Control

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER produces a benchmark profile for Control that is heavily dictated by the graphics card, with the CPU providing ample headroom even at lower resolutions. This combination ranks 1460th out of 1636 tested combos in the game, placing it in the lower tier of the database. The measured frames per second (FPS) data reveals a system that struggles to maintain high refresh rates at 1080p and becomes largely unplayable at 4K, making it a configuration suited for 1080p gaming at medium settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, underscoring the GPU’s role as the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 58 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the average falls to 41.9 FPS, a reduction of roughly 28%. At 4K High, the average plummets to 31.7 FPS, which is about 45% lower than the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is classic for a GPU-limited scenario, where the pixel count outpaces the GTX 1660 SUPER’s capabilities.

The data shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens significantly at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low (88.6 FPS) and Ultra (52.9 FPS) is 35.7 FPS. At 1440p, that spread grows to 31.5 FPS (68.6 vs 37.1). But at 4K, the spread narrows to 18.3 FPS (43.7 vs 25.4). This compression at 4K indicates that the GPU is so saturated that even dropping from High to Low settings yields only a modest 12 FPS gain (43.7 vs 31.7). The limiting component is unambiguously the graphics card; the CPU is not the constraint here.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong single-threaded performance, scoring 3603 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 1253 in 3DMark single-thread. This is critical for Control, which, like many action titles, relies on a few primary threads for game logic and rendering commands. The CPU’s percentile rank is 85th among all CPUs, indicating it is far more capable than the GPU paired with it.

The data suggests the CPU is never the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 88.6 FPS, but the GPU’s performance ceiling is still the constraint. The 3DMark 4-thread score of 4649 and 8-thread score of 6726 show that the processor can handle the multi-threaded load of the game engine without issue. In contrast, the GTX 1660 SUPER’s PassMark G3D score of 12699 and its 55th percentile rank among all GPUs place it as a mid-range part from a previous generation. The CPU’s single-thread performance, evidenced by a PassMark single-thread score of 4570, is more than sufficient to drive the GPU to its limits, but it cannot compensate for the GPU’s lack of raw pixel-pushing power.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 1460th out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This places it in the bottom 11% of all tested configurations, meaning the vast majority of systems in the database deliver higher average FPS. The ranking reflects the GPU’s age and tier; the GTX 1660 SUPER is an end-of-life product, while the CPU is a current-generation part. The mismatch is evident: the CPU is in the top 15% of all processors (85th percentile), but the GPU is only in the 55th percentile.

The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-13490F and AMD Ryzen 5 230, have average benchmark scores within 0.3% of the 9600X, confirming that the processor is competitive with other mid-range options. However, the GPU’s nearest rivals include integrated graphics like the AMD Radeon Vega 11 and Intel Iris Xe MAX, which are within 0.2% to 0.5% of its average score. This is telling: the GTX 1660 SUPER is barely ahead of some integrated graphics solutions in synthetic benchmarks, which correlates with its weak showing in this game. The combo’s rank is therefore a direct consequence of the GPU dragging down an otherwise capable CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

Examining the measured FPS data, the system delivers playable frame rates only at 1080p. At 1080p Low, the average is 88.6 FPS, which is smooth for most displays. At 1080p Medium, it drops to 64.4 FPS, still acceptable. High settings yield 58 FPS, while Ultra dips to 52.9 FPS. These numbers suggest that for 1080p gaming, the user can choose between higher fidelity and smoother motion, but Ultra settings will not consistently hit 60 FPS.

At 1440p, performance becomes more strained. High settings produce 41.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. Medium settings give 47.7 FPS, and Low achieves 68.6 FPS. Ultra, however, falls to 37.1 FPS, which is marginal for smooth gameplay. The data indicates that 1440p is only viable with Low or Medium settings, and even then, the experience may feel inconsistent during intense scenes.

At 4K, the situation is dire. High settings manage only 31.7 FPS, Medium 31.6 FPS, and Ultra 25.4 FPS. Low settings, at 43.7 FPS, are the only option above 30 FPS, but this still results in a stuttery experience for a fast-paced action game. The GTX 1660 SUPER’s 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, with 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is insufficient for the texture and geometry demands of 4K in Control. The GPU’s 48 ROPs and 1408 shading units are also overwhelmed at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the benchmark outcomes. It is based on the Turing architecture but lacks the ray tracing and tensor cores of its higher-end siblings. Its base clock is 1530 MHz with a boost clock of 1785 MHz, and it features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory. The memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s is decent for its class, but the card’s overall compute power is limited, with FP32 performance at 5.027 TFLOPS.

The GPU’s benchmark scores are modest, with a PassMark G3D score of 12699 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1278. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT, which is only 0.7% faster in average score. This places the GTX 1660 SUPER firmly in the entry-level to mid-range segment of 2019-era hardware. In Control, which is a graphically demanding title released in 2019, the GPU’s age shows. The 6 GB VRAM is a particular limitation at higher resolutions and settings, where texture data exceeds this capacity, leading to the significant FPS drops observed.

The GPU’s percentile rank of 55th among all GPUs further confirms its mid-pack status. The fact that it is only 0.2% slower than the integrated AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 in synthetic benchmarks highlights its low standing in 2024. The 125 W TDP and dual-slot design are modest, but the performance is equally modest. For Control, the data clearly shows that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the bottleneck at every resolution, and its limitations define the entire experience of this combo.