Control

Control with an AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a study in imbalance. The data shows a pairing where the GPU is capable of far more than the CPU can feed it at lower resolutions, yet the raw power of the RTX 4080 still manages to deliver playable frame rates even at 4K. This combination ranks 773rd out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the top 21% of all configurations tested for this title, which is a strong overall position despite the age of the processor.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck shifts in this system. At 1080p High settings, the combo produces 126 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 115 FPS, and then to 4K High it falls further to 79 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is a moderate 8.7%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is a much steeper 31.3%. This pattern is classic evidence of a CPU limit at lower resolutions that gradually transitions to a GPU limit as pixel count increases.

At Low settings, the trend is even more pronounced. The system hits 149 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 119 FPS at 4K. The delta from 1080p to 1440p is only 8.7% again, but the fall to 4K is 12.5%. The fact that 4K Low (119 FPS) is nearly as fast as 1440p High (115 FPS) shows that the GPU is still heavily underutilized when settings are lowered, and the CPU is the primary limiter in all but the most demanding 4K scenarios.

The data suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, the Ryzen 5 2600 is the primary constraint. The RTX 4080 is waiting on the CPU to issue draw calls, which is why the FPS differences between Low and High settings are relatively small at these resolutions (149 to 126 at 1080p, 136 to 115 at 1440p). Only when the resolution hits 4K does the GPU start to become the limiting component, as evidenced by the larger FPS spread between settings (119 at Low down to 69 at Ultra).

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 brings substantial hardware to this game. It features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. Its base clock is 2205 MHz with a boost clock of 2505 MHz. These specifications are far beyond what Control requires, and the benchmark results confirm that the GPU is rarely the limiting factor.

Even at 4K Ultra settings, the combo still manages 69 FPS, which is a playable frame rate for most gamers. The fact that 4K Ultra (69 FPS) is only 41.5% slower than 1080p Ultra (120 FPS) shows that the GPU is scaling well with the increased load. When the settings are dropped to Low at 4K, the FPS jumps to 119, which is nearly identical to the 1080p High result of 126 FPS. This indicates that the GPU can handle the 4K pixel count easily, but its performance is being capped by the CPU in lighter scenes.

The GPU's raw compute power is evident in its benchmark scores. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 34457 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 263779. The GPU's nearest rival is the RTX 4080 SUPER, which is only 0.1% ahead of it in average score. This places the RTX 4080 in the 86th percentile among all GPUs, making it a top-tier part. In Control, this power translates to the ability to run 4K High at 79 FPS, which is an excellent result for a demanding action-adventure title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 2000 series, based on the Zen+ architecture. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. While this was a solid mid-range CPU at its release, it is now several generations old, and its single-thread performance is a clear weak point. The CPU's benchmark scores confirm this: it achieves a Geekbench single-core score of 1154 and a Cinebench R15 single-core score of 157.3.

In Control, the CPU's limitations become apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system produces 149 FPS, but the CPU is likely hitting its limit here, as the GPU should be capable of much more. The fact that 1080p Ultra (120 FPS) is only 19.5% slower than 1080p Low (149 FPS) shows that the CPU is the bottleneck, not the GPU. If the GPU were the limiter, the difference between Low and Ultra would be much larger.

The CPU's multi-threaded performance is better, with a Cinebench R15 multi-core score of 1248 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 13160. This helps in scenes with many physics objects or AI characters, but it doesn't solve the single-thread bottleneck. The CPU's 16 MB of shared L3 cache is also a limiting factor compared to modern CPUs with larger caches. The data shows that the Ryzen 5 2600 holds the system back in Control, particularly at 1080p and 1440p, where the FPS is capped by the CPU's ability to process game logic.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks 773rd out of 3720 tested combos for Control. This places it in the 79.2nd percentile of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing overall. The ranking is primarily driven by the RTX 4080's immense power, which ensures high frame rates even with a relatively weak CPU. However, the ranking would likely be higher if the CPU were more modern.

The CPU itself is in the 75th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21484. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (0.2% ahead) and the Intel Core i9-11900H (0.5% ahead). The GPU, on the other hand, is in the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 54247. Its nearest rival is the RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% ahead), which highlights that the GPU is near the top of its class.

The disparity between the CPU's 75th percentile and the GPU's 86th percentile is significant. This combo is a textbook case of a GPU being held back by an older CPU. In games that are less CPU-intensive, this combo would rank higher, but Control's reliance on single-thread performance limits the overall ranking. The data indicates that pairing the RTX 4080 with a more modern CPU would yield a much higher rank, as the GPU has headroom to spare.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how this combo performs across different settings and resolutions. At 4K, the system delivers 79 FPS on High, 89 FPS on Medium, 119 FPS on Low, and 69 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting at 4K has a min FPS of 76 and a max FPS of 103, showing some variance but still maintaining playable frame rates. The 4K Ultra result of 69 FPS is the lowest in the entire dataset, but it remains above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 1440p, the performance is consistently high. The High setting delivers 115 FPS, Medium delivers 120 FPS (with a min of 102 and max of 138), Low delivers 136 FPS, and Ultra delivers 102 FPS. The gap between 1440p Ultra (102 FPS) and 4K High (79 FPS) is 22.5%, which shows that the GPU is still the primary driver at these settings. The 1440p Medium result of 120 FPS is identical to the 1080p Ultra result, which again points to the CPU as a limiting factor.

At 1080p, the results are tightly clustered. High delivers 126 FPS, Medium delivers 132 FPS (with a min of 112 and max of 151), Low delivers 149 FPS, and Ultra delivers 120 FPS. The spread from 120 FPS to 149 FPS is only 24.2%, which is small by gaming standards. This clustering is the clearest evidence of a CPU bottleneck. The RTX 4080 is capable of far more than 149 FPS in Control at 1080p, but the CPU cannot keep up.

FAQ

Q: Is the RTX 4080 wasted with the Ryzen 5 2600 in Control?

A: Partially, yes. At 1080p and 1440p, the CPU limits FPS to between 102 and 149 depending on settings, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the combo still delivers 69 to 119 FPS, so the GPU is not entirely wasted.

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this combo for Control?

A: The data shows that 1440p High provides 115 FPS, which is a strong balance of visual quality and performance. At 4K High, the FPS drops to 79, which is still playable but less smooth. If you want the highest frame rates, 1080p Low delivers 149 FPS, but the CPU caps performance.

Q: How does this combo compare to the RTX 4080 SUPER with the same CPU?

A: The RTX 4080 is only 0.1% behind the RTX 4080 SUPER in average benchmark score, so the performance difference in Control would be negligible. The GPU is already the stronger component in this pairing, so a SUPER variant would not meaningfully change the FPS results.

Q: Does the 16 GB of VRAM on the RTX 4080 help in Control?

A: The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Control. The game does not appear to be VRAM-limited in the measured results, as even 4K Ultra delivers 69 FPS, suggesting that memory capacity and bandwidth are not constraints.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 2600 the reason the 1080p FPS is capped around 149?

A: Yes, the evidence strongly suggests this. The FPS at 1080p Low (149) is only 24.2% higher than 1080p Ultra (120), which is a small gap. If the GPU were the bottleneck, the gap would be much larger. The CPU's single-thread performance, with a Geekbench single-core score of 1154, is the likely culprit.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K Ultra settings in Control?

A: Yes, it can. The measured result for 4K Ultra is 69 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. While it is the lowest result in the dataset, it is still playable, and the GPU is clearly doing the heavy lifting at this resolution.