Control

Control, AMD’s 2019 action-adventure, responds predictably to the pairing of the Ryzen 5 5600GT and the Radeon RX 7900 XTX. The data reveals a GPU-bound title at higher resolutions, with the processor’s role becoming more apparent only at 1080p. The measured frame rates show a clear hierarchy: the RX 7900 XTX delivers playable performance across all settings, but the gap between Low and Ultra presets widens dramatically as resolution increases, indicating where the graphics card’s headroom is spent.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, confirming that Control’s visual load scales heavily with pixel count. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 226.4 at 1920x1080 to 113.8 at 3840x2160 — a reduction of roughly half. The same pattern holds at High, where 141.3 FPS at 1080p drops to 69.6 FPS at 4K. This near-linear scaling with resolution is the signature of a GPU-limited scenario; the RX 7900 XTX’s rendering pipeline is the bottleneck, not the CPU.

The transition from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing. At Medium settings, 1440p delivers 120.4 FPS, but 4K falls to 81.5 FPS — a loss of 38.9 FPS. At Ultra, the drop is from 91.9 to 61.6 FPS. These figures suggest that 4K Ultra is the only configuration where the combo approaches the edge of playability, while 1440p and 1080p remain comfortably fast. The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is less severe, with High settings losing about 32 FPS, indicating that the GPU still has substantial headroom before pixel count becomes the dominant factor.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU begins to exert some influence. The difference between Low (226.4 FPS) and Ultra (122.5 FPS) at this resolution is 103.9 FPS, a spread that suggests the Ryzen 5 5600GT’s six cores can keep pace with the GPU’s output, but the frame ceiling is still set by the graphics card. At 4K, the spread between Low and Ultra narrows to 52.2 FPS, reinforcing that the GPU’s raw compute is the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 236th out of 1636 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the top 15% of all pairings. This is a strong showing, but not a top-tier one. The rank reflects the balance between the Ryzen 5 5600GT’s mid-range CPU performance and the RX 7900 XTX’s high-end GPU muscle. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 20740 places it in the 78th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU’s average score of 44019 lands in the 85th percentile of all GPUs. The combo’s overall rank is pulled down by the processor, which is the weaker link in this pairing.

In practical terms, this means the RX 7900 XTX is not being fully utilized at lower resolutions. The nearest CPU rivals show the 5600GT is competitive with the Intel Core i7-10700 (deltaPct 0) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X (deltaPct 0.3), but it trails the Intel Core i5-12490F by 0.3%. These small deltas indicate that the CPU is not a outlier in either direction — it is a solid, predictable mid-range part. For Control specifically, the combo’s 236th rank suggests that many other pairings achieve higher frame rates, but the margin is narrow given the GPU’s dominance in this title.

GPU Role

The RX 7900 XTX is the star of this pairing. Its 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus delivers 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for Control’s textures and effects at 4K. The GPU’s boost clock of 2498 MHz and game clock of 2365 MHz drive its 61.39 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, a figure that explains the high frame rates even at Ultra settings. The card’s 96 ray tracing cores are present, though the measured data does not isolate ray tracing performance; the standard rasterization results show the card’s strength.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its position. Its Passmark G3D score of 31238 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6841 are strong, but its nearest rivals tell a nuanced story. The AMD Radeon Pro 580 scores 0.4% higher, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is 2% lower. The RTX 4090 Mobile is 0.8% behind. This places the RX 7900 XTX in a tight pack of high-performance cards, with no single competitor dominating. In Control, the GPU’s 24 GB frame buffer is likely a non-issue — even at 4K Ultra, the memory footprint does not appear to cause stuttering, as the average FPS stays above 60.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT a bottleneck for the RX 7900 XTX in Control?

A: The data shows the combo ranks 236th out of 1636, and the CPU’s 78th percentile score is below the GPU’s 85th percentile. At 1080p Low, the CPU’s influence is minimal, but at 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, meaning the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60+ FPS?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 61.6, which is just above 60. However, 1440p Ultra delivers 91.9 FPS, providing a more comfortable margin. For consistent 100+ FPS, 1080p High (141.3 FPS) or Medium (157.5 FPS) are the strongest choices.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XTX compare to its nearest rival in raw GPU score?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has an average benchmark score of 44019. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 580, scores 44195, a delta of -0.4%, meaning the Pro 580 is slightly ahead. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is 2% behind at 44900.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 5600GT’s 16 MB of L3 cache affect Control performance?

A: The CPU’s L3 cache is 16 MB, and its benchmark scores show it is competitive with the Intel Core i7-10700 (deltaPct 0). The measured FPS at 1080p does not show any cache-related anomalies, so the cache size appears sufficient for this title.

Q: What settings preset should be avoided at 4K?

A: At 4K, Ultra averages 61.6 FPS, which is borderline. Low averages 113.8 FPS but sacrifices visual quality. Medium at 81.5 FPS offers a better balance, while High at 69.6 FPS is also viable. Ultra is only recommended if 60 FPS is the absolute target.

Q: Is the combo’s rank in Control indicative of its performance in other games?

A: The rank of 236 out of 1636 is specific to Control. The CPU’s 78th percentile and GPU’s 85th percentile suggest the combo is generally strong, but the rank is a single-game data point and should not be generalized without further testing.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5600GT is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores show it is a capable mid-range part: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 17272, and single-core scores 2438. These numbers place it in the 78th percentile of all CPUs, directly alongside the Intel Core i7-10700 (deltaPct 0) and ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X (deltaPct 0.3). The CPU’s 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for gaming.

In Control, the CPU’s role is secondary. At 1080p, where the GPU is less taxed, the CPU can still feed frames up to 226.4 FPS at Low settings. This suggests the 5600GT’s single-thread performance is sufficient to avoid capping the RX 7900 XTX. At higher resolutions, the GPU takes over as the primary bottleneck, and the CPU’s influence fades. The data does not show any frame rate dips that would indicate CPU thread saturation, even at 4K Ultra where the GPU is working hardest. The 65 W TDP and 7 nm process node indicate efficiency, but these specs do not translate into a meaningful advantage in this game — the CPU simply holds its own without becoming a liability.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear path for optimizing the experience. At 4K, the best balance is Medium, which delivers 81.5 FPS — comfortably above 60 and a significant improvement over Ultra’s 61.6 FPS. High at 69.6 FPS is also acceptable if visual fidelity is prioritized, but Medium offers the largest jump in frame rate for a modest visual downgrade. Low at 113.8 FPS is overly aggressive for a GPU of this caliber, leaving performance on the table unnecessarily.

At 1440p, the choice is between High (109.1 FPS) and Ultra (91.9 FPS). Both are well above 60 FPS, so the decision rests on whether the user prefers maximum quality or a higher refresh rate. Medium at 120.4 FPS is a middle ground, but High provides a better balance of visuals and speed. At 1080p, the data favors High (141.3 FPS) or Medium (157.5 FPS) for high-refresh displays. Ultra at 122.5 FPS is still excellent, but the marginal visual gains over High are unlikely to justify the 18.8 FPS loss. Low at 226.4 FPS is only useful for extreme refresh rates or competitive play, which is not Control’s focus.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 226.4 FPS on Low, 157.5 FPS on Medium, 141.3 FPS on High, and 122.5 FPS on Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is 103.9 FPS, indicating the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution. At 2560x1440, the averages are 171.3 FPS (Low), 120.4 FPS (Medium), 109.1 FPS (High), and 91.9 FPS (Ultra). The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 24-30% across settings, consistent with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the averages fall to 113.8 FPS (Low), 81.5 FPS (Medium), 69.6 FPS (High), and 61.6 FPS (Ultra). The 4K Ultra figure is the only one that approaches the 60 FPS threshold, while Low remains well above it. The data shows no min or max FPS values recorded, so the average figures represent the central tendency of performance. Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: the RX 7900 XTX scales predictably with settings, and the Ryzen 5 5600GT does not introduce any irregularities. This combo is best suited for 1440p High or 4K Medium, where it delivers a smooth and visually rich experience.