Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers a compelling 4K experience in Control, but the data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution climbs. The combination of a 2019-era six-core processor with a flagship 2025 GPU creates a fascinating case study in how game engines scale with modern hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows that Control scales predictably with resolution, but the rate of decline is steeper than what pure GPU-bound titles often exhibit. At 1080p High settings, the combo produces 145 FPS, which drops to 132 FPS at 1440p, and further to 96 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33.8% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 27.3% drop from 1440p to 4K.

The scaling pattern suggests that the RTX 5090 D is not the primary limiting factor at lower resolutions. The RTX 5090 D's massive 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth and 32 GB of GDDR7 memory should theoretically allow for near-linear scaling with pixel count. However, the actual performance deltas indicate that the Ryzen 5 3600's Zen 2 architecture is holding back the system at 1080p and 1440p.

At 4K, the picture changes. The 96 FPS High result versus the 145 FPS 1080p result shows a 33.8% reduction, which is closer to what one would expect from a purely GPU-limited scenario. The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are being more fully utilized at 4K, where the CPU has more breathing room to feed the render pipeline.

The Low preset scaling is particularly revealing. At 1080p Low, the system hits 171 FPS, but 4K Low only reaches 137 FPS, a 19.9% drop. This is a smaller percentage decline than the High preset's 33.8% drop, which indicates that at Low settings, the CPU becomes a more significant constraint even at 4K. The Ryzen 5 3600's 6 cores and 12 threads, while adequate for most games, show their age when the GPU is asked to render at maximum speed with minimal shading work.

Ultra settings exhibit the steepest scaling curve. The 138 FPS at 1080p Ultra drops to 83 FPS at 4K Ultra, a 39.9% reduction. This suggests that the combination of high-resolution rendering and maximum visual fidelity pushes the RTX 5090 D into a state where its raw compute advantages are partially offset by the CPU's inability to issue draw calls quickly enough.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience. At 4K, the Medium preset delivers 108 FPS average with a minimum of 92 FPS and maximum of 124 FPS. This represents the best balance of visual quality and smooth framerates for the resolution. The High preset at 4K produces 96 FPS, which is playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 83 FPS, which may introduce noticeable stutter in action-heavy sequences.

At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 137 FPS with a minimum of 117 FPS and maximum of 158 FPS. This is nearly identical to the 4K Medium's average FPS but with better minimum frame consistency. The High preset at 1440p produces 132 FPS, while Ultra manages 124 FPS. For players with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, as it maintains frame times that should feel responsive.

The 1080p results show that all presets are playable, but the Medium preset again stands out. At 151 FPS average with a minimum of 128 FPS and maximum of 173 FPS, it offers a wide margin above the 138 FPS Ultra result. The Low preset at 1080p hits 171 FPS, which is the highest average across all measured configurations. However, the visual compromise of Low settings may not be justified given the relatively small FPS gain over Medium.

For players prioritizing frame rate above all else, the 1080p Low preset at 171 FPS is the clear winner. But for the best overall experience, the Medium preset at 1440p or 4K offers the most balanced combination of visual fidelity and performance. The data suggests that the RTX 5090 D is capable of driving 4K Medium at over 100 FPS average, which is a strong result for a game released in 2019.

GPU Role

The RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the high frame rates observed. The GPU's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Control's texture streaming requirements. The 2017 MHz base clock and 2407 MHz boost clock allow the 21,760 shading units to process geometry and pixel data at impressive rates.

The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is a key indicator of its raw compute capability. In Control, which features physics-based destruction and particle effects, this compute throughput directly translates to higher frame rates. The 680 texture mapping units and 176 render output units provide a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s, respectively. These rates are well above what the game demands at 4K resolution.

The GPU benchmark scores reinforce its position in the hierarchy. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915 demonstrate strong DirectX 12 and Vulkan performance. The PassMark G3D score of 44,065 places the RTX 5090 D in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, which is consistent with its flagship status.

However, the nearest rivals list provides context for the GPU's performance tier. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT scores 76,904 in average benchmark, just 1.1% behind the RTX 5090 D's 77,712 average. This is surprising given the architectural differences, but it highlights that synthetic benchmarks may not fully capture gaming performance. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.6% ahead, while the NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants are 2.1% and 2.4% ahead respectively. These deltas are small enough to suggest that the RTX 5090 D's gaming performance in Control is not solely determined by its raw compute metrics.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 228 out of 2,888 tested combinations places this pairing in the top 7.9% of all systems tested for Control. This is a strong showing, though not the absolute top tier. The ranking reflects the fact that while the RTX 5090 D is a flagship GPU, the Ryzen 5 3600 is a mid-range processor from an older generation.

The rank of 228 suggests that there are 227 other combinations that achieve higher average FPS in Control. These are likely pairings with newer, higher-core-count CPUs that can better feed the RTX 5090 D. The Ryzen 5 3600's 6 cores and 12 threads, while sufficient for most games, may cause the GPU to wait for CPU instructions in CPU-bound scenarios.

The percentile ranking of the individual components provides additional context. The CPU is in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. This discrepancy explains why the combo rank is not higher. The GPU is clearly capable of higher performance, but the CPU's limitations cap the system's overall output.

The deltaPct values from the CPU's nearest rivals show that the Ryzen 5 3600 is closely matched with several other processors. The Intel Core i7-1260P is 0.2% ahead, while the Intel Core i5-11400 and AMD EPYC 7573X are 0.2% behind. The AMD EPYC 7742 is also 0.2% ahead. These tiny margins indicate that the CPU's performance is well within the expected range for its specifications.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 3600's role in this pairing is to provide adequate instruction throughput without becoming a severe bottleneck. The CPU's 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.20 GHz boost clock are modest by modern standards, but the Zen 2 architecture's 7 nm process node allows for efficient operation. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for game code that frequently accesses working sets.

The CPU benchmark results show a mixed picture. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15,045 and single-core score of 2,124 indicate solid multi-threaded performance but mediocre single-thread performance. The Geekbench multi-core score of 7,372 and single-core score of 1,536 follow the same pattern. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4,605 and max-thread score of 4,603 show that the CPU scales well with additional threads, but the single-thread score of 696 is relatively low.

In Control, the CPU's performance is likely sufficient for most scenes, but the data suggests it becomes a constraint at high frame rates. The 1080p Low preset at 171 FPS is likely near the CPU's maximum frame delivery capability. The fact that the 4K Low preset only drops to 137 FPS, a 19.9% reduction, while the High preset drops 33.8% from 1080p to 4K, indicates that the CPU limits the Low preset more than the High preset.

The CPU's TDP of 65 W and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for the game's requirements. The PCIe Gen 4 interface with 16 lanes provides sufficient bandwidth for the RTX 5090 D to communicate with the CPU. However, the CPU's 3,800 million transistors and 74 mm² die size, while impressive for 2019, are dwarfed by the GPU's 92,200 million transistors and 750 mm² die size.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern across all resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the Low preset yields 171 FPS, Medium yields 151 FPS with a minimum of 128 FPS and maximum of 173 FPS, High yields 145 FPS, and Ultra yields 138 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 33 FPS, or 19.3% of the Low value.

At 1440p, the results are: Low at 156 FPS, Medium at 137 FPS with a minimum of 117 and maximum of 158, High at 132 FPS, and Ultra at 124 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 32 FPS, or 20.5% of the Low value. This is a slightly larger percentage spread than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a factor.

At 4K, the results are: Low at 137 FPS, Medium at 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 and maximum of 124, High at 96 FPS, and Ultra at 83 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 54 FPS, or 39.4% of the Low value. This is a significantly larger spread than at lower resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K.

The Medium preset's minimum and maximum values are particularly informative. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 128 FPS and the maximum is 173 FPS, a range of 45 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 117 FPS and the maximum is 158 FPS, a range of 41 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 92 FPS and the maximum is 124 FPS, a range of 32 FPS. The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that frame times become more consistent as the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

The data shows that the RTX 5090 D is capable of delivering 4K Ultra at 83 FPS average, which is respectable for a demanding game. However, the 4K Medium preset at 108 FPS average with a 92 FPS minimum provides a better guarantee against frame drops. For players with 144Hz or 165Hz monitors, the 1080p Medium preset at 151 FPS average is the most suitable configuration, as it provides enough headroom to avoid dipping below the refresh rate.