RTX 4090 for an Arc Pro A60. The deltas are small enough that any differences would be within measurement noise.

FAQ

Q: Can this combination run Control at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 delivers an average of 76 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

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

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 achieves an average of 113 FPS, making it the best choice while remaining well above the playable threshold.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 149 at 1080p to 76 at 4K, a decrease of 73 FPS or approximately 49%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as FPS drops significantly with resolution increases. The CPU does not appear to be a constraint at any resolution.

Q: Does the Low preset at 1080p exceed 200 FPS?

A: Yes, the Low preset at 1920x1080 averages 232 FPS, which is the highest score recorded in the measured data.

Q: Which settings preset provides the most consistent frame pacing?

A: The Medium preset shows the narrowest gap between minimum and maximum FPS at each resolution, with a 30 FPS spread at 4K, 44 FPS at 1440p, and 58 FPS at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 160th out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the top 4.3% of all combinations in the database, which is a strong showing given the game’s age and the fact that many newer combinations may have been tested since its release.

The rank is somewhat surprising given the absolute performance levels, as the measured FPS numbers are among the highest possible. The explanation likely lies in the fact that Control is not a particularly demanding title by modern standards, and many combinations with slightly less capable hardware may achieve similar frame rates due to the game’s optimization. The 5950X’s 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs and the RTX 4090’s 88th percentile among all GPUs are both high, but the game itself may not fully utilize the hardware’s potential.

For practical purposes, this rank confirms that the combination is far more powerful than needed for Control. Users would be better served by applying this hardware to more demanding titles. The 76 FPS at 4K Ultra is excellent, but the headroom suggests that users could enable additional features or higher settings if the game supported them. The data indicates a combination that will not struggle with this game under any circumstances.