Control

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Control reveals a pronounced GPU-bound scaling pattern as resolution climbs. At 1080p with Low settings, the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination produces 121 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 91.6 FPS, a reduction of roughly 24%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 60.1 FPS, which is half the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER's rendering throughput, not the CPU, becomes the primary limiter as pixel count increases.

The gap between settings tiers widens dramatically at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 54.7 FPS (121 to 66.3). At 1440p, that spread narrows to 39.4 FPS (91.6 to 52.2). At 4K, the spread compresses further to 27.6 FPS (60.1 to 32.5). This compression is a classic sign of pixel-bound operation: when the GPU is saturated, changing quality presets has less relative impact because the bottleneck is fixed.

The Ultra preset at 4K yields just 32.5 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth action gameplay. In contrast, Low at 4K achieves 60.1 FPS, indicating that the RTX 2060 SUPER can handle 4K only when visual features are heavily reduced. The data strongly suggests that the 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth of the RTX 2060 SUPER are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the sheer pixel throughput required at 3840x2160 overwhelms the GPU's 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU pairing ranks 1140 out of 1636 tested combos in Control. That places it in the lower third of all configurations, which is unsurprising given the RTX 2060 SUPER's age and the game's demanding rendering. The percentile data for the GPU alone shows it sits at the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU ranks at the 85th percentile among all CPUs. This mismatch — a strong processor paired with a mid-tier graphics card — means the combo's overall ranking is dragged down by the GPU.

The CPU's nearest rivals help contextualize the processor's contribution. The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 28631, which is essentially identical to the Intel Core i5-12600 (28654, deltaPct -0.1) and the Intel Core i5-12600H (28666, deltaPct -0.1). It also edges out the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28591, deltaPct 0.1) and the AMD EPYC 7203P (28583, deltaPct 0.2). These tiny deltas confirm that the 3700X is not a weak link in this pairing.

On the GPU side, the RTX 2060 SUPER's average benchmark score of 19774 places it just ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (19706, deltaPct 0.3), the RTX 2070 (19680, deltaPct 0.5), the Quadro K5200 (19623, deltaPct 0.8), and the Tesla K40m (19519, deltaPct 1.3). The fact that it only leads the older GTX TITAN by 0.3% and the higher-tier RTX 2070 by 0.5% underscores that this GPU is operating near its performance ceiling in Control.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 2 architecture, built on a 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, and it carries 32 MB of L3 cache. For a 2019 title like Control, this is a robust configuration. The benchmark scores reflect its capability: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 19087, single-core 2694, and Geekbench multi-core 8083 with single-core 1672.

In Control specifically, the CPU is unlikely to be the limiting factor at any resolution. The FPS scaling pattern — where 1080p Low hits 121 FPS but 4K Low drops to 60.1 — shows that the GPU saturates long before the 3700X's 16 threads are fully taxed. The 8-core design provides ample headroom for the game's physics and AI systems, which typically scale well across multiple threads. The PassMark multithread score of 22458 and physics score of 1181 reinforce that this processor can handle demanding workloads without becoming a bottleneck.

The 3700X's 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for feeding the RTX 2060 SUPER. Its PCIe Gen 4 interface, though the GPU uses PCIe 3.0 x16, ensures no bandwidth limitations. In practical terms, the data indicates that swapping this CPU for a faster model would yield negligible FPS gains in Control at 1440p or 4K, since the GPU is already the constraining component.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 2060 SUPER delivers strong performance across all presets. Low settings produce 121 FPS, Medium 84.4, High 75.9, and Ultra 66.3. The step from Low to Medium is a substantial 36.6 FPS drop, indicating that Medium enables significant visual features that tax the GPU. From Medium to High the drop is 8.5 FPS, and from High to Ultra another 9.6 FPS. This gradient suggests that 1080p Ultra is perfectly playable, and even High offers a smooth experience well above 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages fall to 91.6 FPS on Low, 62.7 on Medium, 54.6 on High, and 52.2 on Ultra. The Medium preset remains above 60 FPS, making it the sweet spot for 1440p gaming. High and Ultra dip below the 60 FPS threshold, which may be noticeable in fast-paced combat sequences. The gap between High and Ultra at 1440p is only 2.4 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns from the highest preset at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results are more challenging. Low settings hit 60.1 FPS, barely clearing the 60 FPS mark. Medium drops to 40.4, High to 39.1, and Ultra to 32.5. The difference between Medium and High at 4K is just 1.3 FPS, indicating that those presets impose similar GPU loads. Ultra is 6.6 FPS below High, a more significant penalty. For 4K gaming, only Low settings approach playability, and even that is marginal.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Control at 60 FPS in 1080p?

A: Yes. All four presets at 1920x1080 exceed 60 FPS, with Low at 121, Medium at 84.4, High at 75.9, and Ultra at 66.3.

Q: What is the best resolution for a consistent 60+ FPS experience?

A: 1440p with Medium settings achieves 62.7 FPS, which is the only 1440p preset above 60. At 1080p, all presets clear the threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to the RTX 2070 in this game?

A: The nearest rival data shows the RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 19774, which is 0.5% higher than the RTX 2070's 19680. This indicates near-identical performance in general compute, though Control-specific results may vary.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 3700X holding back the GPU in Control?

A: No. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a GPU-bound pattern. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads provide sufficient headroom, as evidenced by its 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 4K with High settings?

A: The measured average is 39.1 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings. This is below the 60 FPS target and may feel less smooth.

Q: Does Low settings at 4K provide a playable experience?

A: Yes, Low at 4K averages 60.1 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold, though it requires accepting reduced visual quality.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience, the data points to 1080p High as the optimal configuration. It delivers 75.9 FPS while retaining most visual features, and the gap to Ultra (66.3 FPS) is only 9.6 FPS, suggesting that High offers nearly all of the visual fidelity with better frame pacing. At 1080p, Ultra is also viable at 66.3 FPS, so players prioritizing image quality can use it without sacrificing smoothness.

At 1440p, Medium is the recommended preset. It achieves 62.7 FPS, just above the 60 FPS target, while High (54.6) and Ultra (52.2) fall short. The 8.1 FPS difference between Medium and High is noticeable, but the frame rate advantage of Medium outweighs the visual upgrade. Players with adaptive sync displays could attempt High, but the measured data suggests Medium is the safer choice for consistent performance.

For 4K, only Low settings are recommended, yielding 60.1 FPS. Medium (40.4), High (39.1), and Ultra (32.5) all produce sub-60 averages that would be noticeable in action sequences. The 19.7 FPS gap between Low and Medium at 4K is substantial, but the playability of Low makes it the clear choice. If 4K is a priority, the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for Low, but higher presets require a more powerful GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip manufactured on a 12 nm process. It contains 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores. The base clock is 1470 MHz with a boost of 1650 MHz, and memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer is adequate for Control at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra preset's 32.5 FPS result suggests capacity or bandwidth pressure.

The GPU's benchmark scores show its general capability: PassMark G3D scores 16462, Geekbench OpenCL 87670, and Vulkan 83503. Its 63rd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the mid-range tier. The nearest rival data indicates it sits 0.3% above the GTX TITAN and 0.5% above the RTX 2070, which is surprising given the 2070's higher tier. This suggests the RTX 2060 SUPER is well-tuned for its class.

In Control, the GPU is the definitive bottleneck at 1440p and 4K. The 1080p Ultra result of 66.3 FPS shows the GPU can handle high loads at lower resolutions, but the 4K results (60.1 Low, 40.4 Medium, 39.1 High, 32.5 Ultra) demonstrate a hard ceiling. The 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores are present but Control's standard rendering path does not appear to leverage them heavily, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops from pixel count rather than ray tracing effects. The 175 W TDP and dual-slot design are modest for this performance level, and the 450 W suggested PSU is sufficient for most systems.