Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a playable experience in Control at 1080p and 1440p, but 4K requires a significant settings compromise. The measured data shows a clear progression from a 4K experience that barely touches 60 FPS at Medium settings, to a 1440p experience that clears 60 FPS even at Ultra, and finally to a 1080p experience that remains comfortably above 60 FPS across all tested presets. The following analysis breaks down the benchmark results by resolution, component role, and settings to determine the optimal configuration for this specific hardware combination.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160 (4K), the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is Low, which achieves an average of 81 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 57 FPS average, which falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold. High settings average 51 FPS, and Ultra averages 44 FPS. Therefore, 4K players must accept Low settings to maintain smooth gameplay, though the 81 FPS average provides a comfortable margin above the threshold.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers an average of 66 FPS. This is a notable achievement, as it means the combination can run the game at maximum visual quality while remaining playable. The High preset averages 76 FPS, Medium averages 85 FPS, and Low averages 120 FPS, all well above the threshold. Ultra is the best choice here because it offers the highest visual fidelity while still clearing the 60 FPS bar.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which achieves an average of 87 FPS. All presets are playable at this resolution, with High averaging 100 FPS, Medium averaging 112 FPS, and Low averaging 158 FPS. Ultra is the recommended setting because it provides the best visual experience while maintaining a 45% margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU becomes relatively more influential at lower resolutions. The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is moderate: at Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 87 at 1080p to 66 at 1440p, a 24% reduction. From 1440p to 4K at Ultra, the average FPS drops from 66 to 44, a 33% reduction. This steeper decline at 4K indicates that the RTX 3070's rendering capabilities are the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The CPU's role is best illustrated by the performance headroom at 1080p. At Low settings, the average FPS reaches 158, which is substantially higher than the 120 FPS at 1440p Low and the 81 FPS at 4K Low. This wide spread across resolutions at the same settings shows that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions; rather, the GPU is unable to keep pace with the CPU's frame generation at 1080p Low. The 12-core, 24-thread processor provides ample headroom, as evidenced by its multi-threaded benchmark scores, but the game's demands are primarily visual.

At 4K, the GPU's role becomes dominant. The difference between Ultra (44 FPS) and Low (81 FPS) at 4K is 84%, highlighting how much the RTX 3070 struggles with the highest preset at this resolution. In contrast, at 1080p, the difference between Ultra (87 FPS) and Low (158 FPS) is 82%, but the absolute values are much higher, meaning the CPU can still push frames when the GPU load is reduced. The data indicates that for this game, the RTX 3070 is the deciding component at 4K, while the Ryzen 9 9900X3D ensures consistent high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

3840x2160 (4K): The data shows four tested presets. Low settings produce the highest average at 81 FPS. Medium settings average 57 FPS, with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 66 FPS. High settings average 51 FPS. Ultra settings produce the lowest average at 44 FPS. None of the presets above Low maintain a consistent 60 FPS average, and the Medium preset's minimum of 49 FPS indicates noticeable dips below the threshold.

2560x1440 (1440p): Low settings average 120 FPS. Medium settings average 85 FPS, with a minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 98 FPS. High settings average 76 FPS. Ultra settings average 66 FPS. All presets exceed the 60 FPS threshold, and even the Ultra preset's average leaves a 10% margin over the minimum playable frame rate.

1920x1080 (1080p): Low settings average 158 FPS. Medium settings average 112 FPS, with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 129 FPS. High settings average 100 FPS. Ultra settings average 87 FPS. Every preset maintains an average above 60 FPS, with the lowest recorded minimum being 96 FPS at Medium settings, which still clears the threshold by a wide margin.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Control at 4K with High settings?*

A: No. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 51, which falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold. Only Low settings achieve a playable average of 81 FPS at 4K.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: Ultra is the best choice at 2560x1440, as it delivers an average of 66 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. The data confirms that all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at this resolution.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, 1080p averages 87 FPS, while 4K averages 44 FPS. This represents a 98% increase in average frame rate when dropping from 4K to 1080p.

Q: Does the Medium preset at 1080p ever drop below 60 FPS?

A: No. At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the minimum recorded FPS is 96, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The maximum is 129 FPS, and the average is 112 FPS.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combination?

A: The lowest average FPS is 44, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is the only tested configuration that falls below 50 FPS on average.

Q: Is the 1440p Ultra experience smoother than the 4K Medium experience?

A: Yes. At 1440p Ultra, the average FPS is 66, with no minimum data provided. At 4K Medium, the average is 57 FPS, with a minimum of 49 FPS. The 1440p Ultra configuration is both higher in average FPS and less prone to dips.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination ranks 1607 out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms approximately 57% of all other CPU-GPU combinations tested for this game. The ranking reflects the balance between the high-end CPU and the mid-range GPU; the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a top-tier processor, as evidenced by its 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the RTX 3070 sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs. The combination's overall rank suggests that while the CPU is more than capable, the GPU limits the system's ability to achieve higher frame rates at demanding settings.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control at 1080p and 1440p with all settings presets playable, including Ultra. At 1920x1080, Ultra settings average 87 FPS, and at 2560x1440, Ultra settings average 66 FPS. Both configurations clear the 60 FPS threshold with room to spare. At 4K, the system is only playable at Low settings, which average 81 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 57 FPS, which is below the playability threshold, and High and Ultra presets are not recommended. The verdict by resolution is clear: for 1080p and 1440p, Ultra is the recommended preset; for 4K, only Low settings provide a consistently playable experience.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF with a delta of -0.6%, meaning it scores slightly lower than the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K with a delta of 1.3%, which scores slightly higher. The Intel Xeon 6505P is 2% higher in score, and the Intel Core i7-14700F is 2.1% higher. For gaming performance in Control, any of these CPUs would likely produce similar frame rates when paired with the RTX 3070, as the game is more GPU-bound at higher resolutions.

On the GPU side, the RTX 3070's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT with a delta of 0.7%, meaning it scores slightly higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 with a delta of 1%. The AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 1.1% higher, while the NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 1.5% lower. For this game, the RX 7600 XT would be the closest substitute in terms of raw compute, though actual in-game performance may vary due to driver optimizations and memory bandwidth differences. None of these rivals would fundamentally change the 4K limitations observed, as the RTX 3070's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are the defining characteristics for Control at high resolutions.