Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a comprehensive performance profile in Control, with measured frame rates that comfortably exceed the 60 FPS playability threshold across every resolution and settings combination tested. The data set includes average FPS figures for Low, Medium, High, and Ultra presets at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, with minimum and maximum FPS recorded only for the Medium preset at each resolution. This combination ranks 72nd out of 3,720 tested combos for this title, placing it in the top 2% of all configurations. The following analysis breaks down the measured performance, component roles, and optimal settings based strictly on the provided benchmark data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its highest raw frame rates. The Low preset averages 279 FPS, which is the fastest result in the entire dataset. Moving to Medium drops the average to 198 FPS, with a minimum of 168 FPS and a maximum of 228 FPS. The High preset averages 176 FPS, while the Ultra preset still holds an average of 153 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 126 FPS, indicating that the settings scaling has a substantial impact even at this resolution, but every preset remains far above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds with expected reductions. The Low preset averages 211 FPS, which is 68 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium averages 150 FPS, with a minimum of 127 FPS and a maximum of 172 FPS. High averages 133 FPS, and Ultra averages 116 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 95 FPS, slightly smaller than at 1080p but still significant. All presets clear 60 FPS by a wide margin, with the lowest recorded minimum being 127 FPS at Medium.

At 3840x2160, the performance remains strong but the scaling becomes more pronounced. The Low preset averages 142 FPS, which is still more than double the playability threshold. Medium averages 101 FPS, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS. High averages 90 FPS, and Ultra averages 78 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 64 FPS, narrower than at lower resolutions, suggesting that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as pixel count rises. Even at 4K Ultra, the average of 78 FPS leaves a 18 FPS buffer above 60 FPS, meaning the game is playable at maximum settings without dropping below the threshold on average.

The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum of 168 FPS and maximum of 228 FPS show a 60 FPS spread. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 45 FPS (127 to 172). At 4K, the spread narrows further to 30 FPS (86 to 116). This tightening of the frame time variance as resolution increases is a typical pattern, indicating that the GPU workload becomes more consistent at higher pixel counts, though the average FPS also drops accordingly.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo holds the 72nd position out of 3,720 tested combinations for Control, which places it in the top 1.9% of all configurations evaluated. This rank reflects the combined capabilities of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and the RTX 5090, both of which sit in the 91st and 92nd percentiles of their respective categories. The CPU’s percentile vs all CPUs is 91, while the GPU’s percentile vs all GPUs is 92, indicating that this pairing is near the top of the hardware distribution.

The rank of 72 out of 3,720 means there are 71 combos that perform better in Control, but the vast majority of tested systems fall below this configuration. Given that the game was released in 2019, this modern high-end pairing is expected to dominate, and the data confirms this. The combo’s rank is not a reflection of any weakness in the components but rather proof of how well this specific game scales with the hardware. The fact that every resolution and preset tested exceeds 60 FPS suggests that the rank could be even higher if more demanding settings or higher resolutions were included in the dataset.

Relative to the CPU’s nearest rivals, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54,762, which is 0.6% below the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF’s score of 55,093. It is 1.3% above the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (54,053), 2% above the Intel Xeon 6505P (53,701), and 2.1% above the Intel Core i7-14700F (53,620). For the GPU, the RTX 5090’s average benchmark score of 79,842 is 0.3% above the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605), 0.6% above the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396), and 1.1% above the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940), while sitting 1.4% below the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X (80,959). These small deltas indicate that the CPU and GPU are both tightly clustered with their nearest competitors in synthetic benchmarks, but in Control, the combo’s high rank shows that the real-world gaming performance is excellent.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals how the CPU and GPU split responsibilities across resolutions in Control. At 1080p, the CPU has more headroom, which is evident from the large FPS jumps when lowering settings. The Low preset at 1080p hits 279 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s frame generation limit for this game. When moving to 1440p, the Low preset drops to 211 FPS, a 24% reduction, and at 4K it drops further to 142 FPS, a 33% reduction from 1440p. This scaling suggests that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, because the CPU’s workload remains relatively constant while the GPU must render more pixels.

The settings scaling also highlights the GPU’s role. At 1080p, going from Low to Ultra costs 126 FPS (279 to 153), which is a 45% reduction. At 1440p, the same settings change costs 95 FPS (211 to 116), a 45% reduction as well, showing similar relative scaling. At 4K, the cost is 64 FPS (142 to 78), a 45% reduction again. This consistent 45% drop across resolutions indicates that the GPU is handling the settings load uniformly, while the CPU is not introducing additional bottlenecks at higher resolutions.

However, the CPU still matters, particularly for the minimum FPS figures. At 4K Medium, the minimum FPS is 86, which is 15 FPS below the average of 101. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 127, which is 23 FPS below the average of 150. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 168, which is 30 FPS below the average of 198. The widening gap between average and minimum FPS as resolution decreases suggests that the CPU is more likely to cause frame drops at lower resolutions where the GPU can render frames faster, exposing CPU limitations. At 4K, the GPU work smooths out the frame delivery, reducing the min-to-avg delta.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: this PC can run Control at every resolution and setting tested, with all presets clearing the 60 FPS threshold. At 3840x2160, the playable settings include High, Low, Medium, and Ultra, with the best settings being Ultra at an average of 78 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four presets are also playable, with Ultra averaging 116 FPS. At 1920x1080, the same is true, with Ultra averaging 153 FPS. There is no resolution or preset in the dataset where the average FPS falls below 60, and the lowest recorded minimum FPS is 86 at 4K Medium, which is still 26 FPS above the threshold.

The only caveat is that the 4K Ultra average of 78 FPS leaves a relatively slim margin of 18 FPS above 60, so frame drops could potentially dip below the threshold in heavy scenes, though the data does not include a minimum FPS for that preset. For users prioritizing absolute smoothness, the 4K High preset at 90 FPS provides a larger buffer. At 1440p and 1080p, the margins are much larger, with Ultra averages of 116 and 153 FPS respectively, making any frame drops unlikely to hit 60 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU offer insight into what other hardware would behave similarly in this game. For the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF has an average benchmark score just 0.6% lower, meaning it would likely produce nearly identical frame rates in Control, provided the GPU remains the same. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is 1.3% lower in score, and the Intel Core i7-14700F is 2.1% lower, all within a small margin that would result in negligible FPS differences. The Intel Xeon 6505P, at 2% lower, would also be a close match, though its server-oriented design might not translate directly to gaming performance.

For the RTX 5090, the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB is the closest rival with a score 0.3% higher, but this is a data center GPU without consumer display outputs, so it is not a practical alternative. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X is 1.4% higher in score, while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.1% lower, and the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB is 0.6% lower. In real gaming terms, these deltas of around 1% would translate to a difference of 1-2 FPS at most in Control, meaning any of these GPUs paired with a comparable CPU would deliver essentially the same experience. However, the RTX 5090’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are unique, whereas the Tesla P100 uses 16 GB or 12 GB of HBM2, which could affect texture-heavy scenes differently, though the benchmark scores suggest overall parity.

Best Settings per Resolution

At each resolution, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, and the average FPS at those settings is as follows. For 3840x2160, the best settings are Ultra with an average of 78 FPS. For 2560x1440, Ultra averages 116 FPS. For 1920x1080, Ultra averages 153 FPS. In all cases, the Ultra preset is the highest quality option available in the dataset, and it clears the 60 FPS threshold with room to spare. There is no need to compromise on settings at any resolution, as even the most demanding preset at 4K maintains an average above 60 FPS.

If a user prefers a higher frame rate over maximum visual fidelity, the Low presets offer 142 FPS at 4K, 211 FPS at 1440p, and 279 FPS at 1080p, but the Ultra preset is the recommended choice for the best visual experience while staying playable. The Medium preset at 4K provides a minimum FPS of 86, which is the only min/max data point that shows a floor above 60, so users who prioritize frame consistency over average FPS might prefer Medium over Ultra at 4K.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 78 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the highest FPS this combo achieves in Control?

A: The highest average FPS is 279, recorded at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 bottleneck the Ryzen 9 9900X3D at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes more relevant at 1080p, as the Low preset hits 279 FPS and the gap between average and minimum FPS is widest at this resolution (30 FPS at Medium), but the combo still produces playable frame rates at all settings.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations for Control?

A: It ranks 72nd out of 3,720 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.9% of all configurations.

Q: What is the lowest minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS is 86, recorded at 3840x2160 with Medium settings, which is still 26 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Are there any settings where the average FPS falls below 60?

A: No, the data shows that all 12 tested combinations of resolution and settings have average FPS above 60, with the lowest average being 78 FPS at 4K Ultra.