Control

Control on the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + Intel Arc B570 combo shows a compelling but demanding profile. The game’s engine pushes both components hard, and the measured FPS reveals a system that is capable of smooth 1080p play but struggles to maintain playable framerates at 4K. The data indicates a clear CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions, with the GPU becoming the limiting factor as resolution increases.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a clear story about component balance. At High settings, the average framerate falls from 63 FPS at 1920x1080 to 48 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 15 FPS, and then to 32 FPS at 3840x2160, a further reduction of 16 FPS. This scaling pattern, where the 1440p to 4K drop (33%) is nearly identical to the 1080p to 1440p drop (24%), suggests that the Intel Arc B570’s rendering capabilities are being saturated at higher resolutions.

The picture is more revealing when looking at the Low settings preset. Here, the framerate scales from 101 FPS at 1080p down to 76 FPS at 1440p, and then to 51 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 25 FPS (25%), while the 1440p to 4K drop is also 25 FPS (33%). The fact that the absolute FPS loss is identical between these resolution steps, despite the GPU having far more pixels to render at 4K, implies that the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is holding the system back at 1080p and 1440p. At 4K, the GPU work becomes so heavy that the CPU has enough headroom to keep feeding it, yet the framerate still collapses to 51 FPS, indicating the GPU’s absolute limit is being reached.

Comparing the scaling at different settings reinforces this. At Ultra, the 1080p result is 55 FPS, which drops to 42 FPS at 1440p and 28 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is only half of the 1080p result. In contrast, at Low, the 4K result (51 FPS) is just over half of the 1080p result (101 FPS). This indicates that while the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K, the CPU’s capability dictates the ceiling at lower settings and resolutions. The data suggests that players seeking high framerates should target 1080p, as the jump to 1440p costs a significant portion of performance, and 4K is only viable with Low settings.

FAQ

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

A: No. The measured data shows that at 4K, the average framerate is 28 FPS on Ultra and 32 FPS on High, both of which are below the typically desired 60 FPS threshold. Even on Low settings at 4K, the average is 51 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: Based on the measured rows, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system consistently exceeds 60 FPS across multiple settings. At 1080p, Low hits 101 FPS, High hits 63 FPS, and Ultra hits 55 FPS, making it the only resolution where a smooth experience is achievable.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings?

A: The difference is substantial. At 1080p, Low produces 101 FPS while Ultra produces only 55 FPS, a gap of 46 FPS. At 1440p, Low hits 76 FPS compared to Ultra’s 42 FPS, and at 4K, Low achieves 51 FPS versus Ultra’s 28 FPS. The performance cost of Ultra settings is roughly half the framerate at every resolution.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B570?

A: The data suggests yes, particularly at lower resolutions. The framerate scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings shows a 25 FPS drop, which is a large percentage decrease. This indicates the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough at 1080p, limiting performance before the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Q: Which settings preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance?

A: The High preset at 1080p appears to be the sweet spot. It delivers 63 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target, while offering significantly better visual fidelity than Low. At 1440p, High produces 48 FPS, which is still playable but not as smooth.

Q: Does the system have enough VRAM for this game?

A: The Intel Arc B570 has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory. The measured data does not indicate any VRAM-related issues, as the framerates scale consistently with resolution and settings. There is no evidence in the results to suggest memory capacity is a limiting factor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz and it boosts up to 4.20 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 836 in 3dmark_single_thread and 16429 in cinebench_r23_multicore, placing it in the 73rd percentile versus all CPUs. This indicates a solid mid-range performer that is capable of handling modern games.

However, the game’s measured FPS reveals that the CPU’s single-thread performance is crucial. The 3dmark_2_threads score of 1645 is notably lower than the multicore score of 5411, suggesting that Control may not scale perfectly with all 12 threads. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the framerate is 101 FPS, which is the highest measured. This high framerate is likely limited by the CPU’s ability to process game logic and draw calls, as the GPU is not under heavy load at this resolution and settings combination.

The CPU’s role becomes more apparent when comparing its performance to its nearest rivals. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 has an average benchmark score of 19593, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19617, deltaPct -0.1) and the Intel Core i5-12500 (19668, deltaPct -0.4). It is slightly ahead of the Intel Core i7-10700F (19499, deltaPct 0.5). This means the CPU is in a tight performance cluster, and the differences in game performance are more likely to come from other factors like memory latency or instruction set support.

The benchmark results indicate that the CPU’s 16 MB of L3 cache is sufficient, as the game’s performance does not show anomalous drops that would suggest cache thrashing. The measured FPS at 1080p High (63 FPS) versus 1080p Low (101 FPS) shows a 38 FPS difference, which is a significant gap. This suggests that the CPU is not the sole limiter, as increasing the GPU load via settings changes has a large impact. The CPU’s role is to maintain a high framerate floor, and the data indicates it does so up to a point, but it cannot push past the 101 FPS barrier seen at 1080p Low.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and the Intel Arc B570 ranks 2307 out of 2888 tested combos for Control. This places it in the bottom 20% of all tested systems, indicating that it is a relatively low-performing combo for this specific game. The rank is a composite measure of all the measured FPS data across resolutions and settings.

The low ranking is surprising given the individual component benchmarks. The CPU is in the 73rd percentile, and the GPU is in the 65th percentile, suggesting both are above-average parts. However, the combination of these two parts does not yield strong results in Control. This could be due to a variety of factors, such as driver overhead or an architectural mismatch between the Zen 3 CPU and the Xe2-HPG GPU.

The data shows that the combo’s performance is heavily skewed towards 1080p. At 1080p, the system achieves playable framerates on most settings, but at 1440p and 4K, the performance drops significantly. The rank of 2307 out of 2888 suggests that many other combos are able to achieve higher framerates at higher resolutions. The GPU’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (avgScore 20534, deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Arc A750 (avgScore 20582, deltaPct -0.1), which are in a similar performance class, yet this combo’s ranking implies that the overall system performance is not competitive with those that pair these GPUs with stronger CPUs.

The low rank may also reflect the game’s age and its optimization for older hardware. Control was released in 2019, and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 2022 release. The game’s engine may not fully utilize the newer CPU architectures, which could explain why the combo underperforms relative to the sum of its parts. The data clearly indicates that while the components are individually competent, their combined performance in this title is below average.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and framerate. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, 1080p is the only viable option. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 63 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. This is the recommended preset for players who want a balance of visual quality and performance. The Low preset at 1080p delivers 101 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, but the visual quality will be noticeably reduced.

For players who prioritize visual fidelity over framerate, the Ultra preset at 1080p delivers 55 FPS, which is slightly below the 60 FPS target but still playable. At 1440p, the High preset delivers 48 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced action but may feel less responsive. The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 54 FPS, which is a better choice if the game supports it, as it offers a higher framerate with a modest visual compromise.

The data suggests that 4K is not a viable target for this combo. Even on Low settings, the average framerate is 51 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 4K yields only 28 FPS, which is unplayable for most users. Therefore, the recommendation is to stick to 1080p for the best experience. The High preset at 1080p is the best overall choice, providing a framerate above 60 FPS while maintaining a good level of detail. If a higher framerate is desired, the Low preset offers a significant boost at the cost of visual quality. The Medium preset at 1080p (71 FPS) is a strong middle ground, offering a higher framerate than High with only a slight reduction in visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the combo’s performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the framerates are as follows: Low averages 101 FPS, Medium averages 71 FPS (with a minimum of 61 and maximum of 82), High averages 63 FPS, and Ultra averages 55 FPS. This shows a clear progression where each increase in settings reduces the framerate by roughly 10-15 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the framerates drop significantly. Low averages 76 FPS, Medium averages 54 FPS (with a minimum of 46 and maximum of 62), High averages 48 FPS, and Ultra averages 42 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 34 FPS, which is substantial. The Medium preset’s minimum of 46 FPS indicates that there are moments of slowdown, but the overall experience is still playable.

At 3840x2160, the framerates are the lowest. Low averages 51 FPS, Medium averages 36 FPS (with a minimum of 31 and maximum of 42), High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 31 FPS suggests that the game can stutter noticeably at this resolution. The data shows that the system is not capable of maintaining a stable 60 FPS at 4K, even on the lowest settings. The framerate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent across settings, with Low dropping by 50 FPS, Medium by 35 FPS, High by 31 FPS, and Ultra by 27 FPS. This indicates that the GPU’s rendering capabilities are the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is a graphics card based on the Xe2-HPG architecture, built on a 5 nm process. It has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. The GPU’s boost clock is 2500 MHz, and it has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines. It also features 18 ray tracing cores. The GPU’s FP32 performance is 11.52 TFLOPS, and it has a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s.

The GPU’s role in Control is to render the game’s complex visual effects. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K, where even Low settings yield only 51 FPS. This is likely due to the sheer number of pixels that need to be processed. The GPU’s 10 GB of VRAM appears to be sufficient, as the framerate drops are consistent and do not show signs of memory swapping or stuttering that would indicate a VRAM shortage.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Intel Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is very close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, deltaPct -0.1). This suggests that the GPU is a mid-range performer. In Control, the GPU’s performance is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it falls short at 4K. The data indicates that the GPU’s 160-bit memory bus and 380 GB/s bandwidth are not enough to sustain high framerates at 4K, where the demand for memory bandwidth is highest.

The GPU’s 2500 MHz clock speed is consistent across base and boost, indicating that it runs at a fixed frequency. This is unusual and may limit its ability to overclock, but it ensures stable performance. The GPU’s 80 ROPs are responsible for the final pixel output, and the 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate is a key factor in determining 4K performance. The data suggests that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the limiting factor at 4K, as the framerate drops to 28 FPS on Ultra, which aligns with the pixel rate constraints given the resolution’s pixel count.