Control

# How This Combo Ranks

This AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 pairing lands at rank 61 out of 1636 tested combos in Control. That places it in the top 3.7% of all configurations tested for this title. The ranking reflects a combination that sits near the top of the charts, though it doesn't reach the absolute pinnacle — there are 60 combos ahead of it.

The CPU holds a percentile of 79 against all CPUs, meaning it outperforms roughly four out of five processors in general benchmark workloads. The GPU is even more impressive, sitting at the 94th percentile among all GPUs. When you pair a top-decile GPU with a solidly upper-midrange CPU, the result is a combo that excels in GPU-bound scenarios but leaves some performance on the table in CPU-limited situations. In Control, the data shows this hybrid character: the combo scores well overall, but the CPU's position relative to its peers is noticeably lower than the GPU's — a gap that matters in this game's physics-heavy combat scenes.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 brings 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, translating to 28 Gbps effective. With 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, this is a GPU built to crush high-resolution workloads. Its 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores handle ray tracing and AI-enhanced features, though Control's implementation of these features is relatively modest compared to newer titles.

The GPU's base clock is 2017 MHz, boosting to 2407 MHz. These clocks are substantial, and the data shows they translate into strong frame rates even at 4K. The RTX 5090's nearest rivals in the database include the RTX 5090 D (0.1% faster), RTX 5050 Mobile (0.2% faster), and AMD Radeon PRO W6600 (1.3% slower). The differences are small, indicating this GPU sits firmly in the upper echelon of available cards.

In Control, the GPU's role becomes clear as settings increase. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 80.9, while at 4K Low it climbs to 144.7. This 64 FPS spread across settings shows the GPU is the primary driver of performance when resolution is high and settings are maxed. The 32 GB frame buffer is far beyond what Control needs, but it ensures there's no VRAM pressure even at 4K Ultra with texture streaming at maximum.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne), built on TSMC's 7 nm process. It runs at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boosts to 4.20 GHz. The CPU has 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 16 MB of L3 cache. Memory support is DDR4 dual-channel with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth, and it connects via PCIe Gen 3.

The CPU's benchmark scores show a mixed picture. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16,429 is respectable, and the single-core score of 2,319 is adequate. The 3DMark multi-threaded scores range from 5,386 at 16 threads to 5,411 at max threads, indicating the 6-core/12-thread configuration scales well. The PassMark multithread score of 19,330 and single-thread score of 3,058 place it in the upper-middle range.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5500 is effectively tied with the Intel Core i5-12500 (-0.1%), AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE (-0.1%), and Intel Core i5-12600T (-0.2%), while slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 7J13 (+0.1%). This CPU is competitive within its class, but notably, the EPYC 7J13 is a server chip — its inclusion in the rivals list says more about benchmark score similarity than gaming relevance.

In Control, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking at 1080p, where the GPU has headroom. The CPU's boost clock of 4.20 GHz helps maintain frame pacing in scenes with multiple enemies and destructible environments. However, the data shows the CPU is not the star here — it's the GPU that carries the combo to its rank.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers smooth frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 203.7 FPS average, Medium yields 180.5 FPS, High reaches 175.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 158.0 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 45.7 FPS, showing that even at 1080p, settings matter — but the lowest figure still exceeds 150 FPS, making this a comfortable experience for high-refresh monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers tell a similar story with expected scaling. Low settings average 188.2 FPS, Medium 150.9 FPS, High 137.4 FPS, and Ultra 116.0 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p ranges from 15.5 FPS at Low to 42.0 FPS at Ultra. At 1440p Ultra, the combo still maintains over 100 FPS average, which is strong for a visually demanding title.

At 3840x2160, performance remains playable but the GPU's workload becomes evident. Low settings average 144.7 FPS, Medium 106.1 FPS, High 88.5 FPS, and Ultra 80.9 FPS. The 4K Ultra figure is the lowest in the dataset, but it's still well above 60 FPS. The step from 1440p to 4K is significant: at Ultra, the drop is 35.1 FPS, while at Low it's 43.5 FPS. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is being pushed hard, though the RTX 5090's raw compute power keeps results respectable.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 203.7 FPS — likely near the CPU's ceiling for this game's engine. By 4K Low, it drops to 144.7 FPS, a 29% reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is steeper: from 158.0 FPS at 1080p to 80.9 FPS at 4K, a 49% reduction.

This scaling pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU plays a larger role in limiting performance, especially at lower settings where the GPU isn't fully taxed. The difference between 1080p Low (203.7 FPS) and 1440p Low (188.2 FPS) is just 15.5 FPS — a modest 8% drop. But from 1440p Low to 4K Low, the drop is 43.5 FPS, or 23%. This accelerated decline at higher resolutions shows the GPU becoming the limiting factor.

At Ultra settings, the pattern is more linear: 1080p to 1440p drops 42.0 FPS (27%), and 1440p to 4K drops 35.1 FPS (30%). This consistency suggests that at Ultra, both components are working near their limits, with the GPU taking on progressively more work as pixel count rises. The data clearly shows that for this combo, 1440p is the sweet spot where the CPU and GPU balance each other well — 4K is playable, but the GPU is doing the heavy lifting.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 4K gaming in Control?

A: The data shows playable frame rates at all resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, it averages 158.0 FPS; at 4K Ultra, it drops to 80.9 FPS. Both are above 60 FPS, but the 4K figure suggests a GPU-heavy workload where the RTX 5090's 32 GB VRAM and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are fully utilized.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 is within 0.2% of the Intel Core i5-12500, AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE, and Intel Core i5-12600T in average benchmark score. It edges out the AMD EPYC 7J13 by 0.1%. These are effectively statistical ties.

Q: What's the biggest FPS jump between settings?

A: The largest single-setting gap appears at 4K, where Low (144.7 FPS) beats Ultra (80.9 FPS) by 63.8 FPS. At 1080p, the gap between Low (203.7 FPS) and Ultra (158.0 FPS) is 45.7 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 203.7 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it hits 158.0 FPS. The modest 45.7 FPS spread suggests the CPU may limit performance at lower settings, since the GPU has headroom to render more frames if the CPU could feed it faster.

Q: What does the combo rank of 61 out of 1636 mean in practical terms?

A: It means roughly 96% of tested combos perform worse in Control. The GPU's 94th percentile ranking is the main driver, while the CPU's 79th percentile holds the combo back from higher placements.

Q: How does the GPU's nearest rival comparison look?

A: The RTX 5090's closest rivals are the RTX 5090 D (0.1% faster) and RTX 5050 Mobile (0.2% faster), with the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 1.3% slower and the NVIDIA CMP 40HX 1.6% faster. These are marginal differences, indicating the 5090 sits at the top of GPU performance.