Control

# Control with AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers a smooth Control experience across most resolutions, with the system ranking 1607th out of 3720 tested combinations in this game. At 1080p, the pairing is capable of well over 100 FPS on most presets, while 4K Ultra drops to 44 FPS, indicating where the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The data shows a system that excels at high-refresh 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring settings compromises to stay playable.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne codename) using a 7 nm TSMC process. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU has a 16 MB L3 cache, 512 KB L2 per core, and 64 KB L1 per core. It supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, and connects via PCIe Gen 3. The processor launched in April 2022 with a launch MSRP of $159.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 5 5500 scores 836 in 3DMark single-thread, 1645 in 2-thread, 3151 in 4-thread, 4593 in 8-thread, and 5411 in max-thread tests. Cinebench R23 results show 2319 single-core and 16429 multi-core. Geekbench scores are 1730 single-core and 7976 multi-core. PassMark results include a multithread score of 19330 and a single-thread score of 3058. The CPU sits at the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19593.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5500 is effectively tied with the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (delta -0.1%) and Intel Core i5-12500 (delta -0.4%), while slightly ahead of the Intel Core i7-10700F (delta +0.5%) and Intel Core i5-11600KF (delta +0.7% relative to the i5-11600KF's higher average score). This places it in solid mid-range territory.

For Control, which is an action-adventure title with physics-heavy environments, the 6-core/12-thread configuration is sufficient. The game's CPU demands are moderate, and the Ryzen 5 5500's single-thread performance (836 in 3DMark single-thread) is adequate for the game's logic and AI. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 158 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower graphical loads. The 16 MB L3 cache helps with game asset streaming, and the dual-channel memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s is adequate for this title. The 65 W TDP means thermals are manageable, even in compact builds.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. It packs 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, with a transistor density of 44.4 million per mm². The GPU has 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, 96 ROPs, 46 RT cores, and 184 tensor cores. Base clock is 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1725 MHz. Memory clocks run at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective speed.

The RTX 3070 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Pixel rate is 165.6 GPixel/s, texture rate is 317.4 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 20.31 TFLOPS with FP16 also at 20.31 TFLOPS (1:1). The card has a 220 W TDP, requires a 550 W PSU, uses a single 12-pin power connector, and occupies a dual-slot form factor. It measures 242 mm in length and 112 mm in height. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, with outputs including 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. It launched in August 2020 with a launch MSRP of 499 USD.

In GPU benchmarks, the RTX 3070 scores 22214 in PassMark G3D, 11195 in PassMark GPU Compute, 112821 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 21022 in Geekbench Vulkan. It ranks at the 61st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17208. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (delta +0.7% in favor of the 3070), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (delta +1%), AMD Radeon HD 7970M (delta +1.1%), and NVIDIA Tesla K40c (delta -1.5%).

The 8 GB VRAM is the key limiting factor at 4K Ultra in Control, where the game's texture and lighting demands can exceed this capacity, contributing to the 44 FPS average. At 1440p and below, the 448 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient. The 46 RT cores are relevant for Control's ray-tracing effects, though the measured data here does not include RT-specific settings. The 1725 MHz boost clock provides the raw throughput needed for high frame rates at lower presets.

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

At 1080p, the data shows the Low preset achieving 158 FPS, Medium at 112 FPS, High at 100 FPS, and Ultra at 87 FPS. For high-refresh monitors, the Medium preset is the sweet spot: it delivers 112 FPS average with a minimum of 96 FPS and maximum of 129 FPS, staying well above 100 FPS while offering better visuals than Low. The jump from Medium to High costs 12 FPS (112 to 100), while Ultra costs another 13 FPS (100 to 87). For competitive or fast-paced play, Medium provides the best balance.

At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS and maximum of 98 FPS. This is the recommended choice for a 144 Hz monitor, as it remains above 60 FPS at all times. The High preset at 76 FPS is acceptable, but the 9 FPS difference between High and Medium is noticeable. The Low preset hits 120 FPS, which is excellent for esports-style play, but sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a game like Control. Ultra at 66 FPS is playable but leaves no headroom for drops.

At 4K, the situation changes. The Medium preset averages 57 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS and maximum of 66 FPS, which is borderline for smooth play. The High preset at 51 FPS is playable but not ideal, while Low at 81 FPS is the only preset that consistently exceeds 60 FPS. Ultra at 44 FPS is below the threshold for comfortable gaming. For 4K, the Low preset is the pragmatic choice if smoothness is the priority; otherwise, Medium offers a playable compromise.

The data indicates that the Medium preset is the best overall recommendation across all resolutions—it provides the most consistent frame pacing (evidenced by the available min/max data) and maintains a playable experience from 1080p through 4K. The 112 FPS at 1080p Medium, 85 FPS at 1440p Medium, and 57 FPS at 4K Medium show a predictable scaling curve.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 4K?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 81, which is smooth. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 57 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS. At 4K High, it's 51 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it's 44 FPS. For consistent 60+ FPS at 4K, use the Low preset.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination?

A: 1440p is the sweet spot. At Medium settings, the system averages 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS, which is excellent for a 144 Hz monitor. The 1080p Medium preset hits 112 FPS, but 1440p offers a better balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: How does the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM affect Control?

A: The 8 GB GDDR6 memory is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at all presets. At 4K Ultra, the 44 FPS average suggests the VRAM capacity and bandwidth become limiting factors, as the game's high-resolution textures and effects strain the memory subsystem.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500 a bottleneck for the RTX 3070 in Control?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 158 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU adequately. The 6-core/12-thread configuration with a 4.20 GHz boost clock is sufficient for Control's CPU demands. The CPU's 73rd percentile ranking and 19593 average benchmark score support this.

Q: What settings should I use for a 60 FPS target at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p averages 85 FPS, which is well above 60. Even the Ultra preset at 1440p averages 66 FPS, so you can use Ultra if you accept occasional dips. For a locked 60 FPS, High at 76 FPS average provides more headroom.

Q: How does this system compare to others in the benchmark database?

A: The combination ranks 1607th out of 3720 tested configurations in Control. The CPU is at the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is at the 61st percentile of all GPUs. This places it in the upper-middle tier of tested systems.

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

The measured data shows how frame rates scale with resolution. At Medium settings, the system delivers 112 FPS at 1080p, 85 FPS at 1440p, and 57 FPS at 4K. This represents a 24% drop from 1080p to 1440p (112 to 85 FPS) and a 49% drop from 1080p to 4K (112 to 57 FPS). At High settings, the progression is 100 FPS at 1080p, 76 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K—a 24% drop to 1440p and a 49% drop to 4K. At Low settings, the numbers are 158, 120, and 81 FPS, showing drops of 24% and 49% respectively. At Ultra, the figures are 87, 66, and 44 FPS, with the same relative pattern.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all four presets is telling. Moving from 1080p to 1440p increases pixel count by 78%, yet FPS drops by only 24%. Moving to 4K increases pixel count by 400% from 1080p, yet FPS drops by roughly half. This non-linear relationship indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, but not purely pixel-bound—the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM and memory bandwidth (448 GB/s) become increasingly constrained at higher resolutions, particularly at 4K where the frame rate falls below 60 FPS on all presets except Low.

The CPU is not the bottleneck here. If it were, we would see similar FPS across resolutions at the same settings. Instead, the clear resolution-based scaling points to GPU-bound behavior. The Ryzen 5 5500's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to maintain frame delivery even at 1080p Low where the GPU is least taxed.

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

The measured frame rate data spans three resolutions and four quality settings, providing a complete picture of performance.

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 158 FPS average
• Medium: 112 FPS average, 96 FPS minimum, 129 FPS maximum
• High: 100 FPS average
• Ultra: 87 FPS average

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 120 FPS average
• Medium: 85 FPS average, 72 FPS minimum, 98 FPS maximum
• High: 76 FPS average
• Ultra: 66 FPS average

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 81 FPS average
• Medium: 57 FPS average, 49 FPS minimum, 66 FPS maximum
• High: 51 FPS average
• Ultra: 44 FPS average

The min/max data is only available for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the frame time spread from 96 to 129 FPS indicates reasonable consistency. At 1440p Medium, the spread from 72 to 98 FPS is wider, suggesting more variance. At 4K Medium, the 49 to 66 FPS range shows significant fluctuation, which explains why 4K Medium feels less smooth despite a 57 FPS average. This data suggests that the Medium preset at 1080p and 1440p provides the most stable experience, while 4K requires Low settings for acceptable frame pacing.