Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a broad range of performance in Control, scaling from highly playable 1080p framerates to challenging 4K scenarios. The data indicates a system where the graphics card is the primary driver of performance, though the older six-core CPU still provides a solid foundation. This analysis breaks down the measured results to show how resolution, settings, and component architecture interact.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a distinct pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. This scaling is crucial for understanding where the performance bottleneck lies.

At the Low preset, the framerate drops from 148 FPS at 1080p to 112 FPS at 1440p, a 24.3% reduction. Moving further to 4K, the average FPS falls to 76, which is a 32.1% drop from the 1440p result and a 48.6% drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline strongly suggests the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The High preset shows a similar trajectory. Starting at 93 FPS in 1080p, the average drops to 71 FPS at 1440p (a 23.7% decrease) and then to 48 FPS at 4K (a 32.4% decrease from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across presets indicates that the Radeon RX 7700's rendering workload is scaling predictably with resolution.

For the Ultra preset, the trend is more pronounced. The system achieves 81 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is the lowest average FPS recorded in the entire dataset, showing that the most demanding settings at the highest resolution push this combo to its limit.

The Medium preset's data, which includes min and max FPS readings, offers additional insight. At 1080p, the average is 105 FPS with a minimum of 89 and a maximum of 121. At 1440p, the average is 80 FPS (min 68, max 92). At 4K, the average falls to 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 and a maximum of 62. The spread between minimum and maximum FPS (32 FPS at 1080p, 24 FPS at 1440p, 16 FPS at 4K) narrows as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of the GPU becoming fully saturated.

The data clearly shows that the RX 7700's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary factors at higher resolutions. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the data throughput, but the GPU's compute units are working progressively harder. The Ryzen 5 2600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, does not appear to be a limiting factor at 4K, as the FPS drops are consistent with pure GPU workload scaling.

Settings Recommendations

Choosing the right preset depends heavily on the target resolution and desired framerate. The measured rows provide clear guidance for each scenario.

For 1080p gaming, the Ultra preset is the best choice for visual fidelity. The average FPS of 81 is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 93 FPS is also excellent, offering a 14.8% performance increase over Ultra. However, the data suggests that the Medium preset's minimum FPS of 89 is still very high, meaning even the most demanding moments remain fluid. The Low preset at 148 FPS is only useful for players with 144Hz monitors who prioritize raw speed over graphics.

At 1440p, the High preset (71 FPS) provides a good balance, but the Medium preset (80 FPS) is arguably the sweet spot. The 80 FPS average is 12.7% higher than High, and the minimum FPS of 68 ensures that the experience remains consistently smooth. The Ultra preset at 61 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes, as the average is close to the 60 FPS target.

For 4K resolution, the options are more constrained. The Low preset delivers an average of 76 FPS, which is the only setting that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 54 FPS is marginally playable but may suffer from noticeable dips (min FPS 46). The High preset at 48 FPS and the Ultra preset at 41 FPS are below ideal playability thresholds, with the Ultra setting being the only one in the dataset that falls below 45 FPS on average.

The data indicates that the Medium preset is the most versatile option across all three resolutions. It offers a 13.2% performance improvement over High at 1080p, an 11.3% improvement at 1440p, and an 11.1% improvement at 4K. This consistent delta suggests that Medium reliably reduces the GPU's workload without the drastic visual compromises seen in the Low preset.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the dominant component in this pairing for Control. Its specifications directly correlate with the measured performance at each resolution and setting.

The GPU features a base clock of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. These clock speeds, combined with 2560 shading units and 160 texture mapping units, determine the raw computational throughput. The 96 ROPs are responsible for the final pixel output, and at 4K, the pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s is a significant factor in the lower FPS numbers.

The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This is a critical resource for Control, which features complex textures and physics effects. The data shows that at 4K, the memory bandwidth is sufficient to prevent a catastrophic drop, but the GPU's compute units are the limiting factor. The average FPS at 4K Ultra (41 FPS) is less than half of the 1080p Ultra (81 FPS), showing a steep scaling curve that is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning. The PassMark G3D score of 20974 places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 15852 is only 1.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, indicating comparable raw performance. However, the RX 7700's 16 GB of VRAM provides an advantage in memory-intensive scenarios that the data suggests is not fully utilized at lower resolutions but becomes more relevant at 4K.

In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the GPU scores 2865, which is a synthetic representation of its DirectX 12 capabilities. Control is a DirectX 12 title, so this score is relevant to its performance. The GPU's compute performance, as measured by PassMark GPU Compute (10963) and Geekbench OpenCL (106028), shows that the card has substantial computational headroom, but the game's rendering pipeline is likely bound by the shader and ROP throughput rather than raw compute.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Control, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 5 2600 and RX 7700 achieves a rank of 1294 out of 2888 total combos. This places it in the 55.2nd percentile of all tested systems, indicating that it performs above the median but is not near the top tier.

The combo's ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's performance, as the RX 7700's 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs is slightly higher than the combo's overall percentile. This suggests that the CPU is providing adequate support but is not improving the system above what the GPU can deliver alone.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks provide context. The Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 21484, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i9-11900H. It is 1.2% higher than the AMD EPYC 9454. These marginal differences in CPU scores would not significantly alter the in-game FPS, confirming that the GPU is the primary differentiator in this combo's ranking.

The 1294th rank out of 2888 combos means that 1594 tested configurations delivered higher average FPS in Control. This is a reasonable result for a mid-range CPU paired with a recent mid-range GPU. The data does not include details on what other CPUs were paired with the RX 7700, so it is impossible to isolate the CPU's specific contribution to the ranking. However, the consistent FPS scaling across resolutions suggests the combo is well-balanced, with the GPU bottlenecking first.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 60+ FPS on High settings?

A: The data shows that at 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 93, which is the only resolution where the High preset exceeds 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 71 FPS, still above 60, but at 3840x2160 it drops to 48 FPS.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 148 FPS while the Ultra preset averages 81 FPS. This represents an 82.7% performance increase for the Low preset, which is the largest relative difference across all settings at this resolution.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM prevent stuttering at 4K?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160, the Medium preset has a minimum FPS of 46 and a maximum of 62. While the average of 54 FPS is below 60, the minimum FPS does not drop below 45, suggesting that the 16 GB VRAM is sufficient to prevent severe frame hitches, but the GPU's compute throughput is still the limiting factor.

Q: How does the combo's rank compare to the GPU's own percentile?

A: The combo ranks 1294th out of 2888 in Control, which is the 55.2nd percentile. The RX 7700 GPU has a percentile of 58 among all GPUs. This indicates the combo performs slightly below the GPU's standalone potential, likely due to the CPU's 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 2600 a bottleneck at 1080p Low?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 148. The CPU's PassMark Single Thread score of 2239 and Geekbench Single Core score of 1154 are relatively modest, so it is possible the CPU limits the FPS from going even higher. However, the data does not provide a CPU-only FPS measurement to confirm this.

Q: What is the most consistent preset in terms of FPS stability?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data. At 1080p, the spread is 32 FPS (89-121). At 1440p, the spread is 24 FPS (68-92). At 4K, the spread is 16 FPS (46-62). This narrowing spread suggests that the Medium preset becomes more stable as the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for this combo in Control is as follows:

1920x1080

• Low: Average 148 FPS
• Medium: Average 105 FPS (Min 89, Max 121)
• High: Average 93 FPS
• Ultra: Average 81 FPS

2560x1440

• Low: Average 112 FPS
• Medium: Average 80 FPS (Min 68, Max 92)
• High: Average 71 FPS
• Ultra: Average 61 FPS

3840x2160

• Low: Average 76 FPS
• Medium: Average 54 FPS (Min 46, Max 62)
• High: Average 48 FPS
• Ultra: Average 41 FPS

The data shows a clear hierarchy: at any given resolution, the Low preset provides the highest framerate, followed by Medium, High, and then Ultra. The relative performance gaps between presets are consistent across resolutions. For example, the Ultra preset is always roughly 45% slower than the Low preset at the same resolution. The only preset with complete min/max data is Medium, which shows a stable performance envelope across all three resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 serves as the supporting component in this pairing. Its specifications and benchmark results provide context for its role in Control.

The CPU features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. It is based on the Zen+ architecture on a 12 nm process node. The 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 512 KB L2 cache per core are sufficient for gaming workloads, but the CPU's 46.9 GB/s memory bandwidth is a potential limitation for some titles.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 5 2600 demonstrates solid multi-threaded performance. Its Cinebench R15 multi-core score is 1248, and its Geekbench multi-core score is 5648. Its PassMark multi-thread score is 13160, with a physics score of 673. These numbers indicate that the CPU can handle the game's background tasks and physics calculations without issue.

The single-thread performance is more modest. The Cinebench R15 single-core score is 157.3, and the Geekbench single-core score is 1154. The PassMark single-thread score is 2239. These figures are relatively low compared to modern CPUs, but they are still sufficient for Control's engine, which is not highly dependent on single-core performance.

The CPU's overall percentile of 75 indicates it outperforms three-quarters of all CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score of 21484 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, with deltas of only 0.2%, 0.5%, -0.7%, and 1.2% compared to the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V, Intel Core i9-11900H, Intel Xeon D-1746TER, and AMD EPYC 9454, respectively. This suggests that the CPU is not a weak link in the system.

The data does not show a scenario where the CPU significantly limits the GPU. At 1080p Low, the FPS of 148 is high, but it is possible the CPU's single-thread performance prevents even higher framerates. However, at more demanding settings and resolutions, the FPS drops are consistently proportional to the resolution increase, which is a clear indicator that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 2600 provides a stable platform that allows the RX 7700 to perform to its full potential in Control.