Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a highly variable experience in Control, depending entirely on the resolution and preset selected. The measured data shows a system that can comfortably handle 1080p gaming at maximum settings, struggles to maintain a consistent 60 FPS at 1440p on the highest preset, and is only playable at 4K when settings are dropped to Low. This combination occupies a mid-range position in the benchmark database, ranking 2296 out of 3720 tested combos for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the RTX 5050 is clearly the limiting factor, and the data shows a steep performance cliff as visual fidelity increases. At Low settings, the system produces an average of 63 FPS, which is the only playable configuration at this resolution. Moving to Medium settings drops the average to 45 FPS, with measured minimums of 38 FPS and maximums of 52 FPS, indicating noticeable frame pacing issues. High settings further reduce the average to 40 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 35 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is particularly pronounced—a 28.6% performance loss—which suggests that the Medium preset introduces significant rendering workloads that the GPU cannot sustain.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the picture improves substantially. Low settings deliver a robust 94 FPS average, providing significant headroom above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Medium settings still clear the bar with a 67 FPS average, although the minimum FPS of 57 dips slightly below the threshold, indicating occasional stutter during intense scenes. High settings produce a 59 FPS average, which is marginally below the 60 FPS target, while Ultra settings drop to 52 FPS. The scaling pattern here is consistent: each preset step costs roughly 10-15 FPS, with Low to Medium representing the largest single drop of 27 FPS.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), this combination performs admirably across the board. Low settings achieve 124 FPS, Medium settings hit 88 FPS with a minimum of 75 FPS and maximum of 101 FPS, High settings deliver 78 FPS, and even Ultra settings maintain a 68 FPS average. The 1080p results show that the CPU and GPU have sufficient headroom to run the game smoothly at maximum settings, with the Ultra preset still providing 8 FPS of margin above the playability threshold. The frame time variance at 1080p Medium—spanning 75 to 101 FPS—suggests that scene complexity in Control can cause significant swings, but the average remains healthy.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is bracketed by several Intel and server-class processors with very similar aggregate benchmark scores. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF scores 55093, which is 0.6% lower than the Ryzen's 54762 average. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K comes in at 54053, representing a 1.3% deficit. The Intel Xeon 6505P scores 53701, a 2% gap, and the Intel Core i7-14700F trails by 2.1% with a 53620 score. In practical terms, any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Control, meaning the choice between them would not meaningfully alter the gaming experience described above. The data indicates that this game is not particularly CPU-sensitive at the tested resolutions, as the 9900X3D's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs provides ample processing headroom.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5050's nearest rivals are an eclectic mix of older and mobile parts. The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL scores 21153, a 0.6% margin over the RTX 5050's 21035 average. The AMD Radeon HD 8970M is 1% ahead at 21237, while the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT trails by 1.6% at 20713. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile leads by 1.6% with a 21379 score. These delta percentages are all within a narrow band, so users with any of these GPUs should expect essentially equivalent performance in Control. However, the RTX 5050's 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs underscores that this is a mid-range part, and the 4K results reflect that positioning.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear division of labor between the CPU and GPU in Control. At 1080p, where the GPU has the least work to do, the system achieves its highest frame rates—124 FPS at Low settings and 68 FPS at Ultra. This indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at lower resolutions, and the 9900X3D's strong single-thread performance (1269 in 3DMark single-thread) prevents it from becoming a bottleneck. The fact that 1080p Ultra drops to 68 FPS from 124 FPS at Low shows that the GPU workload scaling is the primary driver of performance changes, not CPU limitations.

As resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes progressively more dominant. At 1440p Ultra, the average FPS falls to 52, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 35. This scaling—from 68 FPS at 1080p Ultra to 52 FPS at 1440p Ultra to 35 FPS at 4K Ultra—represents a 48.5% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings. The CPU's role diminishes at higher resolutions because the GPU spends more time on pixel shading and rasterization, making the RTX 5050's 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance the deciding factor. The data shows that the 9900X3D is never the limiting component in this pairing; even at 1080p Low with 124 FPS, the CPU's 24 threads and high clock speeds provide sufficient throughput, and the performance ceiling is consistently set by the GPU.

The Verdict

The measured data confirms that this PC can run Control, but the playable configurations are strictly limited by resolution. At 1920x1080, every preset—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—clears the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra averaging 68 FPS. This makes 1080p the fully playable resolution for this combination. At 2560x1440, only Low and Medium settings achieve playable averages, with Medium at 67 FPS and Low at 94 FPS; High falls just short at 59 FPS, and Ultra is not viable at 52 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low settings are playable, hitting 63 FPS, while Medium (45 FPS), High (40 FPS), and Ultra (35 FPS) all fail to reach 60 FPS. The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: 1080p offers full flexibility, 1440p requires settling for Medium or lower, and 4K demands the Low preset.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 35, well below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The only playable 4K setting is Low, which achieves 63 FPS.

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

A: Medium is the highest playable preset at 2560x1440, producing an average of 67 FPS. High settings drop to 59 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 5050 scores 21035 in the average benchmark, which is 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, 1% lower than the AMD Radeon HD 8970M, 1.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, and 1.6% lower than the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions. The CPU's performance is sufficient even at 1080p Low (124 FPS), and the frame rate drops consistently as resolution increases, indicating GPU-bound workloads.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 78 FPS, providing 18 FPS of headroom above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: Does the 9900X3D's 3D V-Cache benefit this game?

A: The data does not isolate cache effects, but the CPU's overall benchmark score of 54762 places it in the 91st percentile, and its nearest rivals with similar scores produce comparable results in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 2296 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-tier status (66th percentile) rather than the CPU's high-end positioning (91st percentile). The CPU's strong synthetic performance—including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737 and a Passmark multithread score of 56154—does not translate into a high game ranking because Control is predominantly GPU-limited. For context, the RTX 5050's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results show that the GPU's compute throughput (13.17 TFLOPS FP32) is insufficient for demanding presets at that resolution.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Low, which achieves an average of 63 FPS. This is the only configuration that clears the 60 FPS threshold at 4K, and it does so with a slim 3 FPS margin. At 2560x1440, Medium is the most demanding playable preset, delivering 67 FPS on average. This provides a comfortable 7 FPS cushion, though the minimum FPS of 57 shows occasional dips below the threshold. At 1920x1080, Ultra is the best setting, averaging 68 FPS. This gives users 8 FPS of headroom while enabling all visual features, making 1080p the definitive resolution for this hardware combination. For players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, 1080p Low at 124 FPS offers the smoothest experience, while those seeking a balance should target 1080p Ultra or 1440p Medium.