Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination delivers a playable experience across most of Control’s settings, but 4K Ultra remains out of reach. The data shows a clear pattern: the RTX 4060 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the 7900X provides ample headroom for CPU-bound scenarios. This pairing is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring a drop to Low settings to maintain fluid frame rates.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU benchmarks, the Ryzen 9 7900X sits in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53,288. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing are remarkably close in overall performance. The AMD EPYC 7313P scores 53,206, which is just 0.2% lower, making it a near-identical match for multi-threaded workloads. The Intel Xeon Phi 7290 is 0.3% ahead at 53,469, while the Intel Xeon 634 trails by 0.6% at 52,974. The Intel Core i7-14700F leads this group slightly, scoring 53,620 and outperforming the 7900X by 0.6%. For gaming purposes, any of these CPUs would deliver virtually indistinguishable frame rates in Control, as the differences are well within run-to-run variance.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4060 holds the 61st percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 17,639. Its nearest rivals are unexpected in a gaming context. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17,666, just 0.2% higher, while the AMD Radeon 780M integrated graphics trail by 0.3% at 17,588. The AMD Radeon Pro 560 and Pro 460 are 0.5% and 0.7% behind, respectively. These results highlight that the RTX 4060’s raw compute scores do not fully capture its gaming capabilities, particularly with features like DLSS and ray tracing, which are not reflected in these synthetic numbers. In practical terms, the RTX 4060 should outperform these rivals in Control due to driver optimizations and architecture-specific features, but the raw benchmark deltas are minimal.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear division of labor between the Ryzen 9 7900X and the RTX 4060 in Control. At 1920x1080, the CPU’s strength becomes evident. Moving from Low to Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops from 141.1 FPS to 77.6 FPS, a decline of 45%. This scaling is primarily driven by GPU load, but the 7900X ensures that even at Low settings, the frame rate stays high enough to avoid CPU bottlenecks. The 7900X’s 12 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, provide far more processing power than Control requires, meaning the GPU dictates performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the GPU’s role intensifies. The frame rate at Low settings is 105.4 FPS, which drops to 59.6 FPS at Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium is 31.7 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is only 4.7 FPS. This non-linear scaling suggests that certain Ultra settings, likely those related to shadows or reflections, impose a disproportionate load on the RTX 4060’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus. The CPU remains capable, but the GPU’s memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s becomes a limiting factor at higher presets.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unquestionably the bottleneck. The frame rate at Low is 71.5 FPS, but this falls to 48.9 FPS at Medium and 43.4 FPS at High. Ultra drops further to 42 FPS. The CPU’s influence is negligible at this resolution, as the RTX 4060’s 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 48 ROPs are insufficient to maintain high frame rates with demanding settings. The data indicates that the 7900X would not meaningfully improve 4K performance; upgrading the GPU would yield far larger gains.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo show consistent behavior across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the RTX 4060 delivers excellent performance. Low settings produce an average of 141.1 FPS, Medium drops to 98.2 FPS, High to 91.9 FPS, and Ultra to 77.6 FPS. All presets exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold, with Ultra still providing a 29% margin above it.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain playable but with less headroom. Low averages 105.4 FPS, Medium 73.7 FPS, High 69 FPS, and Ultra 59.6 FPS. The Ultra preset falls just below the 60 FPS target, making it technically unplayable by the defined threshold, though the deficit is only 0.4 FPS. High settings maintain a comfortable 15% buffer above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, only Low settings achieve playable performance. Low averages 71.5 FPS, which is 19% above the threshold. Medium drops to 48.9 FPS, High to 43.4 FPS, and Ultra to 42 FPS. These lower presets represent significant compromises, with Medium being 18.5% below the playable threshold and High 27.7% below. The gap between Medium and High is 5.5 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is just 1.4 FPS, indicating diminishing returns at the highest settings.

FAQ

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

A: No. The measured average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 42 FPS, which is 30% below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Only Low settings at 4K achieve playable performance, averaging 71.5 FPS.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: High settings provide the best visual quality while staying above 60 FPS, with an average of 69 FPS. Ultra settings average 59.6 FPS, which falls just short of the playable threshold.

Q: How much performance difference is there between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. Low settings average 141.1 FPS, while Ultra settings average 77.6 FPS. This represents a 45% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 7900X or the RTX 4060 more important for this game?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU is the primary factor, as the CPU provides ample headroom. At 4K, the GPU is overwhelmingly the bottleneck, with frame rates dropping from 71.5 FPS at Low to 42 FPS at Ultra regardless of CPU capability.

Q: Does this combo meet the 60 FPS threshold at any resolution with Ultra settings?

A: Only at 1920x1080. Ultra settings at 1080p average 77.6 FPS, which is 29% above the threshold. At 1440p Ultra averages 59.6 FPS, and at 4K Ultra averages 42 FPS.

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

A: It ranks 1998 out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the 46th percentile. This suggests it is a middle-of-the-pack configuration for Control, with the GPU holding back overall performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 7900X and RTX 4060 ranks 1998th out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the lower half of configurations, which is consistent with the GPU’s 61st percentile standing among all graphics cards. The CPU’s 91st percentile ranking indicates that the 7900X is overqualified for this pairing. The data suggests that many other combos with weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs would outperform this setup in Control, particularly at 1440p and 4K resolutions. The ranking reflects the GPU-bound nature of this game, where the RTX 4060’s performance ceiling limits the overall result.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low, which averages 71.5 FPS. This is the most demanding setting that stays at or above 60 FPS at this resolution. Medium settings drop to 48.9 FPS, which is unplayable by the defined threshold.

At 2560x1440, High settings provide the best visual quality while maintaining playability, averaging 69 FPS. This is 15% above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra settings average 59.6 FPS, which misses the threshold by 0.4 FPS, making High the recommended choice.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings are fully playable, averaging 77.6 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays above 60 FPS, with a 29% margin. All lower presets also exceed the threshold, with Low reaching 141.1 FPS, Medium 98.2 FPS, and High 91.9 FPS. The RTX 4060’s 8 GB of memory is sufficient for 1080p Ultra, and the 7900X ensures no CPU-related stutters. This resolution is where this combo shines, offering high frame rates with maximum visual fidelity.