Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti presents a classic high-refresh-rate 1080p build that struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K in Control. The measured data shows a clear progression: the combination ranks 966th out of 1636 tested combos in this title, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This analysis walks through the resolution scaling, component roles, and settings behavior to explain exactly where this pairing excels and where it hits its limits.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 81.6 at 1920x1080 to 61.8 at 2560x1440, then to 45.7 at 3840x2160. That represents a 24% reduction going from 1080p to 1440p, and another 26% drop moving from 1440p to 4K. The pattern is consistent across all presets — the GTX 1080 Ti simply cannot keep pace with the pixel count at higher resolutions.

The Low preset tells a similar story with higher absolute numbers. At Low, the combo delivers 134.2 FPS at 1080p, 98.6 FPS at 1440p, and 69.7 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is a 29% loss, which is proportionally larger than the High preset's 26% drop. This suggests that even at the lowest settings, the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading capacity become limiting factors as resolution climbs.

Interestingly, the Medium preset at 4K (46.0 FPS) is nearly identical to High at 4K (45.7 FPS), differing by less than 1%. This indicates that the game's Medium and High presets impose similar GPU loads at this resolution, with the bottleneck shifting away from settings-dependent effects and toward raw pixel throughput. At 1080p, the gap between Medium (97.8 FPS) and High (81.6 FPS) is 20%, showing that lower resolutions let the CPU and GPU differentiate between preset levels more effectively.

The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 39.4 FPS, which is below the 40 FPS threshold many users consider playable. At 1440p Ultra, the average is 57.7 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra it reaches 71.6 FPS. The data strongly suggests that this combination is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for Low or Medium settings if the user accepts sub-60 FPS performance.

GPU Role

The GTX 1080 Ti's specifications directly explain its behavior in Control. With 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus, the card provides 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth — ample for this game's textures at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results show the card's 3584 shading units and 88 ROPs working at full capacity. The boost clock of 1582 MHz and base clock of 1481 MHz are modest by modern standards, yet they deliver 11.34 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which the data shows is sufficient for 60+ FPS at 1440p on Medium and High presets.

The GPU's 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database places it just above the mid-range. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780, scores nearly identically (19405 vs 19402 average benchmark score), with a deltaPct of 0%. This is surprising given the 1080 Ti's newer architecture, but the benchmark averages reflect synthetic workloads rather than Control specifically. In this game, the 1080 Ti's memory capacity becomes relevant — 11 GB is more than enough for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra preset's 39.4 FPS suggests the card's pixel fill rate is the limiting factor.

The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution highlights the GPU's scaling behavior. At 1080p, Low (134.2 FPS) is 87% faster than Ultra (71.6 FPS). At 1440p, that gap grows to 71% (98.6 vs 57.7). At 4K, it narrows to 77% (69.7 vs 39.4). The non-linear scaling indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so saturated that even reducing settings yields diminishing returns — the card cannot fully utilize the freed-up resources because it is already near its throughput ceiling.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for this combo. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 81.6 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target and leaves headroom for demanding scenes. The Medium preset at 97.8 FPS offers a 20% improvement over High, making it the sweet spot for users prioritizing smoothness over visual fidelity. Ultra at 71.6 FPS is still playable but sacrifices 12% performance compared to High, with marginal visual gains in a game like Control that relies heavily on atmospheric effects.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts. High produces 61.8 FPS, which is just above 60 but could dip below in intensive combat sequences. Medium at 70.4 FPS provides a safer margin and is the best balance for 1440p. Ultra at 57.7 FPS is borderline — playable for slower exploration but risky for action scenes. Low at 98.6 FPS is excessive for this resolution and would degrade the visual experience unnecessarily.

For 4K, the data is less encouraging. Medium (46.0 FPS) and High (45.7 FPS) are nearly identical, suggesting that High settings at 4K are effectively a Medium experience. Low at 69.7 FPS is the only preset that approaches 60 FPS, but it strips away much of the game's visual identity. The Ultra preset at 39.4 FPS should be avoided entirely. Users targeting 4K should either accept Low settings or consider that this combo is not suited for that resolution in Control.

How This Combo Ranks

With a rank of 966 out of 1636 tested combinations, this pairing sits in the 59th percentile of all combos tested in Control. This is slightly below the GPU's individual percentile (61st) and well below the CPU's individual percentile (79th). The discrepancy indicates that the GTX 1080 Ti drags down the overall performance, confirming the GPU as the limiting factor in this game.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 scores 21765 on average benchmark, with the Intel Xeon D-1746TER just 0.6% behind at 21635 and the AMD EPYC 9554P 0.6% ahead at 21899. These are synthetic scores, but they suggest the CPU has substantial headroom that the GPU cannot exploit in Control. The GPU's nearest rivals, meanwhile, include the NVIDIA TITAN Xp at 19184 (1.1% behind) and the AMD Radeon Pro 560X at 19426 (0.1% ahead), showing that the 1080 Ti is firmly in a performance cluster where small differences separate cards.

The rank of 966 out of 1636 means that 670 combos perform worse and 965 perform better in this game. This places the pairing in the lower-middle range, which aligns with the measured FPS: capable at 1080p and 1440p but not competitive at 4K against newer hardware with higher memory bandwidth and more shading units.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 brings 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz are backed by 32 MB of shared L3 cache, which is critical for gaming workloads. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking among all CPUs reflects strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance that far exceeds what this game requires at the measured resolutions.

The CPU benchmark data shows a single-thread score of 882 in 3dmark_single_thread and 3256 in passmark_single_thread, with multi-thread scores of 5659 (3dmark_max_threads) and 21541 (passmark_multithread). These numbers indicate the 5600 can handle Control's physics and AI calculations without breaking a sweat, even at 1080p where the CPU is typically more involved. The 1080p Low preset hitting 134.2 FPS suggests the CPU is not limiting frame rates at any resolution in this test, as the GPU consistently becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases.

The CPU's memory support for DDR4 on a dual-channel bus with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for this game. The 65 W TDP and 7 nm process node mean the CPU runs cool and efficient, allowing the GTX 1080 Ti's 250 W TDP to dominate system power draw. The CPU's socket compatibility with AMD Socket AM4 and PCIe Gen 4 support (20 lanes) provides a modern foundation, though the GPU's PCIe 3.0 x16 interface does not bottleneck in this title — the measured data shows GPU-bound behavior across all settings.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Control at 60 FPS on High settings?*

A: At 1920x1080, yes — the average is 81.6 FPS. At 2560x1440, the average is 61.8 FPS, which is just above 60 but leaves little margin. At 3840x2160, High averages 45.7 FPS, which is not sufficient for 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this hardware?

A: Medium provides 70.4 FPS at 2560x1440, offering a 14% FPS increase over High (61.8 FPS) with only a modest visual quality reduction. This is the recommended balance for smooth play.

Q: Is the GTX 1080 Ti or the Ryzen 5 5600 the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 61st percentile. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows the GPU's performance ceiling being hit, with the CPU idle headroom.

*Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems in Control?*

A: It ranks 966th out of 1636 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier. The GPU's individual ranking (61st percentile) is slightly below the combo's overall percentile, confirming the GPU limits the pair.

Q: What FPS can be expected at 4K with the Low preset?

A: The Low preset at 3840x2160 averages 69.7 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that approaches 60 FPS. Medium (46.0 FPS) and High (45.7 FPS) fall well below that threshold.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a playable experience at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average is 71.6 FPS, which is playable. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 57.7 FPS, which is borderline. At 4K Ultra, the average is 39.4 FPS, which is not recommended for action sequences.