Control

# Control: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT — Benchmark Analysis

This combo ranks 1422nd out of 3720 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the 38th percentile of all tested systems. That positioning reflects a mid-pack result for a game that is now several years old, and the measured frame rates across resolutions suggest the pairing is well-balanced for 1440p play but begins to strain at 4K. The data comes from direct measurement, not estimation, so the FPS values below are reproducible within normal run-to-run variance.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 3720 tested CPU-GPU combinations in Control, this pairing sits at rank 1422. That places it just inside the top 40% of all systems tested, which is a reasonable outcome given the CPU's age and the GPU's mid-range positioning. The rank is driven primarily by the GPU's raw throughput and the CPU's ability to feed it at lower resolutions; at 1080p the combo delivers very high frame rates, while at 4K the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck.

The CPU's own benchmark percentile versus all processors is 71st, meaning the Ryzen 5 3600 outperforms 71% of all CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score of 17035 places it within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-1260P (17007) and 0.2% above the AMD EPYC 7742 (16998). The nearest rival by score is the Intel Core i5-11400 at 17067, which is only 0.2% faster. In practical terms, this CPU is a solid match for the RX 7700 XT in Control, as the game's engine scales well with both core count and clock speed.

The GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is 67th, with an average score of 22549. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (22435, 0.5% slower) and the RTX 4060 Mobile (22729, 0.8% faster). The desktop RTX 2080 is 1.5% faster, and the older AMD Radeon RX 5700 is 1.7% slower. This GPU sits comfortably in the upper-mid tier, and in Control it delivers playable frame rates at all settings up to 1440p, with 4K requiring reduced settings for smoothness.

GPU Role

The RX 7700 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It contains 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die, with a transistor density of 81.2M / mm². The GPU has 3456 shading units, 216 texture mapping units, 96 ROPs, and 54 ray tracing cores. Its base clock is 1435 MHz, with a game clock of 2171 MHz and a boost clock of 2544 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth at an effective speed of 18 Gbps.

In Control, the GPU's role is dominant at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 45, which is below the 60 FPS target most players prefer. The measured data shows a clear pattern: the GPU's fill rate and bandwidth are the limiting factors at 4K, while at 1080p the CPU becomes more relevant. The GPU's pixel rate is 244.2 GPixel/s and texture rate is 549.5 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 35.17 TFLOPS. These numbers explain why 1080p Medium and High both exceed 100 FPS, while 4K High manages only 52 FPS average.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (feature level 12_2) ensures full compatibility with Control's rendering features, including ray tracing effects if enabled. However, the measured FPS values do not specify whether ray tracing was active, so the results likely reflect standard rasterization.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS across all four settings presets at each resolution, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 115 FPS average with a minimum of 98 FPS and maximum of 133 FPS. That minimum is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS, still very playable. At 4K Medium, the average is 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS and maximum of 68 FPS, which is borderline for a 60 Hz display but acceptable for slower-paced action.

For players prioritizing frame rate over visuals, Low settings at 1440p produce 123 FPS average, and at 1080p Low reaches 162 FPS average. For maximum visual fidelity, Ultra at 1440p yields 67 FPS average, while 4K Ultra drops to 45 FPS average, which is below the playable threshold for most users. The recommended default is therefore Medium at 1440p, as it provides a 33% headroom over 60 FPS and retains most of the game's visual effects. If a higher refresh rate monitor is used, Low at 1440p or High at 1080p (102 FPS average) are better choices.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows 1440p as the sweet spot. At Medium settings, the combo delivers 87 FPS average, with a minimum of 74 FPS. This is well above 60 FPS, and the visual upgrade over 1080p is significant. 4K is possible only at Low settings (83 FPS average) or Medium (59 FPS), but the minimums at 4K Medium (50 FPS) indicate occasional dips below 60.

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

A: The Ryzen 5 3600's average benchmark score of 17035 is within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-1260P (17007) and 0.2% of the AMD EPYC 7742 (16998). It is 0.2% slower than the Intel Core i5-11400 (17067). These differences are negligible in real-world gaming.

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

A: The RX 7700 XT's average score of 22549 is 0.5% higher than the RTX 5060 Mobile (22435) and 1.7% higher than the RX 5700 (22170). The RTX 4060 Mobile is 0.8% faster (22729), and the RTX 2080 is 1.5% faster (22895). These are close margins, suggesting similar performance in games like Control.

*Q: Is the combo capable of 4K gaming in Control?*

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 59 with a minimum of 50, which is playable on a 60 Hz display but may show stutter in heavy scenes. At 4K Low, the average rises to 83 FPS, making Low the recommended 4K preset. 4K High and Ultra are below 60 FPS on average, at 52 and 45 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance, and does it matter here?

A: The CPU scores 696 in 3DMark single-thread, 214 in Cinebench R15 single-core, and 892 in Cinebench R20 single-core. In Control, which uses multiple threads, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1080p Low (162 FPS average).

*Q: Does the combo support ray tracing in Control?*

A: The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (feature level 12_2) and has 54 ray tracing cores. However, the measured FPS values do not indicate whether ray tracing was enabled, so the results reflect standard rendering only. Enabling ray tracing would likely reduce the FPS figures.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck lies. At Medium settings, the average FPS at 1080p is 115, at 1440p it is 87, and at 4K it is 59. That represents a 24% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 49% drop from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, which indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU is more involved, as evidenced by the high FPS at Low settings (162 FPS average), which suggests the CPU can push frames well above 150 FPS. At 4K, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the constraints.

Looking at the Ultra preset, the scaling is similar: 1080p Ultra is 89 FPS, 1440p Ultra is 67 FPS (a 25% drop), and 4K Ultra is 45 FPS (a 49% drop from 1080p). This consistent pattern across settings confirms that the GPU's workload grows proportionally with pixel count, and the CPU is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The exception is at 1080p Low, where the CPU's single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 696) and boost clock of 4.20 GHz allow the GPU to run near its maximum potential.

For players with a 1440p monitor, the scaling suggests that Medium or High settings are optimal, as they keep the GPU well-utilized without overloading it. At 4K, only Low or Medium settings are viable for smooth gameplay, and the minimum FPS at 4K Medium (50) indicates that even this preset may dip below 60 in intense moments.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture (codename Matisse), built on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration, with a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. It has 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU is unlocked for overclocking and uses the AMD Socket AM4.

In Control, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p, where frame rates are high enough to expose any CPU limitations. The measured data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 162 FPS average, which indicates the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU well above 150 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average is 115 FPS, and at 1080p High, it is 102 FPS. These figures suggest that the CPU is not a bottleneck at 1080p, as the GPU's workload scales with settings. The CPU's multithreaded performance is strong for its class: Cinebench R23 multicore score is 15045, and Geekbench multicore is 7372. Its 3DMark 16-thread score is 4605, and its max-thread score is 4603, showing that all 12 threads are utilized effectively.

The CPU's nearest rivals by average benchmark score are all within 0.2% of its performance, which means that swapping to any of them would yield no measurable difference in Control. The CPU's percentile rank (71st) indicates it is better than most CPUs in the database, but it is not a high-end part by today's standards. For this game, the CPU is sufficient, as the GPU is the primary determinant of FPS at 1440p and above.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 162, with no minimum or maximum recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 115, with a minimum of 98 and maximum of 133. At 1080p High, the average is 102, with no min/max. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 89, with no min/max.

Moving to 1440p, the Low preset averages 123 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS (min 74, max 100), High averages 77 FPS, and Ultra averages 67 FPS. At 4K, Low averages 83 FPS, Medium averages 59 FPS (min 50, max 68), High averages 52 FPS, and Ultra averages 45 FPS.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each settings preset reduces FPS by roughly 15-20% compared to the next lower preset, and each resolution step reduces FPS by roughly 25-30%. The only anomaly is the 4K Low result, which at 83 FPS is higher than the 1440p High result (77 FPS), indicating that Low settings at 4K are less demanding than High settings at 1440p. This is useful for players who prefer higher resolution over visual effects. The minimum FPS values (only recorded for Medium presets) show that the lowest 1% of frame times are still above 50 FPS at all resolutions, which is acceptable for a game like Control that involves fast-paced combat and environmental destruction.

In summary, the measured FPS values demonstrate that this combo is best suited for 1440p gaming with Medium to High settings, offering a smooth experience with average FPS between 77 and 87. At 1080p, the combo is overkill for 60 Hz displays, and at 4K, only Low settings provide a consistently smooth experience. The data confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU is more than adequate for this title.