Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT pairing delivers a highly capable Control experience, with the measured data showing a clear hierarchy across resolutions and settings. The 6-core, 12-thread CPU with a 3.60 GHz base and 4.20 GHz boost clock provides ample headroom, while the GPU’s 12 GB of VRAM and RDNA 3 architecture handle the game’s demands effectively. Below is a breakdown of how each component contributes to the frame rates you can expect.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Ryzen 5 5500’s six physical cores and twelve threads are built on the Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne codename) on a 7 nm process. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.20 GHz give it solid single-threaded performance, which is what Control’s engine relies on for physics and game logic. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 836 in 3dmark_single_thread and 2319 in cinebench_r23_singlecore, indicating that per-core strength is more than sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p and 1440p. The CPU’s multi-threaded score of 16429 in cinebench_r23_multicore shows that the 12 threads are not a bottleneck when the game scales across cores.

The data supports this: at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo hits 164.2 FPS average, which is far beyond what the GPU alone would produce if the CPU were limiting. The CPU’s 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) keep data flowing smoothly. Its passmark_multithread score of 19330 and percentile rank of 79 among all CPUs place it in the upper tier for gaming. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5500 is essentially tied with the Intel Core i5-12500 (deltaPct -0.1) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE (deltaPct -0.1), while it slightly edges out the AMD EPYC 7J13 (deltaPct 0.1). This means the CPU is not a weak link in this configuration; the frame rate differences between settings are driven almost entirely by GPU load.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Radeon RX 7700 XT is the dominant factor in this pairing. It uses the Navi 32 chip with RDNA 3 architecture on a 5 nm process, featuring 3456 shading units, 216 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is critical for Control’s texture-heavy environments at higher resolutions. The boost clock of 2544 MHz and game clock of 2171 MHz are high enough to push substantial frame rates, as evidenced by the passmark_g3d score of 22547 and a percentile rank of 73 among all GPUs.

The GPU’s performance is directly visible in the measured FPS: at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 164.2 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 47.8 FPS. This scaling shows that the GPU is the primary limiter as resolution increases. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient even at 3840x2160 Ultra, as the card does not run out of memory in these tests—the frame rate drop is due to raw compute limits, not capacity. The GPU’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, has a deltaPct of 0, meaning the two are statistically identical in average benchmark scores. The RX 7700 XT also sits close to the AMD Radeon RX 570 (deltaPct -0.2) and beats the NVIDIA Tesla M60 (deltaPct 0.4) and RTX 5070 Mobile (deltaPct 0.6). For Control, the GPU’s 54 RT cores are available for ray tracing, but the measured data reflects standard rasterization performance.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Looking at the measured FPS rows, the sweet spot for this combo is the High preset at 2560x1440, which delivers 79.1 FPS average. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay while maintaining visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, High yields 104.6 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, but the jump to 1440p High is worth the slight frame rate cost for the added clarity. The Medium preset at 1440p offers 87.5 FPS, but the visual cut from High is noticeable in a game like Control with its destructible environments and particle effects.

If you prioritize frame rate over visuals, the Low preset at 1080p gives 164.2 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play or very high refresh rate displays, but it sacrifices the game’s atmospheric lighting. The Ultra preset is only viable at 1080p (91.4 FPS) or 1440p (66.5 FPS) if you want maximum effects; at 4K Ultra, the 47.8 FPS average is below the 60 FPS target. The data suggests that High at 1440p offers the best balance of smoothness and quality, while Medium at 1080p (118 FPS) is a strong fallback if you need extra headroom. Avoid 4K Ultra unless you can tolerate sub-50 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K smoothly?

A: At 4K with High settings, the average FPS is 54.9, which is playable but not consistently smooth. Dropping to Low at 4K raises the average to 83.3 FPS, but the Medium preset at 4K only yields 57.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 47.8 FPS. For a locked 60 FPS, you would need to use Low or accept a lower frame rate.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500 a bottleneck for the RX 7700 XT in Control?

A: No. The CPU’s single-thread score of 2319 in cinebench_r23 and multi-thread score of 16429 are more than adequate. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 164.2 FPS, which shows the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent with GPU limitation, not CPU.

Q: How much VRAM does Control need at 4K Ultra?

A: The RX 7700 XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, and the measured 4K Ultra result (47.8 FPS) does not indicate a VRAM shortage. The performance drop is from compute load rather than memory capacity, so 12 GB is sufficient for this game at all tested settings.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: High at 2560x1440 gives 79.1 FPS, which is the best balance of quality and speed. Ultra at 1440p drops to 66.5 FPS, which is still playable, but the visual gain over High is marginal for the frame rate cost. Medium at 1440p (87.5 FPS) is an option if you prefer higher refresh rates.

Q: How does this combo compare to the RTX 5060?

A: The RX 7700 XT and RTX 5060 have identical average benchmark scores (deltaPct 0). In Control specifically, the measured FPS shows this combo performs as expected for its class, with no significant advantage either way in synthetic tests.

Q: Is the CPU’s 65W TDP a concern for sustained gaming?

A: No. The 65W TDP is low, and the CPU’s boost clock of 4.20 GHz is maintained under load. The measured FPS results show consistent performance across settings, and the CPU’s passmark_single_thread score of 3058 indicates it handles gaming workloads without throttling issues.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 104.6 FPS; at 1440p High, it drops to 79.1 FPS; at 4K High, it falls to 54.9 FPS. This represents a 24.4% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 30.6% drop from 1440p to 4K. The Low preset shows similar scaling: 164.2 FPS at 1080p, 123.3 FPS at 1440p, and 83.3 FPS at 4K. The percentage declines are consistent with the GPU’s pixel throughput limits, not CPU constraints.

If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would plateau at higher resolutions, but instead it continues to fall steadily. The RX 7700 XT’s pixel rate of 244.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 549.5 GTexel/s are the limiting factors at 4K. The 12 GB VRAM is not the issue, as the memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s is adequate even at 4K Ultra. The data confirms that this is a GPU-limited scenario across all settings; the CPU’s role is to keep up, which it does without issue. For a 4K experience, you would need to lower settings, as the Ultra preset at 4K (47.8 FPS) is the weakest point in the entire dataset.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 164.2 FPS, Medium gives 118 FPS, High drops to 104.6 FPS, and Ultra yields 91.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 72.8 FPS, showing the significant performance cost of maxing out effects at 1080p. Even Ultra is well above 60 FPS, making 1080p a comfortable resolution for any preset.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show more variance. Low averages 123.3 FPS, Medium hits 87.5 FPS, High reaches 79.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 66.5 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is 12.6 FPS, which is noticeable but not crippling. This resolution is the sweet spot for High settings, as it balances visual quality with a 79.1 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, the GPU starts to struggle with higher presets. Low averages 83.3 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium drops to 57.8 FPS, High to 54.9 FPS, and Ultra to 47.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 35.5 FPS, the largest percentage drop in the dataset. This indicates that 4K is only viable with Low or Medium settings for a playable experience, unless you accept sub-60 FPS averages. The overall combo rank in this game is 649 out of 1636 tested combos, placing it in the top 40% of configurations.