Control

# Control with AMD Ryzen 5 5600X + Intel Arc B390

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X paired with the Intel Arc B390 delivers playable but limited performance in Control, with the combo ranking in the 2551st position out of 2888 tested combinations. The data shows a system that can handle 1080p gaming at moderate settings, but struggles significantly at higher resolutions and demanding presets.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves consistently playable frame rates. At 1080p, average FPS ranges from 36 on Ultra to 65 on Low, while 1440p ranges from 27 to 50 FPS, and 4K drops to 18–33 FPS depending on settings.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 places it just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% ahead of the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710 (1443). Its percentile rank against all GPUs is 9, indicating it sits in the bottom tier of graphics hardware.

Q: What CPU benchmark scores does the Ryzen 5 5600X achieve?

A: The CPU scores 11,838 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,541 in single-core, 1,968 in Cinebench R15 multi-core and 254 in single-core, 9,173 in Geekbench multi-core and 1,989 in single-core, and 5,582 in 3DMark 16-thread testing. Its average benchmark score is 21,771, placing it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600X competitive with similar processors?

A: The nearest rivals show very tight competition. The Ryzen 5 5600X (21,771) is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H (21,749), 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 6650U (21,874), 0.5% behind the Intel Core i7-11700 (21,891), and 0.6% behind the AMD EPYC 9554P (21,899).

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

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings yield an average of 65 FPS, while Ultra drops to 36 FPS. Medium averages 46 FPS with a minimum of 40 and maximum of 53, and High averages 41 FPS. The jump from Low to Ultra costs 29 FPS, a 45% reduction in average frame rate.

Q: Does this combo handle 4K gaming in Control?

A: No, 4K performance is not playable. At 3840x2160, the best result is 33 FPS on Low settings, with High at 21 FPS, Medium at 24 FPS, and Ultra at 18 FPS. Even the minimum FPS at Medium is 20, which falls below acceptable playability thresholds.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration. Its benchmark data shows a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on Intel's 3 nm process, and it operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz.

The GPU's memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM. Memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," and bandwidth is "System Dependent." This means the Arc B390 relies on the host system's DDR4 memory, which the Ryzen 5 5600X supports in dual-channel configuration with 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The shared memory architecture significantly impacts performance in a memory-intensive title like Control, where texture streaming and scene complexity demand consistent memory bandwidth.

The GPU's compute specifications include 1,536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, 24 raster output pipelines, and 12 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, and it delivers 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The API support includes DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which means it can technically run Control's modern rendering paths, but the raw throughput is insufficient for high-end results.

The measured frame rates confirm the GPU's limitations. At 1920x1080, the best average is 65 FPS on Low settings. Moving to Medium drops the average to 46 FPS, High to 41 FPS, and Ultra to 36 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 29 FPS, showing how quickly the GPU's resources are exhausted as visual fidelity increases. At 2560x1440, the spread narrows: Low averages 50 FPS, Medium 35 FPS, High 31 FPS, and Ultra 27 FPS. At 3840x2160, all settings fall below 33 FPS.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are all legacy NVIDIA parts—the GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710—with delta percentages ranging from 1.3% to 2.7%. This places the Arc B390 in the same performance tier as decade-old entry-level discrete GPUs, which explains why Control's demanding rendering engine pushes it to its limits even at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X provides a strong foundation for this combo, though its capabilities are largely underutilized given the GPU's constraints. The CPU features 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer codename), with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It is manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process with 4,150 million transistors on a 74 mm² die.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and a 32 MB L3 cache. This configuration provides solid performance for gaming workloads that benefit from larger cache pools. The 65 W TDP and unlocked multiplier make it an efficient and overclockable option for desktop systems on the AMD Socket AM4 platform.

Benchmark results show the Ryzen 5 5600X's strengths in both single-threaded and multi-threaded tasks. Its 3DMark scores include 917 in single-thread, 1,793 in 2-thread, 3,363 in 4-thread, 4,811 in 8-thread, and 5,588 in max-thread tests. Cinebench R23 results show 1,541 in single-core and 11,838 in multi-core. Geekbench reports 1,989 single-core and 9,173 multi-core. PassMark tests show 3,364 in single-thread, 21,858 in multithread, 71,161 in integer math, and 39,487 in floating point math.

The CPU's 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it performs well above the median processor, and its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are all within 0.6% of its average score of 21,771. The Ryzen 7 4800H is 0.1% behind, while the Ryzen 5 PRO 6650U, Core i7-11700, and EPYC 9554P are 0.5–0.6% ahead.

In Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls, physics calculations, and game logic updates. The Ryzen 5 5600X's 6 cores and 12 threads at up to 4.60 GHz boost provide more than enough processing power for this title, which was released in 2019 and is not particularly CPU-intensive by modern standards. The bottleneck in this combo is clearly the GPU, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling across resolutions: at 1080p Low, the system reaches 65 FPS, but at 4K Low it drops to 33 FPS, a pattern consistent with GPU-bound performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2551st out of 2888 tested combos in Control, placing it in the bottom 12% of all configurations tested. This ranking reflects the severe imbalance between a strong mid-range CPU and an entry-level integrated GPU.

The CPU side of this combo is clearly not the limiting factor. The Ryzen 5 5600X's average benchmark score of 21,771 puts it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals are all within a fraction of a percent. The processor is capable of delivering high frame rates in most games, as evidenced by its strong single-thread and multi-thread scores.

The GPU, however, drags the overall ranking down significantly. The Arc B390's 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with its nearest rivals being legacy NVIDIA parts from over a decade ago, indicates that this is a graphics solution intended for basic computing tasks rather than demanding games like Control.

The combo's rank of 2551 out of 2888 means that 337 tested configurations perform worse, but the vast majority of systems tested deliver better results. This places the combo in the lower quartile of gaming performance, suitable for esports titles or older games at low settings, but not for a graphically demanding action-adventure game like Control at high resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates reveal a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves its best results: Low settings average 65 FPS, Medium averages 46 FPS with a minimum of 40 and maximum of 53, High averages 41 FPS, and Ultra averages 36 FPS. The 1080p results are the only ones where any setting reaches or exceeds 60 FPS, and only on Low.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low settings average 50 FPS, Medium averages 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 and maximum of 40, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 27 FPS. The 1440p results show that even Low settings cannot maintain a consistent 60 FPS, with the average falling 10 FPS short of that target.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to remain playable. Low settings average 33 FPS, Medium averages 24 FPS with a minimum of 20 and maximum of 27, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. None of the 4K settings produce frame rates that would be considered acceptable for smooth gameplay in an action title.

The scaling pattern shows diminishing returns when lowering settings at higher resolutions. At 1080p, dropping from Ultra to Low gains 29 FPS (from 36 to 65). At 1440p, the same settings change gains 23 FPS (from 27 to 50). At 4K, the gain is only 15 FPS (from 18 to 33). This indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU's raw pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor, and settings reductions cannot compensate for the increased resolution workload.

The Medium settings at each resolution provide the most complete data, with minimum and maximum FPS values available. At 1080p Medium, the range is 40–53 FPS with an average of 46. At 1440p Medium, the range is 30–40 FPS with an average of 35. At 4K Medium, the range is 20–27 FPS with an average of 24. These ranges show that frame pacing is relatively stable, with no extreme dips or spikes, but the averages are low enough to impact gameplay experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that achieves an average FPS of 65, which provides smooth enough performance for Control's fast-paced combat and environmental interactions. The 1080p Low preset is the recommended starting point for any player using this hardware combination.

For players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, 1920x1080 Medium is a viable alternative. The average of 46 FPS with a minimum of 40 and maximum of 53 is playable, though it falls short of the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 1080p offers a reasonable balance between image quality and performance, with the minimum FPS remaining above 30, which is generally considered the threshold for acceptable playability.

The 1080p High and Ultra presets are not recommended for this combo. High averages 41 FPS and Ultra averages 36 FPS, both of which are below the 45 FPS threshold that most players find enjoyable for an action game. The visual improvements from Medium to High or Ultra do not justify the performance cost, especially when the minimum frame rates are not reported and could potentially dip lower.

At 2560x1440, the data does not support any settings recommendation for a good experience. Even Low settings average only 50 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, and Medium drops to 35 FPS. The 1440p resolution is not recommended for this combo in Control, as the GPU's system-shared memory and limited compute resources cannot maintain playable frame rates.

At 3840x2160, all settings produce averages below 33 FPS, which is unplayable for a game that requires precise timing and quick reactions. The 4K resolution is not viable for this combo under any settings configuration.

The overall recommendation is to run Control at 1920x1080 with Low settings for the best performance, or Medium settings if visual fidelity is more important than hitting 60 FPS. Users should avoid 1440p and 4K resolutions entirely, as the measured data shows this combo cannot deliver acceptable frame rates at those resolutions. The GPU's 9th percentile ranking and its performance parity with legacy NVIDIA parts make it unsuitable for demanding titles at higher resolutions.