Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a highly unusual combination for running Control, a 2019 Action Adventure title. The database contains measured frame rate data for this exact pairing across three resolutions and four quality presets. The recorded results show a system where the GPU is the decisive factor, as the Arc B390 is an integrated-class part with a very low benchmark percentile. This analysis walks through the measured data, comparing it to the nearest rival hardware, and determines exactly what settings, if any, can achieve the 60 FPS playable threshold.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: No. The measured average frame rate at 1920x1080 with High settings is 41 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The only playable setting at this resolution is Low, which produces an average of 65 FPS.

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

A: There is no playable setting at 2560x1440. The database shows that even at Low settings, the average frame rate is only 50 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra all produce lower averages of 35, 31, and 27 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1463, which is 1.3% lower. The GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5% lower), the GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5% lower), and the GeForce GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7% lower). The Arc B390 is slightly ahead of all four.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested systems?

A: This combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3311 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the lower portion of the database, indicating that most other combinations deliver higher frame rates in this game.

Q: What are the measured frame times at 3840x2160 with Medium settings?

A: At 4K with Medium settings, the recorded data shows an average frame rate of 24 FPS, with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS. This is the only 4K preset with a recorded minimum and maximum.

Q: Does the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X have a high benchmark score?

A: Yes. The CPU has an average benchmark score of 57498 and sits in the 92nd percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14900, scores 58115, which is 1.1% higher, while the AMD EPYC 9015 is nearly identical at 57555, just 0.1% lower.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rate data for Control with this hardware combination is organized by resolution and preset. All numbers below are taken directly from the recorded measurements.

At 3840x2160, the results are consistently low. With Low settings, the average frame rate is 33 FPS. Medium settings drop the average to 24 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS. High settings produce an average of 21 FPS. Ultra is the slowest at this resolution, averaging 18 FPS. No preset at 4K approaches the 60 FPS playable threshold, and the spread from Low to Ultra is 15 FPS, from 33 down to 18.

At 2560x1440, performance improves but remains below the playable threshold. Low settings deliver an average of 50 FPS. Medium settings average 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. High settings average 31 FPS. Ultra averages 27 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 23 FPS, showing a steep scaling cost as quality increases.

At 1920x1080, the results finally cross the 60 FPS line, but only at the lowest preset. Low settings produce an average of 65 FPS, which is 5 FPS above the playable threshold. Medium settings drop to 46 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. High settings average 41 FPS. Ultra averages 36 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is 19 FPS, a significant penalty for moving up one quality tier.

The data shows a clear pattern across all resolutions: the step from Low to Medium is consistently the largest performance hit. At 4K, Low to Medium is a 9 FPS drop. At 1440p, it is a 15 FPS drop. At 1080p, it is a 19 FPS drop. The step from Medium to High is smaller, and the step from High to Ultra is smaller still. This suggests that the Medium preset introduces a rendering feature that heavily taxes the Intel Arc B390.

Resolution scaling also matters. Moving from 1080p Low (65 FPS) to 1440p Low (50 FPS) is a 15 FPS reduction, and moving from 1440p Low to 4K Low (33 FPS) is a 17 FPS reduction. The same pattern holds at High settings: 41 FPS at 1080p, 31 FPS at 1440p, and 21 FPS at 4K, a roughly 10 FPS drop for each step up in resolution.

CPU and GPU Roles

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a high-end desktop processor with 12 cores, 24 threads, and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It ranks in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs, with a multi-core score of 32172 in Cinebench R23 and a single-core score of 2253 in the same test. This is far more processing power than Control requires. The Intel Arc B390, by contrast, is an integrated graphics processor with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all low-end NVIDIA parts from the GT 700 and 800 series era.

The measured frame rates make it clear that the GPU is the limiting factor at every resolution and preset. Consider the scaling between 1080p and 4K at Low settings: 65 FPS at 1080p, 50 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would stay relatively flat as resolution increases, because the CPU workload would remain similar. Instead, the frame rate drops sharply with each resolution increase, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound system.

The same conclusion comes from the preset scaling. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra drops the frame rate from 65 to 36 FPS, a 45% reduction. This is entirely a GPU workload increase. The Ryzen 9 9900X has ample headroom, as evidenced by its high benchmark scores, but that headroom is unused because the Arc B390 cannot feed frames fast enough.

The verdict data reinforces this. The verdictByResolution field lists no playable settings at 3840x2160 or 2560x1440, and only Low at 1920x1080. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the higher resolutions would still show playable frame rates at lower presets, since the CPU load does not scale with resolution. They do not. The GPU is the sole determinant of performance in this configuration.

The Intel Arc B390 has a TDP of 80 W, a base clock of 300 MHz, and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. It uses system-shared memory, meaning its bandwidth is system dependent. This architecture explains why it performs at the level of a GT 710, a part from a previous generation. The Ryzen 9 9900X, with its 64 MB of L3 cache and DDR5 memory support, is not contributing to any frame rate limitation here.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Arc B390, based on average benchmark scores, are all older, low-end NVIDIA GPUs. The Arc B390 scores 1482. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, a 1.3% difference. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7% lower. Any of these GPUs would be expected to produce frame rates in Control very close to those recorded for the Arc B390, meaning all would struggle to exceed 60 FPS at 1080p except at the Low preset, and none would be playable at 1440p or 4K.

The Ryzen 9 9900X has a different set of nearest rivals, all of which are server or high-end desktop parts. The AMD EPYC 9015 scores 57555, which is 0.1% higher than the 9900X's 57498. The AMD EPYC 7313 scores 57399, 0.2% lower. The Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115, 1.1% higher. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M scores 58323, 1.4% higher. In the context of Control, these CPU differences are irrelevant, because the GPU is the bottleneck. Swapping the Ryzen 9 9900X for any of these rivals would not change the measured frame rates in any meaningful way, as the Arc B390 would still cap performance.

For a user considering a similar combo, the database suggests that pairing any of these rival CPUs with the Arc B390 would yield nearly identical results in Control. The frame rates would be dictated by the GPU tier, not the CPU. Conversely, pairing the Ryzen 9 9900X with a much stronger GPU would produce dramatically better results, but that is outside the scope of this specific combo.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3311 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the bottom 11% of the database. The ranking reflects the GPU's low percentile (9th) rather than the CPU's high percentile (92nd), because Control's performance here is entirely GPU-bound.

This ranking means that most other tested combinations, including those with much weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs, would deliver higher frame rates in Control. The data shows a single playable configuration: 1080p Low at 65 FPS. At every other tested setting, the frame rate falls below 60 FPS. A rank of 3311 out of 3720 is consistent with a system that can only barely meet the playable threshold at the lowest settings and lowest resolution.

The ranking also highlights the imbalance of this combo. The Ryzen 9 9900X is a top-tier CPU, while the Arc B390 is an entry-level integrated GPU. In a CPU-light game like Control, that imbalance results in a system that performs like a low-end laptop, not a desktop with a 12-core processor. The database's ranking captures this, placing the combo far below what the CPU alone would suggest.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Control? The answer depends on the resolution and settings. According to the verdictByResolution data, the system is playable at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where it achieves an average of 65 FPS. This clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by 5 FPS.

At 2560x1440, there are no playable settings. The best result is 50 FPS at Low, which is 10 FPS short of the threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra are all lower, at 35, 31, and 27 FPS respectively.

At 3840x2160, there are also no playable settings. The best result is 33 FPS at Low, which is 27 FPS short of the threshold. Medium averages 24 FPS, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS.

The verdict is clear: this combination can run Control only at 1080p with the Low preset. Any attempt to raise the resolution or the quality preset results in frame rates below 60 FPS. The system is not suitable for 1440p or 4K gaming in this title.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, there is no best setting, because no preset reaches 60 FPS. The highest average frame rate at this resolution is 33 FPS with Low settings, but that is still far below the playable threshold. The verdictByResolution data explicitly lists no playable settings and no best settings for 4K.

At 2560x1440, the same situation applies. No preset reaches 60 FPS. The highest average is 50 FPS at Low, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The database records no playable settings and no best settings for 1440p.

At 1920x1080, the best and only playable setting is Low. The measured average frame rate at 1080p Low is 65 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 46 FPS, High averages 41 FPS, and Ultra averages 36 FPS, all of which are unplayable by the 60 FPS standard.

For users who own this exact hardware and want to play Control, the only viable configuration is 1920x1080 with Low settings. That configuration provides an average of 65 FPS, with no recorded minimum or maximum in the database. The system has no headroom for higher quality settings or higher resolutions, as the GPU is fully saturated at this point.