Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination delivers a compelling Control experience, with benchmark data showing a wide range of performance depending on resolution and settings. The pairing of a 6-core, 12-thread Zen 4 processor with the flagship Ada Lovelace GPU produces frame rates that span from comfortably playable at 4K Ultra to exceptionally high refresh rates at 1080p Low.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, built on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, which are healthy frequencies for a desktop part. The CPU has a 16 MB shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core, providing a solid foundation for gaming workloads. This processor sits in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, indicating that its average benchmark score of 25,064 places it above the majority of processors in the database.

In the context of Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 245.4 FPS, which suggests that the CPU is capable of driving very high frame rates in this title. However, the processor's benchmark scores reveal a nuanced picture. Its multi-threaded performance, as measured by Cinebench R23, is 20,851 points, while its single-core score is 2,943 points. These figures indicate a balanced performance profile, with the 12 threads allowing for efficient handling of background tasks while the single-core strength handles primary game logic.

The nearest rivals for the Ryzen 5 8400F include the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, which has an average score of 25,057 and a deltaPct of 0, meaning they are effectively tied. The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F is also close, with a score of 24,993 and a deltaPct of 0.3. This near-parity with older and similarly positioned processors suggests that the 8400F's performance in Control is likely sufficient to avoid being a bottleneck at most settings, though the 204.5 FPS at 1440p Low versus 245.4 FPS at 1080p Low indicates that the CPU still has headroom to push higher frame rates.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clocks run at 1313 MHz, with an effective speed of 21 Gbps. The GPU is based on the AD102 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process. It has 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output pipelines, along with 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores. The boost clock is 2520 MHz, supporting a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance at 82.58 TFLOPS.

The RTX 4090 ranks in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,473. Its nearest rivals in the database are professional workstation cards, such as the NVIDIA Tesla T4 with a score of 66,733 and a deltaPct of -0.4, and the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 with a score of 67,320 and a deltaPct of -1.3. This indicates that the RTX 4090's raw compute power is comparable to, or slightly ahead of, these specialized compute cards, which is notable for a gaming-focused product.

In Control, the GPU's vast resources are evident in the measured frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the system still manages 79.5 FPS, a demanding workload that stresses both the 176 ROPs and the memory bandwidth. The 24 GB VRAM buffer is more than sufficient for this game, which was released in 2019 and does not require excessive memory capacity. The GPU's 128 RT cores are particularly relevant, as Control is known for its ray tracing effects, though the measured data here does not specify whether RT is enabled. The 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute provides the raw horsepower to drive high resolutions, as seen in the 138.3 FPS at 4K Low.

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

The measured FPS data shows a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 148.7 FPS, while at 1440p Ultra it drops to 114.9 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls further to 79.5 FPS. This represents a 23% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 47% drop from 1080p to 4K. The Low settings show a similar trend: 245.4 FPS at 1080p, 204.5 FPS at 1440p, and 138.3 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 17% and 44%, respectively.

These numbers indicate that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases. The RTX 4090 is being pushed harder at higher resolutions, which is expected given the increased pixel count. However, the fact that the frame rate at 1080p Low is 245.4 FPS suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution, as the GPU is still able to render frames quickly. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would be more consistent across resolutions, but the data shows a significant decline as resolution rises.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings also widens at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 96.7 FPS (245.4 vs 148.7). At 4K, the difference is 58.8 FPS (138.3 vs 79.5). This suggests that the GPU's workload increases more proportionally with settings at lower resolutions, while at 4K the additional pixel fill rate becomes a more dominant factor. The data indicates that the RTX 4090 is the performance limiter in this configuration, with the Ryzen 5 8400F providing sufficient CPU throughput to keep up.

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

For players targeting 60 FPS as a baseline, the Ultra preset at 4K delivers 79.5 FPS, which is comfortably above that threshold. This makes Ultra at 4K a viable option, though the High preset at 88.7 FPS provides a smoother experience with only a modest visual downgrade. The Medium preset at 4K achieves 98.7 FPS, which is a 24% improvement over Ultra, and may be preferable for those who prioritize frame rate over maximum visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the High preset achieves 129.8 FPS, which is well-suited for high refresh rate monitors. The Medium preset at 150 FPS offers an 15% improvement over High, and the Low preset at 204.5 FPS is ideal for competitive play or for those with 240 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 114.9 FPS, which is still smooth but represents a 23% drop from High.

At 1080p, all presets exceed 148 FPS, with Low reaching 245.4 FPS. The Medium preset at 193.7 FPS strikes a good balance for most users, while High at 173.4 FPS offers better visuals with minimal frame rate loss. The data suggests that for the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 1440p or 4K is the sweet spot, as it provides frame rates well above 60 FPS while maintaining a high level of graphical detail. For those seeking the highest possible frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p is the clear choice.

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

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this CPU and GPU combination in Control?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 245.4, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 8400F compare to its nearest rival, the Ryzen 7 2700X?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25,064, while the Ryzen 7 2700X has a score of 25,057, resulting in a deltaPct of 0, indicating they perform nearly identically.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's performance in Control limited by VRAM capacity?

A: No. The RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, which is far more than sufficient for a game like Control, and the measured frame rates are not indicative of VRAM limitations.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Ultra and Low settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset achieves 79.5 FPS, while the Low preset achieves 138.3 FPS, a difference of 58.8 FPS.

Q: Which resolution provides the most balanced performance across all settings?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 129.8 FPS, and the Ultra preset achieves 114.9 FPS, both providing high frame rates with substantial visual quality, making 1440p a balanced choice.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,473.

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

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across twelve distinct configurations. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 245.4 FPS on Low, 193.7 FPS on Medium, 173.4 FPS on High, and 148.7 FPS on Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decline, with Ultra representing a 39% reduction from Low.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates are 204.5 FPS on Low, 150 FPS on Medium, 129.8 FPS on High, and 114.9 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 44%, which is slightly larger than the 39% drop at 1080p. At 3840x2160, the results are 138.3 FPS on Low, 98.7 FPS on Medium, 88.7 FPS on High, and 79.5 FPS on Ultra. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 43%.

The data also shows that the scaling from 1080p to 4K is steepest at Low settings, where the frame rate drops by 44%, while at Ultra settings the drop is 47%. This suggests that the GPU's workload scales roughly proportionally with resolution, with the CPU maintaining its ability to provide frames without becoming a constraint. The system's combo rank in Control is 48 out of 1,636 total combinations, placing it in the top 3% of configurations tested. This ranking underscores the strength of this pairing, with the RTX 4090 providing the bulk of the performance and the Ryzen 5 8400F proving to be a capable partner.