Control

# Control with AMD Ryzen 5 5600X + Intel Arc B370

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X paired with the Intel Arc B370 delivers playable frame rates at 1080p Low settings in Control, but the combination struggles significantly at higher resolutions and quality presets. Benchmark data shows this combo ranks 2657th out of 2888 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested hardware pairings for this game. The Arc B370, an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, becomes the clear limiting factor as resolution increases, while the 5600X's six Zen 3 cores provide more than enough processing headroom for this action-adventure title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions reveals a GPU-bound scenario that degrades rapidly as pixel count rises. At 1080p Low settings, the combo averages 59 FPS, which drops to 45 FPS at 1440p Low, a 23.7% reduction, and further to 30 FPS at 4K Low, representing a 49.2% decline from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the Arc B370's compute resources are being saturated well before the 5600X can flex its processing muscle.

Moving from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings, the average frame rate falls from 42 FPS to 32 FPS, a 23.8% drop that closely mirrors the Low preset scaling. The 4K Medium result of 21 FPS represents a 50% reduction from 1080p Medium, with minimum frame rates of 18 FPS and maximums of 25 FPS showing notable variance. At High settings, the pattern continues: 37 FPS at 1080p, 28 FPS at 1440p (24.3% lower), and 19 FPS at 4K (48.6% lower than 1080p).

Ultra settings produce the most demanding scenario, with 32 FPS at 1080p, 25 FPS at 1440p (21.9% lower), and 17 FPS at 4K (46.9% lower than 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across all four quality presets, typically ranging from 21% to 24% between 1080p and 1440p, and 47% to 50% between 1080p and 4K, strongly suggests that the scaling is purely resolution-driven rather than settings-driven. This is characteristic of a GPU that hits its memory bandwidth or shading ceiling regardless of the visual complexity being rendered.

The 4K results are uniformly below playable thresholds, with even Low settings only reaching 30 FPS. The Arc B370's system-shared memory architecture, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent," likely contributes to this severe scaling, as the integrated GPU must compete with the CPU for memory access. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly punishing, with the 4K results consistently landing 40-50% below their 1440p counterparts.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X brings substantial processing capability to this pairing, though Control's demanding GPU workload means much of this headroom goes unused at higher resolutions. The processor features 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth provide ample data throughput for game logic and physics calculations.

Synthetic benchmarks place the 5600X in the 75th percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 21,771. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, scores 21,749 (0.1% lower), while the Intel Core i7-11700 scores 21,891 (0.5% higher). Multi-threaded performance is strong, with Cinebench R23 multicore scoring 11,838 and Geekbench multicore at 9,173. Single-thread performance is equally respectable, with Cinebench R23 single-core at 1,541 and Geekbench single-core at 1,989.

For Control specifically, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU at every resolution tested. Even at 1080p Low, where the frame rate reaches 59 FPS, the 5600X is unlikely to be the bottleneck given its strong single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 917 and Passmark single-thread score of 3,364). The processor's 3DMark scores scale predictably with thread count: 1,793 for 2 threads, 3,363 for 4 threads, 4,811 for 8 threads, and 5,588 for max threads, indicating efficient scaling that would handle Control's threaded workload without issue.

The 65W TDP and 7nm TSMC process node make the 5600X an efficient choice, though this efficiency is largely irrelevant in this pairing since the GPU bottleneck dominates. The processor's PCIe Gen 4 support with 20 lanes provides modern connectivity, but the Arc B370's IGP bus interface means it doesn't leverage discrete GPU bandwidth. At 1080p, the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at Low settings (59 FPS), but as resolution increases, the CPU's role diminishes further, the 4K results show no signs of CPU limitation, with frame rates dropping purely due to GPU constraints.

FAQ

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

A: The most playable configuration is 1080p Low settings, which delivers an average of 59 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 42 FPS, while 1440p Low averages 45 FPS. For smoother gameplay, 1080p Low is the only preset that approaches 60 FPS.

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

A: This pairing ranks 2657th out of 2888 tested combos for Control, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems. The GPU's 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs is the primary driver of this low placement, while the CPU's 75th percentile ranking shows it is not the limiting factor.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B370 capable of running Control at 4K?

A: No. At 4K, even Low settings only achieve 30 FPS average, with Medium at 21 FPS, High at 19 FPS, and Ultra at 17 FPS. These results are below acceptable playability thresholds, suggesting 4K is not viable for this game with this GPU.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Low settings average 59 FPS while Ultra settings average 32 FPS, representing a 45.8% performance reduction. Medium (42 FPS) and High (37 FPS) sit between these extremes, showing that each quality tier costs roughly 5-7 FPS at this resolution.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1,184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it just below the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1,186, 0.2% higher) and ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1,190, 0.5% higher). The AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1,192 (0.7% higher), while the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1,168 (1.4% lower).

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 5600X bottleneck the Arc B370 in this game?

A: No. Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions. The CPU's strong single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread: 917, Passmark single-thread: 3,364) and multi-thread capability (Cinebench R23 multicore: 11,838) exceed what Control requires, especially since frame rates drop consistently with resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2657th out of 2888 tested combinations for Control, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, which sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs based on its average benchmark score of 1,184. The CPU, by contrast, ranks in the 75th percentile, creating a significant performance imbalance where the processor vastly outperforms the graphics solution.

This rank disparity highlights a fundamental mismatch: the 5600X is a capable desktop processor that could drive much more powerful discrete graphics, while the Arc B370 is an integrated solution designed for low-power mobile contexts. The GPU's 25W TDP and integrated form factor (IGP slot width, no power connectors) indicate it is not intended for demanding desktop gaming, yet it finds itself paired with a high-end CPU in this test configuration.

In practical terms, this ranking means that the vast majority of tested combos, 2,867 of them, deliver better performance in Control. The combo's placement suggests that users would need to significantly lower resolution and quality settings to achieve acceptable frame rates, and even then, the experience would be limited to 1080p Low for near-60 FPS gameplay. The ranking also reflects the GPU's limited compute resources: 1,280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s.

Comparing the CPU and GPU rankings reveals the core issue: the 5600X's nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks (Ryzen 7 4800H, Ryzen 5 PRO 6650U, Core i7-11700) all score within 0.6% of each other, showing the CPU is competitive with mainstream desktop parts. The Arc B370's nearest GPU rivals, however, are legacy parts from the early 2010s (HD 5570, HD 5770, HD 7650M, FirePro M2000), underscoring how far behind modern discrete GPUs this integrated solution sits.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the dominant factor in Control's performance, and its specifications explain why this combo struggles. Based on the Xe3-LPG architecture with a 3nm process from Intel, the GPU features 1,280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 render output units. It operates at a base clock of 300 MHz with a boost clock of 2,400 MHz, delivering 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 12.29 TFLOPS of FP16 performance.

The GPU's memory configuration is notably unusual: it uses "System Shared" memory with a "System Shared" bus width and bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This means the Arc B370 relies on the host system's DDR4 memory rather than dedicated VRAM, which likely contributes to its poor scaling at higher resolutions. The 25W TDP and integrated form factor (no power connectors, IGP bus interface) further cement its positioning as a low-power integrated solution.

In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the Arc B370 scores 1,184, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all legacy discrete GPUs from over a decade ago: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1,186, 0.2% higher), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1,190, 0.5% higher), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1,192, 0.7% higher), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1,168, 1.4% lower). This comparison starkly illustrates the Arc B370's performance tier, it competes with early-2010s hardware despite its modern architecture.

Control's GPU demands overwhelm the Arc B370 at higher resolutions. The GPU's 10 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are irrelevant when raw rasterization performance is insufficient. The 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate and 96.00 GTexel/s texture rate translate to 59 FPS at 1080p Low but fall to 17 FPS at 4K Ultra. The consistent ~50% performance drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings suggests the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are saturated regardless of quality preset.

The system-shared memory architecture likely compounds the problem, as the GPU must share bandwidth with the CPU. This could explain why the scaling between resolutions is so steep, at 4K, the memory bandwidth demands exceed what the shared DDR4 configuration can provide, leading to the dramatic frame rate collapse. The 19 FPS average at 4K High and 17 FPS at 4K Ultra are effectively unplayable, confirming that the Arc B370 is only suitable for 1080p Low-to-Medium gaming in Control.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 59 FPS, which is the only configuration approaching standard 60 FPS display refresh rates. Medium settings average 42 FPS with minimum and maximum frames of 36 and 48 FPS respectively, showing a 12 FPS range that indicates moderate frame time variance. High settings average 37 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 32 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p costs 27 FPS, or 45.8% of the Low preset's performance.

The 2560x1440 results show a uniform decline across all settings. Low averages 45 FPS, representing a 23.7% drop from 1080p Low. Medium averages 32 FPS with a range of 27 to 37 FPS, while High averages 28 FPS and Ultra averages 25 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 20 FPS, a slightly smaller absolute difference than at 1080p but a similar proportional reduction. At this resolution, only Low settings remain marginally playable, with Medium and above dipping below 35 FPS.

The 3840x2160 results are uniformly poor across all quality presets. Low settings average 30 FPS, which is technically playable but below ideal smoothness thresholds. Medium averages 21 FPS with a range of 18 to 25 FPS, High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 17 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is just 13 FPS, suggesting the GPU is so heavily constrained that quality settings have diminishing impact on performance. Even the best 4K result (30 FPS at Low) represents a 49.2% reduction from the best 1080p result (59 FPS).

Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: Low settings offer a significant performance advantage over Medium, while the jumps from Medium to High and High to Ultra yield smaller gains. At 1080p, the Low-to-Medium gap is 17 FPS (28.8% reduction), while Medium-to-High costs 5 FPS (11.9%) and High-to-Ultra costs another 5 FPS (13.5%). This suggests that Control's Low preset removes substantial rendering work, while higher presets load the GPU more uniformly. The minimum frame rate data, available only for Medium settings, shows 36 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K, indicating that even the minimums at 1080p Medium remain above the average at 1440p Medium.