Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a mid-pack performance profile in Control, ranking 2307th out of 2888 tested combos, placing it in the lower-mid tier of systems evaluated for this title. The pairing of a six-core Zen 3 processor with a 10 GB Battlemage GPU produces playable frame rates at 1080p, but the data shows significant compromises at higher resolutions, with the measured FPS rows revealing a clear performance ceiling that users should consider before pushing beyond Full HD.

FAQ

*Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking in Control?*

A: This combination ranks 2307th out of 2888 tested combos, placing it in the lower 20% of all systems measured for this game. The percentile position indicates that while the hardware can run the game, a substantial majority of tested configurations deliver higher average frame rates.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where this combo achieves consistently playable frame rates across all settings. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 101, and even Ultra settings maintain a 55 FPS average, whereas 2560x1440 and 3840x2160 drop below 60 FPS on most presets.

Q: How much VRAM does the Intel Arc B570 have, and does it matter here?

A: The GPU features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus with 380.0 GB/s bandwidth. For Control, this capacity appears sufficient at 1080p and 1440p, but the 3840x2160 Ultra result of 28 FPS suggests that memory bandwidth or capacity limits contribute to the steep performance drop at 4K.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 101 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 55 FPS average. This represents a 46% reduction in frame rate, meaning the visual upgrade from Low to Ultra costs nearly half the performance at this resolution.

*Q: Is this CPU or GPU limited in Control?*

A: The CPU’s six cores and 12 threads with a 96 MB shared L3 cache are capable for this game, but the GPU’s 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 throughput becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The 3840x2160 Medium result of 36 FPS versus 71 FPS at 1080p Medium illustrates the GPU-bound scaling.

*Q: Does this combo support modern graphics APIs for Control?*

A: The Intel Arc B570 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6, which covers Control’s requirements. The GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 indicates competent DirectX 12 performance, though the measured FPS data shows real-world results are moderate.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame value of 2307 out of 2888 places this system in the 20th percentile of all tested configurations for Control. This means roughly 80% of tested combos deliver higher average frame rates, positioning the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and Intel Arc B570 as a below-average pairing for this specific title. The ranking reflects a system that can handle the game at lower settings and resolutions but struggles to maintain high frame rates when visual demands increase.

The CPU’s individual benchmark scores provide context for its contribution to this ranking. The Ryzen 5 5500X3D achieves a Passmark multithread score of 20363 and a single-thread score of 2941, with an average benchmark score of 37018. This places it in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, showing that the processor itself is a strong performer. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F with an average score of 36945 (0.2% lower), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 with 37093 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 with 36938 (0.2% lower), and the Intel Core i9-12900T with 37112 (0.3% higher). These small deltas indicate the 5500X3D is competitive with modern mid-range processors.

The GPU, however, tells a different story. The Intel Arc B570 scores 14195 in Passmark G3D and 2649 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the mid-range tier. The nearest rivals show tight competition: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534 (0.1% lower), the Intel Arc A750 scores 20582 (0.1% higher), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20480 (0.4% lower), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 20662 (0.5% higher). This clustering means the B570 is essentially performance-equivalent to its closest competitors, but none of these are top-tier GPUs.

The combination of a high-percentile CPU with a mid-percentile GPU explains the overall ranking. In Control, which is a GPU-intensive title with demanding visual effects, the Arc B570 becomes the bottleneck. The measured data shows that even with the capable 5500X3D handling physics and game logic, the GPU cannot push frame rates high enough to boost the combo’s standing. The 2307th rank reflects this imbalance, where the system’s potential is capped by the graphics card’s throughput.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on TSMC’s 5 nm process with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die, featuring 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The GPU operates at a fixed 2500 MHz base and boost clock, with memory running at 2375 MHz for 19 Gbps effective speed. This configuration delivers 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate, which are moderate figures for a modern graphics card.

In Control, the GPU’s role becomes evident when examining the resolution scaling. At 1920x1080 Low, the average FPS is 101, which demonstrates that the GPU can handle the game’s basics with headroom. Moving to 1920x1080 Ultra drops the average to 55 FPS, a 46% reduction that shows the GPU struggling with the game’s higher visual fidelity features. The 10 GB VRAM buffer appears adequate at this resolution, as the frame rates remain playable even at Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the GPU’s limitations become more pronounced. The Low preset delivers 76 FPS average, but Medium drops to 54 FPS and Ultra falls to 42 FPS. The 160-bit memory bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth may contribute to this scaling, as higher resolutions demand more memory throughput. The 10 GB capacity is not exhausted, but the bandwidth constraints likely become a factor.

The 3840x2160 results confirm the GPU’s ceiling. Low settings produce 51 FPS average, which is the only 4K preset above 50 FPS. Medium drops to 36 FPS, High to 32 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 28 FPS. These numbers indicate that the Arc B570 is not suitable for 4K gaming in Control beyond the lowest settings. The 18 ray tracing cores and Xe2-HPG architecture support the game’s advanced effects, but the raw throughput is insufficient for high-resolution rendering.

The GPU’s Passmark scores align with these measured results. The DirectX 11 score of 118 and DirectX 12 score of 72 suggest that the card performs better in older API paths, which may explain why Control’s DX12 mode shows moderate performance. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 96844 indicates strong driver-level API support, but the real-world FPS data takes precedence for gaming analysis.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and frame rate preference. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 63 FPS average, which is a balanced choice for smooth gameplay without sacrificing too much visual quality. The Medium preset offers 71 FPS with slightly reduced visuals, while Low reaches 101 FPS for maximum smoothness. Ultra drops to 55 FPS, which is still playable but approaches the threshold where frame time consistency becomes a concern.

For 2560x1440, the Low preset at 76 FPS is the only setting that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Medium drops to 54 FPS, which is borderline for fast-paced action, and High falls to 48 FPS. Ultra at 42 FPS is playable but not ideal for a game with intense combat sequences. Users prioritizing frame rate should stick to Low at this resolution, while those accepting 50-60 FPS can use Medium.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets achieve 60 FPS. Low at 51 FPS is the highest, followed by Medium at 36 FPS, High at 32 FPS, and Ultra at 28 FPS. For 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option, and even that produces frame rates below the 60 FPS target. The data suggests that this resolution is not recommended for this combo unless users are willing to tolerate sub-60 FPS performance.

The measured min and max FPS values for Medium settings provide additional insight. At 1920x1080 Medium, the range is 61 to 82 FPS, which shows moderate frame time variance. At 2560x1440 Medium, the range is 46 to 62 FPS, indicating more significant drops during demanding scenes. At 3840x2160 Medium, the range is 31 to 42 FPS, confirming that 4K is beyond this GPU’s comfortable operating range. The best experience per the data is 1080p High, which combines a 63 FPS average with no reported min FPS below playable levels, or 1080p Medium for a higher average with acceptable variance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a complete picture of this combo’s performance in Control. At 1920x1080, the Low preset reaches 101 FPS average, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combination. The Medium preset delivers 71 FPS with a min of 61 and max of 82, showing a 21 FPS spread that indicates some scene-dependent variance. High settings produce 63 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 55 FPS. This resolution is clearly the sweet spot for the combo, with all presets maintaining playable frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the performance scaling follows a predictable pattern. Low settings achieve 76 FPS average, which is a 25% reduction from the 1080p Low result. Medium drops to 54 FPS with a range of 46 to 62, High falls to 48 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 42 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 34 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the 46 FPS gap at 1080p. This suggests the GPU is handling both resolutions with similar efficiency, but the absolute numbers are too low for smooth high-refresh gaming.

The 3840x2160 results show a steep decline. Low settings produce 51 FPS, which is the only preset above 50 FPS at this resolution. Medium averages 36 FPS with a min of 31 and max of 42, indicating tight frame times but low overall performance. High settings deliver 32 FPS, and Ultra drops to 28 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows roughly a 33% reduction across most settings, which aligns with the 2.25x pixel count increase that would be expected from a GPU-bound workload.

Comparing across resolutions for the same preset, the Medium settings provide the most complete data with min and max values at all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the 61-82 FPS range shows the combo can handle this preset smoothly. At 1440p Medium, the 46-62 FPS range indicates borderline playability, with dips below 50 FPS during heavy scenes. At 4K Medium, the 31-42 FPS range is below the 60 FPS target and would result in a suboptimal experience. The High and Ultra presets lack min/max data, but the averages suggest similar trends.

The overall pattern shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, with acceptable performance at 1440p only on lower settings. The 4K results are consistently below playable thresholds, making this resolution impractical for Control. The data also reveals that the Ultra preset never exceeds 55 FPS at any resolution, which means the highest visual quality setting is only viable at 1080p for users who prioritize fidelity over frame rate.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a six-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, manufactured on TSMC’s 7 nm process. It operates with a 3.00 GHz base clock and 4.00 GHz boost clock, with a 105 W TDP. The processor features 64 KB L1 cache per core, 512 KB L2 cache per core, and a substantial 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is a defining characteristic of the X3D series. This large cache is designed to improve gaming performance by reducing memory latency.

In Control, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, physics, and scene management while the GPU renders frames. The Passmark physics score of 2282 and floating point math score of 34511 indicate strong computational capabilities for these tasks. The multithread score of 20363 and single-thread score of 2941 show balanced performance across both multi-core and single-core workloads, which is relevant for a game that may not fully utilize all 12 threads.

The CPU’s 85th percentile ranking among all processors suggests it is a high-performing chip, but the measured FPS data shows that the GPU becomes the limiting factor in Control. At 1080p Low, the 101 FPS average indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU enough frames to reach this level, but the GPU cannot push beyond this threshold. At higher resolutions, the CPU’s workload decreases proportionally as the GPU takes longer to render each frame, so the 5500X3D is likely not the bottleneck at 1440p or 4K.

The nearest rival comparisons show the 5500X3D sits in a tight performance cluster. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F scores 36945, just 0.2% lower, while the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093, 0.2% higher. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 scores 36938 (0.2% lower) and the Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112 (0.3% higher). These deltas are within measurement noise, meaning the 5500X3D offers no meaningful advantage or disadvantage over these alternatives in synthetic benchmarks.

For Control specifically, the CPU’s 96 MB L3 cache may help with the game’s asset streaming and level loading, but the measured data does not isolate this effect. The 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth on dual-channel DDR4 could be a constraint in CPU-heavy scenes, but the GPU-bound nature of the game at higher settings masks this potential bottleneck. The 20 PCIe Gen 4 lanes provide adequate bandwidth for the Arc B570’s PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, ensuring no data transfer bottleneck between CPU and GPU.

The CPU’s 2025 release date and active production status indicate it is a current-generation product, but its performance in this combo is clearly subordinate to the GPU. The data shows that users would need a more powerful graphics card to fully utilize the 5500X3D’s capabilities in Control, as the current pairing leaves CPU headroom unused at all resolutions above 1080p Low. The processor’s 85th percentile ranking versus the GPU’s 65th percentile ranking highlights this imbalance, suggesting that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this configuration.