Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination delivers a playable but demanding experience in Control, with performance that scales predictably across resolutions and settings. The data shows this pairing is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates, while 4K requires significant graphical compromises to remain fluid.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F provides the processing foundation for this combination. It is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, built on a 4 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 4.20 GHz, with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 16 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with a dual-channel bus, offering a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong multi-threaded capability, scoring 20,851 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2,943 in single-core. Its Passmark multithread score is 24,530, with a single-thread score of 3,684. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 25,064 places it in the 82nd percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (score 25,057, delta 0%), the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 (score 25,099, delta -0.1%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (score 24,993, delta 0.3%). The 8400F is effectively tied with these processors, with performance deltas under half a percent.

For Control, the CPU’s 12 threads are more than sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the system reaches 120.9 FPS, indicating that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this level. The data suggests that even at high frame rates, the processor’s single-thread performance and multi-core throughput are adequate to keep the Radeon RX 6600 XT fully utilized. The gap between the 8400F and its rivals is negligible, so any frame rate differences in Control would be attributable to the GPU or settings rather than CPU choice.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Control?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 120.9 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25,064, which is essentially identical to the Ryzen 7 2700X’s score of 25,057, a 0% delta.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this combination?

A: At 4K (3840x2160), the highest average frame rate is 62.9 FPS on Low settings, but this drops to 33 FPS on Ultra. Playable 4K requires Low settings, while higher presets fall below 45 FPS.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration for this game?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s.

Q: How does the GPU rank relative to other graphics cards?

A: The RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 27,985, placing it in the 71st percentile of all GPUs. It is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti and 0.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average frame rate drops from 90.6 FPS on Low to 49.9 FPS on Ultra, a decrease of 40.7 FPS.

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

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p High settings, the combo produces 75.8 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops the average to 56 FPS, a 26.1% reduction. At 4K High, the frame rate falls to 36.2 FPS, a 52.2% reduction from 1080p. This steep decline with increasing pixel count indicates that the Radeon RX 6600 XT is the primary limiter at higher resolutions.

The pattern holds across all settings. With Low settings, the frame rate goes from 120.9 FPS at 1080p to 90.6 FPS at 1440p (a 25.1% drop) and then to 62.9 FPS at 4K (a 48.0% drop from 1080p). The consistent percentage drop between 1080p and 1440p, regardless of settings, suggests that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the bottleneck, not the CPU. The Ryzen 5 8400F’s performance is sufficient to maintain these frame rates, as evidenced by the high 1080p Low result of 120.9 FPS.

At 4K, the GPU’s limitations become severe. Ultra settings yield only 33 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. Even Medium settings only reach 42 FPS. The data indicates that 4K gaming with this combo is only feasible at Low settings, where 62.9 FPS is achievable. The scaling pattern confirms that the RX 6600 XT’s 8 GB memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for 1080p and 1440p but struggle with the demands of 4K rendering.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The data shows that Medium settings offer the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. At 1080p Medium, the average frame rate is 82.9 FPS, which is 19.1% higher than High settings (75.8 FPS) and only 38 FPS lower than Low (120.9 FPS). The jump from Low to Medium costs 38 FPS, but the visual improvement is substantial. At 1440p, Medium delivers 60.4 FPS, which is a reasonable frame rate for a demanding action-adventure title. Pushing to High at 1440p drops to 56 FPS, a 7.3% reduction that may not justify the visual gains.

For players prioritizing frame rate, Low settings at 1080p provide 120.9 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. However, Low settings will noticeably reduce visual fidelity in a game like Control, which relies on atmospheric effects. Ultra settings are only recommended for 1080p, where 62.9 FPS is still playable, but the performance cost is steep. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot: it provides a 36.8% frame rate improvement over Ultra at 1080p (82.9 vs 62.9 FPS) while maintaining acceptable visual quality. At 4K, even Medium is too demanding at 42 FPS, so players at that resolution must use Low.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 1204th out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the performance distribution, meaning that 432 other combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this game. The rank reflects the GPU’s mid-range positioning rather than the CPU, as the 8400F’s processing power is not the limiting factor.

The percentile placement can be contextualized by the GPU’s overall standing. The RX 6600 XT sits in the 71st percentile among all GPUs, but its Control-specific rank suggests that this game is particularly demanding on the GPU. The combo’s rank of 1204 out of 1636 (roughly the 26th percentile) indicates that many other GPU pairings outperform it in this title. This is not surprising given that the RX 6600 XT is a capable 1080p card but struggles at higher resolutions, as shown by the 4K frame rates. The CPU’s strong benchmark scores do not boost the combo’s rank because Control is primarily GPU-bound.

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

At 1920x1080, the combo achieves the following average frame rates: Low settings produce 120.9 FPS, Medium produces 82.9 FPS, High produces 75.8 FPS, and Ultra produces 62.9 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 58 FPS, indicating that settings have a significant impact at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are: Low at 90.6 FPS, Medium at 60.4 FPS, High at 56 FPS, and Ultra at 49.9 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with Low dropping by 30.3 FPS and Ultra dropping by 13 FPS. The 1440p results show that Medium is the highest playable setting, with High and Ultra still above 49 FPS but requiring more graphical compromise.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low at 62.9 FPS, Medium at 42 FPS, High at 36.2 FPS, and Ultra at 33 FPS. The 4K data reveals that only Low settings provide a playable experience above 60 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is steep: Low falls from 90.6 to 62.9 FPS (a 30.6% reduction), while Ultra falls from 49.9 to 33 FPS (a 33.9% reduction). These numbers confirm that 4K gaming is not a strength of this combination.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is the defining component in this pairing for Control. It is based on the Navi 23 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, built on a 7 nm process. The GPU has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. Its base clock is 1968 MHz, with a boost clock of 2589 MHz and a game clock of 2359 MHz. Memory runs at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) across an 8 GB GDDR6 interface.

The GPU’s performance in synthetic benchmarks shows a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1804 and a Passmark G3D score of 16,461. Its average benchmark score of 27,985 places it in the 71st percentile, with a 0.1% lead over the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti and a 0.9% deficit against the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070. The 8 GB VRAM capacity and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p in Control, but the 4K results indicate memory bandwidth constraints. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate of 33 FPS suggests that the GPU’s pixel fill rate (165.7 GPixel/s) and texture rate (331.4 GTexel/s) are overwhelmed by the resolution demands.

The GPU’s TDP of 160 W and PCIe 4.0 x8 interface are adequate for this workload, but the end-of-life production status indicates it is a previous-generation part. The data shows that the RX 6600 XT is best utilized at 1080p with Medium to High settings, where it delivers between 75.8 and 82.9 FPS. At 1440p, it remains viable with Medium settings at 60.4 FPS, but players seeking higher visual fidelity should consider lower resolutions. The 4K results are marginal, with only Low settings achieving 62.9 FPS, which is below the 75 FPS threshold for a consistently smooth experience in fast-paced action scenes.