Control

Control is an action-adventure title that demands a balance between raw GPU throughput and consistent frame pacing. The benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and Intel Arc B370 pairing shows a system that is decisively GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the processor providing a stable foundation. The measured frames per second across the board indicate that players should prioritize settings adjustments over resolution changes to achieve a playable experience, as the integrated-class GPU is the primary bottleneck in this configuration.

Settings Recommendations

The data shows a clear hierarchy in performance scaling across the four available presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 59 FPS, which is the only measured configuration that approaches a standard 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 42 FPS, representing a 29% performance reduction from Low, while High and Ultra fall to 37 FPS and 32 FPS respectively. For a smooth experience, Low at 1080p is the only viable option, but it is importantly the frame rate at this setting is still marginally below the ideal 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the performance gap widens significantly. Low produces 45 FPS, which is playable but not fluid, while Medium drops to 32 FPS and High to 28 FPS. Ultra at 1440p is essentially unplayable at 25 FPS. The 4K results are uniformly poor, with even the Low preset managing only 30 FPS, and High and Ultra falling to 19 FPS and 17 FPS respectively. The data suggests that the best experience is achieved by running the game at 1080p with Low settings, as this is the only combination that yields an average frame rate above 55 FPS.

The Medium preset offers a compromise for those who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, but the 15 FPS difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is substantial. Given that the game is an action-adventure title requiring responsive controls, the data strongly favors the Low preset at 1080p for a practical gaming experience. The frame time variance also matters: the Medium preset at 1080p shows a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS, indicating noticeable fluctuation that could cause stutter during intense scenes. Low settings at 1080p do not have recorded min/max values, but the higher average suggests more consistent performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, built on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor features a 32 MB shared L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 cache per core, along with 64 KB of L1 cache per core. Memory support is dual-channel DDR4 with a theoretical bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, and the CPU supports PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes.

In this game, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the benchmark results. The processor's single-thread score of 2872 in Passmark and multithread score of 19236 place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, which is a strong showing. However, the measured FPS values do not scale with resolution in a way that would indicate CPU limitation. When moving from 1080p Low (59 FPS) to 1440p Low (45 FPS), the drop is 24%, which is substantial. Similarly, 1080p High (37 FPS) to 1440p High (28 FPS) represents a 24% reduction. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU has enough headroom to feed the graphics card at lower resolutions but the GPU becomes the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The nearest rivals for this CPU include the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 with an average score of 36938 and a delta of 0%, the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D with a score of 37018 and a delta of -0.2%, and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 with a score of 37093 and a delta of -0.4%. These comparisons show that the 5600F is essentially performance-equivalent to its closest competitors, with deltas of less than half a percent. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for Control's workload, as the game is not known for heavy multithreading requirements. The data indicates that the processor is not the constraint in this configuration, and upgrading the CPU alone would not yield meaningful FPS improvements in this title.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, codenamed Panther Lake, manufactured on a 3 nm process at Intel. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, with a TDP of just 25 W. The GPU features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its peak pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS.

The GPU uses system shared memory, meaning its VRAM size, type, and bandwidth are all system dependent and cannot be quantified independently. This is a critical limitation for a game like Control, which has demanding texture and geometry requirements. The benchmark results confirm that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places the Arc B370 in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, delta -0.2%), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, delta -0.5%), and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, delta -0.7%). This is an extremely low performance tier, and the measured FPS in Control reflects that positioning.

The GPU's 25 W TDP and integrated nature mean it cannot sustain high frame rates at modern resolutions. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, the system barely reaches 59 FPS, and any increase in graphical fidelity causes a disproportionate drop. The lack of dedicated memory is likely a contributing factor, as the system shared memory configuration creates additional latency and bandwidth constraints. The boost clock of 2400 MHz is respectable for an integrated part, but the low shading unit count and ROPS limit its ability to process the complex lighting and particle effects that Control is known for. The GPU role in this configuration is unequivocally the limiting factor, and users should expect to make significant compromises in settings or resolution to achieve acceptable performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings provides the highest average FPS at 59, which is the only configuration that approaches a standard 60 FPS target. All other combinations yield average frame rates below 50 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from Low to Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 59 on Low to 42 on Medium, representing a 29% reduction. At 2560x1440, the drop is from 45 FPS to 32 FPS, which is a 29% reduction as well.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU scores in the 85th percentile of all processors, while the GPU sits in the 5th percentile. The FPS scaling with resolution changes is consistent with GPU limitation.

Q: Can this system run the game at 4K?

A: The data shows 4K performance is not playable. The Low preset averages 30 FPS, Medium averages 21 FPS, High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 17 FPS. None of these are suitable for a responsive action game.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum FPS is 36 and the maximum is 48, indicating a variance of 12 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the range is 27 to 37 FPS, a variance of 10 FPS. This suggests moderate frame pacing inconsistency.

Q: How does this GPU compare to its closest competitors?

A: The Intel Arc B370 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184, which is within 1% of the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192). It is slightly ahead of the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168) by 1.4%.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable but severe degradation as resolution increases. Starting from 1920x1080 Low at 59 FPS, moving to 2560x1440 Low reduces performance to 45 FPS, a 24% drop. Continuing to 3840x2160 Low yields 30 FPS, which is a 33% drop from 1440p and a 49% drop from 1080p. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU that lacks sufficient pixel throughput and memory bandwidth for higher resolutions.

For High settings, the progression is 37 FPS at 1080p, 28 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 24% from 1080p to 1440p and 32% from 1440p to 4K. Medium settings follow a similar trend: 42 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p, and 21 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling: 32 FPS at 1080p, 25 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K, with a 47% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

The resolution scaling analysis indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see minimal FPS differences between resolutions at the same settings, as the CPU workload would not increase with pixel count. Instead, the substantial drops across each resolution step confirm that the Arc B370 is overwhelmed by the increasing pixel count. The system shared memory configuration compounds this issue, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which becomes more critical at higher resolutions where larger framebuffers are needed. The data suggests that users should remain at 1080p to have any chance of a playable frame rate, and even then, only Low settings are viable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for this configuration is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 59 FPS with no recorded min or max values. Medium settings produce an average of 42 FPS, with a minimum of 36 and a maximum of 48. High settings average 37 FPS, and Ultra settings average 32 FPS, with no min/max data for the latter two.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 45 FPS, while Medium averages 32 FPS with a minimum of 27 and a maximum of 37. High settings average 28 FPS, and Ultra averages 25 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 20 FPS, or 44%.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 30 FPS, which is the only 4K result above 20 FPS. Medium averages 21 FPS with a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 25. High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 17 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 13 FPS, a 43% reduction.

The overall combo rank for this hardware in Control is 2657 out of 2888 combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems. This ranking, combined with the GPU's 5th percentile performance, paints a clear picture: the Intel Arc B370 is not suited for this game at modern standards. The 1080p Low result of 59 FPS is the only bright spot, and even that is borderline. The measured data shows that this system can run the game, but only with substantial compromises in visual quality and resolution. Users seeking a smooth experience should consider this configuration as a last resort for Control, as the frame rates at higher quality presets are insufficient for the game's action-oriented gameplay.