Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER produces a highly variable experience in Control, depending entirely on the resolution and settings selected. The data shows a system that is firmly balanced toward 1080p gaming, with playable 1440p results achievable through settings adjustments, while 4K remains a challenge. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data to explain where this combo excels, where it struggles, and what the numbers indicate about the underlying hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 57 FPS at 1080p to 43 FPS at 1440p, a decline of 14 FPS, and then further down to 29 FPS at 4K, which is roughly half of the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is typical for a GPU-bound scenario; the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB frame buffer and 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are being saturated by the increasing pixel count.

The Low settings row provides the clearest view of the GPU's raw ceiling. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 91 FPS, but this drops to 69 FPS at 1440p and 46 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is approximately 24%, and from 1440p to 4K is another 33%. This non-linear decline indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance headroom is not the bottleneck when pixel fill rate demands increase.

Looking at the Medium settings, where min and max FPS data is available, the trend continues. At 1080p Medium, the average is 64 FPS with a range of 55 to 74 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 49 FPS (range 41 to 56 FPS), and at 4K Medium, the average is 33 FPS (range 28 to 38 FPS). The consistent drop across all quality presets confirms that resolution scaling is the dominant factor. The 4K Medium result of 33 FPS is below the 30 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, suggesting that 4K is only viable at Low settings, where 46 FPS is achieved.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the constraining component in this pairing for Control. Its specifications include a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz, with 1408 shading units and 48 ROPs. The memory configuration is 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These numbers explain the performance ceiling observed in the data.

At 1080p, the GPU is capable of delivering 57 FPS at High settings and 91 FPS at Low, which shows that the 6 GB VRAM is sufficient for this resolution. However, the 4K results tell a different story. At 4K High, the average drops to 29 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 25 FPS. These sub-30 FPS figures indicate that the GPU is overwhelmed by the pixel count and texture data required at 4K, likely exceeding the VRAM capacity or bandwidth limits.

The GPU's benchmark scores corroborate its mid-range position. Its Passmark G3D score is 12699, with a percentile rank of 53 among all GPUs. The nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (deltaPct 0.4) and the AMD Radeon RX 580 (deltaPct 0.4), showing that this GPU sits in a competitive but not top-tier bracket. The FP32 performance of 5.027 TFLOPS is adequate for 1080p gaming but insufficient for high-refresh 1440p or 4K in demanding titles like Control.

The 6 GB VRAM capacity is a notable factor. At 1440p Ultra, the average FPS is 38, which is playable but not smooth, and the lack of min/max data for that setting suggests inconsistent frame pacing. The data indicates that the GPU's role is to provide a solid 1080p experience, with 1440p requiring settings compromises, and 4K being only marginally playable at Low settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. The data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across the four presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra.

At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 57 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target for many gamers but not quite there. The Medium preset achieves 64 FPS, with a min of 55 FPS, making it the safer choice for consistent performance. The Low preset reaches 91 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh monitors. The Ultra preset drops to 50 FPS, which is playable but may introduce stutter in action-heavy scenes. For the best balance of visual quality and smoothness, Medium is the recommended preset, as it sits comfortably above the 60 FPS mark with a narrow min-max range.

At 2560x1440, the High preset yields 43 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset provides 49 FPS (min 41, max 56), which is the best option for playability, though it requires accepting a lower visual fidelity. The Low preset reaches 69 FPS, which is smooth, but the visual downgrade may be noticeable. The Ultra preset at 38 FPS is not recommended for action sequences. For 1440p, Low settings offer the most consistent experience above 60 FPS, while Medium is the highest quality that remains mostly playable.

At 3840x2160, the only viable option is Low, which produces 46 FPS. The Medium preset at 33 FPS is below the 30 FPS minimum for comfortable gameplay, and High (29 FPS) and Ultra (25 FPS) are unplayable. The data suggests that 4K gaming is only feasible at Low settings, and even then, the experience is marginal.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At High settings, the average FPS is 57, and at Medium, it reaches 64 FPS. This is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 60 FPS across multiple presets.

*Q: Can this system handle 1440p gaming in Control?*

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 1440p Low, the average FPS is 69, which is smooth. At Medium, it drops to 49 FPS, and at High, it falls to 43 FPS. The Ultra preset at 38 FPS is not recommended for fast-paced gameplay.

Q: Is 4K playable with the GTX 1660 SUPER?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 46. The Medium preset at 33 FPS and High at 29 FPS are below the 30 FPS threshold for consistent gameplay, making 4K a poor experience overall.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 12986. The nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile with a score of 12940 and a deltaPct of 0.4, meaning the GTX 1660 SUPER is 0.4% faster. The AMD Radeon RX 580 shows the same deltaPct of 0.4.

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

A: At 1080p, the Low preset averages 91 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 50 FPS. This represents a drop of 41 FPS, or roughly 45% lower performance when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions. The FPS drops significantly from 1080p to 4K (e.g., from 57 to 29 FPS at High settings), which is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck, while the CPU's strong single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 1060) is not the constraint in this scenario.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 3176 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places it in the lower 15th percentile of all combinations, indicating that while the CPU is potent, the GPU drags down the overall performance ranking.

The CPU itself is a high performer. The Ryzen 5 7600X has a percentile rank of 79 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27636. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and Intel Core i5-12600K, both with an avgScore of 27578 and a deltaPct of 0.2 (the 7600X is 0.2% faster). However, the GPU's percentile rank of 53 and average score of 12986 significantly lower the combo's standing.

The rank of 3176 out of 3720 suggests that most other tested combinations deliver better overall performance in Control. This is not surprising given the GPU's age and mid-range positioning. The data implies that pairing the Ryzen 5 7600X with a more powerful GPU would yield a much higher rank, as the CPU has ample headroom (e.g., Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15236) that is underutilized with the GTX 1660 SUPER.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael. It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with 32 MB of shared L3 cache. These specifications provide strong single-thread and multi-thread performance, as evidenced by its benchmark scores.

In Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with frames. The 3dmark single-thread score of 1060 and the 3dmark 2-thread score of 2028 indicate excellent per-core performance, which is crucial for game logic and physics. The Passmark single-thread score of 4135 further confirms this. The multi-thread scores (e.g., Cinebench R23 multicore of 15236) show that the CPU can handle background tasks without impacting gameplay.

However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 91 FPS, which suggests the CPU can push well beyond that if the GPU allowed. The fact that the FPS drops dramatically at 4K (to 46 FPS at Low) while the CPU's load would likely decrease per-frame indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s (DDR5) and PCIe Gen 5 support (24 lanes) ensure it is not starved for data, but the GTX 1660 SUPER's PCIe 3.0 x16 interface may limit data transfer speeds, though this is secondary to the GPU's raw compute limits.

The CPU's high boost clock of 5.30 GHz is notable, as it helps maintain high frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios, but in this game, the bottleneck is clearly the GPU. The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks (e.g., AMD Ryzen 7 5700X with a deltaPct of 0.2) show that it is competitive, but this does not translate to a high combo rank due to the GPU's constraints.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete set of measured FPS data for this combo in Control, organized by resolution and settings.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average FPS 91. This is the highest performance point for this combo.
• Medium: Average FPS 64, with a min of 55 and max of 74 FPS.
• High: Average FPS 57.
• Ultra: Average FPS 50.

At 1080p, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all settings, with Low and Medium exceeding 60 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 41 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for maxing out settings.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average FPS 69.
• Medium: Average FPS 49, with a min of 41 and max of 56 FPS.
• High: Average FPS 43.
• Ultra: Average FPS 38.

At 1440p, only Low settings provide a smooth experience above 60 FPS. Medium and High are playable but require accepting lower visual quality or occasional frame drops. The Ultra preset at 38 FPS is borderline for action games.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average FPS 46.
• Medium: Average FPS 33, with a min of 28 and max of 38 FPS.
• High: Average FPS 29.
• Ultra: Average FPS 25.

At 4K, the combo struggles significantly. Only Low settings reach above 40 FPS, while Medium dips below 30 FPS, and High/Ultra are unplayable for smooth gameplay. The data clearly indicates that 4K is not a viable resolution for this pairing in Control.

The min/max FPS data for Medium settings across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: the range narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the range is 19 FPS (55 to 74); at 1440p, it is 15 FPS (41 to 56); and at 4K, it is 10 FPS (28 to 38). This suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU is more consistently saturated, reducing frame variability but also lowering the average.