Control

Control is a visually demanding Action Adventure title, and the benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 reveals a system that is highly capable at mainstream resolutions but begins to show its limits as pixel counts climb. The measured FPS across the four quality presets and three resolutions provides a clear picture of a GPU-bound experience, where the Radeon RX 7600's 8 GB of VRAM and RDNA 3.0 architecture dictate performance more than the CPU's six Zen 3 cores. The data suggests a balanced pairing for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with specific settings choices making the difference between a locked 60 FPS and a sub-40 FPS experience at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows indicate that the "High" preset offers the most balanced experience for this combo, particularly at 1440p and 1080p. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 73.9 FPS, which is a significant jump from the Ultra preset's 66.7 FPS, while only costing a small amount of visual fidelity compared to the top tier. The data suggests that the gap between High and Ultra is not worth the performance hit, as Ultra at 1080p still sits below the 75 FPS mark, whereas High provides headroom for smoother gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the High preset produces 58.6 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target, making it the recommended choice for players with a 1440p display. Dropping to Medium at this resolution yields 64.4 FPS, a modest gain of 5.8 FPS, but the visual quality reduction may not justify it. For users prioritizing frame rate over detail, the Low preset at 1440p delivers 87.9 FPS, but the data shows the system is clearly capable of handling higher settings without severe compromise.

For 4K gaming, the situation is different. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 shows 33.4 FPS, which is barely playable, while High improves to 36.7 FPS. The Low preset at 4K gives 58.5 FPS, but this likely involves significant visual downgrades. The data implies that this combo is not suited for 4K with high-fidelity settings; the best experience at this resolution is the Low preset if playability is the goal, as it is the only 4K option that approaches a 60 FPS average.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600's specifications are central to understanding these results. With a boost clock of 2655 MHz and a game clock of 2250 MHz, the GPU has substantial compute power, but its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth appears to be a limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. The data shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens significantly as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of VRAM capacity and bandwidth constraints. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 55.1 FPS (121.8 vs 66.7), but at 4K, the same comparison shows a smaller absolute gap of 25.1 FPS (58.5 vs 33.4), indicating the GPU's raw compute is being bottlenecked by memory limitations at 4K.

The GPU's 64 ROPs and 128 TMUs handle pixel and texture fill rates effectively for 1080p, but the 8 GB VRAM is likely the culprit for the steep drop at 4K Ultra, where the game's assets exceed the available memory. Interestingly, the RX 7600's nearest rival, the RX 7600 XT, scores only 0.6% higher in average benchmarks, suggesting that this card is already near the top of its class. The data indicates that the GPU is the primary driver of performance in Control, as the FPS scales predictably with settings changes, while the CPU's role appears secondary.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 73.9 at 1920x1080 to 58.6 at 2560x1440, a 20.7% decrease, and then to 36.7 at 3840x2160, a further 37.4% drop. This scaling is typical for a mid-range GPU, where the pixel count increase from 1440p to 4K (2.25x more pixels) overwhelms the RX 7600's capabilities. The Low preset tells a similar story: 121.8 FPS at 1080p, 87.9 FPS at 1440p, and 58.5 FPS at 4K, showing a linear degradation that aligns with GPU workload scaling.

What is notable is that the CPU does not appear to be the limiting factor at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 121.8 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would stress many CPUs, yet the Ryzen 5 5600X handles it without bottlenecking, as evidenced by the consistent scaling. The data implies that to achieve higher FPS at 4K, a more powerful GPU would be necessary, as the RX 7600's performance curve flattens out at higher resolutions, dropping below the 40 FPS threshold at High and Ultra settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values are 121.8 for Low, 87 for Medium, 73.9 for High, and 66.7 for Ultra. The step from Low to Medium is a 34.8 FPS drop, which is substantial, while the step from High to Ultra is only 7.2 FPS, indicating diminishing returns at the top end. For competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors, the Low preset offers the best frame rate, but the Medium preset at 87 FPS provides a good balance for most users.

At 2560x1440, the values are 87.9 for Low, 64.4 for Medium, 58.6 for High, and 48 for Ultra. The High preset at 58.6 FPS is just below the 60 FPS target, but it is the sweet spot for visual quality. The Ultra preset at 48 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action sequences. The data shows that the system can handle 1440p well if settings are managed, with Low offering near-90 FPS and Medium offering a solid 64.4 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the values are 58.5 for Low, 45.6 for Medium, 36.7 for High, and 33.4 for Ultra. This resolution is clearly where the RX 7600 struggles. The Low preset is the only one that provides a smooth experience, and even it falls short of 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 33.4 FPS is below the threshold for acceptable playability in most cases. These numbers confirm that 4K is not a viable option for this combo unless the user is willing to accept significant compromises.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 1120 out of 1636 tested combos for Control. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all configurations, which is surprising given the individual components' respectable benchmark scores. The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 78, and the GPU's percentile vs all GPUs is 63, suggesting that both parts are above average, but the combo rank implies that other pairings may be better optimized for this specific game.

The rank of 1120 out of 1636 means that approximately 68% of tested combos perform better than this setup in Control. This could be due to the game's engine favoring different hardware combinations, or it might indicate that the 8 GB VRAM is a significant disadvantage in this title. The data shows that the combo is not a top performer, but it is far from the bottom, making it a reasonable mid-range option. The ranking suggests that users with this hardware should not expect top-tier performance but can still enjoy the game with adjusted settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X features 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18578 and single-core score of 2622 indicate strong performance for gaming workloads. However, the data in Control suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck, as the FPS scales consistently with GPU settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 121.8 FPS, which would require a capable CPU, and the 5600X delivers without issue.

The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Ryzen 5 5600GT and Intel i7-10700, show nearly identical average benchmark scores with deltaPct values of -0.3%, indicating that the 5600X is well-positioned among its peers. For this game, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with enough data, and its 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 51.2 GB/s are sufficient for Control's requirements. The data implies that upgrading the CPU would yield minimal FPS gains, as the GPU is clearly the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the best resolution, with the High preset delivering 73.9 FPS and Low delivering 121.8 FPS. At 2560x1440, the High preset drops to 58.6 FPS, which is still playable, but 3840x2160 is only viable at Low settings with 58.5 FPS.

Q: Is the AMD Radeon RX 7600's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Control?

A: The measured results suggest that 8 GB is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 33.4, which may indicate VRAM limitations. The steep performance drop from High to Ultra at 4K (36.7 to 33.4 FPS) implies the memory is strained.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: It ranks 1120 out of 1636 combos, meaning it performs better than only about 32% of tested setups. This is below average, indicating that while the components are individually capable, the combination is not optimal for Control.

Q: Should I use the High or Ultra preset at 1440p?

A: The High preset at 58.6 FPS is recommended over Ultra at 48 FPS. The 10.6 FPS gain from lowering settings is significant, and the visual difference between High and Ultra in this game is typically minimal.

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

A: Only at Low settings, which yields 58.5 FPS. Medium drops to 45.6 FPS, and High/Ultra fall below 37 FPS. For a smooth 4K experience, a more powerful GPU would be needed.

Q: What is the CPU's contribution to gaming performance here?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600X with 6 cores and a 4.60 GHz boost clock is not the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 121.8 FPS, demonstrating that the CPU can keep up with the GPU's demands in this game.