Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers a measured performance profile in Control that places the combination 475th out of 1,636 tested combos. The CPU, a 6-core/12-thread Zen 2 part with a 3.60 GHz base and 4.20 GHz boost, and the GPU, a 16 GB RDNA 4 card with a 2,970 MHz boost clock, produce a wide range of frame rates across resolutions and presets. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, the role of each component, and the implications for settings selection.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's rank among tested configurations in Control?

A: The combo ranks 475th out of 1,636 tested combos.

Q: How many cores and threads does the Ryzen 5 3600 have?

A: It has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz.

Q: What is the memory configuration of the RX 9070 XT?

A: The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The highest average is 172.7 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU's average benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 has an average benchmark score of 18,129, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i5-11400's 18,150.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the CPU and GPU?

A: The CPU's launch MSRP is $199, and the GPU's launch MSRP is 599 USD.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo sits at rank 475 out of 1,636, meaning it outperforms a majority of tested pairings. The CPU alone is in the 76th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs. This suggests the GPU is the stronger component relative to its peers, which aligns with the frame rates observed at higher resolutions. The CPU's average benchmark score of 18,129 places it within 0.3% of its nearest rivals: the Intel Core i5-11400 (18,150, delta -0.1%), the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (18,101, delta 0.2%), the AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (18,158, delta -0.2%), and the AMD EPYC 9274F (18,189, delta -0.3%). The GPU's average score of 39,647 is similarly close to its nearest rivals, with deltas ranging from -0.1% to -0.6% against the AMD Radeon Pro 575, NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile, AMD Radeon Pro 575X, and AMD Radeon RX Vega 64. The rank of 475 indicates that this pairing is well above the median, and the component percentiles reinforce that the GPU is the more dominant contributor to the overall result.

GPU Role

The RX 9070 XT brings 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, a 256-bit bus, and 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock reaches 2,970 MHz, with a game clock of 2,400 MHz and a base clock of 1,660 MHz. The GPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates a high-end part, and the 16 GB VRAM is present across all measured presets. In Control, the GPU's capabilities are evident in the frame rates: at 4K Low, the average is 99.9 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 53.6 FPS. The 16 GB memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are consistent with the high frame rates observed at 4K Low, where the GPU is not heavily taxed by texture quality. The GPU's pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s further support its ability to handle high resolutions. The measured data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of performance scaling across settings, as the CPU's contribution remains relatively constant.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings, yielding twelve distinct averages. At 1920x1080, the averages are: Low 172.7, Medium 134.9, High 121.3, and Ultra 109.2. At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 143.9, Medium 102.9, High 90.3, and Ultra 77.8. At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 99.9, Medium 67.3, High 61.8, and Ultra 53.6. The highest average across all rows is 172.7 FPS at 1080p Low, while the lowest is 53.6 FPS at 4K Ultra. The spread between Low and Ultra at each resolution is substantial: at 1080p, the difference is 63.5 FPS (172.7 vs 109.2); at 1440p, it is 66.1 FPS (143.9 vs 77.8); at 4K, it is 46.3 FPS (99.9 vs 53.6). These numbers illustrate that the GPU's performance headroom is most pronounced at lower resolutions, where the CPU can keep up with the frame rate demands.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 1440p to 4K shows a consistent reduction in average FPS for every preset. At High settings, the average drops from 121.3 at 1080p to 90.3 at 1440p and 61.8 at 4K. At Low settings, the drop is from 172.7 to 143.9 to 99.9. The pattern holds for Medium and Ultra as well. The 4K values are roughly half of the 1080p values for each preset, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor as resolution increases. The CPU's performance, with a 76th percentile ranking and a single-thread score of 2,124 in Cinebench R23, is sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 1080p, but the GPU's workload scales with pixel count. The data suggests that the RX 9070 XT is the component that determines the upper bound of performance at 4K, while the Ryzen 5 3600 provides enough headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 3600 has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost of 4.20 GHz. Its L3 cache is 32 MB shared, and it supports dual-channel DDR4 with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. In Cinebench R23, it scores 15,045 multi-core and 2,124 single-core. Its average benchmark score of 18,129 places it within 0.3% of its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i5-11400 and AMD Ryzen 5 1600. In Control, the CPU's performance is sufficient to drive high frame rates at 1080p Low (172.7 FPS), indicating that the CPU can keep up with the GPU at lower resolutions. The CPU's 3DMark scores show a scaling from 1,361 (2 threads) to 4,605 (16 threads), with a single-thread score of 696. These numbers suggest that the CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are well balanced, but Control is not a heavily threaded title; the single-thread performance is more relevant. The 2,124 single-core score in Cinebench R23 is competitive with the CPU's nearest rivals, which all have average scores within 0.3% of the 3600. The CPU's role in this combo is to provide a stable foundation, and the measured FPS at 1080p Low demonstrates that it does not limit the GPU's output.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution. At 1080p, all presets exceed 100 FPS, with Ultra at 109.2 and Low at 172.7. The data indicates that 1080p Ultra provides a high frame rate while maximizing visual quality. At 1440p, Ultra yields 77.8 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold, and High yields 90.3 FPS. For a balance of quality and performance, 1440p High is a strong choice, as it stays above 90 FPS. At 4K, only Low (99.9) and High (61.8) exceed 60 FPS; Medium is 67.3 and Ultra is 53.6. The data suggests that 4K High is the highest preset that maintains a playable frame rate, while 4K Low offers a significant performance boost. For players prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, 4K Low provides 99.9 FPS, which is nearly double the 4K Ultra value. The combo's rank of 475 out of 1,636 indicates that this pairing is well-suited for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p and 1440p, and it can handle 4K with adjusted settings.