Control

Control pairs AMD’s Ryzen 5 5500X3D with the Radeon RX 570, a combination that lands near the bottom of the tested field for this 2019 action-adventure title. The CPU is a 6-core, 12-thread Zen 3 part on AMD Socket AM4, running at a 3.00 GHz base and 4.00 GHz boost, with a 105 W TDP and 96 MB of shared L3 cache. The GPU is a Polaris 20 chip on the GCN 4.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. Its memory subsystem pairs 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The measured frame rates in Control are consistently low, with the strongest result being 57 FPS average at 1920x1080 on Low settings. Every other configuration tested falls below 60 FPS, and 4K results are largely unplayable. The data shows a system that is fundamentally GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strong cache configuration does little to rescue performance in this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate this combo achieves in Control?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 57, recorded at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the measured data that approaches a 60 FPS target, though it does not reach it.

Q: How does the RX 570’s 4 GB VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: At 3840x2160, average frame rates range from 16 FPS on Ultra to 29 FPS on Low. The 4 GB GDDR5 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for playable 4K output in this game, as even the Low preset produces sub-30 FPS averages.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500X3D or the RX 570 the limiting factor in this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary constraint. At 1920x1080, dropping from Ultra to Low raises the average FPS from 31 to 57, a substantial gain that reflects GPU workload scaling. The CPU’s PassMark multithread score of 20363 and single-thread score of 2941 place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, suggesting it has ample headroom for this title.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested CPU-GPU pairings in Control?

A: This configuration ranks 2768 out of 2888 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 4% of the database. The data is measured, not estimated, and reflects a pairing that is heavily skewed toward the lower end of performance.

Q: Does the RX 570 support modern graphics APIs needed for Control?

A: Yes. The GPU supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The benchmark data shows the game runs across all tested presets, though frame rates are low. The GCN 4.0 architecture with 5.095 TFLOPS FP32 compute is functional but dated.

Q: Which settings preset offers the most balanced experience?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium settings yield a 40 FPS average with a minimum of 34 FPS and maximum of 46 FPS. This is the highest preset that maintains a minimum above 30 FPS, making it the most consistent option for playability. Low settings at the same resolution produce 57 FPS average but with no min/max data recorded.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the dominant factor in this combo’s Control performance. Its Polaris 20 chip, built on GCN 4.0, operates at a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz. The memory runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 7 Gbps effective on a 256-bit bus, yielding 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications, combined with 4 GB of GDDR5, define the GPU’s capability ceiling. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: at 3840x2160, the average frame rate drops to 18 FPS on High and 16 FPS on Ultra. Even at 2560x1440, High settings only reach 27 FPS average. The GPU’s 32 ROPs and 159.2 GTexel/s texture rate are insufficient for Control’s demanding rendering at high resolutions.

The GPU’s transistor count of 5,700 million on a 232 mm² die, produced on a 14 nm process, reflects its 2017-era design. Its launch MSRP was 169 USD, and it is now marked end-of-life. In the benchmark database, the RX 570 holds a percentile rank of 74 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28766. Its nearest rivals show tight competition: the AMD Radeon RX 6800M scores 28874 with a delta of -0.4%, the AMD Radeon R9 M295X scores 28580 with a delta of 0.7%, the AMD Radeon RX 470 scores 28996 with a delta of -0.8%, and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 scores 28421 with a delta of 1.2%. These deltas are all within 1.2%, indicating that the RX 570 sits in a narrow performance band relative to its closest peers.

The VRAM situation is critical. With only 4 GB of GDDR5, Control’s texture-heavy environments at 1440p and 4K will likely exceed available memory. The measured data supports this: at 2560x1440, average FPS ranges from 24 on Ultra to 43 on Low, while at 3840x2160, the range is 16 to 29 FPS. The step from Medium to High at 1440p costs 3 FPS (30 to 27), and from High to Ultra costs another 3 FPS (27 to 24). These incremental drops suggest the GPU is hitting both compute and memory bandwidth limits, not just VRAM capacity. At 1080p, the GPU shows more headroom, with a 26 FPS spread between Low (57 FPS) and Ultra (31 FPS), indicating that the card can handle the game’s workload at lower resolutions where memory pressure is reduced.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank for this CPU-GPU pairing in Control is 2768 out of 2888 tested combinations. This places it in the 96th percentile from the bottom, meaning only 120 combos perform worse. The data is measured directly, not estimated, so these results reflect actual gameplay benchmarks. The rank is heavily influenced by the GPU’s age and capability relative to modern titles. The CPU, by contrast, is a strong performer in synthetic tests. The Ryzen 5 5500X3D has an average benchmark score of 37018, with a percentile rank of 85 among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (score 36945, delta 0.2%), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (score 37093, delta -0.2%), Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (score 36938, delta 0.2%), and Intel Core i9-12900T (score 37112, delta -0.3%). These deltas are all under 0.3%, showing that the 5500X3D is competitively placed in CPU performance.

However, the combo rank in Control is not about CPU strength. The game’s measured FPS at 1920x1080 Low (57 FPS) is still below 60, which would typically be considered a minimum target. The gap between CPU and GPU capability is stark: the 5500X3D’s PassMark physics score of 2282 and floating point math score of 34511 suggest it can handle complex game logic, but the RX 570’s 5.095 TFLOPS FP32 and 39.81 GPixel/s pixel rate are the bottleneck. In the context of all tested combos, this pairing is near the bottom because the GPU is an entry-level part from 2017, paired with a 2025 CPU. The rank of 2768 out of 2888 means that any modest GPU upgrade would likely move this combo significantly higher in the rankings, as the CPU has substantial headroom.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, with 12 total data points. At 3840x2160, the results are as follows: Low settings produce 29 FPS average, Medium produces 21 FPS average with a minimum of 17 and maximum of 24, High produces 18 FPS average, and Ultra produces 16 FPS average. No min or max values are recorded for Low, High, or Ultra at this resolution. The spread from Low to Ultra is 13 FPS, which is a narrow range and indicates that even the lowest settings cannot overcome the GPU’s limitations at 4K. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 17 shows that frame times can dip well below the average, making 4K effectively unplayable.

At 2560x1440, the results improve but remain low. Low settings yield 43 FPS average, Medium yields 30 FPS average with a minimum of 26 and maximum of 35, High yields 27 FPS average, and Ultra yields 24 FPS average. The step from Low to Medium costs 13 FPS, while the step from Medium to High costs 3 FPS, and High to Ultra costs another 3 FPS. This pattern suggests that Low settings are disproportionately faster than Medium, likely due to reduced texture detail and shadow quality that alleviate memory bandwidth pressure. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 26 is close to the average, indicating relatively stable frame pacing for this configuration.

At 1920x1080, the data shows the best results. Low settings produce 57 FPS average, Medium produces 40 FPS average with a minimum of 34 and maximum of 46, High produces 36 FPS average, and Ultra produces 31 FPS average. The gap between Low and Medium is 17 FPS, which is the largest single-preset drop across all resolutions. This suggests that at 1080p, the GPU has enough resources to run Low settings near playable levels, but enabling Medium settings introduces significant additional workload. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 34 is well above the 30 FPS threshold, making it the only configuration in the entire dataset that maintains a minimum above 30 FPS. High and Ultra settings at 1080p produce averages of 36 and 31 FPS respectively, but without min/max data, their consistency is unknown.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. Its base clock is 3.00 GHz, and it boosts to 4.00 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 512 KB L2 per core, and 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This large L3 cache is a defining feature of the X3D series, designed to reduce memory latency in gaming workloads. The CPU supports DDR4 memory on a dual-channel bus with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth, and it has ECC memory support. It uses PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes from the CPU, and it has no integrated graphics. The TDP is 105 W, and it is not multiplier-unlocked. It was released on 2025-06-04 and is currently active in production.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 5500X3D shows strong multi-threaded performance. Its PassMark multithread score is 20363, and its single-thread score is 2941. Other scores include 60033 for integer math, 34511 for floating point math, 230392 for data compression, 13967 for data encryption, 15925 for extended instructions, 170 for find prime numbers, 2282 for physics, and 23675 for random string sorting. The average benchmark score is 37018, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals all have average scores within 0.3% of this CPU, indicating that it is well-positioned in the mid-range desktop market.

In Control, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game state updates. The measured FPS at 1920x1080 Low (57 FPS) is likely close to the CPU’s frame-time ceiling in this title, but the fact that increasing resolution to 2560x1440 drops the average to 43 FPS on Low settings shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain similar across resolutions. Instead, the 14 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p and another 14 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K (29 FPS average) demonstrates that the GPU cannot keep up with the increased pixel count. The CPU’s 96 MB L3 cache may help with Control’s level streaming, but benchmark results indicate it does not compensate for the RX 570’s limited fill rate and memory bandwidth.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only configuration that maintains a minimum frame rate above 30 FPS is 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which produces an average of 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 FPS and maximum of 46 FPS. This is the recommended preset for a playable experience, as it avoids the sub-30 FPS dips seen at higher resolutions. At 1920x1080 Low, the average rises to 57 FPS, but no min/max data is recorded, so stability is unverified. Low settings at 1080p are likely smoother in average terms, but the lack of minimum frame data makes Medium the safer choice for consistent performance.

For users willing to accept lower frame rates, 2560x1440 Medium offers 30 FPS average with a minimum of 26 FPS, which is borderline playable but may experience noticeable stutter. The 26 FPS minimum is below the 30 FPS threshold, so this configuration is not recommended for action sequences. At 3840x2160, all settings produce averages below 30 FPS, with the best being Low at 29 FPS. This resolution is not viable for Control with this hardware. The data suggests that the RX 570’s 4 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 1440p and 4K in this game, regardless of preset.

The recommended approach is to run Control at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. This provides a 40 FPS average, which is playable for a slower-paced action-adventure game. If higher visual fidelity is desired, High settings at 1080p produce 36 FPS average, but the lack of min/max data means frame pacing is unknown. Ultra settings at 1080p drop to 31 FPS average, which is marginal. The step from Medium to High at 1080p costs only 4 FPS, so High could be acceptable for users who prioritize visuals over frame rate. However, the Medium preset’s documented 34 FPS minimum makes it the only configuration with proven stability above 30 FPS, and thus the best choice for a smooth experience in Control.