Control

Control is a demanding action-adventure title, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and AMD Radeon RX 9060 produces a specific performance profile that is heavily dependent on resolution and graphics settings. The data indicates this pairing is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming, with capabilities extending into 1440p at medium presets. At 4K, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates, highlighting the GPU as the primary limiting factor in this configuration.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor built on the Zen 2 architecture (Matisse) using a 7 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, features a 32 MB L3 cache, and supports DDR4 memory on the AMD Socket AM4 platform. The CPU has a TDP of 65 W and its benchmark scores position it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, suggesting it has adequate processing power for modern gaming workloads.

In the context of Control's measured FPS data, the CPU does not appear to be the bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 130 FPS, which is a significant jump from the 82 FPS at High settings. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the graphics card's workload decreases at lower settings, allowing the CPU to feed frames faster. The Ryzen 7 3700X's multi-threaded performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R15 multi-core score of 2092 and a Passmark multithread score of 22458, ensures it can handle the game's physics and AI logic without holding back the RX 9060 at 1080p.

However, the processor's influence becomes less pronounced as resolution increases. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 66 at Low settings, a reduction of nearly half compared to 1080p Low. This confirms that at 4K, the GPU's rendering load dominates the frame time, and the CPU's role diminishes. The Ryzen 7 3700X's single-core performance, with a Geekbench single-core score of 1593 and a Passmark single-thread score of 2656, is solid but not exceptional; it is sufficient to handle Control's engine demands but does not provide headroom for extreme frame rates beyond what the GPU can deliver. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 and Intel Core i5-13450HX, have very similar average benchmark scores with delta percentages under 1%, indicating that the 3700X is competitively positioned in its performance tier. For this game, the data shows the CPU is a capable partner that enables the GPU to reach its potential at 1080p, but it is not the component driving performance differences at higher resolutions.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the dominant factor in this combo's gaming performance. It is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture (Navi 44 chip) using a 4 nm process, with a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. It features 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units, along with 28 ray tracing cores. The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, with a Passmark G3D score of 17631.

The VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth are critical for Control, a game known for its heavy use of textures and effects. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is just 36, which is not playable for most users. The drop from 42 FPS at High to 36 FPS at Ultra suggests that the 8 GB VRAM buffer is being stressed at 4K, as the Ultra preset likely exceeds the memory capacity, causing performance degradation. At 2560x1440, the GPU performs more reasonably, with 98 FPS at Low and 62 FPS at High, indicating that 1440p is a viable resolution for this card with adjusted settings.

The RX 9060's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, with a delta percentage of -0.7%, meaning the RX 9060 is slightly slower on average. This context is useful for understanding its relative standing. The GPU's compute capabilities, reflected in a Passmark GPU compute score of 9919 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 88183, are moderate, and the data shows that Control's performance scales predictably with settings. At 1920x1080, the GPU delivers a strong 130 FPS at Low, but this drops to 71 FPS at Ultra. The results indicate that the RX 9060 is well-matched to 1080p gaming, offering high frame rates on most presets, but it struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K even on Low settings, where it only achieves 66 FPS. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is likely the limiting factor at higher resolutions, making it a component best suited for 1080p and lighter 1440p workloads in this title.

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

Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: No, the data shows that at 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 36 at Ultra settings to 66 at Low settings. Even at Low, the frame rate is below 70 FPS, and at Ultra it drops to 36 FPS, which is generally considered too low for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU pairing in Control?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At 1080p, the combo achieves an average of 130 FPS at Low, 92 FPS at Medium, 82 FPS at High, and 71 FPS at Ultra, all of which are playable. At 2560x1440, only Low (98 FPS) and Medium (70 FPS) presets maintain acceptable frame rates.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 3060 Ti?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, while the RTX 3060 Ti has an average score of 16129. This results in a delta percentage of -0.7%, indicating the RX 9060 is slightly slower than the RTX 3060 Ti on average.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 3700X a bottleneck for the RX 9060 in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at 1080p, as frame rates scale well with settings. However, at higher resolutions like 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the CPU's role is reduced. The CPU's performance is in the 84th percentile, indicating it is capable for this workload.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS at Low is 98, while at Ultra it is 54. This represents a drop of 44 FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest preset, showing a significant performance cost for higher visual quality.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60 FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: Yes, at 2560x1440 with High settings, the measured average FPS is 62. This is just above the 60 FPS threshold, but it is close to the limit, and any demanding scenes could cause dips below 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination is ranked 1632 out of 2888 tested combos in Control. This places the pairing in the lower-middle tier of all systems tested for this game. The rank of 1632 indicates that there are a substantial number of combinations that perform better, likely those with more powerful GPUs or CPUs. However, it also means the combo outperforms a significant portion of the tested systems, suggesting it is not a low-end setup.

The ranking context is important when interpreting the FPS data. While the combo can achieve 130 FPS at 1080p Low, the overall rank of 1632 reflects its performance across all resolutions and settings, including the weaker 4K results. The GPU's 59th percentile ranking among all GPUs and the CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggest that the GPU is the relative weak link in the pairing. The combo's rank is likely dragged down by the GPU's performance at 4K, where it only manages 36-66 FPS. In contrast, at 1080p, the combo's performance is competitive, but the ranking considers all tested scenarios. The delta between the GPU and its nearest rival is minimal, but the overall combo rank shows that for Control, this system is mid-pack when compared to a wide array of hardware combinations. Users should interpret this rank as an indication that the system is capable for 1080p gaming but not a top-tier performer for higher resolutions in this title.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a 60 FPS target, the best experience is achieved at 1920x1080 with High settings, which yields an average of 82 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with good visual fidelity. At 1080p, the Medium preset offers 92 FPS, which is also excellent, but High provides a better visual experience with only a 10 FPS penalty. The Ultra preset at 1080p delivers 71 FPS, which is still playable, but the marginal visual gains over High may not justify the 11 FPS drop.

At 2560x1440, the recommended settings are Medium, which provides an average of 70 FPS, ensuring a fluid experience. The High preset at 1440p yields 62 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target but might dip in demanding scenes, as indicated by the min FPS of 59 at Medium. For users who prioritize frame rate over visuals, the Low preset at 1440p offers 98 FPS, but the visual quality is significantly reduced. For 3840x2160, the data shows that no preset provides a consistently playable experience; the best average is 66 FPS at Low, which is below the 60 FPS target for many users. The Medium preset at 4K offers 47 FPS, which is not recommended for a smooth experience. Therefore, for the best balance of performance and quality, 1080p High or 1440p Medium are the recommended settings for this combo.

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

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how the combo performs across different resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the results are strong across the board. The Low preset achieves an average of 130 FPS, which is the highest score recorded for any setting in the data. The Medium preset delivers an average of 92 FPS, with a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS, indicating good frame time consistency. The High preset yields an average of 82 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces an average of 71 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 59 FPS drop, which is expected given the increased graphical load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance decreases noticeably. The Low preset provides an average of 98 FPS, which is still very playable. The Medium preset averages 70 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS, suggesting that while the average is above 60, there can be dips in demanding scenes. The High preset averages 62 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold, but it lacks the min/max data, so stability is uncertain. The Ultra preset averages 54 FPS, which is below the ideal playable threshold for many users. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 44 FPS, showing a similar scaling pattern to 1080p but from a lower baseline.

At 3840x2160, the performance is limited. The Low preset achieves an average of 66 FPS, which is the only preset at this resolution that approaches playability. The Medium preset averages 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS, indicating significant performance drops. The High preset averages 42 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 36 FPS. The data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, the frame rates drop substantially, and the 8 GB VRAM on the RX 9060 appears insufficient for 4K Ultra settings, resulting in the lowest scores. The minimum FPS data is only available for the Medium preset at each resolution, which shows lows of 40 FPS at 4K, 59 FPS at 1440p, and 78 FPS at 1080p, providing insight into the worst-case performance scenarios for that specific setting.