Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and Intel Arc B390 pairing in Control produces a narrow set of playable configurations, with the data showing a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate at every resolution. The measured rows indicate that this combo is best suited to lower presets, and the gap between Low and Ultra frames is substantial enough to dictate how the game should be configured.

Settings Recommendations

Across all three resolutions, the Low preset delivers the highest average frame rate, and the margin over Medium is consistent. At 1920x1080, Low averages 65 FPS, while Medium drops to 46 FPS — a 19 FPS difference that represents a 41% loss of performance for stepping up one preset level. High then falls to 41 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 36 FPS. The pattern repeats at 2560x1440: Low averages 50 FPS, Medium 35 FPS, High 31 FPS, and Ultra 27 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low averages 33 FPS, Medium 24 FPS, High 21 FPS, and Ultra 18 FPS.

Given these numbers, the recommended preset for a smooth experience is Low at 1920x1080, where the 65 FPS average is the only row that clears typical 60 FPS thresholds. At 2560x1440, Low at 50 FPS is the only setting that remains above 30 FPS with meaningful headroom, making it the viable choice for that resolution if responsiveness matters more than detail. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 30 FPS; Low at 33 FPS is the highest average, but it is marginal. Medium at 24 FPS is the only non-Low option with a recorded minimum (20 FPS) and maximum (27 FPS), which suggests frame pacing is tight but the overall rate is low.

The data does not support using High or Ultra at any resolution. At 1080p, Ultra at 36 FPS is only 55% of Low’s frame rate, and at 1440p, Ultra at 27 FPS is barely above the 4K Low figure. At 4K, Ultra at 18 FPS is effectively unplayable for action sequences. The measured spread between presets is nearly linear: each step from Low to Medium costs roughly 15-19 FPS at 1080p, 15 FPS at 1440p, and 9 FPS at 4K. This suggests the GPU is the primary constraint, as the CPU’s six cores and 12 threads are unlikely to bottleneck at these frame rates. For users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, Medium at 1080p (46 FPS) is the highest preset that stays above 40 FPS, but Low remains the only preset that approaches smoothness.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU based on the Panther Lake chip with Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel’s 3 nm process. Its base clock is 300 MHz, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, along with 12 RT cores. Its pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS. The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, meaning there is no dedicated VRAM; the bus width and bandwidth are listed as system dependent, and the memory clock is also system shared.

This shared-memory design has direct consequences for Control, a game known for heavy texture streaming and physics effects. The 4K Ultra result of 18 FPS and 4K High of 21 FPS indicate that the GPU is overwhelmed by the combination of high-resolution rendering and the game’s effects workload. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places the GPU in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all older NVIDIA parts: the GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463, delta 1.3%), GeForce 800M (1460, delta 1.5%), GT 625 OEM (1446, delta 2.5%), and GT 710 (1443, delta 2.7%). The Arc B390 outperforms these by a small margin, but the deltaPct values (1.3% to 2.7%) show it is not in a different performance class.

The boost clock of 2500 MHz is high for an integrated part, but the FP32 throughput of 7.680 TFLOPS is modest by discrete GPU standards. In Control, the GPU’s role is evident in the scaling of frame rates with resolution. At 1080p Low, the GPU manages 65 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 33 FPS — a 49% reduction. This is a GPU-bound scenario, as the CPU’s performance profile (89th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44573) is far above the GPU’s percentile. The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (avg score 44466, delta 0.2%), Intel Core i9-13950HX (44342, delta 0.5%), AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (44309, delta 0.6%), and Intel Core i5-14600 (44889, delta -0.7%). The CPU is clearly not the limiting factor; the Arc B390’s shared memory and low ROP count (24) constrain fill-rate-heavy scenes.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all presets. At Low, 1080p averages 65 FPS, 1440p averages 50 FPS, and 4K averages 33 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 23%, and from 1440p to 4K is 34%. At Medium, the progression is 46, 35, and 24 FPS — a 24% drop from 1080p to 1440p, then a 31% drop to 4K. High shows 41, 31, and 21 FPS, with drops of 24% and 32%. Ultra goes from 36 to 27 to 18 FPS, with drops of 25% and 33%.

The pattern is nearly uniform: each resolution step reduces frame rates by roughly a quarter to a third, regardless of preset. This consistency points to a GPU that is bandwidth- and fill-rate-limited. The pixel count from 1080p to 4K quadruples (1920x1080 is about 2.07 million pixels, 3840x2160 is about 8.29 million), but the frame rate does not drop to a quarter — it drops to roughly half. That means the GPU is not purely pixel-bound; other factors like shader work and memory latency play a role. However, the fact that 4K Low (33 FPS) is still lower than 1440p Low (50 FPS) by 34% indicates that resolution scaling is a major factor.

The limiting component is clearly the GPU. The CPU’s single-thread score of 3494 and multi-thread score of 25047 on PassMark are strong enough to feed the GPU at these frame rates. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to stay flat across resolutions, but they fall sharply. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo can reach 65 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s headroom for this game, but at 4K, the GPU’s shared memory and limited ROPs cause severe degradation. The 24 ROPs produce a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s, which is insufficient for 4K at high settings in Control’s particle-heavy environments.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2551 out of 2888 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the bottom 12% of all tested hardware pairs. This rank reflects the GPU’s low standing: the Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 89th percentile. The mismatch is stark — a high-end CPU paired with an entry-level integrated GPU results in a combo that is far below average for this game.

The rank of 2551 of 2888 means that 337 combos perform worse, but 2550 perform better. Given the CPU’s strength, the combo’s poor rank is almost entirely attributable to the GPU. The nearest GPU rivals — the GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710 — are all legacy parts from a decade ago, and the Arc B390 only beats them by 1.3% to 2.7%. In Control, this translates to playable frame rates only at 1080p Low. The combo’s rank is consistent with the measured FPS: at 1080p Ultra, it produces 36 FPS, which is below the 40 FPS minimum that many players consider acceptable for an action-adventure title.

The CPU’s rank among all CPUs (89th percentile) does not rescue the combo. Even with 96 MB of shared L3 cache and six cores running at a 4.00 GHz base and 4.50 GHz boost, the game’s frame rate is dictated by the GPU. The PassMark physics score of 2779 and floating-point math score of 43594 suggest the CPU can handle the game’s physics calculations, but the GPU cannot render them fast enough. For context, the CPU’s average benchmark score of 44573 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (44466, delta 0.2%), but that rival CPU would likely pair with a better GPU in most systems.

FAQ

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

A: The best experience is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which averages 65 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low averages 50 FPS, and at 3840x2160, Low averages 33 FPS. No other preset at any resolution exceeds 50 FPS.

Q: Why does the combo rank so low (2551 of 2888) despite having a strong CPU?

A: The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU with a 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 is only 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, indicating very low graphics performance. The CPU’s 89th percentile ranking cannot compensate for the GPU’s limitations in rendering Control.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. Frame rates drop by roughly 23-25% from 1080p to 1440p and 31-34% from 1440p to 4K across all presets, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU’s PassMark single-thread score of 3494 and multi-thread score of 25047 are sufficient for these frame rates.

Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K?

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 33 FPS. Medium averages 24 FPS, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. None of these are consistently smooth, but Low is the only preset that stays above 30 FPS.

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

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). The differences are under 3%.

Q: What is the highest preset that maintains at least 40 FPS at 1080p?

A: Medium settings at 1920x1080 averages 46 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. High settings average 41 FPS but have no recorded minimum, while Ultra averages 36 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured rows show a clear progression. Low settings produce an average of 65 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded. Medium settings average 46 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. High settings average 41 FPS. Ultra settings average 36 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 29 FPS, meaning Ultra delivers only 55% of Low’s frame rate.

At 2560x1440, Low settings average 50 FPS. Medium settings average 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. High settings average 31 FPS. Ultra settings average 27 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 15 FPS at Low, 11 FPS at Medium, 10 FPS at High, and 9 FPS at Ultra. This narrowing gap suggests the GPU is becoming more uniformly constrained at higher resolutions.

At 3840x2160, Low settings average 33 FPS. Medium settings average 24 FPS, with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS. High settings average 21 FPS. Ultra settings average 18 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest recorded in the entire dataset, at 18 FPS. The only rows with recorded minimum and maximum values are Medium at each resolution: 1920x1080 (40-53 FPS), 2560x1440 (30-40 FPS), and 3840x2160 (20-27 FPS). This indicates that Medium has more consistent frame pacing than other presets, though the averages are still low.

The full dataset shows that no preset at any resolution exceeds 65 FPS, and only 1080p Low achieves that figure. The 4K Low result of 33 FPS is the same as the 1440p Medium result of 35 FPS within a 2 FPS margin, suggesting that users can trade resolution for settings: 1440p Medium and 4K Low are roughly equivalent in performance, but 1440p Medium offers better visual quality. Similarly, 1080p Medium (46 FPS) outperforms 1440p High (31 FPS) by 15 FPS, and 1080p High (41 FPS) outperforms 1440p Ultra (27 FPS) by 14 FPS. These comparisons highlight the GPU’s sensitivity to resolution over settings.

In summary, the measured FPS data reveals a combo that is strictly limited by its integrated GPU. The CPU’s high percentile ranking and benchmark scores do not translate into high frame rates in Control because the Arc B390’s shared memory and modest ROP count cannot handle the game’s demands beyond 1080p Low. The rank of 2551 of 2888 is a fair representation of the experience: playable at low settings and low resolutions, but far from the performance of even mid-range discrete GPUs.