Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combination presents a study in contrasts for Control: a modern, high-IPC six-core processor paired with a Pascal-era GPU that is now firmly in the lower half of performance charts. The data shows this pairing yields a playable but not exceptional experience, with the GPU acting as the primary constraint in most scenarios. This analysis breaks down exactly how each component contributes, how the frame rates scale, and where this combo stands among the 1,636 tested configurations.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, which is a substantial frequency headroom for gaming workloads. Built on TSMC's 7 nm process node, the chip carries 32 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration.

In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU demonstrates strong single-threaded performance, which is critical for Control's game logic and physics. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2622 and the 3DMark single-thread score of 917 indicate that the 5600X is well-equipped to feed frames to the GPU. Its multi-threaded capabilities are also robust; the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18578 and a Passmark multithread score of 21858 show that the 12 threads can handle background tasks and the game's complex asynchronous workloads without becoming a bottleneck.

The processor's general standing is solid, placing in the 78th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 20680. When compared to its nearest rivals, the 5600X is effectively tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT (deltaPct -0.3) and the Intel Core i7-10700 (deltaPct -0.3). It is marginally ahead of the Intel Core i5-12490F (deltaPct -0.5) and slightly behind the Intel Xeon 6325P (deltaPct 0.7). These sub-1% deltas mean that from a CPU perspective, the 5600X is performing exactly as expected for its class. In Control, this translates to a processor that is rarely the limiting factor; the measured frame rates are far more dependent on the graphics card's output.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the older half of this pairing, based on the Pascal architecture and the GP104 chip, manufactured on a 16 nm process. It comes with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1506 MHz with a boost clock of 1683 MHz, and the memory runs at an effective 8 Gbps. The GPU has 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, giving it a pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s.

In the context of Control, the GTX 1070's 8 GB VRAM is adequate for High and Medium settings at 1080p and 1440p, but the data suggests it struggles with the higher fidelity presets. The GPU's overall performance percentile is the 51st, with an average benchmark score of 12331. Its nearest rivals show tight competition: it is 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K4200, but 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M, 1.4% behind the GTX 1650 SUPER, and 1.7% behind the Tesla K20Xm. This places the GTX 1070 in a highly contested performance tier.

For Control, the GPU's raw compute power (6.463 TFLOPS FP32) is the deciding factor between smooth and stuttery gameplay. The data reveals that at Ultra settings, the combo fails to maintain 60 FPS at any resolution, indicating that the Pascal GPU's architecture lacks the headroom for the game's most demanding visual effects, such as ray-traced reflections and volumetric lighting. The GTX 1070 is a capable 1080p card for medium-to-high presets, but its age shows when the settings are pushed.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured frame rates show a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 95.8 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 70.6 FPS (a 26.3% reduction), and at 4K Low it plummets to 47.7 FPS (a 50.2% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline with increasing pixel count is the classic signature of a GPU that is saturated; the CPU is not the bottleneck here, as the 5600X has ample headroom to process the game's simulation at these lower graphical loads.

The scaling becomes even more telling at higher settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 52.9 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 42.2 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it bottoms out at 29.1 FPS. The fact that the delta between 1080p and 4K Ultra is only 23.8 FPS (a 45% drop) compared to the 48.1 FPS drop at Low settings indicates that at Ultra, the GPU is already struggling so much that the additional resolution has a less pronounced relative impact—it is already at the edge of its capability.

The data strongly suggests the GTX 1070 is the limiting component across all resolutions. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect similar frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, as the processor would top out. Instead, we see consistent scaling that tracks the GPU's fill-rate and shading capabilities. The 5600X's high single-thread score (917 in 3DMark single-thread) further confirms that it is not holding back the system, even at 1080p where CPU load is typically highest.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The dataset provides average FPS values for four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions. Here is the full breakdown:

At 3840x2160 (4K), the combo delivers 29.3 FPS on High, 47.7 FPS on Low, 35.5 FPS on Medium, and 29.1 FPS on Ultra. Notably, the High and Ultra presets are nearly identical (29.3 vs 29.1 FPS), suggesting that the game's Ultra preset adds extra effects that the GPU cannot process, resulting in a negligible difference. 4K is not a viable option for this pairing, as even Low settings (47.7 FPS) cannot consistently hit 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the results improve: 47.4 FPS on High, 70.6 FPS on Low, 54.1 FPS on Medium, and 42.2 FPS on Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium (70.6 to 54.1) and from Medium to High (54.1 to 47.4) shows a linear cost for visual fidelity. The 1440p High preset is the sweet spot for a 60 Hz monitor, but it falls short of that target. The 1440p Low preset is the only one here that clears 60 FPS, but it sacrifices the game's atmosphere.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the combo reaches its peak performance: 62.6 FPS on High, 95.8 FPS on Low, 67.3 FPS on Medium, and 52.9 FPS on Ultra. The 1080p High setting is the critical data point—it is the only preset above Low that achieves a playable 60+ FPS. The drop from Medium (67.3) to High (62.6) is modest, but the drop from High to Ultra (62.6 to 52.9) is a steep 15.5% decline, highlighting the significant cost of Ultra's extra visual features.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the comprehensive database of 1,636 tested CPU-GPU combinations for Control, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 holds the rank of 1389. This places it in the bottom 15% of all tested systems, which is a low position driven almost entirely by the GPU's age.

This ranking makes sense when we consider the GPU's position in its own performance tier. The GTX 1070 sits at the 51st percentile of all GPUs, meaning half of all graphics cards tested outperform it. Since Control is a graphically intensive title that benefits heavily from newer architectures (e.g., hardware ray tracing), the GTX 1070's lack of dedicated RT cores and its older Pascal shader design put it at a significant disadvantage.

The CPU's ranking does not compensate for this. While the 5600X is in the 78th percentile of CPUs, its performance lead over rivals is minuscule (all deltas are under 1%). In a game like Control, where the renderer is the primary bottleneck, a top-tier CPU cannot rescue a mid-tier GPU from its frame rate limitations. The rank of 1389/1636 indicates that most other testers are using either stronger GPUs, stronger CPUs, or both. To improve this combo's standing, the data implies that a GPU upgrade would yield far more significant gains than a CPU swap, as the 5600X is already a top-tier choice.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K?*

A: The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 29.1, and at 4K High it is 29.3. Even at 4K Low, the average is only 47.7 FPS. These results indicate that 4K is not a playable target for this hardware, as none of the tested presets achieve a consistent 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 60 FPS target?

A: The only preset that exceeds 60 FPS is 1080p Low, which averages 95.8 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average is 67.3 FPS, and at 1080p High it is 62.6 FPS. For a 60 FPS target, 1080p Medium or High are the only viable options, with High being the borderline choice.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this system?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rates scale significantly with resolution (e.g., 1080p Low at 95.8 FPS vs 4K Low at 47.7 FPS), which is a classic sign of GPU saturation. The Ryzen 5 5600X has high single-thread performance (917 in 3DMark single-thread) and does not show signs of being a constraint.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 1389th out of 1636 tested combos for Control. This places it in the lower portion of the database, which is consistent with the GTX 1070's 51st percentile GPU standing.

Q: What are the closest GPU competitors to the GTX 1070?

A: In the database, the GTX 1070's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 (0.7% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M (1.3% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER (1.4% slower), and the NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm (1.7% slower). This shows the GTX 1070 is in a tightly contested performance band.

Q: Does turning settings from High to Ultra make a big difference?

A: The data shows a significant cost. At 1080p, High averages 62.6 FPS while Ultra drops to 52.9 FPS, a 15.5% performance loss. At 1440p, the drop is from 47.4 FPS to 42.2 FPS, and at 4K, the difference is negligible (29.3 to 29.1 FPS), as the GPU is already fully saturated.