Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers a formidable performance profile in Control, securing the 33rd position out of 2,888 tested combos. This top-tier ranking places the configuration in the 98.9th percentile of all tested systems, underscoring its capability to handle this title with substantial headroom. The data indicates a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet still demonstrates the CPU's ability to feed the flagship graphics card effectively at 1080p. Benchmark results show a combination that excels in delivering high refresh-rate gameplay across all settings, with the most significant performance deltas appearing when resolution scales downward.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame of 33 out of 2,888 combos is an exceptional result, placing this system firmly in the upper echelon of tested hardware configurations for Control. This rank is not merely a function of the GPU's raw power; it reflects a balanced partnership where the Ryzen 5 8400F provides sufficient throughput to avoid becoming a bottleneck, even at lower resolutions where CPU demand is highest. The percentile placement indicates that only 32 other combinations of CPUs and GPUs have managed to outperform this pairing in this specific title, a signal of the synergy between AMD's Zen 4 architecture and NVIDIA's Blackwell flagship.

Examining the CPU's standalone performance, its average benchmark score of 25,005 places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, sitting just 0.2% behind. This close grouping suggests that the 8400F is a strong performer in its class, and the negligible deltas to rivals like the Intel Core i7-13620H (0.4% ahead) and AMD EPYC 9474F (0.4% behind) indicate that CPU choice within this tier has minimal impact on overall system ranking. Conversely, the GPU's average benchmark score of 77,712 places it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT trailing by 1.6% and the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB trailing by 2.4%. The GPU's dominant position in the benchmark hierarchy is the primary driver of this combo's high rank, but the CPU's ability to keep pace is critical for achieving the measured FPS figures.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is built on the Zen 4 architecture (Phoenix codename) using a 4 nm process at TSMC. It features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. This configuration, while not the highest core count available, is more than adequate for Control, a game that typically scales well with strong single-thread performance. The CPU's single-thread benchmark scores are particularly relevant: a 3DMark single-thread score of 951 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,943 indicate robust per-core capability, which translates directly to game logic and draw call processing efficiency.

The 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 per core provide low-latency access to frequently used data, which is beneficial for maintaining consistent frame pacing. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR5 interface ensures that data can flow to the GPU without starvation. In the measured results, the CPU's influence is most apparent at 1920x1080, where the average FPS reaches 247 on Low settings. This figure, which is significantly higher than the 4K results, demonstrates that the CPU can push frame rates well beyond 240 FPS when the GPU is not the limiting factor. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6,091 and max-thread score of 6,165 show that while the CPU is not a multi-threaded powerhouse, its single-thread dominance is what matters for this title. The data suggests that in Control, the Ryzen 5 8400F's role is to provide a stable, high-frequency platform that allows the RTX 5090 D to operate at its full potential without introducing frame time spikes.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the undisputed performance anchor of this combo. Based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and the GB202 chip, it is manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 92,200 million transistors. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides a staggering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for high-resolution textures and complex shader workloads in Control.

The GPU's computational resources are immense: 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, alongside 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores. This hardware translates to 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, a figure that is reflected in the benchmark scores. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915 are indicative of its raw compute power. In the context of Control, the GPU's role is to handle the game's physics-based destruction and particle effects, which are heavily GPU-intensive. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (83 FPS average) versus 4K Low (152 FPS average) shows a 45% performance swing, directly attributable to the GPU's workload changing with texture quality and post-processing effects. The 32 GB VRAM capacity ensures that even at 4K Ultra, there is no memory pressure, allowing the GPU to maintain consistent performance without paging. The GPU's percentile ranking of 92 and its benchmark scores, which place it 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT and 2.4% ahead of the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, confirm that it is a top-tier part that dominates in this gaming scenario.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance rank of this CPU and GPU combo in Control?

A: The combo ranks 33rd out of 2,888 tested combinations, placing it in the top 1.1% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25,005, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i7-11850H. It trails the AMD EPYC 9474F by 0.4%.

Q: What is the GPU's standing relative to other graphics cards?

A: The RTX 5090 D achieves an average benchmark score of 77,712, which is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT and 1.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT. It is 2.1% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate is 247 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 83 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: At 1920x1080 Low, the average FPS of 247 is nearly double the 4K Low result of 152 FPS, indicating that the CPU is capable of pushing frames much higher than the GPU can render at higher resolutions. The data suggests the CPU does not bottleneck the GPU at 1440p or 4K, where the GPU is the limiting factor.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 188 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 High, the average drops to 142 FPS, a 24.5% decrease. Further scaling to 3840x2160 High yields 96 FPS, a 32.4% decrease from 1440p and a 48.9% decrease from 1080p. This steep decline with resolution is classic behavior for a system where the GPU is the primary performance limiter, as the CPU's frame generation capability is not being taxed at these settings.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. For Low settings, the 1080p result is 247 FPS, dropping to 225 FPS at 1440p (8.9% decrease) and 152 FPS at 4K (32.4% decrease from 1440p). The relatively smaller drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings (22 FPS) compared to the drop from 1440p to 4K (73 FPS) suggests that at 1080p Low, the CPU is beginning to approach its limit, as the GPU is rendering frames so quickly that the CPU cannot feed it fast enough. This is further evidenced by the fact that the 1080p Low result of 247 FPS is only 36 FPS higher than the 1080p Medium result of 211 FPS, while the gap between 1440p Low (225 FPS) and 1440p Medium (160 FPS) is 65 FPS. The data indicates that the RTX 5090 D is the limiting component at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU starts to exert influence only at 1080p with the lowest graphical load.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 4K gaming, the High preset provides the best balance, delivering an average of 96 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 83 FPS, which is playable but represents a 13.5% performance penalty for the additional visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 108 FPS is a viable alternative for those seeking smoother motion, but the High preset's 96 FPS is already above the 90 FPS threshold for a smooth experience on most displays. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is the bottleneck, so reducing settings from Ultra to High yields a meaningful 15.7% FPS increase.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is again the sweet spot, achieving 142 FPS. This is well above the 120 FPS mark for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 124 FPS still provides an excellent experience, but the High preset offers a 14.5% increase in FPS with presumably minor visual differences. For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 163 FPS is the recommended choice, as it fully utilizes the CPU's headroom while still maintaining frame rates above 144 FPS for competitive play. The Medium preset at 211 FPS is overkill for most displays but could be used for esports-style play on a 240Hz monitor. The Low preset at 247 FPS offers no practical benefit over Medium unless chasing maximum frame rates, but the 36 FPS difference between Low and Medium suggests that Medium is a better choice for visual quality without sacrificing much performance. Overall, the High preset is the most efficient across all resolutions, providing consistent performance without the diminishing returns of Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured results provides a comprehensive view of the combo's capabilities. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 83 at Ultra to 152 at Low. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 124 FPS, with an average of 108 FPS. The High preset averages 96 FPS. This data shows that at 4K, the GPU is the sole performance determinant, with a 45.4% difference between the lowest and highest quality presets.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS ranges from 124 at Ultra to 225 at Low. The Medium preset averages 160 FPS, with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 184 FPS. High averages 142 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 101 FPS, or 44.9%, indicating that the GPU is still the dominant factor, but the CPU's influence is starting to appear, as the Low preset's 225 FPS is closer to the 1080p Low result of 247 FPS than to the 4K Low result of 152 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 163 at Ultra to 247 at Low. Medium averages 211 FPS, with a minimum of 180 FPS and a maximum of 243 FPS. High averages 188 FPS. The 84 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is the smallest absolute gap of any resolution, and the Low preset's 247 FPS is only 36 FPS higher than Medium's 211 FPS. This compression of frame rates at the top end, combined with the fact that 1080p Low is only 22 FPS higher than 1440p Low while 1440p Low is 73 FPS higher than 4K Low, confirms that the CPU is approaching its maximum frame generation capacity at 1080p with Low settings. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited in this title, with the CPU only becoming a marginal factor at the lowest resolution and graphical settings.