Control

Control is a 2019 action-adventure title that stresses both the CPU and GPU heavily, and the data for the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F + AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combo shows a system that is exceptionally well-balanced, with performance scaling that clearly indicates a shift from a CPU-limited scenario at 1080p to a GPU-bound one at 4K. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings place this combination in the 454th spot out of 1636 tested combos, putting it in the top third of all systems benchmarked for this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic and predictable pattern of bottleneck migration. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves a very high average of 193.4 FPS, but this number does not scale proportionally when moving up in resolution. When the resolution increases to 2560x1440 at Low settings, the average FPS drops to 146.7, a reduction of roughly 24%. Moving further up to 3840x2160 at Low settings yields 98.5 FPS, which is another substantial drop of about 33% from the 1440p figure. This pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases is a hallmark of a system that is becoming more GPU-limited at higher pixel counts.

At the High settings preset, the scaling is more linear, which suggests that the load is being distributed more evenly. The game runs at 125 FPS at 1080p, 91.8 FPS at 1440p, and 59.5 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 1440p is a 26.6% reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is a 35.2% reduction. This steeper drop at 4K indicates that the RX 9070 XT is starting to hit its limits with the increased pixel shader work, even though the 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is not a limiting factor. The data suggests that at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 7500F is the primary driver of performance, while at 4K, the Radeon RX 9070 XT is the clear bottleneck.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. In Control, a game known for its physics-based destruction and complex AI, the CPU’s role is significant, particularly at lower resolutions. The benchmark results show that this processor has a strong single-thread performance, scoring 3218 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 1351 in Cinebench R20 single-core. This is crucial for a game engine that often relies on a primary simulation thread.

The multi-threaded performance is equally robust, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22799 and a Geekbench multicore score of 12686. This suggests that the 12 threads are being utilized effectively, allowing the CPU to handle the game’s background physics and streaming tasks without bottlenecking the GPU. The processor sits at the 82nd percentile for all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24993. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-11850H (0.1% faster) and the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (0.3% slower), which places the 7500F in a competitive position for gaming workloads. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth provide the memory subsystem with enough headroom to keep the game data flowing, which is evident in the high frame rates at 1080p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the clear workhorse for this combo, and its role becomes increasingly dominant as the resolution and settings are cranked up. Built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a 4 nm process, this GPU features 4096 shading units and 64 RT cores. It has a base clock of 1660 MHz and a boost clock of 2970 MHz, with a game clock of 2400 MHz. The memory configuration is substantial, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. This large memory pool ensures that texture loading and asset streaming at 4K High and Ultra settings do not cause stuttering or frame drops.

The GPU’s raw compute power is reflected in its FP32 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS, which is more than sufficient for Control’s demanding visual effects. In terms of benchmark scores, the RX 9070 XT achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 184026. It holds the 82nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 39647. Interestingly, its nearest rivals are lower-tier cards like the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (0.1% faster) and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (0.2% slower), which highlights that the RX 9070 XT is a top-tier performer in this specific database’s aggregation. The data indicates that the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K, where the Ultra preset drops the average FPS to 54.5, a figure that demands the use of upscaling technologies for a smooth experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a granular look at how the combo handles the game across different presets. At 1920x1080, the system is clearly CPU-bound, as even the Ultra preset yields a high average of 103.8 FPS. The Low preset at this resolution hits 193.4 FPS, Medium at 135.1 FPS, and High at 125 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is roughly 89.6 FPS, demonstrating that the CPU has enough headroom to push high frame rates, but the GPU is still the deciding factor for the higher visual fidelity presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain playable across the board. The Low preset averages 146.7 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play. The Medium preset hits 105.4 FPS, while High drops to 91.8 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 77.3 FPS, which is still smooth for a single-player action game, but it shows the increased load on the GPU. At 3840x2160, the 4K resolution stresses the GPU significantly. The Low preset still manages a solid 98.5 FPS, but the Medium preset drops to 68.3 FPS. The High preset averages 59.5 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target, and the Ultra preset bottoms out at 54.5 FPS. This data clearly shows that for 4K Ultra, users would need to adjust settings or rely on upscaling to achieve higher frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this hardware for a 60 FPS experience?

A: At 2560x1440, all presets, including Ultra, exceed 60 FPS with an average of 77.3 FPS. At 3840x2160, the High preset yields 59.5 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target, and the Ultra preset drops to 54.5 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data indicates the CPU is the primary limiter at 1920x1080. The frame rate difference between Low (193.4 FPS) and Ultra (103.8 FPS) is significant, but the high overall FPS suggests the Ryzen 5 7500F is reaching its peak capacity for generating frames, while the RX 9070 XT has more headroom.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 7500F compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 7500F has an average benchmark score of 24993, placing it 0.1% behind the Intel Core i7-11850H and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X. It also sits 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX.

Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM of the RX 9070 XT sufficient for Control at 4K?

A: Yes, the 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 644.6 GB/s bandwidth is more than adequate for Control. The performance drops at 4K are due to the GPU's compute limits on the 4 nm RDNA 4.0 architecture, not memory capacity, as the game was released in 2019.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the Low and Ultra presets at 4K?

A: The average FPS drops from 98.5 at Low settings to 54.5 at Ultra settings at 3840x2160. This represents a performance reduction of 44 FPS, or roughly 45%, when enabling the highest visual quality settings.

Q: Where does this specific CPU and GPU combo rank for Control performance?

A: This combination ranks 454th out of 1636 total tested combos for the game, placing it in the top 27% of all systems. The data is measured, not estimated, ensuring accuracy.