Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and Intel Arc B580 combination delivers a playable Control experience at 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows a hard ceiling at 4K. Benchmark results indicate the system is best suited for high-refresh 1080p gaming, with the most demanding settings remaining fluid. At 1440p, medium settings just clear the playable threshold, while 4K falls short across all tested presets.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves an average of 61.3 FPS, making it the highest quality setting that remains at or above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the optimal choice for maximum visual fidelity at this resolution, though the gap to the 60 FPS line is narrow. High settings produce 74 FPS, Medium delivers 80 FPS, and Low reaches 112.3 FPS, but Ultra’s 61.3 FPS is the only preset that combines top-tier visuals with playability.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the most demanding configuration that stays above 60 FPS, averaging exactly 60.1 FPS. This is a razor-thin margin, barely clearing the playable threshold. Low settings at this resolution yield 85.9 FPS, while High drops to 53.8 FPS and Ultra falls to 48.6 FPS, both below the playable mark. Medium is the clear pick here, as it is the only quality tier above Low that maintains fluid performance.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold. The best result comes from Low settings at 55.9 FPS, which is playable in a technical sense but still below the benchmark’s playable line. Medium manages 39.6 FPS, High drops to 34.3 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 32 FPS. The data shows that 4K is not viable for this combo with the settings tested.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals a clear division of labor. At 1080p, the GPU is the primary constraint at higher presets, but the CPU has enough headroom to push Low settings to 112.3 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p (112.3 to 80 FPS) is a 28.8% drop, while the move from Medium to High (80 to 74 FPS) is only 7.5%, and High to Ultra (74 to 61.3 FPS) is 17.2%. This pattern suggests the GPU becomes the bottleneck as settings increase, with the CPU capable of feeding high frame rates at lower presets.

At 1440p, the GPU load increases significantly. Low settings produce 85.9 FPS, but Medium drops to 60.1 FPS — a 30% reduction. High falls to 53.8 FPS, and Ultra to 48.6 FPS. The consistent degradation with each preset step indicates the GPU is the dominant factor at this resolution. The Ryzen 9 7900X’s 12 cores and 24 threads are unlikely to be the limiting component here, as the frame rate scales almost entirely with graphics load.

The 4K results reinforce this. Low settings at 3840x2160 deliver 55.9 FPS, but Medium drops to 39.6 FPS, High to 34.3 FPS, and Ultra to 32 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium (16.3 FPS) is larger than the gap between Medium and High (5.3 FPS) or High and Ultra (2.3 FPS), suggesting that the GPU is saturated even at Low settings. The Intel Arc B580’s 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is simply insufficient for 4K in this title.

The CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the 112.3 FPS result shows the processor can drive high frame rates. The Ryzen 9 7900X’s single-thread score of 1093 in 3DMark and Cinebench R23 single-core result of 2016.5 indicate strong per-core performance, which helps in a game like Control that relies on consistent frame pacing. However, as resolution and preset quality increase, the GPU takes over as the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 112.3 FPS average
• Medium: 80 FPS average
• High: 74 FPS average
• Ultra: 61.3 FPS average

The 1080p results show a clear hierarchy. Low settings deliver the highest frame rate by a wide margin, with 112.3 FPS. Medium drops to 80 FPS, High to 74 FPS, and Ultra to 61.3 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 32.3 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is only 6 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 12.7 FPS. This indicates that the Ultra preset carries a significant performance cost.

2560x1440:

• Low: 85.9 FPS average
• Medium: 60.1 FPS average
• High: 53.8 FPS average
• Ultra: 48.6 FPS average

At 1440p, Low settings remain comfortable at 85.9 FPS. Medium just clears the playable threshold at 60.1 FPS. High falls below 60 FPS at 53.8, and Ultra drops further to 48.6. The scaling from Low to Medium is a 30% reduction, while Medium to High is 10.5%, and High to Ultra is 9.7%. The decreasing percentage drops suggest the GPU is approaching its limits.

3840x2160:

• Low: 55.9 FPS average
• Medium: 39.6 FPS average
• High: 34.3 FPS average
• Ultra: 32 FPS average

4K results are uniformly below the playable threshold. Low settings lead at 55.9 FPS, which is close but not enough. Medium drops to 39.6, High to 34.3, and Ultra to 32. The margin between Low and Medium is 16.3 FPS, while Medium to High is 5.3 FPS, and High to Ultra is just 2.3 FPS. This compression at higher presets indicates the GPU is fully saturated.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and Intel Arc B580 combination ranks 2853 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the lower 23.3% of all configurations, which is a modest showing. The GPU’s percentile versus all GPUs is 68, meaning the Arc B580 outperforms 68% of tested graphics cards, but the CPU is stronger still, sitting at the 91st percentile among all CPUs.

The GPU’s nearest rivals show how close the competition is. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP scores 0.2% higher on average, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 is 0.6% behind. The RTX 3080 is 0.7% ahead, and the NVIDIA P106-100 is 1% behind. These are all sub-1% differences, indicating that the Arc B580 sits in a very tight performance band. The combo’s rank of 2853 reflects this mid-tier positioning rather than any extreme weakness.

The CPU’s rivals are similarly clustered. The AMD EPYC 7313P is 0.2% ahead, the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 is 0.3% behind, the Intel Xeon 634 is 0.6% ahead, and the Intel Core i7-14700F is 0.6% behind. This suggests the Ryzen 9 7900X is competitive with a range of high-end server and desktop chips, but its raw power does not translate into a top-tier gaming combo when paired with the Arc B580.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 4K?

A: No. The best 4K result is 55.9 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. All other 4K presets fall further behind, with Ultra averaging 32 FPS.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p?

A: Medium is the most demanding preset that stays playable, averaging 60.1 FPS. Low offers more headroom at 85.9 FPS, but Medium is the highest quality option that clears the 60 FPS line.

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

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions and presets. At 1080p Low, the CPU can push 112.3 FPS, but the frame rate drops consistently as graphics load increases, indicating the Arc B580 is the bottleneck.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B580’s average benchmark score of 23021 is within 1% of the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, RTX 3080, and NVIDIA P106-100. It trails the RTX 3080 by 0.7% and leads the RTX 2080 by 0.6%.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 1080p?

A: Ultra is playable at 1080p, averaging 61.3 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays above 60 FPS, though the margin is slim.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 7900X rank among CPUs?

A: The CPU sits at the 91st percentile among all tested CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53288. Its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD EPYC 7313P, are all within 0.6% of its score.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control, but only at specific resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, every preset is playable, with Ultra averaging 61.3 FPS, High at 74 FPS, Medium at 80 FPS, and Low at 112.3 FPS. This is the ideal resolution for this combo, offering a full range of settings above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, only Low and Medium are playable. Medium averages 60.1 FPS, which clears the threshold by a single frame, while Low delivers 85.9 FPS. High and Ultra fall below 60 FPS at 53.8 and 48.6 FPS respectively. Players at this resolution should stick to Medium or lower.

At 3840x2160, no preset is playable. The best result is Low at 55.9 FPS, which is still below the 60 FPS line. The verdict is clear: this system is not suitable for 4K gaming in Control. The data shows that the Intel Arc B580 is the limiting factor, while the Ryzen 9 7900X has ample headroom to support higher frame rates at lower resolutions.