Control

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 107 FPS, making it the fastest preset recorded at this resolution. Medium settings average 76 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS. High settings average 68 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 59 FPS on average, just one frame below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decline noticeably but remain workable for the lighter presets. Low settings average 81 FPS. Medium settings average 58 FPS, with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 66 FPS. High settings average 51 FPS. Ultra settings average 45 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 36 FPS, indicating a substantial performance range depending on visual configuration.

At 3840x2160, the combination struggles to maintain smooth gameplay. Low settings average 55 FPS, which falls short of the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS. High settings average 35 FPS. Ultra settings average 30 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern: every preset at 4K remains below the playable threshold, and the step from Low to Medium costs 16 FPS on average.

The scaling across resolutions follows an expected trajectory. At Low settings, frame rates move from 107 FPS at 1080p to 81 FPS at 1440p to 55 FPS at 4K. At Medium settings, the progression is 76 FPS to 58 FPS to 39 FPS. At High settings, the progression is 68 FPS to 51 FPS to 35 FPS. At Ultra settings, the progression is 59 FPS to 45 FPS to 30 FPS. Each resolution step upward reduces performance by roughly 20 to 30 percent depending on the preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The database ranks this CPU and GPU pairing at 2950 out of 3720 tested combinations for Control. This places the combo in the lower half of all tested systems, reflecting the GPU's position as the limiting factor in this pairing. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a high-end processor, sitting in the 91st percentile against all CPUs in the database. The RTX 2060, however, ranks in the 58th percentile against all GPUs. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a mid-range older GPU produces a system that is heavily constrained by graphics processing power.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 54762 places it within 2.1 percent of several nearby processors. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF scores 55093, which is 0.6 percent higher. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K scores 54053, which is 1.3 percent lower. The Intel Xeon 6505P scores 53701, representing a 2 percent deficit. The Intel Core i7-14700F scores 53620, a 2.1 percent deficit. These small deltas indicate that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D performs essentially on par with its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks, and any in-game differences at 1080p would be minimal given how far ahead the CPU is relative to the GPU's needs.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 15290 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 scores 15283, a 0 percent delta. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, a 0.1 percent delta. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, a 0.6 percent delta. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171, a 0.8 percent delta. These four GPUs are statistically indistinguishable in aggregate performance, meaning any of them would likely produce similar frame rates in Control when paired with the same CPU.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 1920x1080 with playable frame rates?

A: Yes. The database shows three presets at 1080p that clear the 60 FPS threshold: Low averages 107 FPS, Medium averages 76 FPS, and High averages 68 FPS. Ultra falls just short at 59 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset at 2560x1440 that stays at or above 60 FPS?

A: Only Low settings achieve this. The recorded data shows Low averaging 81 FPS at 1440p. Medium drops to 58 FPS, which is below the playable threshold.

Q: Is 4K resolution playable with this hardware?

A: No. Every preset at 3840x2160 falls below 60 FPS. Low averages 55 FPS, Medium averages 39 FPS, High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The database shows the RTX 2060 with an average benchmark score of 15290. The GTX 580 scores 15283, the Radeon 680M scores 15270, the RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, and the RX 7600 scores 15171. All five are within 0.8 percent of each other.

Q: What frame rates does Medium settings produce at each resolution?

A: At 1080p, Medium averages 76 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS. At 1440p, Medium averages 58 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 66 FPS. At 4K, Medium averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: At Low settings, the average drops from 107 FPS to 81 FPS, a loss of 26 FPS. At Medium settings, the average drops from 76 FPS to 58 FPS, a loss of 18 FPS. At High settings, the average drops from 68 FPS to 51 FPS, a loss of 17 FPS. At Ultra settings, the average drops from 59 FPS to 45 FPS, a loss of 14 FPS.

The Verdict

This system can run Control, but the playable envelope is limited by resolution. At 1920x1080, the verdict is clear: High settings deliver a 68 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with room to spare. Medium settings average 76 FPS, and Low settings average 107 FPS. Ultra settings at 1080p average 59 FPS, just below the threshold, so the database does not list it as playable.

At 2560x1440, only Low settings are playable, with an average of 81 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below 60 FPS, so users at this resolution must accept the lowest visual preset to maintain smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, no preset is playable. The best result is Low at 55 FPS, which is 5 FPS short of the threshold. Users targeting 4K would need to reduce resolution or upgrade the GPU to achieve acceptable performance.

The overall picture is that this CPU and GPU combination is suitable for 1080p gaming across most presets, acceptable for 1440p only on Low settings, and not viable for 4K in Control.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance data shows that the GPU is the dominant constraint in this pairing. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz and a 128 MB L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are exceptional: Cinebench R23 multicore reaches 47737, single-core reaches 6739, and Geekbench multicore reaches 22884. The RTX 2060, by contrast, has 1920 shading units, 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. Its PassMark G3D score of 14111 is modest by current standards.

The frame rate scaling between resolutions reveals the GPU-bound nature of Control. When moving from 1080p to 1440p at the same preset, the average FPS drops by roughly 20 to 25 percent. When moving from 1440p to 4K, the drop is another 30 to 35 percent. These are classic signs of pixel-throughput limitation, not CPU bottlenecking. A CPU-bound system would show smaller frame rate differences across resolutions because the processor workload stays relatively constant while the GPU workload scales with pixel count.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent when comparing presets at a fixed resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 48 FPS (107 versus 59). At 1440p, the difference is 36 FPS (81 versus 45). At 4K, the difference is 25 FPS (55 versus 30). The shrinking delta as resolution increases further confirms that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting. At 4K, even the fastest preset cannot reach 60 FPS because the GPU simply lacks the raw throughput.

The RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM capacity also plays a role at higher resolutions and presets. The database does not record VRAM usage, but the consistent sub-60 FPS results at 4K across all presets suggest the GPU is saturated regardless of memory capacity. The CPU's high single-thread performance, shown by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1269 and Cinebench R20 single-core score of 2830, ensures that frame pacing is not hindered by processor limitations at any tested resolution.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 68 FPS. This is the recommended configuration for 1080p gaming. Medium also clears the threshold at 76 FPS, but High offers better visual quality while remaining comfortably above the playable mark. Ultra misses the threshold by 1 FPS, so it is not recommended.

At 2560x1440, the only playable preset is Low, with an average of 81 FPS. Medium falls to 58 FPS, which is 2 FPS short of the threshold. Users at 1440p should select Low settings to maintain smooth gameplay, or they must accept occasional frame drops if they choose Medium.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold. The best option is Low at 55 FPS, but this still fails the playability criterion. The database marks 4K as having no playable settings, so users should avoid this resolution with the current hardware.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in the database are all within 2.1 percent of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's average benchmark score. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF is the closest, scoring 0.6 percent higher. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K scores 1.3 percent lower. The Intel Xeon 6505P scores 2 percent lower. The Intel Core i7-14700F scores 2.1 percent lower. Any of these processors paired with the same GPU would produce nearly identical frame rates in Control, since the GPU is the limiting factor.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are clustered even tighter. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 matches the RTX 2060's average score exactly at 0 percent delta. The AMD Radeon 680M is 0.1 percent behind. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM is 0.6 percent behind. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is 0.8 percent behind. Substituting any of these GPUs into a system with the Ryzen 9 9900X3D would yield frame rates within a few percentage points of the measured results.

The practical implication is that this combination sits in a well-populated performance tier. Users with any of the listed CPU rivals can expect the same playable settings at each resolution. Users with any of the listed GPU rivals can expect the same general FPS ranges. The only way to meaningfully improve Control performance would be to move to a faster GPU tier, since the CPU has ample headroom and the current GPU is the binding constraint.