Control

Control’s benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 pairing reveals a system that is decisively GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet the CPU’s substantial L3 cache and six Zen 3 cores still manage to keep frame pacing consistent enough to make the most of the RTX 2060’s capabilities. The measured results show a clear pattern: at 1080p, the combination delivers playable to smooth performance across all presets, but as resolution climbs toward 4K, the GPU’s 6 GB VRAM and Turing architecture become the primary bottleneck, with average frame rates dropping below the 60 FPS threshold even on Low settings.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, built on TSMC’s 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.00 GHz with a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, and it features a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is a hallmark of the X3D lineup. This cache configuration is particularly relevant for Control, a game that benefits from large data sets being held close to the cores, reducing memory latency and improving frame time consistency. The CPU’s 105 W TDP and socket AM4 compatibility place it as a drop-in upgrade for existing systems, but its locked multiplier means no overclocking headroom—though the stock clocks are sufficient for this workload.

In the context of Control’s measured FPS, the CPU’s role is largely to feed the GPU without becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 107 FPS average, which suggests the CPU can push high frame rates when the GPU is not the limiting factor. However, at 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 59 FPS, indicating that the GPU is already struggling with the increased graphical load, not the CPU. The PassMark single-thread score of 2941 and multithread score of 20363 place this processor in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (0.2% higher average score) and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (0.2% higher), showing that the 5500X3D is competitive with modern mid-range parts. For Control, the CPU’s 12 threads are more than adequate, as the game’s physics and AI systems don’t appear to saturate the processor, even at 4K where the GPU is clearly the weak link.

The data suggests that the 5500X3D’s primary contribution is maintaining minimum frame rates. At 1440p Medium, the system reports a min FPS of 49, which is only slightly below the average of 58, indicating that the CPU is keeping frame delivery stable even as the GPU works harder. This stability is likely due to the large L3 cache, which reduces the need to fetch data from system memory, a common source of stutter in open-world action games like Control. While the CPU’s PassMark physics score of 2282 is not exceptional, it is sufficient for this title, as the measured FPS at 1080p High (68 FPS average) shows no signs of CPU limitation.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Control to maintain a 60 FPS average?

A: According to the measured FPS data, the only resolution that achieves a 60 FPS average or higher is 1080p, specifically on Low (107 FPS) and Medium (76 FPS) settings. At 1080p High, the average drops to 68 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 59 FPS, so 1080p Medium is the highest preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500X3D has an average benchmark score of 37018. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, scores 36945, which is 0.2% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 scores 36938, also 0.2% lower, while the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093, 0.2% higher, indicating a tight cluster of performance around this price point.

Q: Does the GPU’s 6 GB VRAM cause any issues at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 30, which is the lowest across all tested configurations. While the FACT PACK does not explicitly report VRAM usage, the significant drop from 4K High (35 FPS) to 4K Ultra (30 FPS) suggests that the 6 GB frame buffer is likely a limiting factor, as Control’s Ultra preset typically increases texture and shadow detail that consumes memory.

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all GPUs, and how does it affect gameplay?

A: The RTX 2060 sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15290. This places it just above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (0% delta) and AMD Radeon 680M (0.1% higher), but below the RTX 3050 OEM (0.6% higher) and RX 7600 (0.8% higher). In practice, this ranking means the GPU is mid-range, which aligns with the measured FPS showing playable frame rates at 1080p but struggling at 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p High settings?

A: At 1440p High, the average FPS is 51, which is significantly lower than the 1080p High result of 68 FPS. The drop of 17 FPS when moving from 1080p to 1440p indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU’s workload does not scale with resolution. The CPU’s performance headroom is confirmed by the 1080p Low result of 107 FPS, which shows the processor can handle high frame rates when the GPU is not constrained.

Q: How does the combo’s rank in this game compare to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2274 out of 2888 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the lower half of the database. This ranking reflects the GPU’s age and 6 GB VRAM limitation, as the CPU is relatively strong (85th percentile), but the overall system performance is dragged down by the RTX 2060’s inability to sustain high frame rates at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data shows a consistent and steep decline as resolution increases, which clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting component in this pairing. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 68 at 1080p to 51 at 1440p, a 25% reduction, and further to 35 at 4K, a 48% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the number of pixels directly impacts the workload on the graphics card. The RTX 2060’s 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the demands of 4K, as evidenced by the 4K High average of 35 FPS, which is barely playable.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The 1080p Low average is 107 FPS, dropping to 81 FPS at 1440p (a 24% reduction) and 55 FPS at 4K (a 49% reduction). This shows that even with minimal graphical detail, the GPU cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K, reinforcing the notion that the RTX 2060 is not designed for 4K gaming. The Medium settings provide the most complete data, with min and max FPS recorded: at 1080p Medium, the average is 76 FPS with a min of 65 and max of 88; at 1440p Medium, the average drops to 58 FPS with a min of 49 and max of 66; and at 4K Medium, the average is 39 FPS with a min of 33 and max of 45. The narrowing of the min-to-max range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is consistently saturated, whereas at 1080p there is more headroom for frame rate variation.

The data implies that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution, as the FPS drops are directly proportional to the increase in pixel count. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS at lower resolutions, but the 1080p Low result of 107 FPS shows the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond the RTX 2060’s capabilities. Therefore, users seeking higher frame rates should prioritize reducing resolution or graphical settings, as upgrading the CPU would yield minimal gains in Control.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination ranks 2274 out of 2888 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 21st percentile of all configurations. This low ranking is primarily attributable to the GPU, as the CPU alone is in the 85th percentile of all processors. The gap between the CPU’s strong individual performance and the combo’s poor overall ranking highlights the RTX 2060’s limitations in this game, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU’s 6 GB VRAM and Turing architecture struggle to keep up.

Compared to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RTX 2060’s average benchmark score of 15290 is nearly identical to the GTX 580 (15283) and the Radeon 680M (15270), but slightly lower than the RTX 3050 OEM (15199, 0.6% higher) and RX 7600 (15171, 0.8% higher). This clustering suggests that the RTX 2060 is at the bottom of its performance tier, and in Control specifically, the combo’s rank reflects that the GPU cannot leverage the CPU’s capabilities. For context, if the combo were paired with a stronger GPU, the rank would likely improve significantly, as the CPU’s 96 MB L3 cache and 12 threads provide ample headroom.

The ranking also indicates that many other combinations of mid-range CPUs and GPUs outperform this setup in Control. This is not surprising given the game’s release in 2019, which predates the RTX 2060’s end-of-life status and the subsequent advancements in GPU technology. The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where the rank would be more favorable, but at higher resolutions, it falls behind more modern configurations that offer higher VRAM and better rasterization performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers the following average FPS across presets: Low 107, Medium 76 (min 65, max 88), High 68, and Ultra 59. The 1080p results show a clear progression, with the gap between Low and Ultra being 48 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s performance scales with graphical detail. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 65 is notably high, suggesting that even during demanding scenes, the system maintains smooth frame delivery.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to: Low 81, Medium 58 (min 49, max 66), High 51, and Ultra 45. The 1440p results show a 26 FPS drop from Low to Ultra, which is less severe than at 1080p, but the overall performance is lower, with only Low settings exceeding 60 FPS. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 49 is close to the 60 FPS target, indicating that some stutter may occur in intense combat or physics-heavy scenes.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS falls to: Low 55, Medium 39 (min 33, max 45), High 35, and Ultra 30. The 4K results are uniformly below 60 FPS, with even Low settings failing to reach a playable threshold for many users. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 33 is concerning, as it suggests significant frame drops during gameplay. The data shows a consistent pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases, with the GPU’s memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity becoming critical constraints.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user’s resolution and performance targets. For 1080p, the Medium preset offers the best balance, with an average of 76 FPS and a min of 65, ensuring smooth gameplay without the visual degradation of Low settings. The High preset at 68 FPS is also viable, but the Ultra preset’s 59 FPS average falls just short of the 60 FPS target, making Medium the safest choice for consistent frame rates.

At 1440p, the Low preset is the only option that exceeds 60 FPS (81 FPS average), but the visual quality may be too reduced for some players. The Medium preset at 58 FPS is playable, but the min FPS of 49 suggests potential stuttering in demanding scenarios. For users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, the High preset at 51 FPS or Ultra at 45 FPS are options, but they sacrifice smoothness. Given the data, Medium at 1440p is the recommended compromise, as it maintains an average close to 60 FPS while offering better visuals than Low.

At 4K, no settings preset achieves a playable average FPS, with the highest being Low at 55 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS target and may result in a less responsive experience. For 4K, users should consider lowering the resolution or upgrading the GPU, as even Low settings cannot deliver smooth performance. The data suggests that the RTX 2060 is not suited for 4K gaming in Control, and users should stick to 1080p or 1440p for the best experience.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is based on the Turing architecture, featuring the TU106 chip built on a 12 nm process. It has 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The GPU’s base clock is 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1680 MHz, and it comes with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), which is adequate for 1080p but becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions where texture and geometry data exceed the 6 GB capacity.

In Control, the GPU’s VRAM is a critical factor, as the game’s high-resolution textures and complex environments can easily consume more than 6 GB. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (30 FPS average) and 4K High (35 FPS) suggests that the GPU is not only compute-bound but also memory-limited, as the frame rates are far below what the GPU’s compute power would indicate. The RTX 2060’s FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS is modest by modern standards, and its pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s are sufficient for 1080p but struggle at 4K.

The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 14111 places it in the 58th percentile, with its nearest rivals being the GTX 580 (0% delta) and Radeon 680M (0.1% higher). This indicates that the RTX 2060 is at the lower end of mid-range GPUs, and in Control, this translates to playable performance only at 1080p. The GPU’s DirectX 12 score of 53 is notably low, which may explain the sub-optimal performance at higher resolutions, as Control supports DX12 features that can tax the GPU’s architecture. Overall, the RTX 2060’s role in this combo is to deliver acceptable frame rates at 1080p, but it cannot leverage the CPU’s strength to achieve high performance at 1440p or 4K.