Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a striking combination in Control, pitting a 2019 six-core mainstream processor against one of the most powerful consumer GPUs ever made. The benchmark data shows this pairing achieves a rank of 147 out of 1636 tested combos in this specific title, placing it in the top 9% of all configurations. This high ranking is driven almost entirely by the RTX 4090's raw rendering power, though the Ryzen 5 3600's performance ceiling becomes evident at lower resolutions where the CPU must feed frames faster.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's position at 147th out of 1636 tested combinations is a strong result, but it reflects a lopsided partnership. The RTX 4090 is the clear driver of this ranking; its average benchmark score of 66473 and 91st percentile standing among all GPUs are the dominant factors. In contrast, the Ryzen 5 3600's average benchmark score of 18129 places it at the 76th percentile among all CPUs, with nearest rivals like the Intel Core i5-11400 (avgScore 18150, deltaPct -0.1) and AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (avgScore 18158, deltaPct -0.2) showing it is essentially performance-neutral with its immediate competitors. The data indicates that while the CPU is not a bottleneck at 4K, it likely suppresses the GPU's potential at 1080p, preventing the combo from climbing higher in the rankings.

FAQ

*Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations in Control?*

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + RTX 4090 combination ranks 147th out of 1636 tested combos, placing it in the top 9% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 138.8 FPS average. Moving to 4K Ultra, the average drops to 77.8 FPS, a significant reduction of 61 FPS that illustrates the increased GPU load at higher resolutions.

Q: Which component is the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes the limiting factor at 1080p. The FPS difference between Low (173.2 FPS) and Ultra (138.8 FPS) at 1080p is relatively small, indicating the CPU's frame-generation ceiling is being approached, whereas at 4K the GPU's workload dominates the performance delta.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 3600 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 has an average benchmark score of 18129, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-11400 (18150, deltaPct -0.1) and AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (18158, deltaPct -0.2). It is effectively performance-equivalent to these processors in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks in the 91st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's performance close to its nearest rivals?

A: No, the RTX 4090's average score of 66473 is significantly higher than its nearest rivals. The closest competitor, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, has an average score of 66733 with a deltaPct of -0.4, meaning the RTX 4090 is slightly behind, but the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (67097, deltaPct -0.9) and NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (67320, deltaPct -1.3) are further ahead, though all within a narrow band.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the undisputed performance anchor in this configuration. It features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. Its clocks are set at a base of 2235 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s, allowing it to handle Control's complex visual effects with ease. The GPU's 16,384 shading units and 128 RT cores are particularly relevant for a game like Control, which heavily utilizes real-time ray tracing and particle effects. The benchmark data shows the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates, especially at 4K where its massive memory bandwidth and compute throughput are fully utilized. However, its performance is so high that it outpaces what the Ryzen 5 3600 can consistently feed at lower resolutions, creating a CPU-bound scenario in lighter settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how this combo performs across resolutions and settings. At 4K (3840x2160), the average frame rates are 87.8 FPS on High, 97.4 FPS on Medium, 136.5 FPS on Low, and 77.8 FPS on Ultra. This shows a 59.7 FPS spread between the lowest and highest settings, indicating the GPU is the primary variable. At 1440p (2560x1440), performance improves substantially: High averages 132.3 FPS, Medium 134.8 FPS, Low 157.7 FPS, and Ultra 114.1 FPS. The spread narrows to 43.6 FPS, suggesting the CPU begins to influence results. At 1080p (1920x1080), the averages are 142.8 FPS on High, 150.7 FPS on Medium, 173.2 FPS on Low, and 138.8 FPS on Ultra. The spread here is just 34.4 FPS, which is the smallest of all resolutions, highlighting that the CPU's frame-generation limit is being reached. The data indicates that at 1080p, even reducing settings from Ultra to Low only yields a 34.4 FPS increase, whereas at 4K, the same settings change yields a 58.7 FPS increase, demonstrating the GPU's dominance is more pronounced at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic CPU-GPU bottleneck shift. At Ultra settings, the combo delivers 138.8 FPS at 1080p, 114.1 FPS at 1440p, and 77.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 44% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, indicating that the GPU becomes progressively more stressed as resolution increases, while the CPU's workload remains relatively constant. At Low settings, the drop is more dramatic: 173.2 FPS at 1080p, 157.7 FPS at 1440p, and 136.5 FPS at 4K, a 21% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The smaller percentage drop at Low settings suggests that at 1080p Low, the CPU is the limiting factor, preventing the GPU from reaching its maximum frame output. As resolution increases, the GPU's rendering load grows, making it the bottleneck once again. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting component across all settings, while at 1080p, the CPU's 6-core/12-thread configuration with a boost clock of 4.20 GHz becomes a constraint, particularly at lower settings where the GPU has more headroom to generate frames.