Control

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination ranks 594th out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places the pairing in the top 16% of all tested configurations, a strong showing for a system built around a mid-range 2022 processor and a high-end 2023 graphics card. The rank reflects the balanced nature of this pairing: the RTX 4070 Ti is clearly the dominant component, but the Ryzen 5 5500 does not bottleneck it to the point of diminishing returns in this title.

Benchmark results indicate that this combo sits comfortably above the median tested system. The GPU alone holds the 84th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU sits at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs. The gap between these percentile positions suggests that the graphics card is doing more heavy lifting, but the processor is still capable enough to feed it adequately at most settings. In the context of the full test pool, this combo outperforms the vast majority of systems, particularly those paired with older or lower-tier CPUs.

The measured FPS data reinforces this ranking. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 124 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the baseline for smooth gameplay. At 4K Ultra, it maintains 63 FPS average, just barely clearing that same threshold. These numbers indicate that the combo is not merely playable but genuinely high-performing across the entire resolution spectrum. The rank of 594, while not top-tier, reflects that this is a system capable of maxing out a 2019 title at 4K without dropping below playable framerates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the primary driver of this combo's performance in Control. Its 12 GB GDDR6X memory operates across a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for a game released in 2019, as Control's texture and geometry demands are well within the capacity of 12 GB at 4K resolution. The data shows no evidence of memory capacity being a limiting factor at any tested setting.

Clock speeds are notably high: the base clock runs at 2310 MHz with a boost of 2610 MHz. The memory clock is listed at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective throughput. These clocks contribute to the GPU's raw compute capabilities, which include 40.09 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 208.8 GPixel/s. In practical terms, these specifications translate to the GPU being able to push frame rates that scale predictably with resolution and settings, as seen in the measured FPS data.

The GPU's architecture, Ada Lovelace on a 5 nm process from TSMC, includes 7680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores are present but not directly relevant to Control's standard rendering path, as the game does not feature ray tracing in the measured presets. The 285 W TDP and 600 W suggested PSU indicate this is a power-hungry component, but the benchmark results show that the power budget is well spent on frame generation.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4070 Ti's average benchmark score of 44795 places it within 1.7% of the Intel Arc A730M (score 45592) and within 0.8% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (score 45152). It is 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (score 44075). These deltas are small, suggesting that in synthetic benchmarks, the 4070 Ti trades blows with mobile and workstation parts, but in actual game FPS, the desktop-oriented design with higher sustained clocks likely gives it an edge that the synthetic scores do not fully capture.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, with the CPU taking a more significant role at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 205 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 171 FPS, a reduction of 16.6%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 115 FPS, a further 32.7% drop from 1440p. This scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor.

The scaling pattern changes when examining higher settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 124 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 94 FPS (a 24.2% reduction), and at 4K Ultra, it further drops to 63 FPS (a 33.0% reduction from 1440p). The percentage drops are similar across settings, indicating that the GPU is consistently the limiting component even at lower resolutions where the CPU could theoretically become a factor. The fact that 1080p Low produces 205 FPS suggests the CPU can handle high frame rates, but the GPU still governs the scaling curve.

The data points to the RTX 4070 Ti being the dominant limiter across all tested configurations. The Ryzen 5 5500's six cores and twelve threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost of 4.20 GHz, are sufficient to push frame rates well above 200 FPS at 1080p Low. However, the scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent 40-45% FPS loss regardless of settings preset, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. This indicates that for Control, the combo behaves as expected: the GPU is the star, and the CPU provides adequate support without becoming a significant bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance on the optimal settings preset for this combo. At 1080p, all presets deliver playable frame rates: Low hits 205 FPS, Medium hits 161 FPS (with a minimum of 136 FPS), High hits 143 FPS, and Ultra hits 124 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs 21.5% performance but likely provides substantial visual improvements. The jump from Medium to High costs another 11.2%, and from High to Ultra costs 13.3%. Given that even Ultra maintains 124 FPS average, there is no reason to drop below High for competitive play, and Ultra is viable for those prioritizing visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the situation remains favorable. Low produces 171 FPS, Medium produces 121 FPS (minimum 103 FPS), High produces 108 FPS, and Ultra produces 94 FPS. All presets maintain averages above 90 FPS, which is well within smooth gameplay territory. The Medium preset, with a minimum of 103 FPS, offers the best balance of visual quality and performance headroom. Ultra at 94 FPS average is still excellent, but the 27 FPS gap between Medium and Ultra may not justify the visual difference for all users.

At 4K, the recommendations shift. Low produces 115 FPS, Medium produces 82 FPS (minimum 70 FPS), High produces 73 FPS, and Ultra produces 63 FPS. The Medium preset is the clear sweet spot here: its minimum of 70 FPS ensures consistent smoothness, while the visual upgrade over Low is significant. High and Ultra are playable but with less headroom for demanding scenes. For a game like Control, which features intense particle effects and physics, the Medium preset at 4K provides the best combination of visual fidelity and frame stability. The data suggests that users with 4K displays should target Medium, while 1440p users can comfortably run High or Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 205 FPS. Medium settings yield 161 FPS average, with a minimum of 136 FPS and maximum of 185 FPS. High settings produce 143 FPS average. Ultra settings produce 124 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 81 FPS, or 39.5%, indicating that the settings presets have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the averages decline but remain robust. Low settings average 171 FPS. Medium settings average 121 FPS, with a minimum of 103 FPS and maximum of 140 FPS. High settings average 108 FPS. Ultra settings average 94 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets, ranging from 16.6% at Low to 24.2% at Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still playable but with tighter margins. Low settings average 115 FPS. Medium settings average 82 FPS, with a minimum of 70 FPS and maximum of 94 FPS. High settings average 73 FPS. Ultra settings average 63 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is steeper, with drops ranging from 32.7% at Low to 33.0% at Ultra. The minimum FPS data, available only for Medium settings, shows that the combo maintains a floor above 60 FPS even at 4K Medium.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, the measured data shows an average of 63 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra settings. This is playable, though the frame rate is close to the 60 FPS threshold and may dip in demanding scenes.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers 121 FPS average with a minimum of 103 FPS, offering the best balance of visual quality and performance. High and Ultra are also viable, with averages of 108 FPS and 94 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 has an average benchmark score of 19593. It is 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (score 19617), 0.4% behind the Intel Core i5-12500 (score 19668), 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i7-10700F (score 19499), and 0.7% behind the Intel Core i5-11600KF (score 19723).

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter. The FPS drops consistently by roughly 33% from 1440p to 4K across all settings, while the CPU is capable of pushing over 200 FPS at 1080p Low, suggesting it is not a bottleneck.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only minimum FPS values recorded are for Medium settings: 136 FPS at 1080p, 103 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. Other presets did not have minimum FPS data reported.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 44795. It is 0.8% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (score 45152), 1.3% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (score 45384), 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (score 44075), and 1.7% behind the Intel Arc A730M (score 45592).

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a six-core, twelve-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 16 MB of L3 cache. It supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, and it connects via PCIe Gen 3.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU shows a multithreaded strength that aligns with its core count. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 16429, while the single-core score is 2319. The Geekbench multicore score is 7976 and single-core is 1730. PassMark multithread score is 19330 and single-thread is 3058. These scores place the CPU at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19593.

The CPU's role in Control is supportive but not negligible. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (205 FPS) demonstrates that the processor can handle high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. However, the scaling data shows that as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the dominant factor, and the CPU's contribution diminishes. At 4K Ultra, the 63 FPS average is almost entirely determined by the GPU's pixel throughput, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom to avoid stuttering or frame drops.

The nearest rivals to the Ryzen 5 5500 are all comparable in synthetic performance, with deltas under 1%. This indicates that the CPU is not uniquely positioned for this game; rather, it is its pairing with the RTX 4070 Ti that yields the strong combo rank. The CPU's six cores are adequate for Control's threading model, and its boost clock of 4.20 GHz ensures that single-threaded performance is sufficient for the game's logic and physics calculations. The data confirms that the CPU does not limit the combo's performance in any meaningful way across the tested settings.