Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT combination delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Control, with 4K remaining a viable but more demanding option. The measured data shows a clear progression of performance as resolution increases, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, indicating a system that transitions from a balanced state to one that is heavily GPU-limited. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 162 FPS at 1080p to 123 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 39 FPS, and then further to 83 FPS at 4K. This scaling pattern suggests that while the CPU has enough headroom to drive high frame rates at lower resolutions, the demands of 4K rendering quickly outpace the RX 7700 XT’s capabilities.

Moving to High settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 25 FPS (from 102 to 77), and the drop from 1440p to 4K is another 25 FPS (from 77 to 52). The relative reduction from 1080p to 4K at High settings is approximately 49%, which is a significant penalty. This indicates that the GPU’s rendering pipeline, including its 192-bit memory bus and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, becomes the limiting factor as pixel count quadruples.

The Medium settings data provides the only min/max frame time information in the dataset. At 1080p Medium, the average is 115 FPS with a minimum of 98 and a maximum of 133. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and a maximum of 100. At 4K Medium, the average is 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 68. The consistency of the frame times, as evidenced by the relatively narrow spread between min and max, suggests that the system does not experience severe stuttering, even at the higher resolutions where the GPU is under more stress.

The scaling behavior points to a system where the CPU is not the primary constraint at 4K. The Ryzen 5 5600F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, can maintain a 52 FPS average at 4K High, which is a playable level, but the GPU’s performance ceiling is clearly being reached. At 1080p, the system is likely more balanced, with the CPU capable of feeding the GPU enough data to hit 162 FPS at Low settings, a figure that highlights the CPU’s single-thread performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the central component in determining the visual experience in Control. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a total bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for the game’s textures and effects at the tested resolutions. The GPU’s boost clock of 2544 MHz and game clock of 2171 MHz, based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, deliver the raw compute power needed for the game’s physics and particle effects.

The GPU’s performance in synthetic benchmarks places it in a specific tier. Its Passmark G3D score of 22547 puts it in the 67th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a mid-to-high-range part. The nearest rivals in the benchmark data are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile with a score of 22435 (0.5% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile with 22729 (0.8% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 with 22895 (1.5% lower). This positioning suggests that the RX 7700 XT’s performance in Control, while not directly comparable to these synthetic scores, should be in a similar performance envelope.

In the game itself, the GPU’s role is clear from the resolution scaling. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate drops to 45 FPS, which is the lowest measured value in the dataset. This is a clear indication that the GPU is the limiting factor at this setting, as the increased graphical fidelity of the Ultra preset places an overwhelming load on the rendering hardware. The gap between 4K Low (83 FPS) and 4K Ultra (45 FPS) is 38 FPS, demonstrating the significant cost of the higher-quality shadows, reflections, and post-processing effects.

The GPU’s memory capacity is also a factor. With 12 GB of VRAM, the card is unlikely to be constrained by memory capacity at 1080p or 1440p, even at Ultra settings. However, at 4K, the higher resolution textures and effects could push memory usage higher, though the data suggests the core rendering performance, not memory capacity, is the primary bottleneck, given the consistent scaling across all settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5600F and the RX 7700 XT holds a rank of 1422 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places it in the top 38% of all tested hardware pairings, indicating that it is a capable setup for this title. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU, where the CPU’s performance is not holding back the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU’s ceiling is reached at higher ones.

This ranking is consistent with the individual component standings. The CPU’s Passmark average score of 36945 places it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 22547 places it in the 67th percentile of all GPUs. The combo rank of 1422 suggests that the pairing is well-matched, with the CPU’s relative strength compensating for the GPU’s more mid-range positioning.

Compared to other potential pairings, this combo is not at the top of the charts, but it is far from the bottom. The rank of 1422 out of 3720 indicates that there are many slower combinations, but also a significant number of faster ones. The data suggests that this setup is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming or smooth 1440p gaming, rather than being a flagship 4K solution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the system shows its highest performance. With Low settings, the average frame rate is 162 FPS, which is exceptionally high and indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at very high rates. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 115 FPS, with a minimum of 98 and a maximum of 133. High settings yield an average of 102 FPS, and Ultra settings produce an average of 89 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p represents a 73 FPS drop, showing the cost of the game’s visual features.

At 1440p, the performance is still strong but begins to show the GPU’s limits. Low settings deliver an average of 123 FPS, which is still very high. Medium settings reduce the average to 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 and a maximum of 100. High settings produce 77 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 67 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 56 FPS, which is less than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is starting to become a more significant factor.

At 4K, the system is clearly GPU-bound. Low settings produce an average of 83 FPS, which is playable. Medium settings reduce this to 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 68. High settings yield 52 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 45 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is only 38 FPS, which is the smallest drop among the three resolutions. This suggests that the GPU is hitting a performance wall, and the difference between settings is less impactful because the pixel throughput is the primary constraint.

The data shows that the system can maintain a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1440p on High settings, with 77 FPS, and even at 4K on Medium settings, with 59 FPS. The only setting where the frame rate dips below 50 FPS is at 4K Ultra, where the average is 45 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. It has a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 cache per core provide ample fast memory for game data. The CPU’s Passmark single-thread score of 2872 and multithread score of 19236 indicate strong performance, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

In Control, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p, where the frame rates are high enough that the CPU must keep up with the GPU. The fact that the system can achieve 162 FPS at 1080p Low suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 36945 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 with a score of 36938 (0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D with a score of 37018 (-0.2% delta). This indicates that the 5600F’s performance is very much in line with other mid-range processors.

As the resolution increases, the CPU’s influence on the frame rate diminishes. At 4K, the frame rate is primarily determined by the GPU, and the CPU has enough headroom to handle the game’s logic and physics without becoming a limiting factor. The CPU’s 12 threads are sufficient for the game’s multithreaded workloads, and its high single-thread performance ensures that the main game loop runs efficiently.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR4 interface is adequate for feeding the GPU’s demands. The PCIe Gen 4 interface with 20 lanes provides sufficient bandwidth for the GPU to communicate with the rest of the system. Overall, the CPU is a capable partner for the GPU, providing enough performance to avoid being the bottleneck at lower resolutions while not being the primary constraint at higher ones.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p on High settings delivers an average of 77 FPS, which is a smooth experience. At 1080p, the system can achieve 102 FPS on High, but the higher resolution of 1440p provides a better visual experience without dropping below 60 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Control?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K Medium, the average frame rate is 59 FPS, which is playable. At 4K High, the average drops to 52 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 45 FPS. The system is capable of 4K, but it is not ideal for high-refresh-rate displays at this resolution.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 7700 XT’s Passmark G3D score of 22547 is 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile, 0.8% lower than the RTX 4060 Mobile, and 1.5% lower than the RTX 2080. This places it in a competitive mid-range tier.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is not a bottleneck, as evidenced by the 162 FPS average at Low settings. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, so the CPU’s performance is sufficient across all tested settings.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1440p?

A: At 1440p Medium, the average frame rate is 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and a maximum of 100. This narrow spread indicates consistent frame delivery without significant stuttering.

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

A: The combo holds a rank of 1422 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing it in the top 38% of all tested pairings for Control.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of the optimal settings for this hardware. For players with a 1080p display, the High preset is recommended, as it delivers an average of 102 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. While the Low preset offers a higher 162 FPS, the visual quality of the High preset is a worthwhile trade-off for the slight reduction in frame rate.

At 1440p, the High preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 77 FPS. This provides a fluid experience while maintaining a high level of visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 67 FPS, which is still playable, but the 10 FPS difference between High and Ultra may not justify the additional graphical load. The Medium preset at 1440p offers 87 FPS, but the jump to High is only a 10 FPS reduction, making High the better value in terms of visual quality.

For 4K displays, the Medium preset is the recommended setting, as it delivers an average of 59 FPS. This is just below the 60 FPS target but is still a smooth experience. The High preset at 4K drops to 52 FPS, which may be noticeable to some players, and the Ultra preset at 45 FPS is likely to be too choppy for a comfortable experience. The Low preset at 4K offers 83 FPS, but the visual quality is significantly reduced, making Medium the better balance.

The data shows that the system’s sweet spot is at 1440p High, where it delivers a strong 77 FPS average. At 1080p, the High preset is also excellent. For those who prioritize frame rate over visuals, the Low preset at 1440p provides 123 FPS, but the Medium preset at 4K is the most balanced option for high-resolution displays.