Control

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU side of this combo sits in a tightly contested performance cluster. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D averages a benchmark score of 54,762, placing it just 0.6% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (55,093) in the database's aggregate measurements. The other nearby alternatives include the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K at 54,053 (1.3% slower than the 9900X3D), the Intel Xeon 6505P at 53,701 (2% slower), and the Intel Core i7-14700F at 53,620 (2.1% slower). These deltas are all within a narrow band, meaning any of these processors would deliver virtually indistinguishable framerates in CPU-bound scenarios.

The GPU situation is dramatically different. The Intel Arc B390 scores 1,482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which places it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals are all legacy NVIDIA parts: the GeForce GT 520MX at 1,463 (1.3% behind), the GeForce 800M at 1,460 (1.5% behind), the GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1,446 (2.5% behind), and the GeForce GT 710 at 1,443 (2.7% behind). The Arc B390 leads this group, but the margins are small, and all five GPUs occupy essentially the same performance tier. For practical purposes, any of these cards would produce comparable framerates, though the Arc B390 holds a slight edge.

The combination of a top-tier 12-core processor with a low-end integrated-class GPU creates an extreme bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D's 91st percentile standing among all CPUs contrasts sharply with the Arc B390's 9th percentile GPU ranking. Users considering this pairing should expect the GPU to be the limiting factor in essentially every gaming scenario, regardless of resolution or settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded data shows that the Intel Arc B390 dictates performance across all resolutions in Control. At 4K, the CPU's power is irrelevant: the GPU delivers 21 FPS on High, 24 FPS on Medium, and 18 FPS on Ultra. Moving down to 1440p improves things moderately, with Low reaching 50 FPS and High hitting 31 FPS. At 1080p, the GPU finally approaches playability, with Low averaging 65 FPS.

The scaling pattern reveals how heavily GPU-bound this pairing is. From 4K Ultra (18 FPS) to 1080p Ultra (36 FPS), the framerate exactly doubles when pixel count drops by roughly 75%. This is a textbook GPU-limited scaling curve. The CPU's 12 cores, 24 threads, and 128 MB L3 cache are never exercised meaningfully by Control's workload at these settings. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work, the Arc B390 still caps performance at 65 FPS, and the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's single-thread score of 6,739 in Cinebench R23 is far beyond what this game requires.

Preset scaling tells the same story. At every resolution, the jump from Low to Ultra costs roughly half the framerate: 1080p goes from 65 to 36 FPS, 1440p from 50 to 27 FPS, and 4K from 33 to 18 FPS. The consistent proportional drop across resolutions indicates the GPU's shading units, texture units, and raster operations are saturated at every setting level. The CPU is never the constraint, and no amount of processor headroom can compensate for the Arc B390's 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 1080p with playable framerates?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings. The measured average at 1080p Low is 65 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. Medium averages 46 FPS, High averages 41 FPS, and Ultra averages 36 FPS, all below the threshold.

Q: What is the best playable settings preset at 1440p?

A: None. All four presets at 2560x1440 fall short of 60 FPS. Low averages 50 FPS, Medium averages 35 FPS, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 27 FPS. The verdict data lists no playable settings for this resolution.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 leads its nearest competitors by small margins. It is 1.3% faster than the GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% faster than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% faster than the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% faster than the GeForce GT 710 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X3D overkill for this game?

A: The data indicates yes. The CPU scores in the 91st percentile among all processors, with a multi-thread score of 47,737 in Cinebench R23 and a single-thread score of 6,739. Control's framerates are entirely GPU-bound, so the CPU's capability has no measurable impact on the results recorded.

Q: What framerate variance can be expected at 1080p Medium?

A: The measured range is 40 FPS minimum to 53 FPS maximum, with an average of 46 FPS. This spread of 13 FPS indicates some scene-to-scene variation, but the overall performance remains consistently below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Does the 4K Ultra preset ever approach playability?

A: No. The measured average at 3840x2160 Ultra is 18 FPS, which is the lowest recorded result in the entire dataset. No settings combination at 4K reaches even half of the 60 FPS playability threshold.

The Verdict

This PC cannot run Control at 4K or 1440p with playable performance. The verdict data lists no playable settings at either 3840x2160 or 2560x1440, meaning every preset at these resolutions falls below the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K, the best case is Low at 33 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 18 FPS. At 1440p, Low reaches 50 FPS, but this still misses the mark by 10 FPS.

At 1080p, the system achieves playable status on exactly one preset: Low. The measured 65 FPS average clears the 60 FPS threshold, making this the only configuration where the game runs smoothly. Medium at 46 FPS, High at 41 FPS, and Ultra at 36 FPS all remain below the playability bar.

The verdict is straightforward: this is a 1080p Low system for Control, and nothing more. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D provides exceptional CPU performance, but the Intel Arc B390's 9th percentile GPU ranking fundamentally limits the experience. Users seeking higher visual quality would need a substantially more powerful graphics solution, as the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution or preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

3840x2160 (4K):

Low settings average 33 FPS. Medium settings average 24 FPS, with a minimum of 20 FPS and maximum of 27 FPS. High settings average 21 FPS. Ultra settings average 18 FPS. No preset at this resolution approaches the 60 FPS threshold.

2560x1440 (1440p):

Low settings average 50 FPS. Medium settings average 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and maximum of 40 FPS. High settings average 31 FPS. Ultra settings average 27 FPS. Low comes closest to playability, but still falls 10 FPS short.

1920x1080 (1080p):

Low settings average 65 FPS, exceeding the 60 FPS playability threshold. Medium settings average 46 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and maximum of 53 FPS. High settings average 41 FPS. Ultra settings average 36 FPS. Low is the only playable preset, and it clears the threshold by just 5 FPS.

The dataset shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step from 1080p to 4K reduces framerates by roughly 35-50% at equivalent settings. The GPU's performance ceiling is clearly defined, and the recorded minimum and maximum values for Medium presets at each resolution confirm stable, if low, performance without severe frame-time spikes.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 3,311th out of 3,720 tested combinations in Control. This places it in the bottom 11% of all systems in the database for this game. The ranking reflects the severe GPU bottleneck: the Arc B390's 9th percentile standing among GPUs dominates the overall result, while the CPU's 91st percentile ranking contributes little to actual gaming performance.

The rank of 3,311 means roughly 89% of tested combos deliver better framerates in Control. The data shows this is not a subtle gap. The system only manages playable performance at 1080p Low, and even that result (65 FPS average) barely exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. Most competing configurations in the database, even those with much weaker processors, would outperform this pairing due to having more capable graphics hardware.

The combination's ranking is a direct consequence of pairing a flagship-class CPU with a GPU that performs in line with decade-old entry-level discrete cards. The recorded measurements confirm that Control is entirely GPU-bound on this system, and the CPU's considerable multi-threading capabilities (47,737 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) offer no benefit in this title. For users evaluating this combo, the rank makes clear that the Arc B390 is the definitive performance ceiling, and that ceiling is low enough to restrict playability to 1080p Low settings.