Control

Control, the 2019 action-adventure title, is a demanding showcase of visual effects and physics-based destruction. When paired with the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, the benchmark data reveals a system that is firmly balanced between its processor and graphics card, with performance scaling that clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The measured FPS across all settings and resolutions indicates a setup capable of delivering smooth gameplay at 1080p, but one that requires careful settings management to maintain playable frame rates at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, which is typical for a GPU-bound title like Control. At 1080p with High settings, the system produces an average of 73.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p reduces this to 58.7 FPS, a decline of roughly 20%. The step to 2160p is far more punishing, with average FPS falling to 38.3, a 48% reduction from the 1080p figure. This pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases is a clear indicator that the rendering load is falling almost entirely on the graphics card.

The data points to the RTX 3060 Ti as the definitive limiting component at 4K. With a 16.20 TFLOPS FP32 compute rating and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, the card is being pushed to its absolute limits. The fact that the average FPS at 4K High (38.3) is less than half of the 1080p High score (73.6) demonstrates that the pixel throughput demands of 4K are overwhelming the GPU's capabilities, leaving the CPU with significant headroom. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra settings is also revealing, with a 55.5 FPS difference (119.1 vs 63.6), indicating that the GPU is still the primary driver of performance even at the lowest resolution, though the CPU's role becomes more significant.

GPU Role

The RTX 3060 Ti, built on the Ampere architecture, is the heart of this system's gaming performance. Its memory configuration of 8 GB GDDR6 with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is a critical factor in Control, a game known for its high-resolution textures and complex particle effects. At 1080p, this memory bandwidth proves sufficient, allowing the GPU to push frame rates from 63.6 FPS at Ultra to 119.1 FPS at Low. However, at 4K, the 8 GB capacity and the sheer volume of data required begin to strain the memory subsystem, contributing to the significant FPS drop.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 1410 MHz and a boost of 1665 MHz, are standard for the 30-series and provide a solid foundation for performance. The data shows that the GPU's 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is the primary lever on frame rates. The difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p is 38.7 FPS (87.3 vs 48.6), and at 4K it is 28.5 FPS (58.9 vs 30.4). This scaling suggests that while the GPU is powerful enough for high refresh rate 1080p gaming, its compute resources are saturated by the demands of 4K Ultra, resulting in a sub-30 FPS experience. The passmark_g3d score of 20349 and the GPU's 69th percentile ranking versus all GPUs place it as a solid mid-to-high-range performer, but Control's specific engine workload proves to be a formidable challenge.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500, with its 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, proves to be a capable companion for the RTX 3060 Ti in this title. The CPU's base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.20 GHz are respectable, and its 16 MB of L3 cache helps with game logic and physics calculations. In the benchmark results, the CPU's influence is most noticeable at 1080p with lower graphics settings, where the GPU is less burdened. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 119.1 FPS, which is close to the CPU's practical limit for this game's engine.

The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16429 and a single-core score of 2319, indicate it has sufficient processing power to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 3060 Ti at higher resolutions. The data supports this, as the FPS scaling from High to Ultra at 1440p is relatively linear, suggesting the GPU is the limiting factor. However, at 1080p Low, the system does not reach the 144Hz or 165Hz territory, with the 119.1 FPS average hinting at a CPU-side ceiling. The Ryzen 5 5500's 79th percentile ranking among all CPUs is a strong indicator of its capability, but it is not so powerful that it can fully feed the GPU at maximum settings and maximum frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this pairing of the Ryzen 5 5500 and RTX 3060 Ti holds a rank of 1225 out of 1636 combos for Control. This places it in the lower half of the database, which is a reflection of the GPU's position in the market rather than a deficiency in the pairing itself. The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6600 and RX 6700M, have average benchmark scores that are within 0.5% of the RTX 3060 Ti, indicating that this GPU is at the cusp of a performance tier. The CPU's nearest rivals, like the Intel Core i5-12500, have an average score that is just 0.1% higher, showing that the Ryzen 5 5500 is also competitively positioned.

The rank of 1225 out of 1636 suggests that while this combo is not a top-tier performer, it is also not an outlier. It represents a mainstream configuration that is capable of running Control at respectable settings, but cannot compete with higher-end combos that feature more powerful GPUs. The data shows that the bottleneck for this combo in Control is almost exclusively the GPU, as the CPU's performance is not a significant differentiator in this game's frame rates. This rank is a useful data point for understanding the relative performance of this system, but it is the measured FPS breakdown that provides the most actionable information.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at the system's capabilities across different settings. At 1080p, the system is comfortably playable, with an average of 73.6 FPS on High and 84.6 FPS on Medium. For competitive or fast-paced play, the Low setting offers a significant boost to 119.1 FPS, while the Ultra setting still manages a playable 63.6 FPS. This makes 1080p the optimal resolution for this combo, allowing users to choose between high visual fidelity and high frame rates.

At 1440p, the system begins to show its limits. The High setting yields an average of 58.7 FPS, which is still smooth for most players. The Medium setting provides a slight improvement to 66.0 FPS, but the Ultra setting drops to 48.6 FPS, which may be too low for some. The Low setting at 1440p is the standout, producing 87.3 FPS and demonstrating that the GPU has headroom if visual effects are reduced. This resolution represents a viable option for those willing to compromise on settings for a higher pixel density.

At 4K, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates on demanding settings. The Low setting is the only one that reaches a playable average of 58.9 FPS. The High and Medium settings fall to 38.3 and 41.3 FPS respectively, which are borderline for a smooth experience. The Ultra setting is nearly unplayable, with an average of just 30.4 FPS. The data clearly indicates that 4K gaming with this combo requires the use of Low settings, and even then, the frame rate is not consistently smooth. This resolution is best avoided unless the user is willing to accept significant visual compromises.