Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a surprisingly consistent experience in Control, though the ceiling is firmly set by the graphics card. This combination lands in the 2848th position out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. The data shows a system that is perfectly capable at 1080p and 1440p with the right settings, but one that runs out of headroom when pushed to 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo shows its strongest performance. With Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 110.9 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded for this pairing. Moving to Medium settings drops the average to 82.4 FPS, while High settings still manage a solid 74.4 FPS average. The Ultra preset is the only one that dips below the 60 FPS playable threshold at this resolution, landing at 59.6 FPS average — a marginal miss that sits just 0.4 FPS under the line.

The 2560x1440 results show a clear step down. Low settings produce an 84.8 FPS average, which is still well above the playable threshold. Medium settings hit exactly 60.4 FPS average, barely clearing the bar. High settings fall to 56 FPS average, and Ultra drops further to 48.8 FPS average. The gap between Low and Medium at this resolution is 24.4 FPS, while the drop from Medium to High is only 4.4 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns as the preset climbs.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low settings produce a 56.3 FPS average, which is the only preset that comes close to playable. Medium drops to 39.5 FPS average, High falls to 33.3 FPS average, and Ultra bottoms out at 34.4 FPS average. Interestingly, Ultra scores slightly higher than High at this resolution, a 1.1 FPS difference that likely falls within measurement variance. The scaling from Low to Medium at 4K is a steep 16.8 FPS loss, indicating the GPU is heavily burdened by the additional render work.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited in Control. The Ryzen 9 9900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, sits in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs in the database. Meanwhile, the Arc B580 ranks in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. This asymmetry means the graphics card is the primary bottleneck across all tested configurations.

The resolution scaling confirms this. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS at High settings drops from 74.4 to 56, a 24.7% reduction. From 1440p to 4K at High, the average falls from 56 to 33.3, a 40.5% reduction. These large percentage drops are characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario — if the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate would remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the same number of draw calls would be processed.

The preset scaling tells a similar story. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 51.3 FPS (110.9 down to 59.6). At 1440p, that gap narrows to 36 FPS (84.8 down to 48.8). At 4K, the gap compresses further to 21.9 FPS (56.3 down to 34.4). This compression at higher resolutions is the classic signature of a GPU bottleneck: as pixel count rises, the GPU spends more time on fragment work and the relative cost of each setting tier grows, but the absolute FPS differences shrink because the GPU is already saturated.

The CPU's 3DMark multi-threaded score of 13929 and single-thread score of 1286 indicate plenty of headroom for this game. Control is not a title that stresses 12-core processors, and the benchmark results show no evidence of CPU-side limitations. The Arc B580's 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the constraining factor here.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2848 out of 3720 places it in the 23rd percentile of all tested combinations. This is a low overall position, but it must be interpreted carefully. The database includes many high-end pairings that far exceed this system's capabilities, so a rank in the lower quarter does not mean the system is inadequate for all games — only that it sits below most other tested configurations.

The CPU's individual standing is strong. The Ryzen 9 9900X's average benchmark score of 57498 puts it in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD EPYC 9015 (57555, 0.1% higher), AMD EPYC 7313 (57399, 0.2% lower), Intel Core i9-14900 (58115, 1.1% higher), and Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58323, 1.4% higher). These deltas are tiny — the 9900X trades blows with server-class parts and the previous-gen flagship i9 within a 1.4% band.

The GPU's standing is more modest. The Arc B580's average score of 23021 places it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, 0.2% higher), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895, 0.6% lower), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172, 0.7% higher), and NVIDIA P106-100 (23249, 1% higher). The Arc B580 effectively performs within 1% of the RTX 3080 in this aggregate score, which is notable given the generational and architectural differences. This aggregate parity is what drives the overall combo rank down — the GPU is merely average, and the CPU cannot compensate for that in a GPU-bound title like Control.

The Verdict

The question of whether this PC can run Control has a nuanced answer depending on resolution. At 3840x2160, the verdict is no — there are no playable settings that reach the 60 FPS threshold. The best 4K result is Low at 56.3 FPS average, which falls short. Ultra and High are effectively identical at 34.4 and 33.3 FPS respectively, and Medium sits at 39.5 FPS. None of these clear the bar.

At 2560x1440, the system is playable. Two presets — Low at 84.8 FPS and Medium at 60.4 FPS — meet the 60 FPS threshold. However, the margin at Medium is razor-thin, just 0.4 FPS above the line. High at 56 FPS and Ultra at 48.8 FPS are not playable by this metric. The best playable setting is Medium, delivering exactly the 60.4 FPS average needed.

At 1920x1080, the system is comfortably playable across most presets. Low at 110.9 FPS, Medium at 82.4 FPS, and High at 74.4 FPS all clear the threshold with room to spare. Ultra at 59.6 FPS misses by a hair. The best playable setting is High at 74.4 FPS average, which offers a substantial frame rate cushion over the playable line.

The practical takeaway: this system runs Control smoothly at 1080p and acceptably at 1440p with Medium settings, but 4K is out of reach. The 59.6 FPS result at 1080p Ultra is frustratingly close to playable, and a small settings tweak — like dropping a single shadow or reflection option — would likely push it over 60 FPS, though the exact impact cannot be quantified from the available data.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals indicate that users with any of these processors would see nearly identical performance in this game. The AMD EPYC 9015 scores within 0.1% of the 9900X, and the AMD EPYC 7313 is within 0.2% — both are server parts that would not typically be found in a gaming build, but their aggregate scores are effectively the same. The Intel Core i9-14900 is 1.1% faster on aggregate, and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M is 1.4% faster. In a GPU-bound title like Control, these differences would be completely invisible — the frame rate is set by the Arc B580, not the CPU.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a cluster of very similar performers. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP is 0.2% faster on aggregate, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 is 0.6% slower, the RTX 3080 is 0.7% faster, and the NVIDIA P106-100 is 1% faster. The RTX 3080 result is particularly interesting — this 2024 Intel card is essentially matching a 2020 flagship in the aggregate benchmark. In practice, a system with any of these GPUs paired with a similarly capable CPU would produce frame rates within a couple of percent of this combo in Control. The RTX 2080 and RTX 3080 would both behave nearly identically to the Arc B580 here, despite their different architectures and VRAM configurations.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves the 60 FPS threshold. The best playable option does not exist, and the highest average FPS is 56.3 at Low settings — which still falls short. Users at 4K would need to accept sub-60 performance or reduce the resolution.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of 60.4 FPS. This is the optimal balance point — it clears the threshold by a negligible margin, and pushing to High would cost 4.4 FPS and drop below 60. The Low preset at 84.8 FPS is a viable alternative for users who prefer headroom over visual quality.

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 74.4 FPS. This provides a 14.4 FPS cushion over the playable threshold, which is comfortable enough to absorb minor scene-to-scene variance. The Ultra preset at 59.6 FPS is just 0.4 FPS short, so users who value visual fidelity over a guaranteed 60 FPS could reasonably choose it, but the data does not support calling it playable by the stated metric.

The recommended configurations are therefore: 1080p High for the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, 1440p Medium as the only playable high-fidelity option, and no 4K preset unless the user accepts frame rates in the 33-56 FPS range.