Control

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using TSMC's 4 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 over a dual-channel bus, providing 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The processor sits on the AMD Socket AM5 platform with PCIe Gen 5 support (24 lanes from the CPU). Its integrated Radeon Graphics, while present, is not a factor in the measured discrete GPU results here.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 9600X posts a single-thread score of 1253 in 3DMark and 3603 in Cinebench R23 single-core. Multi-threaded performance reaches 7590 in 3DMark max threads and 25525 in Cinebench R23 multicore. These figures place the CPU at the 85th percentile among all tested CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28246. The nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the Intel Core i5-13490F scores 28173 (a 0.3% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 230 scores 28164 (0.3%), the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS scores 28369 (-0.4%), and the Intel Core i5-14500T scores 28377 (-0.5%). The 9600X essentially trades blows with these parts, being within half a percent of each.

For Control, an Action Adventure title, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics data. The 9600X's strong single-thread performance — evidenced by its 363 Cinebench R15 single-core score and 4570 Passmark single-thread score — is particularly relevant for a game that relies on consistent frame pacing rather than extreme core counts. The 6-core/12-thread configuration provides ample headroom for background tasks without bottlenecking the RX 9070 XT. Data suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions, as FPS scales dramatically when settings are reduced, indicating GPU-bound behavior even at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 9600X compare to its closest CPU rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The 9600X has an average benchmark score of 28246. The Intel Core i5-13490F scores 28173 (0.3% lower), the AMD Ryzen 5 230 scores 28164 (0.3% lower), the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS scores 28369 (0.4% higher), and the Intel Core i5-14500T scores 28377 (0.5% higher). The differences are negligible, placing all five parts within a 0.8% band.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking and how does it stack against its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 9070 XT sits at the 82nd percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 39647. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (39703, -0.1% delta), NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (39568, 0.2%), AMD Radeon Pro 575X (39836, -0.5%), and AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (39879, -0.6%). The 9070 XT is effectively tied with these parts.

Q: At which resolution does the combo achieve the highest average FPS?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 191.2 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 2560x1440 Low, it drops to 145.2, and at 3840x2160 Low, it reaches 95.8. The lowest average FPS is 53.3 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combos in Control?

A: The combo ranks 452nd out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This places it in the top 27.6% of all combinations tested, indicating solid but not top-tier performance for this specific title.

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

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 191.2 FPS while Ultra produces 106.2 FPS. This represents a 85 FPS difference, or a 44.5% reduction from Low to Ultra. The gap narrows at higher resolutions: at 1440p, the difference is 64.5 FPS (145.2 vs 80.7), and at 4K it is 42.5 FPS (95.8 vs 53.3).

Q: Does the CPU's 6-core/12-thread configuration show any weakness in this game's results?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 191.2 FPS, which would stress most CPUs, yet the frame rate remains high. The CPU's single-thread performance (1253 in 3DMark single-thread, 3603 in Cinebench R23) appears sufficient to keep up with the GPU across all tested settings and resolutions.

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

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At High settings, the combo produces 123.7 FPS at 1920x1080, 92.9 FPS at 2560x1440, and 59.6 FPS at 3840x2160. Moving from 1080p to 1440p results in a 24.9% FPS drop, while moving from 1440p to 4K results in a 35.8% drop. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K at High settings is 51.8% — a substantial decline that points squarely at the GPU as the limiting factor.

At Low settings, the scaling is steeper in absolute terms: 191.2 FPS at 1080p, 145.2 FPS at 1440p, and 95.8 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are similar (24.1% from 1080p to 1440p, 34.0% from 1440p to 4K), even though the actual FPS values are higher. This consistency across settings suggests that the RX 9070 XT's rendering throughput, not the CPU, is dictating performance. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect FPS to plateau at lower resolutions regardless of settings, which is not observed.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic resolution sensitivity: 106.2 FPS at 1080p, 80.7 FPS at 1440p, and 53.3 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 53.3 FPS is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset, falling just shy of the 60 FPS target. The data indicates that at 4K Ultra, the GPU is working near its limits for this title, whereas at 1080p even Ultra settings leave significant headroom. The resolution scaling pattern — with FPS roughly halving from 1080p to 4K at every preset — is typical of a GPU-limited scenario where the CPU's 6-core/12-thread design and high boost clock (5.40 GHz) are sufficient to avoid becoming the constraining component.

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

Examining the four available presets across all three resolutions, Medium settings offer the most balanced experience. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 136.7 FPS compared to 191.2 FPS on Low and 123.7 FPS on High. The jump from Medium to High costs 13 FPS (a 9.5% reduction), while the jump from Medium to Ultra costs 30.5 FPS (a 22.3% reduction). Medium provides 86.4% of Low's performance while presumably offering substantially better visual quality than Low.

At 2560x1440, Medium produces 103.4 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. High yields 92.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 80.7 FPS. The 1440p Medium result of 103.4 FPS represents a strong balance: it is 28.8% faster than High and 28.1% faster than Ultra, while remaining within 28.8% of Low's 145.2 FPS. For users targeting high refresh rate monitors at 1440p, Medium is clearly the sweet spot.

At 3840x2160, Medium achieves 71 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold. High delivers 59.6 FPS, just below 60, and Ultra falls to 53.3 FPS. Low produces 95.8 FPS at 4K, but the visual trade-off at 4K resolution makes Low less appealing. Medium at 4K offers the best compromise: it maintains fluid motion (71 FPS) while presumably retaining more visual fidelity than Low. High at 4K is borderline, and Ultra should be reserved for users who prioritize image quality over frame rate smoothness.

Across all resolutions, Medium is the recommended preset. It consistently delivers frame rates that are 71-72% of Low's performance while staying well above the 60 FPS mark at every resolution. High is acceptable at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K it dips below 60 FPS. Ultra is only advisable at 1080p, where it still achieves 106.2 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 452nd out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This places the combo in the 72.4th percentile — meaning it outperforms roughly 72% of all tested combinations while being bested by the top 28%. Given that the CPU sits at the 85th percentile among CPUs and the GPU at the 82nd percentile among GPUs, the combo's 72.4th percentile ranking in Control is notably lower than either component's individual percentile standing.

This discrepancy suggests that Control's specific engine and workload characteristics do not fully leverage the strengths of this pairing. The game, released in 2019, may not scale perfectly with the latest hardware architectures. The combo's rank of 452 indicates that many other CPU-GPU pairings — likely with higher-end GPUs or CPUs with different characteristics — achieve better results in this title. However, the rank is still solidly in the top third of all combos, reflecting the overall capability of the 9600X + 9070 XT combination.

The nearest rival data for the CPU and GPU individually provides context: the 9600X is virtually tied with four other CPUs (all within 0.5% in average score), and the 9070 XT is similarly tied with four other GPUs (all within 0.6%). This tight clustering suggests that small differences in component selection could shift the combo's rank. The 452nd position out of 1636 combos represents a mid-to-upper tier result — not elite, but far from disappointing. For a game like Control, which may be more sensitive to GPU memory bandwidth or specific driver optimizations, the 9070 XT's 16 GB GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are likely contributing factors to its performance.

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

The dataset provides 12 measured FPS points, covering four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) at three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160). All values are average FPS; no minimum or maximum FPS data is available.

At 1920x1080: Low yields 191.2 FPS, Medium yields 136.7 FPS, High yields 123.7 FPS, and Ultra yields 106.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 85 FPS. The step-down from Low to Medium is 54.5 FPS (28.5% reduction), from Medium to High is 13 FPS (9.5% reduction), and from High to Ultra is 17.5 FPS (14.1% reduction). The largest single drop occurs between Low and Medium, suggesting that Medium introduces significant visual effects that tax the GPU.

At 2560x1440: Low produces 145.2 FPS, Medium produces 103.4 FPS, High produces 92.9 FPS, and Ultra produces 80.7 FPS. The total spread is 64.5 FPS. The Low-to-Medium drop is 41.8 FPS (28.8% reduction), Medium-to-High is 10.5 FPS (10.2% reduction), and High-to-Ultra is 12.2 FPS (13.1% reduction). Compared to 1080p, all settings see a roughly 24-25% reduction in FPS, consistent with the resolution scaling pattern noted earlier.

At 3840x2160: Low achieves 95.8 FPS, Medium achieves 71 FPS, High achieves 59.6 FPS, and Ultra achieves 53.3 FPS. The spread is 42.5 FPS. The Low-to-Medium drop is 24.8 FPS (25.9% reduction), Medium-to-High is 11.4 FPS (16.1% reduction), and High-to-Ultra is 6.3 FPS (10.6% reduction). At 4K, the relative differences between presets compress, with the High-to-Ultra gap being the smallest of any resolution.

Comparing across resolutions, the 1080p Low result of 191.2 FPS is the highest measured value, while the 4K Ultra result of 53.3 FPS is the lowest. The data shows that the RX 9070 XT can handle 4K at Medium settings (71 FPS) but struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K High (59.6 FPS). For 1440p gaming, all presets exceed 80 FPS, making this resolution the most flexible for users who want to prioritize visual quality. The 1080p results are uniformly high, with even Ultra clearing 106 FPS, indicating that 1080p users can max out settings without concern.