Control

Control, Remedy’s 2019 action-adventure, places unusual demands on a system thanks to its physics-heavy combat and destructible environments. With the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060, the measured data reveals a configuration that is capable at 1080p and 1440p but struggles to maintain fluid motion at 4K. The benchmark results indicate a system where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s large cache helps maintain solid frame pacing at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases, pointing directly at the Radeon RX 9060 as the limiting factor. At 1080p High, the combo averages 82 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops performance to 62 FPS, a 24% reduction. The jump to 4K High is far more punishing: the average falls to 42 FPS, which is a 49% drop from the 1440p result and a 49% drop from 1080p. This pattern is not linear; the scaling penalty intensifies as pixel count grows, which is typical for a GPU with a 128-bit memory interface and 8 GB of VRAM.

Examining the Low preset reveals the same trend. The system achieves 130 FPS at 1080p Low, drops to 98 FPS at 1440p Low, and then falls to 66 FPS at 4K Low. The 4K Low figure is barely above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that even with the lowest graphical load, the GPU cannot keep up with the pixel throughput required by 3840x2160. The delta between 1080p and 1440p for Low is 25%, but the delta between 1440p and 4K is 33%, showing that the memory bandwidth constraint becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions.

For Medium settings, the measured rows include min and max FPS values, which add context. At 1080p Medium, the average is 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 70 FPS, with a min of 59 FPS and a max of 80 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 47 FPS, with a min of 40 FPS and a max of 54 FPS. The 4K Medium minimum of 40 FPS suggests noticeable stutter during intense combat sequences. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p for Medium is 24%, and from 1440p to 4K it is 33%, mirroring the Low preset’s behavior.

The Ultra preset shows the harshest scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 71 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it is 54 FPS. At 4K Ultra, it collapses to 36 FPS. This 4K Ultra result is below the 40 FPS minimum observed at 4K Medium, confirming that the GPU is saturated. The data implies that this combo is not suited for 4K gaming in Control, as even Low settings only yield 66 FPS, which is not a comfortable margin for a game with chaotic action. The limiting component is unequivocally the RX 9060’s rendering throughput, not the processor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for this combo depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1080p, the Ultra preset is viable, with an average of 71 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS standard, though the headroom is modest. For players who prioritize frame rate, the High preset at 1080p offers 82 FPS, which is 15% faster than Ultra. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 92 FPS, but the jump from High to Medium is only 12%, suggesting diminishing returns for the visual quality loss.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more nuanced. The Ultra preset averages 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. The High preset at 1440p averages 62 FPS, making it the sweet spot for a smooth experience. This 62 FPS figure is just above the 60 FPS line, but the lack of min FPS data for High means we cannot confirm worst-case performance. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 70 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS, which is a safer choice for maintaining fluidity during firefights. The data suggests that High is the recommended preset for 1440p, as it balances visual fidelity with a playable average, while Medium is the conservative fallback.

For 4K, no preset provides a fully satisfactory result. The Low preset averages 66 FPS, which is technically playable, but it comes with significant visual compromises. The Medium preset averages 47 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and has a minimum of 40 FPS. The High preset at 4K averages 42 FPS, and Ultra is at 36 FPS. Given the data, 4K gaming with this combo requires accepting either Low settings for a playable frame rate or Medium settings for better visuals at the cost of smoothness. The measured rows indicate that the High preset at 1440p offers the best overall experience, providing a 62 FPS average without the drastic visual downgrade of Low settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 44 chip. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus yields a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is a likely culprit for the steep performance drop at 4K, where the GPU must move significantly more texture and geometry data. The boost clock of 2990 MHz and game clock of 2400 MHz are high, but the shading units (1792) and 64 ROPs are modest for a card aiming at 4K. The pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows they are not adequate for 4K Ultra.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16014. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which scores 16129, a delta of -0.7%. This indicates the RX 9060 is slightly slower than the RTX 3060 Ti in synthetic tests. The Radeon RX 7700 scores 15852, a 1% delta, showing the RX 9060 is marginally faster than that card. These comparisons suggest that the RX 9060 is a mid-range performer, which aligns with its 4K struggles in Control.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is another factor. At 4K Ultra, Control likely exceeds this amount, causing texture thrashing and the low 36 FPS average. The measured FPS at 4K Medium (47 FPS) versus 4K Low (66 FPS) shows a 29% improvement when reducing settings, which is not just about pixel count but also about memory pressure. The GPU’s FP32 throughput of 21.43 TFLOPS is decent, but it is insufficient for the demands of 4K in a game with heavy particle effects and physics calculations. The data implies that the RX 9060 is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p, where its memory bandwidth and compute resources are adequate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 130 FPS. Medium settings yield 92 FPS, with a min of 78 FPS and a max of 106 FPS. High settings average 82 FPS. Ultra settings average 71 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 59 FPS, showing that the CPU is not the bottleneck at this resolution, as the GPU can scale with settings changes. The 1080p Medium min of 78 FPS is notably high, indicating consistent frame delivery.

At 2560x1440, the averages decline. Low settings hit 98 FPS. Medium settings average 70 FPS, with a min of 59 FPS and a max of 80 FPS. High settings average 62 FPS. Ultra settings average 54 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 44 FPS, narrower than at 1080p, which suggests the GPU is starting to limit performance. The 1440p Medium min of 59 FPS is close to the 60 FPS target, meaning dips below 60 FPS are possible during heavy scenes.

At 3840x2160, the averages fall sharply. Low settings average 66 FPS. Medium settings average 47 FPS, with a min of 40 FPS and a max of 54 FPS. High settings average 42 FPS. Ultra settings average 36 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 30 FPS, the smallest spread across all resolutions. This compression indicates that the GPU is fully saturated, and settings changes have a reduced impact on performance. The 4K Medium min of 40 FPS is the lowest recorded minimum in the entire dataset, highlighting the worst-case scenario for this combo.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is comfortable, 1440p is playable with settings adjustments, and 4K is only viable on Low. The Medium preset’s min/max values provide the only frame time consistency data, and they reveal that 1440p Medium has a 21 FPS variance, while 4K Medium has a 14 FPS variance. The smaller variance at 4K suggests the GPU is working at its limit, unable to burst to higher frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos for Control, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D + AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks 1632 out of 2888 total combinations. This places it in the 56th percentile of all tested systems for this specific game. The rank is lower than the CPU’s individual percentile (89th among all CPUs) and the GPU’s individual percentile (59th among all GPUs). This discrepancy indicates that the combo is not performing to the level of its components’ potential, likely due to the GPU being a bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The combo rank of 1632 suggests that many other configurations achieve better performance in Control. Given the GPU is in the 59th percentile, the rank is roughly in line with expectations, but the CPU’s high percentile does not boost the overall result. This implies that the Ryzen 5 7500X3D is not the limiting factor; the RX 9060 holds the system back. In games less demanding than Control, this combo might rank higher, but for this title, the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute power are insufficient for top-tier standing.

The rank also reflects the game’s age and optimization. Control was released in 2019, and its engine may not scale perfectly with newer hardware. The 96 MB of L3 cache on the CPU helps with physics calculations, but the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is a clear weakness. The data suggests that if a user were to upgrade the GPU, the CPU would likely support a significantly better frame rate, as indicated by the 89th percentile ranking. The combo rank is a function of the weakest link, and here that is the RX 9060.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 Raphael architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process. Its base clock is 4.00 GHz and boost clock is 4.50 GHz. The standout feature is the 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is substantial for gaming. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong: a Passmark single-thread score of 3494 and a multithread score of 25047. Its average benchmark score is 44573, placing it in the 89th percentile among all CPUs.

In Control, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the resolution scaling. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 130 FPS, which is a high frame rate that could stress the CPU’s single-thread performance. The single-thread score of 3494 is decent but not class-leading, yet the 130 FPS result shows it is sufficient for this game. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-13950HX, has an average score of 44342, a 0.5% delta, meaning the Ryzen is slightly faster. The Intel Core i5-14600 scores 44889, a -0.7% delta, indicating the Ryzen is slightly slower than that chip.

The CPU’s large L3 cache likely helps with Control’s physics and object destruction systems, which rely on frequent data access. The 6 cores and 12 threads are adequate for the game’s threading model, which is not heavily multi-threaded. The multithread score of 25047 is respectable, but Control rarely uses more than a few cores. The data shows that at 4K, the CPU is not the bottleneck, as the FPS drops are consistent with GPU limitations. At 1080p, the CPU allows the GPU to reach its maximum potential, as seen in the 130 FPS Low result.

The CPU’s memory support for DDR5 and dual-channel bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s is ample for feeding the GPU. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 24 lanes ensures no data transfer bottleneck. The 65W TDP indicates efficient operation, which is beneficial for sustained workloads. The benchmark results imply that the Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a capable gaming CPU, but in this combo, its performance is masked by the RX 9060’s limitations. If paired with a stronger GPU, the CPU would likely allow higher frame rates in Control, particularly at 1080p and 1440p.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 1080p gaming with this combo?

A: The Ultra preset averages 71 FPS at 1080p, which is above the 60 FPS standard. The High preset offers 82 FPS, providing more headroom. The data shows Ultra is playable, but High is recommended for a smoother experience.

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

A: The data shows 4K is challenging. The Low preset averages 66 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 47 FPS and High to 42 FPS. Ultra is at 36 FPS. Only Low settings provide an acceptable average frame rate at 4K.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129) and 1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15852). This places it in the 59th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7500X3D a bottleneck in this combo?

A: No, the data indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor. The CPU is in the 89th percentile, while the combo ranks in the 56th percentile. The GPU’s performance at higher resolutions is the primary constraint.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Medium and High at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 70 FPS, while High averages 62 FPS. The difference is 8 FPS, or approximately 11%, suggesting a modest visual quality trade-off for a higher frame rate.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM affect performance at 4K?

A: Yes, the 8 GB VRAM on a 128-bit bus is likely a key factor in the 4K performance drop. The bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s is insufficient for 4K Ultra, as evidenced by the 36 FPS average, compared to 71 FPS at 1080p Ultra.