Control

Control on this AMD Ryzen 5 9600X + AMD Radeon RX 6600 combo shows a system that is clearly balanced around 1080p gaming, with the CPU providing ample headroom while the GPU becomes the decisive factor at higher resolutions and quality settings. The benchmark data indicates a playable experience at 1080p, but pushing to 4K requires significant compromises to maintain acceptable frame rates.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using a 4 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, backed by 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 per core. With a 65 W TDP, it is a power-efficient desktop chip that excels in single-threaded workloads, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3603 and Geekbench single-core score of 3363.

In Control, the CPU's strength is evident when examining the frame rate scaling across resolutions. At 1080p Low settings, the combo delivers 106.1 FPS, while at 4K Low it drops to 55.4 FPS. This 48% reduction when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings indicates that the GPU, not the CPU, is the limiting factor once resolution increases. The Ryzen 5 9600X's multi-threaded performance—Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25525 and PassMark multithread score of 30027—is more than adequate to feed the RX 6600 even at lower resolutions where CPU overhead is typically higher.

The processor's 3DMark single-thread score of 1253 and 2-thread score of 2456 reinforce its strong per-core performance, which is critical for Control's physics and AI calculations. The data shows that the CPU is never the bottleneck in this pairing; even at 1080p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 56.8 FPS, which is a GPU limitation rather than a CPU constraint. The CPU's percentile ranking of 85 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28246, places it in the upper tier of processors, comfortably ahead of the Intel Core i5-13490F by 0.3% and the AMD Ryzen 5 230 by 0.3%, while trailing the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS by 0.4% and Intel Core i5-14500T by 0.5%.

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

Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this combo for a smooth experience?

A: At 1080p, the combo delivers 78.2 FPS on Medium and 68.1 FPS on High, both comfortably above 60 FPS. At 1440p, High settings yield 53.7 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. For the smoothest experience, 1080p with Medium or High settings is recommended based on the measured data.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 28246, which is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i5-13490F (28173) and 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 230 (28164). It is 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (28369) and 0.5% lower than the Intel Core i5-14500T (28377).

Q: Does the GPU hold back the CPU in Control at any settings?

A: Yes. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 106.1 FPS, but at 4K Low it drops to 55.4 FPS, showing the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases. The CPU's performance headroom is evident from its high single-thread scores, which are not fully utilized at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the CPU and GPU?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X has a launch MSRP of $279, and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 has a launch MSRP of 329 USD.

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

A: The RX 6600 has an average benchmark score of 25235, which is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon 890M (25246, 0% delta), 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (25287), 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25180), and 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (25120).

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming in Control?

A: The measured data shows 1440p High at 53.7 FPS and 1440p Medium at 55.3 FPS, which are playable but below 60 FPS. At 1080p, all settings except Ultra (56.8 FPS) exceed 60 FPS, with Low hitting 106.1 FPS. Therefore, 1080p is the sweet spot for this pairing.

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 clear GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the combo delivers 106.1 FPS at 1080p, 82.6 FPS at 1440p, and 55.4 FPS at 4K. This represents a 22% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a further 33% drop from 1440p to 4K. The steep decline at 4K—where the average FPS is roughly half of 1080p—indicates that the RX 6600's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are overwhelmed by the pixel count.

High settings show a similar pattern: 68.1 FPS at 1080p, 53.7 FPS at 1440p, and 35.9 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p here is 21%, while 1440p to 4K is 33%. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 56.8 FPS at 1080p, 47.8 FPS at 1440p, and 30.5 FPS at 4K—a 46% drop from 1080p to 4K. These numbers confirm that the GPU is the limiting component; if the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would remain relatively flat across resolutions.

The data also shows that the scaling is not linear—the drop from 1440p to 4K is consistently larger than from 1080p to 1440p across all settings. This is typical of a GPU that runs out of pixel throughput and memory bandwidth at 4K. The RX 6600's pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s are sufficient for 1080p but struggle at 4K, where the number of pixels quadruples.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 1350 out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This places it in the lower 17% of all tested configurations, which is a strong indicator that this is not a high-end gaming setup for this title. The rank reflects the GPU's mid-range position—its percentile vs all GPUs is 69, meaning it outperforms 69% of all GPUs but falls short of top-tier cards.

The combo's rank is likely dragged down by the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions. With the CPU's percentile of 85, the processor is clearly capable of supporting a more powerful GPU. The gap between CPU and GPU percentiles (85 vs 69) highlights the imbalance: the Ryzen 5 9600X has significantly more headroom than the RX 6600 can utilize in Control. This is corroborated by the frame rate data, where the CPU's strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R15 single-core score of 363) does not translate to higher FPS at 4K.

In practical terms, a rank of 1350/1636 means that most other CPU+GPU combos will outperform this one in Control. However, for players targeting 1080p with medium-to-high settings, the actual measured FPS (78.2 and 68.1 respectively) is perfectly playable. The rank is more indicative of the combo's overall ceiling rather than its suitability for a specific resolution.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 23 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process. It features 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, with 28 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1626 MHz, a game clock of 2044 MHz, and a boost clock of 2491 MHz. Memory is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The 8 GB VRAM is a critical factor in Control's performance at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 30.5 FPS, and even at 4K High it only manages 35.9 FPS. This suggests that the GPU is running out of memory and bandwidth, as Control's textures and effects demand more than 8 GB at 4K. The memory bus width of 128 bit and bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s are modest by modern standards, which explains the steep frame rate drops when resolution increases.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 8.928 TFLOPS and texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s are adequate for 1080p gaming. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (106.1) and Medium (78.2) shows that the GPU can handle the game's workload when not pressed by high pixel counts. However, the 17.86 TFLOPS FP16 performance (2:1 ratio) and 159.4 GPixel/s pixel rate are not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 25235 and percentile of 69 place it in the mid-range tier. It performs essentially identically to the AMD Radeon 890M (0% delta) and is within 0.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. This indicates that the RX 6600 is a consistent performer for its class, but it cannot overcome the demands of 4K gaming in a title like Control.

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

1080p (1920x1080): The combo delivers its best performance here. Low settings achieve 106.1 FPS, Medium hits 78.2 FPS, High reaches 68.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 56.8 FPS. All settings except Ultra maintain frame rates above 60 FPS, making 1080p the sweet spot for this pairing. The difference between Low and Ultra is 49.3 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for higher quality settings.

1440p (2560x1440): Performance drops noticeably. Low settings deliver 82.6 FPS, Medium hits 55.3 FPS, High reaches 53.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 47.8 FPS. Only Low settings exceed 60 FPS at this resolution. The gap between Low and Ultra is 34.8 FPS. Medium and High are nearly identical (55.3 vs 53.7), suggesting that the GPU becomes bandwidth-limited at these settings.

4K (3840x2160): This resolution pushes the combo to its limits. Low settings achieve 55.4 FPS, Medium hits 37.2 FPS, High reaches 35.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 30.5 FPS. No setting achieves 60 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial: Low loses 50.7 FPS, Medium loses 41.0 FPS, High loses 32.2 FPS, and Ultra loses 26.3 FPS. The relatively smaller absolute drop at Ultra (26.3 FPS) indicates that the GPU is already saturated at 1080p Ultra, so the additional resolution has a proportionally smaller impact.

The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, with playable performance at 1440p on lower settings. 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings, where the 55.4 FPS average is just below the 60 FPS threshold. For players prioritizing smooth gameplay, 1080p with High settings (68.1 FPS) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance.