Control

# Control with AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX delivers a compelling 4K-capable experience in Control, with measured average frame rates ranging from 63 FPS at Ultra settings to 115 FPS at Low settings in 3840x2160. This combination ranks in the 86th percentile of all tested combos for this game (406th out of 2888), indicating strong overall performance, though the data reveals interesting bottlenecks at lower resolutions where the GPU's raw power is less constrained. The CPU, a 6-core/12-thread Zen 3 part with 96 MB of shared L3 cache, provides a solid foundation, while the GPU's 24 GB of VRAM and 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth ensure that texture-heavy scenes remain fluid even at 4K Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of scaling as resolution increases, which tells a story about where the performance limit lies. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves 142 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 High drops this to 107 FPS, a 24.6% reduction, and then to 3840x2160 High at 72 FPS, another 32.7% reduction from 1440p. This scaling curve is steep, suggesting that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rate changes as pixel count rises.

The Low settings row makes the bottleneck even more apparent. At 1080p Low, the system hits 196 FPS average, which is close to what many displays can show. At 1440p Low, it drops to 170 FPS (a 13.3% decrease), and at 4K Low, it falls to 115 FPS (a 32.4% decrease from 1440p). The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings (26 FPS) compared to the larger drop from 1440p to 4K (55 FPS) suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU's single-thread performance may be limiting the frame rate, but as resolution climbs, the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the dominant constraint.

This interpretation is supported by the CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 2941, which places it at the 85th percentile among all CPUs, and its PassMark multithread score of 20363. For a game like Control, which is known for its physics-heavy environments and particle effects, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are adequate, but they may not fully feed the RX 7900 XTX at 1080p, where the GPU could theoretically push even higher frame rates. The 96 MB of shared L3 cache helps with game data locality, but at 1080p Low, the frame rate of 196 FPS likely represents a CPU-side ceiling rather than a GPU limit.

At 4K Ultra, the combo delivers 63 FPS average, which is just below the often-cited 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The drop from 4K High (72 FPS) to 4K Ultra (63 FPS) is a 12.5% reduction, indicating that the Ultra preset adds significant rendering work, likely through higher-quality shadows, reflections, and post-processing effects. The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings at all resolutions, showing 136 FPS at 1080p, 103 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K. These minimums suggest that even the Medium preset maintains playable frame rates at 4K, which is notable for a game of Control's visual complexity.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this CPU-GPU combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 at High settings provides a strong balance with an average FPS of 107, while 3840x2160 at High settings still achieves a playable 72 FPS average. For a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, the Medium preset (82 FPS average) or High preset (72 FPS average) are the safest choices.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XTX's VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: The GPU has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 384-bit bus and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth. This large VRAM pool ensures that Control's textures and assets at 4K Ultra do not exceed memory capacity, which is why the combo still achieves 63 FPS average at that setting. The high memory bandwidth also helps maintain consistent frame pacing, as seen in the 4K Medium minimum FPS of 69.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500X3D a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests yes. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 196 FPS average, but at 1080p High it drops to 142 FPS, a 27.6% reduction. Given that the GPU is extremely powerful (61.39 TFLOPS FP32), the CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 2941 likely limits frame rates at lower resolutions where GPU load is lighter. The 6-core/12-thread configuration is sufficient, but the 3.00 GHz base clock (4.00 GHz boost) is modest compared to newer parts.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems for Control?

A: This combination ranks 406th out of 2888 tested combos, placing it in the top 14% of all systems. This percentile indicates that while the combo is strong, there are many faster configurations, likely with higher-end CPUs or more optimized pairings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic 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 Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (36938), but 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (37093) and 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i9-12900T (37112). These differences are within 0.3%, indicating near-identical synthetic performance.

Q: Can this combo handle ray tracing in Control?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has 96 dedicated ray accelerators and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes ray tracing. However, the measured FPS data does not include ray tracing settings, so specific performance numbers are unavailable. The GPU's 61.39 TFLOPS FP32 compute power suggests it can handle ray tracing effects, but the impact on frame rates cannot be quantified from the provided data.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 406 out of 2888 combos for Control places it in the 86th percentile, meaning it outperforms roughly 86% of all tested configurations. This is a strong result, but it is not at the very top tier, which suggests that Control is a demanding title that benefits from even more powerful CPUs. The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 85 and the GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 64 are interesting: the GPU ranks lower relative to all GPUs (64th percentile) than the CPU does relative to all CPUs (85th percentile). This implies that the RX 7900 XTX, while powerful, is not as exceptional within its own category as the 5500X3D is within its CPU category.

Looking at the GPU's nearest rivals, the RX 7900 XTX has an average benchmark score of 19410, which is 0.4% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB (19334) and 1.2% higher than the NVIDIA TITAN Xp (19177), but 1% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (19602) and 1.2% lower than the AMD FirePro D300 (19637). This comparison is based on average scores across all benchmarks, not specifically gaming, so the deltaPct values reflect general compute and graphics performance rather than Control-specific results.

The rank of 406 out of 2888 means there are 405 combos that perform better in Control. Given that the GPU is an end-of-life product (production status is "End-of-life") and the CPU was released in 2025, this combo represents a mix of a new CPU with a slightly older but still high-end GPU. The 4K High result of 72 FPS average is respectable, but the fact that 4K Ultra drops to 63 FPS suggests that the combo is right at the edge of what is required for maxed-out settings at 4K. For players targeting 1440p, the combo is more comfortable, with High settings delivering 107 FPS average and Ultra at 93 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 123 at Ultra to 196 at Low. The Medium preset at 1080p shows an average of 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 and maximum of 184, indicating tight frame pacing. The High preset at 1080p delivers 142 FPS average, which is a 27.6% drop from Low, suggesting that High settings add substantial GPU load even at this resolution.

Moving to 1440p, the average FPS ranges from 93 at Ultra to 170 at Low. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 121 FPS with a minimum of 103 and maximum of 139. The High preset at 1440p averages 107 FPS, which is a 24.6% drop from Low (170 FPS). The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 93 FPS, which is only 13.1% lower than High, indicating diminishing returns as settings increase.

At 4K, the average FPS ranges from 63 at Ultra to 115 at Low. The Medium preset at 4K averages 82 FPS with a minimum of 69 and maximum of 94. The High preset at 4K averages 72 FPS, which is a 37.4% drop from Low (115 FPS). The Ultra preset at 4K averages 63 FPS, which is 12.5% lower than High, making Ultra the most demanding preset in relative terms.

The data for min and max FPS is only provided for Medium settings at all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 136 FPS and maximum is 184 FPS, a range of 48 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 103 FPS and maximum is 139 FPS, a range of 36 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 69 FPS and maximum is 94 FPS, a range of 25 FPS. This trend shows that the frame time variance decreases as resolution increases, which is counterintuitive but may be due to the GPU becoming the consistent bottleneck at higher resolutions, reducing CPU-induced stutter.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 160 FPS average with a minimum of 136, which is well above any display's refresh rate. At 1440p, Medium averages 121 FPS with a minimum of 103, ensuring smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors. At 4K, Medium averages 82 FPS with a minimum of 69, which is above the 60 FPS target for most players.

The High preset is also viable, especially at 1440p where it averages 107 FPS, and at 4K where it averages 72 FPS. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, drops to 93 FPS at 1440p and 63 FPS at 4K, which may be acceptable for those with VRR displays but could cause noticeable frame drops in heavy scenes. For competitive play or maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p (196 FPS) or 1440p (170 FPS) is the best choice, but for a single-player action-adventure game like Control, the Medium preset at 1440p (121 FPS average) provides the most consistent experience without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the "sweet spot" for this combo, as it maintains frame rates well above 60 FPS at all resolutions while still offering improved visuals over Low. The minimum FPS values for Medium (136 at 1080p, 103 at 1440p, 69 at 4K) indicate that even in demanding scenes, the combo does not drop below playable thresholds. Players with 4K displays should consider High settings (72 FPS average) if they prefer higher visual quality, but Medium is safer for maintaining a stable frame rate.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer codename) manufactured on a 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.00 GHz with a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, and it features 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is a key characteristic of the X3D line. The CPU's PassMark scores show a single-thread score of 2941 and a multithread score of 20363, placing it at the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 37018 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, with deltas of just 0.2-0.3%.

In Control, the CPU's role appears to be more significant at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 196 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame rate limit for this game. The 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for Control's physics and AI workloads, but the 3.00 GHz base clock may limit performance in scenes with heavy single-threaded logic. The 96 MB of L3 cache helps keep game data close to the cores, which can reduce memory latency and improve frame pacing, but the data shows that at 1080p, the frame rate does not increase proportionally with GPU load reductions.

The CPU's memory support is DDR4 with dual-channel configuration and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth, which is modest by modern standards. This could be a secondary bottleneck in Control, which is known to stream assets frequently. The CPU's PCIe Gen 4 support with 20 lanes ensures that the GPU has ample bandwidth, but the overall system memory bandwidth is a potential limiting factor. The fact that the combo ranks 406th out of 2888 suggests that there are many CPUs that can feed the RX 7900 XTX more effectively, likely those with higher clock speeds or more cores.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a high-end GPU with 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth. Its base clock is 1929 MHz with a boost clock of 2498 MHz and a game clock of 2365 MHz. The GPU has 6144 shading units, 384 TMUs, and 192 ROPs, with 96 ray accelerators. Its compute power is 61.39 TFLOPS FP32 and 122.8 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1), making it a very capable rasterization and compute card. The GPU's TDP is 355 W, and it was released in 2022 with a launch MSRP of 999 USD.

In Control, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor at higher resolutions. At 4K, the frame rate scales from 63 FPS at Ultra to 115 FPS at Low, a 82.5% increase. This shows that the GPU's rasterization and memory bandwidth are the primary determinants of performance at 4K. The 24 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Control, which is not a VRAM-heavy game by modern standards, but the 960.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and high-resolution assets do not cause hitches. The GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 64 is surprisingly low for such a powerful card, but this is based on average benchmark scores across all GPUs, which includes many professional and older cards that may skew the distribution.

The GPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the GTX 1060 3 GB, Quadro K5200, FirePro D300, and TITAN Xp, all of which have avgScore values within 1.2% of the RX 7900 XTX. This is an artifact of the averaging methodology, as the RX 7900 XTX's passmark_g3d score of 31238 is far higher than those older cards, but its overall average is pulled down by lower scores in other benchmarks like passmark_directx_9 (330) or passmark_directx_10 (166). In gaming, the RX 7900 XTX is a top-tier card, and the measured FPS data confirms this with 4K High at 72 FPS and 1440p Ultra at 93 FPS. The GPU's 5 nm process node and RDNA 3.0 architecture provide excellent efficiency, but the data shows that Control can still push this card to its limits at 4K Ultra, where it averages just 63 FPS.