Control

# Control with AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D + AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in Control. The data shows a combo that handles 1080p well, remains workable at 1440p, but struggles at 4K. This pairing ranks 2141st out of 2888 tested combinations in this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The CPU is a 6-core, 12-thread Zen 3 part with a 96 MB shared L3 cache, while the GPU is an RDNA 1.0 card with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory; together they produce a predictable scaling pattern across the three tested resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What average frame rate does this combo achieve at 1080p with High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the measured average FPS is 73. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating smooth gameplay for most scenes in Control.

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

A: The Ryzen 5 5500X3D has an average benchmark score of 37018, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945) and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (36938). It sits 0.2% below the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (37093) and 0.3% below the Intel Core i9-12900T (37112).

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The Radeon RX 5700 XT holds a percentile ranking of 59 among all GPUs in the database. This places it slightly above the median, indicating it is a mid-range performer in the overall hierarchy.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM of the GPU sufficient for Control at 4K?

A: The measured data shows that at 3840x2160 with Low settings, the combo achieves 59 FPS, but at High settings it drops to 37 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 32 FPS. The VRAM capacity is not explicitly tested, but the steep performance drop across settings at 4K suggests the GPU is the limiting factor.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings deliver 62 FPS average with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS. This is the only preset at this resolution that stays above 60 FPS on average, making it the recommended choice for balanced visual quality and performance.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations in Control?

A: The comboRankInGame field shows a rank of 2141 out of 2888 total combos. This places the pairing in the 74th percentile of tested systems, meaning roughly one-quarter of tested combos perform better in this specific game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, with a 105 W TDP. The standout feature is the 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is substantial for a desktop part in the 5000 series. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, and it connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes from the CPU.

In Control, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The passmark physics score of 2282 and the multithread score of 20363 indicate competent multi-core performance, but the single-thread score of 2941 is more relevant for game logic. The 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests this processor is above average, yet it is not a top-tier part by current standards.

The nearest rival comparisons show that the 5500X3D sits in a tight cluster with other mid-range parts. It scores 0.2% above the Ryzen 5 5600F and the Core Ultra 5 225, and 0.2% below the Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450. The deltaPct values are all within 0.3% of zero, meaning these CPUs are effectively interchangeable in synthetic benchmarks. For Control specifically, the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck at lower resolutions where the GPU is stressed, but at 1080p with Low settings (115 FPS average), the CPU's single-thread performance becomes more relevant.

The data does not show CPU-specific frame rates, so the analysis must infer from the overall results. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 115 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate that the CPU's 4.00 GHz boost clock is likely keeping up. The 96 MB L3 cache may help with game asset streaming, though Control is not known to be cache-sensitive. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s is standard for dual-channel DDR4, and it should not limit the GPU in this title.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture with the Navi 10 chip, manufactured on a 7 nm process. It has 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The base clock is 1605 MHz, with a boost clock of 1905 MHz and a game clock of 1755 MHz. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The pixel rate is 121.9 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 304.8 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 9.754 TFLOPS.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 59 places it in the middle of the database, and its average benchmark score of 16361 is close to its nearest rivals. The Radeon Pro 5600M scores 0.1% higher, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell scores 0.3% lower, and the Radeon PRO W7500 also scores 0.3% lower. These deltaPct values indicate that the RX 5700 XT is positioned in a crowded performance band.

In Control, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor in frame rate scaling. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 63 at Ultra to 115 at Low, showing a 52 FPS spread across settings. At 1440p, the range narrows to 48-87 FPS, and at 4K it narrows further to 32-59 FPS. This pattern suggests that as resolution increases, the GPU becomes more saturated, and the settings have a relatively smaller impact on absolute frame rates.

The 8 GB VRAM is adequate for Control at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results show significant drops at higher settings. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is sufficient for the game's textures at lower resolutions, but at 4K Ultra, the combination of higher memory pressure and compute load reduces the average FPS to 32. The GPU's DirectX 12 benchmark score of 64 (from passmark) is low, but that synthetic test does not directly translate to Control's performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) at three resolutions, allowing for a clear recommendation. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 73 FPS average, which is a good balance between visual quality and smoothness. The Ultra preset drops to 63 FPS, which is still playable but offers diminishing returns for the performance cost. The Medium preset at 82 FPS and Low at 115 FPS are both viable, but High is the sweet spot for 1080p.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the clear winner with 62 FPS average, a minimum of 53 FPS, and a maximum of 71 FPS. The High preset drops to 55 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target but may be acceptable for some players. The Low preset at 87 FPS is smooth but sacrifices too much visual fidelity for the resolution. The Ultra preset at 48 FPS is not recommended for action sequences.

At 4K, no preset achieves a consistent 60 FPS. The Low preset reaches 59 FPS average, which is close to playable, but the Medium preset drops to 42 FPS and High to 37 FPS. The Ultra preset at 32 FPS is only suitable for screenshots or slow exploration. For 4K, the data indicates that Low settings are the only viable option, and even then the frame rate is borderline.

The best experience per the measured rows is at 1080p with High settings, offering 73 FPS with a good balance of visual features. For players with 1440p monitors, Medium settings provide the best experience at 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS, which is acceptable for most of the game. The Medium preset at 1440p also shows a narrower frame time variance (53-71 FPS) compared to other presets, indicating more consistent performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame field places this pairing at 2141 out of 2888 tested combinations. This rank of 2141 means the combo is in the bottom 26% of all tested systems for Control, which is a somewhat surprising result given the individual component rankings. The CPU is in the 85th percentile and the GPU is in the 59th percentile, but their combination in this specific game yields a lower relative standing.

This discrepancy likely stems from the GPU being the bottleneck at higher resolutions. While the CPU can handle the game's logic, the RX 5700 XT is not powerful enough to push high frame rates at 1440p and 4K, which brings the overall combo rank down. The rank of 2141 suggests that many other combos with similar or slightly better GPUs achieve higher frame rates in Control.

The nearest rival data for the GPU shows that it is closely matched with other mid-range cards. The Radeon Pro 5600M scores 0.1% higher in synthetic benchmarks, and the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell scores 0.3% lower. However, these synthetic scores do not necessarily translate to Control's specific workload, which may favor certain architectures. The RX 5700 XT's RDNA 1.0 architecture is older than more recent RDNA 2 or 3 parts, which may explain why it ranks lower in this game's results.

For the CPU, the 5500X3D's rank of 85th percentile among all CPUs is strong, but the combo rank suggests that the CPU's advantages are not fully utilized in Control. The game is likely GPU-bound at most settings, so the CPU's 96 MB L3 cache and 6 cores provide headroom that is not fully exploited. The overall combo rank of 2141 is the definitive metric for this pairing in Control.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear progression across settings. Low settings achieve 115 FPS average, Medium 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 and maximum of 94, High 73 FPS, and Ultra 63 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 52 FPS, indicating that the GPU has enough headroom at 1080p for settings to significantly impact performance. The Medium preset shows a 24 FPS range between minimum and maximum, suggesting some scene-dependent variation.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop predictably. Low settings deliver 87 FPS average, Medium 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 and maximum of 71, High 55 FPS, and Ultra 48 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 39 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p. The Medium preset's minimum of 53 FPS is close to the 60 FPS target, and the maximum of 71 FPS shows that some scenes are smoother.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are significantly lower. Low settings achieve 59 FPS average, Medium 42 FPS with a minimum of 36 and maximum of 48, High 37 FPS, and Ultra 32 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 27 FPS, the narrowest of the three resolutions. The Medium preset at 4K shows a 12 FPS range between minimum and maximum, indicating that the GPU is heavily loaded and frame times are less consistent.

The data shows that the Medium preset is the only one with min and max values recorded, and it appears at all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the min is 70 and max is 94; at 1440p Medium, the min is 53 and max is 71; at 4K Medium, the min is 36 and max is 48. These values provide insight into the frame time consistency, with the 1440p Medium showing the widest relative variation.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 1440p to 4K is significant and reveals the limiting component. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 73 at 1080p to 55 at 1440p (a 24.7% drop) and then to 37 at 4K (a 32.7% drop from 1440p). This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where increasing resolution directly increases the pixel workload.

At Low settings, the scaling is steeper. The average FPS goes from 115 at 1080p to 87 at 1440p (a 24.3% drop) and then to 59 at 4K (a 32.2% drop from 1440p). The fact that Low settings show similar percentage drops to High settings indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor regardless of the visual preset. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the scaling would be more pronounced at lower resolutions where the GPU has more headroom.

The Medium settings show a similar pattern: 82 FPS at 1080p, 62 at 1440p, and 42 at 4K. The drops are 24.4% and 32.3% respectively. The Ultra settings drop from 63 to 48 to 32, with drops of 23.8% and 33.3%. The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings confirms that the RX 5700 XT is the primary constraint.

The resolution scaling data indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this game. Even at 1080p Low with 115 FPS, the 6-core CPU with a 4.00 GHz boost clock is able to keep up. The 96 MB L3 cache likely helps with the game's data streaming. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the GPU's compute throughput of 9.754 TFLOPS is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at higher settings. The data shows that the combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for Low settings or less demanding scenes.