Control

Control pairs the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, a combination that lands at rank 116 out of 1636 tested combos in this game. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets show a system that is consistently fast, but the scaling behavior reveals where each component's workload begins and ends.

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. Its base clock is 3.90 GHz with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and it carries 32 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 1 MB of L2 per core. The chip's single-thread performance is strong: it scores 3603 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 1253 in 3DMark single-thread, which places it in the 85th percentile among all CPUs. For a game like Control, which relies heavily on a few primary threads for physics and scene management, this single-core headroom is directly relevant — higher single-thread scores translate to better minimum frame pacing and fewer hitches when the action accelerates.

Multi-threaded performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25525 and a 3DMark max-threads score of 7590. The 9600X's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Core i5-13490F and AMD Ryzen 5 230, both within 0.3% of its 28246 average, and the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS at 0.4% behind. This means the CPU is squarely in a competitive mid-range tier, but in Control, the frame rates at lower resolutions suggest the CPU is keeping pace with the GPU's output. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 244.5 FPS average, which is a strong indicator that the 9600X's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to feed the RTX 4080 SUPER without becoming a bottleneck in this title.

The processor supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, and it integrates Radeon Graphics as a fallback. Its 65 W TDP and unlocked multiplier make it a flexible desktop part, but the data here shows that in Control, the CPU's role is to maintain high minimum frame rates rather than push peak FPS higher — the GPU takes over that job at higher settings and resolutions.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with an AD103 chip on a 5 nm process. It carries 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2550 MHz, and memory runs at 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective). With 10240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs, the GPU delivers 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 816.0 GTexel/s of texture rate. It sits in the 88th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 53610.

The GPU's nearest rivals in average score are the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (0.2% ahead) and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (0.4% ahead), while the RTX 4080 SUPER leads the AMD Radeon RX 7700S by 2.1% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti by 2.9%. In Control, the GPU's 16 GB VRAM is more than adequate for the game's texture loads, even at Ultra settings where the highest-quality assets are streamed. The measured frame rates show the GPU's influence clearly: at 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 68 FPS average, while at 4K Low it reaches 124.8 FPS. This wide spread (56.8 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K) indicates that the GPU is the primary scaling factor when settings are increased, as the CPU's contribution remains constant across those runs.

The RTX 4080 SUPER's pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s are key to handling Control's particle effects and destructible environments. The card's end-of-life production status and launch MSRP of 999 USD are noted, but the performance data shows it still holds a strong position in this game.

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

The measured FPS across resolutions reveals a predictable decline that shifts the bottleneck from CPU to GPU as pixel count rises. At 1080p High, the combo averages 156.5 FPS; at 1440p High, it drops to 118.5 FPS (a 24.3% reduction); and at 4K High, it falls to 77.6 FPS (a 34.5% reduction from 1440p). This pattern — where each resolution step costs a larger percentage of frames — is classic GPU-bound scaling. The CPU is not the limiter at 1080p, as evidenced by the 244.5 FPS average at Low settings, which is over 56% higher than the 156.5 FPS at High.

At 4K, the gap between Low and Ultra settings is 56.8 FPS (124.8 vs 68), which is a 45.5% drop. The same comparison at 1080p shows a drop of 110.5 FPS (244.5 vs 134), a 45.2% reduction — nearly identical in relative terms. This consistency suggests that the GPU's workload scales proportionally with settings regardless of resolution, while the CPU maintains a stable baseline. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo is likely near the CPU's ceiling for this game, as pushing beyond 244.5 FPS would require more single-thread throughput than the 9600X provides. At 4K Ultra, however, the 68 FPS average is firmly GPU-limited, as the RTX 4080 SUPER's rendering load at 8.3 million pixels exceeds the card's capacity to maintain higher frame rates with maxed settings.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo ranks 116th out of 1636 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the top 7.1% of all systems tested. This is a strong result, but not at the very top — there are 115 combos that outperform it, likely pairing faster CPUs (such as higher-core-count Ryzen 9 or Core i9 parts) with the same or faster GPUs. Given that the RTX 4080 SUPER is a top-tier GPU (88th percentile), the rank is more constrained by the CPU's position (85th percentile) than by the GPU itself.

The rank relative to the combo's own components is informative. The CPU's average benchmark score of 28246 is within 0.3% of the Intel Core i5-13490F and AMD Ryzen 5 230, and within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and Intel Core i5-14500T. This means the 9600X is not leaving performance on the table compared to its direct competitors — the rank is a function of the GPU's dominance in this pairing. In Control specifically, the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (68 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (134 FPS) indicate that the combo delivers a high-refresh 1080p experience and a solid 4K experience, but the 116th rank suggests that systems with faster multi-core CPUs (which help in CPU-bound scenes) and identical GPUs achieve higher average frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The combo averages 134 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is lower than the 156.5 FPS at High and 174.3 FPS at Medium, but still well above 120 FPS for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in 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 AMD Ryzen 5 230 (28164), and 0.4% to 0.5% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (28369) and Intel Core i5-14500T (28377).

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the combo drops from 156.5 FPS at 1080p to 118.5 FPS at 1440p and 77.6 FPS at 4K. This represents a 50.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiter at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS is 68. The CPU's single-thread score of 3603 in Cinebench R23 is sufficient to keep up, as evidenced by the 124.8 FPS at 4K Low, which is 83.5% higher than at Ultra.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark score compare to the RTX 5070 Ti?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 53610, which is 2.9% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti's 52086. It is also 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53489).

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems in Control?

A: The combo ranks 116th out of 1636 tested combinations, placing it in the top 7.1% of all systems benchmarked for this game.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across presets and resolutions. At 1080p, all settings are playable, but the step from Ultra (134 FPS) to High (156.5 FPS) yields a 16.8% FPS increase with likely minimal visual degradation in Control's darker scenes. At 1440p, High (118.5 FPS) is the sweet spot — it stays above 100 FPS while Medium (129.6 FPS) offers only a 9.4% improvement and Ultra (102.2 FPS) dips below the 120 FPS threshold. At 4K, the situation flips: High (77.6 FPS) and Medium (86.5 FPS) are both above 60 FPS, but Ultra (68 FPS) is still playable for slower-paced exploration. Low settings at 4K (124.8 FPS) show the GPU's raw headroom, but the visual compromise is substantial.

For the best experience per the measured rows, the recommendation is to prioritize High settings at 1080p or 1440p, as this preset balances the 156.5 FPS and 118.5 FPS averages against the visual fidelity that Control's art direction benefits from. At 4K, High (77.6 FPS) is the recommended preset — it stays above 60 FPS while retaining more detail than Medium (86.5 FPS), and the 9.6 FPS difference between Medium and High is a worthwhile trade for the added texture and shadow quality. Ultra settings are viable for screenshot-taking or if the player prioritizes maximum fidelity over frame rate, but the 68 FPS average at 4K Ultra is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset.