Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. Its defining feature is the 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is substantial for a 5000-series part and directly contributes to its strong showing in gaming workloads. In Control, this CPU is paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, and the data suggests a balanced partnership where the processor’s large cache helps maintain high frame rates even when the GPU is under significant load.

The CPU’s benchmark profile reinforces its gaming orientation. Its Passmark single-thread score of 2941 places it in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, while its multithread score of 20363 indicates robust parallel performance. The physics score of 2282 is particularly relevant for Control, as the game’s physics-heavy destruction and object manipulation demand strong per-core throughput. The CPU’s nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (0.2% higher average score) and the Intel Core i9-12900T (0.3% lower), show that the 5500X3D sits in a highly competitive mid-range tier. Its 96 MB L3 cache is a key differentiator, as it likely reduces memory latency in scenarios where the game engine repeatedly accesses the same data, such as when tracking projectiles or environmental debris.

The relationship between CPU and game results is most apparent in the frame pacing at lower resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 158 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than the GPU can render at higher settings. Conversely, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 44 FPS, indicating the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The CPU’s 12 threads and high clock speeds are sufficient to avoid stutters, as evidenced by the minimum FPS figures at Medium settings: 96 FPS at 1080p, 72 FPS at 1440p, and 49 FPS at 4K. These minimums show that even under load, the processor maintains a consistent frame delivery, which is crucial for a game with fast-paced combat and telekinetic powers.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals a clear tiering of performance across the four settings presets. For players targeting the smoothest experience at high refresh rates, the Low preset at 1080p yields 158 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display. However, the jump from Low to Medium at 1080p results in a substantial 46 FPS drop (from 158 to 112 FPS), suggesting that Low settings significantly reduce GPU load while the CPU remains the limiting factor. At Medium settings, the average of 112 FPS at 1080p with a minimum of 96 FPS provides an excellent balance between visual fidelity and smoothness, making it the best overall experience for competitive or fast-paced play.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 76 FPS, which is comfortable for most monitors, but the Medium preset offers 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS, ensuring no severe dips below the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 66 FPS, which is still playable but begins to approach the edge of noticeable frame pacing issues. Based on the data, the Medium preset at 1440p provides the best experience per the measured rows, as it maintains a high average while keeping minimums well above 60 FPS. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs 9 FPS on average, which may not justify the visual gains for a game that relies on fast camera movements.

For 4K users, the High preset at 51 FPS is the only viable option above 50 FPS, as Ultra drops to 44 FPS and Medium sits at 57 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K, with a minimum of 49 FPS, offers the best combination of visual quality and playability, though it dips slightly below the 60 FPS standard. Low settings at 4K produce 81 FPS, but the visual sacrifice is severe. The data indicates that Medium settings are the sweet spot across all resolutions, providing a consistent ~18-20% improvement over High while maintaining minimums that prevent disruptive stutters. For players with high-refresh 1080p displays, Low settings are unnecessary; Medium at 112 FPS is the optimal choice. At 1440p, Medium’s 85 FPS average is ideal, and at 4K, Medium’s 57 FPS is the best compromise.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario, but with interesting nuances. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 158 at 1080p to 120 at 1440p (a 24% decrease) and then to 81 at 4K (a 33% further decrease). This pattern indicates that even at the lowest settings, the RTX 3070’s rendering load grows significantly with resolution, while the CPU remains capable of delivering frames. The 5500X3D’s 6 cores and high L3 cache ensure that the processor does not introduce a bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the FPS drop is proportional to the pixel count increase.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 112 FPS at 1080p, 85 FPS at 1440p (a 24% drop), and 57 FPS at 4K (a 33% drop). This consistency suggests that the game engine’s rendering pipeline scales predictably with resolution, and the combo’s performance is primarily dictated by the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth. The RTX 3070’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for Control’s textures, but the 4K Ultra preset, which averages 44 FPS, shows the GPU’s limits when shader complexity increases.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU has headroom to spare, as evidenced by the 158 FPS Low score. However, the 5500X3D’s single-thread performance is not the limiting factor; rather, the game’s draw calls and physics calculations are well-handled. At 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting component, as the FPS drops by roughly half from 1080p Low (158 FPS) to 4K Low (81 FPS), while the CPU’s workload remains unchanged. The gap between 1440p and 4K is larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p at every setting, indicating that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are saturated as resolution increases. For example, at High settings, 1440p yields 76 FPS while 4K yields 51 FPS, a 33% drop, whereas 1080p to 1440p is a 24% drop. This suggests that the RTX 3070’s 256-bit memory bus struggles with the 4K pixel count, making 1440p the optimal resolution for this combo if users want to maintain high frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 100 at 1920x1080 with High settings, with no minimum or maximum values recorded.

Q: How does the CPU’s cache size impact performance in Control?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D has 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is significantly larger than typical processors in its class. This large cache likely reduces memory access latency, helping maintain consistent minimum FPS, such as 96 FPS at 1080p Medium.

Q: Is the RTX 3070 sufficient for 4K gaming in Control?

A: The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 44, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K Medium, the average improves to 57 FPS, but the minimum drops to 49 FPS, indicating that 4K gaming is possible but requires lower settings.

Q: Which settings preset offers the highest average FPS without going below 60 FPS minimum?

A: At 1080p, the Medium preset averages 112 FPS with a minimum of 96 FPS. At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS. Both meet the 60 FPS minimum criterion.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combination of AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1192 out of 2888 tested combos, placing it in the upper half of all configurations.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings average 120 FPS, while Ultra settings average 66 FPS, a difference of 54 FPS. The Medium preset sits between at 85 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip, featuring 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operations pipelines. Its boost clock of 1725 MHz and base clock of 1500 MHz drive a pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s. The GPU’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for Control’s high-resolution textures and particle effects. The card’s FP32 performance of 20.31 TFLOPS is leveraged heavily in the game’s physics simulations, which involve destructible environments and floating objects.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its mid-range positioning: a Passmark G3D score of 22214 places it in the 61st percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (0.7% higher average score) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (1% higher), though the RTX 3070’s newer architecture and dedicated RT cores (46 of them) provide features that the older GTX 690 lacks. In Control, which supports ray tracing, the RTX 3070’s ray tracing capabilities are a notable advantage, though the measured FPS data does not specify whether ray tracing is enabled. The GPU’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures compatibility with the game’s advanced rendering features.

The GPU’s role in the measured results becomes evident when examining the FPS scaling across settings. At 1080p Low, the 158 FPS average suggests the GPU is not fully utilized, as the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them. However, at 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 87 FPS, indicating the GPU is now the bottleneck due to increased shading and texture work. The 4K results confirm this: Ultra averages 44 FPS, while Low averages 81 FPS. The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the 8 GB VRAM capacity may be strained, leading to the sharper FPS drops seen at higher settings. The RTX 3070’s 220 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU indicate it is a power-hungry card, but its performance in Control is solid for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring settings compromises.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 158 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. Medium settings at 1080p average 112 FPS with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 129 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. High settings at 1080p average 100 FPS, while Ultra drops to 87 FPS. The 1080p results demonstrate that the combo can handle high refresh rates easily, with even Ultra settings remaining above 85 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. Low settings average 120 FPS, which is still excellent for 1440p. Medium settings average 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 98 FPS, providing a smooth experience. High settings average 76 FPS, and Ultra averages 66 FPS. The 1440p data shows that the combo is well-suited for this resolution, with all settings above 60 FPS average. The minimum FPS at 1440p Medium (72 FPS) is particularly strong, indicating no severe drops during intense scenes.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s limitations become apparent. Low settings average 81 FPS, which is playable but requires significant visual sacrifices. Medium settings average 57 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 66 FPS, making it borderline for 60 FPS displays. High settings average 51 FPS, and Ultra drops to 44 FPS. The 4K results show that the RTX 3070 struggles to maintain 60 FPS at medium or higher settings, and users should expect to use Low or Medium presets for a playable experience. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium (49 FPS) indicates occasional dips below 50 FPS, which may be noticeable in fast-paced combat.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1192 out of 2888 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 58.7th percentile of all configurations. This ranking indicates that the combo performs better than the majority of systems tested, but it is not among the top tier. The CPU’s 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU’s 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs suggest that the processor is relatively stronger than the graphics card, but the overall combo benefits from the CPU’s 96 MB L3 cache, which may provide a unique advantage in Control’s physics-heavy gameplay.

Compared to other combos, this ranking implies that the RTX 3070 is the limiting factor in achieving higher scores. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Ryzen 5 5600F (0.2% faster) and the Intel Core i9-12900T (0.3% slower), show that the processor is competitive, but the GPU’s nearest rivals (RX 7600 XT at 0.7% faster) are similarly matched. This suggests that swapping the GPU for a higher-tier card would yield greater performance gains than upgrading the CPU. The combo’s rank of 1192 out of 2888 means there are 1696 combos that perform worse, but also 1191 that perform better. In the context of Control’s release in 2019, this modern hardware combination delivers solid performance, but the 4K results show that it is not a high-end 4K solution. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it ranks highly due to the CPU’s strong single-thread performance and the GPU’s adequate memory bandwidth.