Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Control, but the data shows a steep drop-off at 4K that reveals where this pairing's limits lie. The combination ranks 720th out of 1636 tested combos for this title, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. The measured frame rates paint a clear picture of a GPU-bound system at higher resolutions, with the aging six-core CPU still holding its own at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a predictable curve, but the magnitude of the drop tells a significant story about the bottleneck. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 104.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 76.5 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 27%. Moving to 3840x2160 drops the average further to 54.7 FPS, representing a 48% decline from the 1080p figure. This steep scaling curve is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance, where the Radeon RX 7700 XT's rendering workload increases exponentially with pixel count.

The Low settings data reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 148.5 FPS, but this falls to 123.5 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 80.8 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is notable because it sits below the 1440p High result of 76.5 FPS, suggesting that even at the lowest graphical presets, the 4K resolution is taxing the GPU more heavily than the CPU. The RX 7700 XT's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for 1440p, but the 4K framebuffer demands expose its limits.

The differential between Low and Ultra settings grows with resolution. At 1080p, the gap between Low (148.5 FPS) and Ultra (88.5 FPS) is 60 FPS. At 1440p, that gap narrows to 56.5 FPS (123.5 versus 67.0). At 4K, it shrinks to 33.7 FPS (80.8 versus 47.1). This compression indicates that as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the limiting factor regardless of how much graphical detail is being rendered. The 4K Ultra result of 47.1 FPS is the lowest measured figure in the entire dataset, falling below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for smooth action gameplay.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 2600 brings 6 cores and 12 threads to the pairing, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. This 2000-series processor launched with a $199 MSRP and represents the Zen+ architecture refined on a 12 nm process from GlobalFoundries. Its 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide 46.9 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is modest by modern standards but sufficient for this title.

In Control, the CPU's role becomes most apparent at 1080p Low settings, where the 148.5 FPS average suggests the GPU has headroom to spare. The processor's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11186 and single-core score of 1579 indicate that it can feed the RX 7700 XT at lower resolutions without becoming a severe bottleneck. However, the percentile ranking of 77th against all CPUs in the database places it well below the top tier, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-11600KF (with a deltaPct of -0.6) and the Intel Core i7-10700F (deltaPct of 0.7), showing it trades blows with much newer mobile and desktop parts.

The fact that 1080p Low achieves 148.5 FPS while 1080p Ultra drops to 88.5 FPS suggests that the CPU can maintain high frame rates when the GPU isn't overwhelmed. Yet the 4K Low result of 80.8 FPS, which is lower than the 1440p High result of 76.5 FPS, indicates that the GPU's rendering load at 4K is the dominant constraint. The CPU's 12 threads are likely sufficient to keep up with Control's physics and AI workloads, but the RX 7700 XT's 54 ray tracing cores and 3456 shading units are what ultimately determine the ceiling at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this CPU-GPU combo?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 at High settings delivers 76.5 FPS, which is comfortably playable. At 1920x1080, High settings produce 104.7 FPS for smoother motion, but the 1440p result offers a better balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Control?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rate ranges from 80.8 FPS on Low settings to 47.1 FPS on Ultra. The Ultra preset falls below 60 FPS, and even High settings only reach 54.7 FPS, so 4K is only viable with reduced graphical settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600's average benchmark score of 19616 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-1345U (19691, deltaPct -0.4) and the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (19508, deltaPct 0.6). It also closely matches the Intel Core i5-11600KF (19740, deltaPct -0.6) and Intel Core i7-10700F (19485, deltaPct 0.7).

Q: What does the GPU's benchmark performance indicate about its tier?

A: The Radeon RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 30097, placing it at the 73rd percentile of all GPUs. It performs within 0.2% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (30109) and the AMD Radeon RX 570 (30158), showing it sits in a competitive mid-range segment.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low settings?

A: The 148.5 FPS average at 1920x1080 Low suggests the GPU is not fully taxed, allowing the CPU to push frame rates higher. This indicates the Ryzen 5 2600 can still drive the RX 7700 XT effectively at lower resolutions.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from High to Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p, High yields 104.7 FPS while Ultra drops to 88.5 FPS, a loss of 16.2 FPS. At 1440p, the drop is 9.5 FPS (76.5 to 67.0), and at 4K, it is 7.6 FPS (54.7 to 47.1). The absolute loss shrinks as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 2600 and RX 7700 XT ranks 720th out of 1636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 56th percentile of all configurations in the database. This mid-pack ranking reflects the fact that while the GPU is a current-gen part, the CPU is several generations old. The RX 7700 XT's percentile ranking of 73rd against all GPUs is notably higher than the CPU's 77th percentile ranking against all CPUs, but the gap between the two components' relative positions is modest.

The ranking suggests that this combo performs better than the average tested system in Control, but it is far from the top tier. The 1636-combo pool includes many pairings with newer CPUs that would likely push frame rates higher at 1080p, where CPU headroom matters more. However, at 1440p and 4K, the GPU's performance becomes the dominant factor, which helps this combo's ranking hold up better at higher resolutions. The data indicates that users seeking to improve this system's standing in Control would benefit more from a GPU upgrade than a CPU swap, given that the RX 7700 XT's 4K performance is the clearest weakness.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 148.5 FPS, Medium reaches 116.2 FPS, High achieves 104.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 88.5 FPS. These figures indicate that 1080p gaming is smooth across the entire settings range, with even the most demanding preset staying well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. Low settings average 123.5 FPS, Medium hits 85.0 FPS, High manages 76.5 FPS, and Ultra falls to 67.0 FPS. The 1440p results show that this combo can handle high-refresh-rate gaming at this resolution on lower settings, while Ultra still maintains a playable frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the limitations become apparent. Low settings yield 80.8 FPS, which is still playable but represents a significant drop from the 1080p Low figure. Medium settings produce 59.9 FPS, High dips to 54.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 47.1 FPS. The 4K results show a clear pattern: only Low settings achieve frame rates comfortably above 60 FPS, while Medium and High hover near the 60 FPS line, and Ultra falls below it. This breakdown confirms that 4K gaming with this combo requires careful settings management to maintain smooth performance.