Control

Control pairs an 8-core Zen 2 processor with a flagship Blackwell GPU, and the measured frame rates across three resolutions and four settings presets reveal a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher loads. The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, a 2019 release with a 3.60 GHz base and 4.40 GHz boost clock, provides 16 threads that are sufficient to feed the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D even at 1080p, where the CPU’s role becomes most prominent. The RTX 5090 D, built on a 5 nm process with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and a 512-bit bus, delivers 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, a figure that becomes increasingly relevant as resolution scales. The data shows a consistent pattern: performance degrades predictably from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, but the degree of that degradation varies significantly depending on the quality preset, offering insight into where the bottleneck shifts between the two components.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows that resolution scaling has a pronounced effect on this combo, but the impact is not uniform across settings. At the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 177 FPS at 1920x1080 to 142 FPS at 3840x2160, a decline of 35 FPS or roughly 19.8%. This relatively modest drop suggests that at Low settings, the system is not fully stressing the GPU’s compute capabilities, and the CPU’s 16 threads are able to keep up with the rendering demands. The RTX 5090 D’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is far from saturated at these lower resolutions, allowing the frame rate to remain high even as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

At the High preset, the scaling behavior changes markedly. The average FPS falls from 150 at 1920x1080 to 137 at 2560x1440, then to 96 at 3840x2160. The 4K result represents a 36% reduction from the 1080p figure, a far steeper drop than at Low. This indicates that as settings increase, the GPU’s shading units, texture mapping units, and raster operations pipelines become the limiting factor. The RTX 5090 D’s 680 TMUs and 176 ROPs are being pushed harder, and the 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth is being consumed more aggressively. The data suggests that at High and above, the GPU is the primary constraint, with the CPU’s role diminishing as resolution climbs.

The Ultra preset shows the largest absolute drop: from 143 FPS at 1080p to 83 FPS at 4K, a 42% reduction. This steep scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where the 32 GB VRAM buffer and the 512-bit memory interface are taxed to their limits. Interestingly, the Medium preset shows a similar pattern to High, with FPS falling from 156 at 1080p to 142 at 1440p and finally 108 at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K at Medium is 34 FPS, which is nearly identical to the 41 FPS gap seen at High, indicating that the transition to 4K consistently imposes a heavy load regardless of the preset, though the absolute values differ.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is a 7 nm Zen 2 part with 8 cores and 16 threads, a configuration that was designed for high multi-threaded throughput. Its benchmark scores reflect this: a Cinebench R15 multi-core score of 2092 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 8899 place it in the 84th percentile among all CPUs. The single-thread performance, measured at 204 in Cinebench R15 and 1593 in Geekbench, is more modest, which becomes relevant in games that rely heavily on a few threads. However, the data for Control suggests that the CPU is not a significant bottleneck in this pairing, as the frame rates at 1080p Low are still very high at 177 FPS average.

The CPU’s 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for feeding the GPU, but the boost clock of 4.40 GHz is not exceptionally high by modern standards. This is evident in the nearest rival comparisons: the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 scores 34222 in average benchmark, just 0.1% below the 3700X’s 34260, and the Intel Core i5-13450HX scores 34333, which is 0.2% higher. These are all desktop and mobile parts from different generations, yet the 3700X holds its own, indicating that its 8-core, 16-thread layout remains competitive for gaming workloads. In Control specifically, the CPU’s role is to maintain a stable frame delivery, and the measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (143 FPS) versus 1080p Low (177 FPS) shows only a 34 FPS spread, suggesting that the CPU can handle the increased draw calls and physics calculations without collapsing.

The PassMark multi-thread score of 22458 and the physics score of 1181 further support the notion that this CPU is not the limiting factor. The physics score, in particular, is relevant for a game like Control, which features destructible environments and object interactions. The data shows that at 4K, the frame rate drops are consistent across all presets, which would not be the case if the CPU were struggling; instead, the GPU’s workload scales with resolution, and the CPU’s performance remains relatively flat. The 65 W TDP and 7 nm process node also suggest that thermal throttling is unlikely to be an issue, though the data does not include temperature measurements.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured FPS trends. With 21760 shading units, 680 tensor cores, and 170 RT cores, it is a massive chip built on a 5 nm process with 92,200 million transistors. The boost clock of 2407 MHz, combined with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yields a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s, which is critical for high-resolution textures and effects. The GPU’s benchmark scores are equally imposing: a PassMark G3D score of 44065 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 376915 put it in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, though its nearest rivals in the data are notably different.

The nearest rivals for the RTX 5090 D are the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76904 average score, 1.1% lower) and the RX 6850M XT (78940, 1.6% higher), along with NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants. These are not direct competitors in terms of architecture or market segment, yet the deltaPct values are small, indicating that the 5090 D’s average benchmark score of 77712 is closely matched by these parts in synthetic tests. However, in real gaming scenarios like Control, the 5090 D’s advantage becomes apparent. The measured FPS at 4K High is 96, which is a playable frame rate, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 83, showing that even this top-tier GPU is challenged by the game’s highest settings.

The GPU’s VRAM capacity of 32 GB is more than sufficient for Control, which was released in 2019 and does not have the massive texture requirements of newer titles. The memory clock of 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) and the 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are overkill for this workload, but they ensure that the GPU never becomes memory-bandwidth constrained. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are the key metrics for rasterization, and they align with the observed FPS drops at higher resolutions. At 4K, the GPU must fill over 8.3 million pixels per frame, and the ROPs are taxed accordingly. The data shows that the GPU’s role is the primary determinant of performance at 1440p and 4K, while at 1080p, the CPU’s 16 threads are still sufficient to keep the GPU fed, as evidenced by the 177 FPS at Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 177 at Low to 143 at Ultra, with Medium at 156 and High at 150. The spread of 34 FPS between Low and Ultra is the smallest of any resolution, indicating that at 1080p, the system has enough headroom to absorb increases in settings without a dramatic performance hit. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 133 FPS and a maximum of 180 FPS, suggesting some frame time variance, but the average of 156 FPS is solid. The High preset at 150 FPS is only 6 FPS lower than Medium, which is a modest penalty for the visual improvements.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 162 at Low, 142 at Medium, 137 at High, and 124 at Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 38 FPS, slightly larger than at 1080p, and the Medium preset shows a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 164 FPS. The High preset at 137 FPS is 19 FPS below the Low preset, and the Ultra preset at 124 FPS is 13 FPS below High. This resolution is a sweet spot for the combo, as even the Ultra preset remains above 120 FPS, which is a common target for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 142 at Low, 108 at Medium, 96 at High, and 83 at Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 124 FPS, showing that frame pacing can vary at 4K. The drop from Low to Medium is 34 FPS, which is significant, and the drop from High to Ultra is 13 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 83 FPS is the lowest measured value, but it remains above 60 FPS, which is the minimum for a smooth experience on most displays. The data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, the gap between Low and Ultra widens, from 34 FPS at 1080p to 59 FPS at 4K, confirming that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 188th out of 2888 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 6.5% of all configurations. This rank is impressive given that the CPU is several generations old, but it reflects the GPU’s raw power. The data shows that the combo is not held back by the CPU, as the rank is largely driven by the GPU’s ability to maintain high frame rates across all settings. The 84th percentile CPU score and 92nd percentile GPU score combine to produce a result that outperforms the vast majority of systems, but the rank also indicates that there are 187 other combos that achieve higher FPS, likely with newer, higher-clocked CPUs.

The nearest CPU rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H (34083 average score, 0.5% higher) and the AMD EPYC 4244P (34220, 0.1% higher), do not necessarily translate to better gaming performance, as the benchmark scores are synthetic. The combo’s rank of 188 suggests that the 3700X is adequate, but not exceptional, when paired with such a high-end GPU. In a game like Control, which is not known for being CPU-intensive, the 3700X’s 16 threads are sufficient, but the rank could be higher with a faster CPU. The data does not provide a direct comparison to other CPUs paired with the same GPU, but the rank implies that the GPU is doing most of the heavy lifting.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings for this combo?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 83 FPS, which is the lowest average across all tested configurations.

Q: How does the CPU’s multi-core performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 34260, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (34222) and 0.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4244P (34220), but 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i5-13450HX (34333).

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for Control at 4K?

A: The RTX 5090 D has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, which is far more than sufficient for Control, as the game’s textures are unlikely to exceed even a fraction of that capacity.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS at Low is 162, and at Ultra it is 124, representing a difference of 38 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the FPS spread from Low (177) to Ultra (143) is 34 FPS, suggesting that the CPU is able to feed the GPU adequately, but the GPU is still the primary determinant of performance.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 188th out of 2888 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.5% of all systems tested for Control.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 4K, the Medium preset offers the best balance, with an average of 108 FPS and a minimum of 92 FPS, ensuring that frame drops stay above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 96 FPS is also viable, but the 12 FPS gain from High to Medium is more noticeable than the visual difference between the two presets. Ultra at 4K drops to 83 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced gameplay, but the data shows that Medium provides a more consistent experience, as evidenced by the 124 FPS maximum.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset at 124 FPS is the recommended choice, as it remains above 120 FPS and delivers the highest visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The High preset at 137 FPS is slightly faster, but the 13 FPS gain does not justify the loss of Ultra effects. The Medium preset at 142 FPS is a fallback for those who prefer higher frame rates, but the minimum of 121 FPS indicates that even Medium can dip below the Ultra average.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 143 FPS is the best option, as the system has ample headroom to run the game at maximum settings while maintaining a high average. The High preset at 150 FPS is a marginal improvement, but the visual differences are minimal at this resolution. The Low preset at 177 FPS is unnecessary unless the user has a 240 Hz display, but the data shows that the combo can push well beyond 144 FPS even at Ultra. Overall, the measured FPS suggests that the Medium preset at 4K and Ultra at 1440p and 1080p provide the optimal balance of visual quality and performance for this hardware combination.