Control

Control with an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics, pitting a mid-range 2019 CPU against a flagship 2022 GPU. The measured FPS data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but shows clear signs of CPU limitation at 1080p. This analysis interprets the benchmark results to understand how this specific pairing performs, what settings to prioritize, and where the hardware’s respective limits lie.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy of performance across the four settings presets. At 4K, the Ultra preset delivers 76 FPS average, which is playable but leaves headroom for smoother motion. The High preset at 4K boosts the average to 88 FPS, a 15.8% improvement over Ultra. However, the Medium preset at 4K achieves 99 FPS average, with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS, representing a significant jump in fluidity. The data strongly suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for 4K, as it offers a substantial FPS increase over High while maintaining a playable minimum.

At 1440p, the picture changes slightly. The High preset reaches 130 FPS average, while Medium hits 142 FPS. The Ultra preset at 113 FPS is still respectable. The 1440p data shows that the gap between Medium and High is smaller (an 8.5% difference), but Medium still holds a clear advantage. The Low preset at 1440p yields 162 FPS, which is only a 14% improvement over Medium, suggesting diminishing returns at this resolution. For the best balance, Medium at 1440p provides excellent performance with only a slight concession in visual quality.

At 1080p, the situation becomes more complex. The Medium preset produces 156 FPS average, while High reaches 150 FPS. Interestingly, the Ultra preset at 143 FPS is not far behind. The Low preset tops out at 177 FPS. The relatively small spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p (a 19% difference) points to a CPU bottleneck, where the graphics card is not the limiting factor. Therefore, at 1080p, selecting High or Ultra is recommended, as the FPS cost is minimal while the visual fidelity gains are substantial. The data indicates that the Ryzen 7 3700X is holding the RTX 4090 back at this resolution, making higher settings effectively "free" in terms of performance.

Considering all measured points, the Medium preset consistently offers the best combination of high average FPS and stable minimums across all resolutions. For 4K, it's the clear choice. For 1440p, it edges out High. For 1080p, it's a solid choice, though the Ultra preset is also viable given the CPU limitation.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores show a balanced profile: a Cinebench R15 multicore score of 2092 and a single-core score of 204, alongside a Geekbench multicore score of 8899 and single-core score of 1593. The PassMark multithread score of 22458 further confirms its strong parallel processing capabilities, placing it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs.

In Control, the CPU's role becomes evident when analyzing the 1080p results. The FPS difference between Low (177 FPS) and Ultra (143 FPS) is only 34 FPS. This is a modest delta compared to the scaling seen at 4K, where Low (139 FPS) to Ultra (76 FPS) is a 63 FPS difference. This pattern indicates that at 1080p, the game's rendering demands are low enough that the CPU cannot feed frames to the GPU fast enough. The 3700X's single-threaded performance, while respectable, appears to be the limiting factor in this scenario. The data implies that a stronger CPU would unlock higher FPS at 1080p, but this pairing is still capable of delivering very high frame rates.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU's influence wanes. The FPS drop from 1440p Low (162 FPS) to 4K Low (139 FPS) is just 14%, while the drop from 1440p Ultra (113 FPS) to 4K Ultra (76 FPS) is 33%. This suggests that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, allowing the 3700X to keep up with the demands of the game. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are sufficient for Control’s engine at these higher resolutions, as the data shows no signs of a CPU-induced frame rate collapse.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a behemoth, featuring 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. Its clocks are high, with a base of 2235 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz. The GPU's raw compute power is immense, with an FP32 rating of 82.58 TFLOPS. Its benchmark scores are equally impressive, with a PassMark G3D score of 38194 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 9223, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs.

The RTX 4090's role in this pairing is to provide headroom. The 4K High preset delivers 88 FPS, which is a strong result. However, the GPU is clearly capable of more, as evidenced by the 4K Low preset hitting 139 FPS. The VRAM capacity is a non-issue, as 24 GB is far more than Control requires, even at 4K. The GPU's memory bandwidth is also more than sufficient. The data shows that the RTX 4090 is not the limiting factor at any resolution tested. Instead, its performance is curtailed by the CPU at 1080p and by the game's engine optimizations at 4K Ultra, where the 76 FPS result is likely due to specific rendering effects that are demanding even for this card.

The 4K Medium preset, with an average of 99 FPS, demonstrates the GPU's ability to handle high frame rates at high resolutions. The GPU's sheer power ensures that even at 4K, the user can expect a smooth experience on Medium settings. The bottleneck analysis is clear: the RTX 4090 is underutilized at 1080p, and the CPU is the primary constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 342nd out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places the pairing in the top 9.2% of all configurations, which is a strong showing. However, the rank also implies that there are many other combos that achieve higher FPS. The data from the measured FPS suggests that this rank is likely dragged down by the 1080p results, where the CPU bottleneck prevents the RTX 4090 from reaching its full potential. A combo with a stronger, newer CPU would likely rank higher.

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark score, include the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 and the AMD EPYC 4244P, both with a deltaPct of 0.1%, and the Intel Core i5-13450HX with a deltaPct of -0.2%. This indicates that the 3700X's overall CPU performance is comparable to these modern chips, but its single-threaded performance might be the differentiator in gaming. The GPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark score, are the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% delta), which is surprising given the RTX 4090's reputation. This suggests that the average benchmark score is not a perfect proxy for gaming performance.

In the context of Control, the combo's rank of 342 means that while it outperforms the vast majority of systems, it is not in the top tier. The data implies that the pairing is imbalanced for this specific game, with the CPU holding back a top-tier GPU. The rank serves as a warning that a high-end GPU does not guarantee a top-tier gaming experience if paired with a mid-range CPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the best setting preset for a smooth 4K experience with this hardware?

A: The Medium preset at 4K delivers an average of 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS. This is a significant improvement over the High preset (88 FPS average) and is the recommended choice for a balance of quality and performance.

Q: Does the CPU limit performance at 1080p?

A: Yes. The FPS difference between Low (177 FPS) and Ultra (143 FPS) at 1080p is only 34 FPS, which is much smaller than the difference seen at 4K. This indicates that the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 4K?

A: The Low preset at 4K achieves 139 FPS average, while the Ultra preset achieves 76 FPS. This means the Low preset is 82.9% faster than Ultra, showing a massive performance cost for the highest visual settings.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 has a minimum FPS of 121 and a maximum of 164, with an average of 142 FPS. This indicates good frame pacing and a stable experience.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's 24 GB of VRAM a factor in this game?

A: No, the data does not suggest any VRAM limitation. The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory is far more than what Control demands, and the performance is instead dictated by the CPU at lower resolutions and the GPU's processing power at higher resolutions.

Q: How does this combo's rank compare to the total number of combos tested?

A: This combo ranks 342nd out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the top 9.2% of all configurations tested for Control.

Measured FPS Breakdown

This section details the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings preset.

At 1920x1080, the results show a narrow band of performance. The Low preset delivers 177 FPS average. The Medium preset provides 156 FPS average, with a minimum of 133 FPS and a maximum of 180 FPS. The High preset is close behind at 150 FPS average. The Ultra preset rounds out the options at 143 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 34 FPS, indicating a CPU-bound scenario.

At 2560x1440, the scaling becomes more pronounced. The Low preset achieves 162 FPS average. The Medium preset produces 142 FPS average, with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 164 FPS. The High preset reaches 130 FPS average. The Ultra preset delivers 113 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 49 FPS, showing a growing GPU influence.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's workload dominates. The Low preset yields 139 FPS average. The Medium preset follows with 99 FPS average, with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS. The High preset achieves 88 FPS average. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, producing 76 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 63 FPS, clearly demonstrating that the RTX 4090 is the primary bottleneck at this resolution.

Resolution Scaling

Analyzing the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals how the bottleneck shifts. For the Low preset, the FPS drops from 177 at 1080p to 162 at 1440p (a 8.5% decrease), and then to 139 at 4K (a 14.2% decrease from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 21.5%. This relatively modest decline suggests that the CPU is heavily involved in limiting performance, as the GPU's workload increases but the FPS does not scale down proportionally.

For the Medium preset, the FPS drops from 156 at 1080p to 142 at 1440p (a 9.0% decrease), and then to 99 at 4K (a 30.3% decrease from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 36.5%. The larger drop between 1440p and 4K indicates that the GPU is becoming the more significant limiting factor at this point.

For the High preset, the FPS drops from 150 at 1080p to 130 at 1440p (a 13.3% decrease), and then to 88 at 4K (a 32.3% decrease from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 41.3%. This pattern continues the trend of increasing GPU dependency.

For the Ultra preset, the FPS drops from 143 at 1080p to 113 at 1440p (a 21.0% decrease), and then to 76 at 4K (a 32.7% decrease from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 46.9%. This is the largest relative drop, showing that the Ultra preset is heavily GPU-bound, and the RTX 4090's performance is the deciding factor.

The scaling data indicates that at 1080p, the Ryzen 7 3700X is the limiting component, preventing the RTX 4090 from showing its full strength. As resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and the system becomes more balanced. The 4K results are where the RTX 4090's power is most evident, and where the CPU's influence wanes. The significant FPS drops at higher settings and resolutions highlight the GPU's role as the primary driver of performance in this configuration, with the CPU acting as a ceiling only at lower resolutions.