Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT occupies the 1310th position out of 3720 tested combos for Control, placing it in the 65th percentile of all system configurations. This mid-pack ranking reflects a pairing of a 2018-era six-core processor with a current-generation GPU, where the CPU's age is a measurable factor but not a disqualifying one for this title. The combination delivers playable frame rates across all tested settings, with the most demanding configuration—4K Ultra—still averaging 49 FPS, indicating the system has enough headroom for the game's demands.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1310 out of 3720 places it in the upper-middle tier of all tested configurations for Control. This position suggests that while the pairing is not at the bleeding edge of performance, it outperforms a substantial majority of systems. The ranking reflects a balance where the RX 7800 XT provides the graphical muscle, while the Ryzen 5 2600 keeps the system from reaching the absolute top tier. In practical terms, this means the combo sits comfortably above entry-level builds but below those using newer high-core-count CPUs with flagship GPUs.

The CPU alone sits at the 75th percentile among all processors tested, a respectable showing for a six-core, twelve-thread part from 2018. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V, which scores 0.2% higher, and the Intel Core i9-11900H at 0.5% higher, while the AMD EPYC 9454 trails by 1.2%. These narrow deltas indicate the Ryzen 5 2600 remains competitive in raw throughput despite its age, though its single-thread performance lags in ways that matter for frame pacing.

The GPU's percentile ranking is notably lower at 51, which is surprising given its specifications. Its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, which scores 0.5% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT at 1.8% higher, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M trails by 0.9%. This suggests the RX 7800 XT's average benchmark score of 11627 is influenced by workloads where its architecture does not excel, but the measured FPS in Control tells a different, more favorable story.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Control?

A: At 1080p, the combo achieves 96–149 FPS depending on settings, with Low hitting 149 FPS and Ultra at 96 FPS. At 1440p, frames range from 72–132 FPS, while 4K drops to 49–89 FPS. For a balance of visual fidelity and smoothness, 1440p High at 83 FPS is the sweet spot, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold while offering superior image quality to 1080p.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at lower resolutions?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo produces 149 FPS, which is only 13% higher than 1080p High at 110 FPS. This relatively small gap suggests the Ryzen 5 2600 begins to limit frame rates at lower resolutions, as the GPU has more headroom to render frames quickly. The CPU's 3.40 GHz base and 3.90 GHz boost clocks are adequate but not exceptional for high-refresh gaming.

Q: Is the RX 7800 XT bottlenecked by the Ryzen 5 2600?

A: Benchmark data indicates some CPU limitation at 1080p, where the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings is only 53 FPS (149 vs 96), compared to 40 FPS at 1440p (132 vs 72) and 40 FPS at 4K (89 vs 49). The 4K scaling shows the GPU is more fully utilized at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops are more consistent with GPU-bound rendering.

Q: What is the performance gap between 1080p and 4K?

A: Moving from 1080p High (110 FPS) to 4K High (56 FPS) results in a 49% reduction in frame rate. The gap narrows at lower settings: 1080p Low (149 FPS) to 4K Low (89 FPS) is a 40% drop, while Ultra settings see a 49% drop (96 to 49 FPS). This scaling is typical for a GPU with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 256-bit bus.

Q: Which settings preset offers the most consistent frame times?

A: The Medium preset provides the only measured minimum and maximum FPS values across all resolutions. At 1080p, it ranges from 105–142 FPS; at 1440p, 80–108 FPS; and at 4K, 54–73 FPS. This consistency suggests Medium is the most stable preset, with narrower frame time variance than other settings.

Q: How does this combo compare to modern CPUs in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600's average benchmark score of 21484 places it within 1.2% of the AMD EPYC 9454 and 0.2% of the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V. Its Cinebench R15 multi-core score of 1248 and single-core score of 157.3 indicate balanced throughput, though newer CPUs with higher boost clocks would likely improve frame pacing in CPU-bound scenarios.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 brings six cores and twelve threads, built on the Zen architecture at a 12 nm process node. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 3.90 GHz are modest by modern standards, but the 16 MB shared L3 cache helps mitigate latency in gaming workloads. The CPU supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s, which is adequate for Control's data streaming requirements.

In Control, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU can render frames faster than the CPU can feed them. The measured data shows 1080p Low at 149 FPS versus 1080p Ultra at 96 FPS, a 35% difference that reflects both GPU load and CPU overhead. The Ryzen 5 2600's single-thread performance, measured at 157.3 in Cinebench R15, is a limiting factor for maximum frame rates, as Control's engine relies on a few heavily-threaded tasks.

The CPU's 75th percentile ranking among all processors underscores that it is not a weak link for most users. Its multi-threaded capabilities, evidenced by a geekbench multi-core score of 5648 and a passmark multi-thread score of 13160, ensure that background tasks and game logic do not starve the rendering pipeline. However, the 65W TDP and PCIe Gen 3 interface, while power-efficient and compatible, do not offer the bandwidth advantages of newer platforms.

For Control specifically, the CPU's performance at 1080p suggests that frame rates above 149 FPS are unlikely regardless of GPU upgrades. The data indicates diminishing returns on frame rate as settings are lowered, which is a classic sign of CPU limitation. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, as evidenced by the more pronounced FPS drops when increasing settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 149 FPS, Medium averages 124 FPS with a range of 105–142, High averages 110 FPS, and Ultra averages 96 FPS. These figures show a 53 FPS spread between the lowest and highest presets, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution but the CPU caps the ceiling.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop but remain smooth. Low settings hit 132 FPS, Medium averages 94 FPS (range 80–108), High averages 83 FPS, and Ultra averages 72 FPS. The 60 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is slightly narrower than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is beginning to take on more of the rendering burden.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is fully stressed. Low settings average 89 FPS, Medium averages 63 FPS (range 54–73), High averages 56 FPS, and Ultra averages 49 FPS. The 40 FPS difference between Low and Ultra here is identical to the 1440p gap, which points to a consistent GPU scaling behavior across these resolutions.

Notably, the Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values at every resolution. This suggests the test methodology captured frame time variance more thoroughly for this preset, or that Medium produces more stable frame pacing. The minimum FPS values—105 at 1080p, 80 at 1440p, and 54 at 4K—are all above 30 FPS, ensuring no severe stuttering is present.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals how the system's bottleneck shifts. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 110 FPS at 1080p to 83 FPS at 1440p (a 25% reduction) and then to 56 FPS at 4K (a 33% reduction from 1440p). This progressive decline indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K but the FPS does not quarter.

At Low settings, the scaling is slightly less severe: 149 FPS at 1080p, 132 FPS at 1440p (an 11% drop), and 89 FPS at 4K (a 33% drop from 1440p). The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings (17 FPS) compared to the drop from 1440p to 4K (43 FPS) suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is still contributing to the bottleneck at 1080p, but the GPU takes over completely by 4K.

Ultra settings show the steepest absolute decline: 96 FPS at 1080p, 72 FPS at 1440p, and 49 FPS at 4K. This 49% reduction from 1080p to 4K mirrors the High preset's scaling, indicating that the GPU's rendering load scales consistently regardless of quality preset. The RX 7800 XT's 16 GB of VRAM and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle 4K textures without memory-related stutters, as evidenced by the sustained averages.

The data suggests that the system is CPU-bound at 1080p Low and Medium, transitioning to GPU-bound at 1440p and fully GPU-bound at 4K. This is a typical pattern for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU, where resolution scaling becomes the primary lever for balancing load.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 1440p is the recommended configuration. It delivers an average of 94 FPS with a minimum of 80 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. The Medium preset's frame time consistency, as evidenced by the recorded min/max ranges, makes it the most reliable choice for a stable experience.

At 1080p, High settings at 110 FPS are preferable to Ultra at 96 FPS, as the 14 FPS difference is unlikely to be perceptible on most monitors, but the higher preset may introduce additional visual effects that tax the CPU. For competitive play, Low settings at 149 FPS will maximize refresh rate utilization, though this sacrifices visual fidelity.

For 4K gaming, High settings at 56 FPS are the highest playable option, as Ultra dips to 49 FPS, which may be below the threshold for some players' comfort. Medium at 63 FPS offers a better margin, with a minimum of 54 FPS, making it the safer choice for maintaining frame rates above 60. Low settings at 89 FPS provide the smoothest 4K experience but at a significant visual cost.

The data indicates that the combo is most efficient at 1440p, where even Ultra settings maintain 72 FPS. This resolution leverages the GPU's capabilities without exposing the CPU's limitations. For users with high-refresh monitors, 1080p Medium or High provides the best combination of frame rate and image quality, while 4K is best reserved for Medium settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT, based on the Navi 32 chip and RDNA 3.0 architecture, is the dominant component in this pairing. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Control's texture streaming. The GPU's 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 233.3 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 583.2 GTexel/s.

The GPU's clock behavior is notable: a 1295 MHz base clock, 2124 MHz game clock, and 2430 MHz boost clock. The boost clock is 88% higher than the base, indicating that the card aggressively scales under load. In Control, this translates to consistent frame delivery across all resolutions, with the 4K Ultra average of 49 FPS being the only sub-60 result.

The RX 7800 XT's 60 ray tracing cores and 37.32 TFLOPS of FP32 performance suggest it can handle DirectX 12 Ultimate features, though Control's implementation of ray tracing is not explicitly measured here. The GPU's 263W TDP and dual-slot design with 2x 8-pin power connectors indicate a power-hungry part, but the measured performance justifies the power draw.

Synthetic benchmarks show the GPU's average score of 11627 places it at the 51st percentile, with rivals like the GTX 1660 within 0.5%. This low percentile is misleading in gaming contexts, as the RX 7800 XT's architecture is optimized for rasterization-heavy workloads like Control. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4157 and Passmark G3D score of 24176 confirm solid DirectX 12 performance, which aligns with Control's API usage.

The GPU's role in this combo is to provide headroom at 1080p and 1440p while maintaining playability at 4K. Its 16 GB VRAM ensures no texture pop-in or loading hitches, and the 624.1 GB/s bandwidth keeps the frame buffer fed even at 4K Ultra. The measured FPS data shows the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K, as expected, but its performance at lower resolutions allows the CPU to become the bottleneck, which is the inverse of most modern pairings.