Control

# Control — AMD Ryzen 5 5600 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER

This pairing of a 6-core Zen 3 processor with a Turing-generation GPU produces a playable but not lavish experience in Control, with the data showing the RTX 2060 SUPER as the primary constraint at higher resolutions. Measured results span from a comfortable 118 FPS average at 1080p Low to a borderline 33 FPS at 4K Ultra, placing this combo in the 71st percentile of all tested configurations for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, revealing where the bottleneck sits. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 74 FPS at 1920x1080 to 56 FPS at 2560x1440, then further to 38 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 24% reduction moving to 1440p and another 32% drop going to 4K, for a total loss of 49% from 1080p to 4K. The pattern is similar across all presets: Low settings show 118 → 89 → 60 FPS across the three resolutions, Medium shows 84 → 63 → 43 FPS, and Ultra shows 65 → 49 → 33 FPS.

The scaling curve is not linear. The gap between 1440p and 4K is proportionally larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p at every preset, which indicates the GPU's pixel throughput is being pressed harder as resolution climbs. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is adequate for 1080p but begins to feel constrained at 4K. The fact that even Low settings at 4K only reach 60 FPS average — exactly at the 60 FPS mark, with no headroom — suggests the memory subsystem and shading units are saturated rather than the CPU. At 1080p, the spread between Low and Ultra is 53 FPS (118 vs 65), which is a wider range than at 4K where the gap narrows to 27 FPS (60 vs 33). This compression at higher resolutions is classic GPU-bound behavior; the CPU has less idle time to hide behind.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 brings six cores and twelve threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Built on the Zen 3 architecture (codenamed Vermeer) using TSMC's 7 nm process, this chip has a 32 MB shared L3 cache, with 64 KB L1 and 512 KB L2 per core. Its TDP is 65 W, and it supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with 51.2 GB/s theoretical bandwidth. The CPU's benchmark profile shows strong multi-threaded capability: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 18309, while the single-core score is 2584. In 3DMark, the 16-thread score of 5641 nearly matches the max-threads score of 5659, indicating that scaling plateaus beyond 8 threads — relevant for a game like Control that typically uses fewer cores.

In this combo, the CPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 118 FPS average, which is high enough that the GPU is still the primary driver of frame rate. The Ryzen 5 5600's single-thread performance — a PassMark single-thread score of 3256 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1936 — is sufficient to feed the RTX 2060 SUPER at lower resolutions. Even at 1080p Ultra, where the GPU is more stressed, the 65 FPS average shows the CPU has headroom. The processor's 74th percentile ranking among all CPUs (average benchmark score 20468) places it above most gaming chips, and its nearest rivals in average score are the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (20454, only 0.1% behind) and the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G (20425, 0.2% behind). This is a CPU that will not hold back a mid-range GPU in this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is a Turing-architecture part (chip TU106) manufactured on TSMC's 12 nm process, with 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die. It has 2176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, 64 ROPs, 34 RT cores, and 272 tensor cores. Clock speeds are 1470 MHz base and 1650 MHz boost, delivering 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. Memory is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The card's pixel rate is 105.6 GPixel/s and texture rate is 224.4 GTexel/s. Its TDP is 175 W, requiring a single 8-pin power connector and a 450 W suggested PSU.

In Control, the GPU's role is decisive. At 1440p High, the 56 FPS average is playable but not smooth, and at 4K High, 38 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold. The card's 62nd percentile ranking among all GPUs (average benchmark score 18093) places it near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (18159, just 0.4% higher) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (18189, 0.5% higher). The RTX 2060 SUPER is 1.5% below the AMD Radeon RX 460 in average score — a surprising but data-backed result — and 1.6% below the Intel Arc A770M. These deltas are small, meaning this GPU sits in a tightly contested mid-range tier.

For Control specifically, the 8 GB VRAM is not the main issue at 1080p or 1440p, where the card delivers 74 and 56 FPS at High respectively. At 4K, the 38 FPS at High suggests the memory bandwidth and shading throughput are stretched thin. The card's DirectX 12 score in PassMark is 61, which is low relative to its DirectX 11 score of 130 — a possible indicator that this older architecture does not fully exploit newer API features, though Control does support DX12.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Control, this CPU-GPU pairing ranks 2650 out of 3720 total combos. That places it in the 71st percentile of all configurations tested for this game, meaning roughly 29% of tested systems perform better. This ranking reflects the mid-range nature of both components: the CPU is above average (74th percentile), but the GPU (62nd percentile) drags the overall standing down. The gap between the CPU's and GPU's percentile rankings suggests that upgrading the graphics card would yield a larger performance gain than upgrading the processor.

Compared to the nearest rival GPUs, the delta in average benchmark score is minimal — within 1.6% of three other cards — so the combo's rank is not an outlier. The CPU's nearest rivals are all within 0.5% in average score, indicating that the Ryzen 5 5600 is well-matched to its peers. In Control, this combination produces frame rates that are respectable for 1080p and 1440p gaming but fall short of high-refresh or 4K expectations. The 2650th place out of 3720 is a solid mid-pack result, not a top-tier one.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, for a total of 12 data points. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 118 on Low to 65 on Ultra. The Medium preset yields 84 FPS average, with a minimum of 71 and maximum of 96. High settings at 1080p produce 74 FPS average. At 2560x1440, the averages are 89 FPS on Low, 63 FPS on Medium (min 54, max 73), 56 FPS on High, and 49 FPS on Ultra. At 3840x2160, the averages are 60 FPS on Low, 43 FPS on Medium (min 36, max 49), 38 FPS on High, and 33 FPS on Ultra.

The min/max data is only available for the Medium preset at each resolution, but it shows significant variance: at 1080p Medium, the range is 25 FPS (71 to 96); at 1440p Medium, the range is 19 FPS (54 to 73); at 4K Medium, the range is 13 FPS (36 to 49). The narrowing range as resolution increases again supports a GPU-bound scenario — frame times become more consistent when the GPU is fully loaded. The Low preset at 4K hits exactly 60 FPS average, which is the minimum for smooth gameplay, while the Medium preset at 4K dips to 36 FPS minimum, indicating potential stutter in demanding scenes.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 74 FPS average is the sweet spot — it provides a 12 FPS improvement over Ultra (65 FPS) while maintaining visual quality, and it is only 10 FPS below Medium (84 FPS). Players with 60 Hz displays can comfortably use Ultra at 65 FPS, while those with 144 Hz monitors should consider Medium at 84 FPS or Low at 118 FPS for maximum frame rates.

At 1440p, High at 56 FPS is borderline for 60 Hz displays, so Medium at 63 FPS is the better choice for consistent smoothness, especially given the 54 FPS minimum on Medium. Low at 89 FPS is the option for high-refresh 1440p. At 4K, none of the presets reach 60 FPS average; Low at 60 FPS is the only preset that hits the 60 FPS mark, but with no headroom. Medium at 43 FPS is playable but will feel less fluid, and Ultra at 33 FPS is only suitable for slower-paced exploration. For a balanced experience, the data suggests 1080p High or 1440p Medium as the best quality-to-performance trade-offs, with 4K reserved for Low settings if resolution is a priority.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Control at 60 FPS?*

A: Yes, at 1080p and 1440p. At 1080p, Low (118 FPS), Medium (84 FPS), and High (74 FPS) all exceed 60 FPS. At 1440p, Low (89 FPS) and Medium (63 FPS) average above 60 FPS. At 4K, only Low settings reach 60 FPS average, and exactly at that mark.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1440p is the practical ceiling for this pairing. At High settings, 1440p yields 56 FPS average, which is playable, while Medium at 63 FPS is smoother. 1080p offers higher frame rates (74 FPS on High), but 1440p is the highest resolution where the system maintains playable performance across multiple presets.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its closest rivals?

A: In average benchmark score, the RTX 2060 SUPER (18093) is 0.4% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (18159) and 0.5% below the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (18189). It is 1.5% below the AMD Radeon RX 460 (18373) and 1.6% below the Intel Arc A770M (18383). These are small differences, indicating near-parity with these cards.

*Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Control?*

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. Evidence includes the larger FPS drop from 1440p to 4K compared to 1080p to 1440p, and the narrowing FPS range between Low and Ultra settings at higher resolutions. The CPU's 74th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 62nd percentile also suggests the graphics card is the weaker link.

Q: What frame rates should I expect at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the averages are 60 FPS on Low, 43 FPS on Medium (min 36, max 49), 38 FPS on High, and 33 FPS on Ultra. Only Low settings reach 60 FPS, and Medium may dip to 36 FPS in demanding scenes.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Control?*

A: It ranks 2650 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the 71st percentile. This is a mid-pack result, consistent with the mid-range positioning of both the CPU and GPU.