Control

Control with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER presents a clear case of a high-end GPU paired with a mid-range CPU. The benchmark data shows a system that is heavily optimized for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming, with performance scaling that reveals the underlying hardware balance. The measured frames per second across resolutions and settings provide a detailed look at how this combination handles a demanding action-adventure title.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a classic GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering load scales aggressively with pixel count. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo delivers 133.9 FPS, which climbs to 157.2 FPS on High and 214.8 FPS on Low. Moving to 2560x1440, the same settings see a predictable drop: Ultra falls to 100.5 FPS, High to 119.4 FPS, and Low to 183.7 FPS. This represents a roughly 25% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 1440p across all presets, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiter as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the scaling becomes even more pronounced. Ultra settings yield 66.9 FPS, High drops to 77.2 FPS, and Medium manages 89.1 FPS. The gap between 1440p and 4K is substantial—about 33% lower performance—which is expected given the 4K pixel count is 2.25 times that of 1440p. The data shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER is not fully saturated at 1080p, as evidenced by the 214.8 FPS Low preset result, which suggests the CPU is holding back the GPU at lower resolutions. At 4K, however, the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck, with the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads providing ample headroom for the rendering pipeline. This means that for 4K gaming, the RTX 4080 SUPER is the component that determines the final frame rate, while at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 5600's single-thread performance becomes more relevant.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows indicate that the High preset offers the best balance between visual fidelity and performance for this hardware. At 1440p, High settings produce 119.4 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and close to the 120 Hz refresh rate many monitors support. The jump from High to Ultra at 1440p costs 18.9 FPS (from 119.4 to 100.5), a 16% performance penalty for what is typically a marginal visual improvement in Control's particle effects and reflections. For 4K gamers, High settings at 77.2 FPS are the most viable option, as Ultra drops to 66.9 FPS, which may not hold a locked 60 FPS in demanding scenes.

The Medium preset is a reasonable fallback for 4K, delivering 89.1 FPS, which is a 15% improvement over High at that resolution. However, the data shows that Low settings are rarely necessary for this combo—even at 4K, Low produces 124.9 FPS, indicating that the hardware is powerful enough to avoid the lowest quality tier. The optimal experience per the measured rows is High settings at 1440p, where the frame rate is high enough to leverage the GPU's capabilities without sacrificing the visual quality that Control's atmospheric environments rely on. At 1080p, High settings at 157.2 FPS are similarly excellent, though the 214.8 FPS Low result suggests that competitive players could push frame rates higher if needed.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores show a solid single-thread performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 882 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2584. This is critical for Control, which relies on a single primary thread for game logic and physics. The data suggests that the CPU is sufficient to feed the RTX 4080 SUPER at 1080p, but the scaling from Low to Ultra at that resolution reveals a slight CPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 214.8 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 133.9 FPS—a 38% reduction that is less than the GPU's theoretical capability, implying the CPU is constraining the maximum frame rate.

At higher resolutions, the CPU's role diminishes. The 4K results show a consistent scaling pattern where the GPU dominates: Low (124.9 FPS) to Ultra (66.9 FPS) is a 46% drop, which is more in line with pure GPU rendering load. The processor's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s are adequate for this workload, as evidenced by the fact that the frame rates at 4K are not limited by stutter or frame time spikes. The 7 nm process node and 65 W TDP indicate an efficient design that does not introduce thermal throttling in typical gaming scenarios. The Ryzen 5 5600's percentile of 79 against all CPUs, with a benchmark score of 21765, places it as a capable mid-range option, though it trails newer or higher-core-count parts by a small margin.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Ryzen 5 5600 and RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 126th out of 1636 tested combos for Control. This places it in the top 8% of all configurations, which is a strong result given the CPU choice. The ranking reflects that the GPU is the dominant factor in this game, as the RTX 4080 SUPER's percentile of 88 against all GPUs is higher than the CPU's percentile of 79. The data suggests that a more powerful CPU would not significantly improve the ranking at 4K, where the GPU is the bottleneck, but could improve 1080p results.

The combo's rank is likely influenced by the fact that many of the 1636 combos include higher-end CPUs like the Ryzen 7 or Core i7 series, which can push frame rates higher at 1080p. However, the 126th rank still indicates that this pairing delivers excellent performance for most users, particularly those targeting 1440p or 4K. The nearest rivals to the CPU in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i7-11700F, which has a similar average score (21957 vs. 21765), but the RTX 4080 SUPER's lead over its nearest GPU rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53489 vs. 53610), is marginal. This suggests that the combo's rank is more dependent on the GPU than the CPU, and that the 5600 does not hold back the 4080 SUPER in a meaningful way at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Control?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with High settings delivers 119.4 FPS, making it the sweet spot for high refresh rate gaming. At 4K, High settings yield 77.2 FPS, which is playable but not as fluid.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: At 1080p, the scaling from Low (214.8 FPS) to Ultra (133.9 FPS) suggests a partial CPU limitation, as the frame rate does not scale linearly with GPU load. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5600 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600 scores 21765 in average benchmarks, which is 0.6% lower than the Intel Xeon D-1746TER (21635) and 0.9% lower than the Intel Core i7-11700F (21957). It is effectively on par with these parts.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER a good match for this CPU?

A: Yes, the GPU's 88th percentile ranking against all GPUs indicates it is a high-end part that works well with the 5600. The combo ranks 126th out of 1636, which is strong overall.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: High settings produce 119.4 FPS, while Ultra drops to 100.5 FPS, a difference of 18.9 FPS. This suggests that High is preferable for maintaining a high refresh rate.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K on all settings?

A: Yes, even Ultra settings at 4K produce 66.9 FPS, which exceeds 60 FPS. Low settings at 4K reach 124.9 FPS, so the hardware is capable of 4K gaming across all presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 214.8 FPS, Medium reaches 174.1 FPS, High achieves 157.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 133.9 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 80.9 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected reduction. Low settings yield 183.7 FPS, Medium hits 131 FPS, High reaches 119.4 FPS, and Ultra produces 100.5 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 83.2 FPS, similar to 1080p, confirming that the GPU is still the primary limiter.

At 3840x2160, the performance scales down further. Low settings produce 124.9 FPS, Medium reaches 89.1 FPS, High achieves 77.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 66.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 58 FPS, which is narrower than at lower resolutions, showing that the GPU is being fully utilized and the CPU has more than enough headroom.

The data reveals that the RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 4K textures, as the frame rates do not collapse at higher resolutions. The Ryzen 5 5600's 6 cores and 12 threads handle the game's threading model without issue, as evidenced by the consistent scaling across all three resolutions. For users with a 1440p 144 Hz monitor, the High preset is the definitive choice, while 4K users will find High or Medium to be the best trade-off between quality and smoothness.