Control

Control is a demanding Action Adventure title that stresses both the CPU and GPU, and the measured results for the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 show a configuration that is well-balanced at 1080p and 1440p, but which begins to show its limits at 4K. The data indicates a system that can deliver high refresh rate gameplay at mainstream resolutions, while requiring careful settings management for 4K displays.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, but the rate of that degradation reveals important insights about the system's bottleneck. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 93 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the average drops to 71 FPS, which represents a 23.7% reduction in performance. When scaling further to 4K High, the average plummets to 48 FPS, a 32.4% drop from the 1440p result and a 48.4% drop from the 1080p baseline.

This scaling pattern is significant. The transition from 1080p to 1440p results in a moderate performance hit, suggesting that the system is still capable of feeding the GPU with enough data at these resolutions. However, the steeper drop from 1440p to 4K indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor at the highest resolution. The RX 7700, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus, is handling the increased pixel count, but the raw compute power is insufficient to maintain high frame rates.

The scaling across all settings at 4K tells a similar story. At 4K Low, the system achieves 76 FPS, but this is only slightly better than the 1080p Ultra result of 81 FPS. This suggests that even at the lowest settings, the 4K resolution is imposing a heavy load on the GPU. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 35 FPS (76 vs 41), which is a 46% performance swing based purely on settings. This wide range indicates that the GPU is sensitive to the shading and effects load, but the resolution itself is a hard limit for high refresh rates.

The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU is likely playing a more significant role. The jump from High (93 FPS) to Low (148 FPS) is a 59% increase, which is a substantial gain that suggests the CPU is capable of higher frame rates than the GPU can deliver at higher settings. This is a classic sign of a balanced system where neither component is severely bottlenecking the other until the resolution is pushed to 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p, the High preset at 93 FPS is a strong choice for a smooth experience, but the Medium preset at 105 FPS offers a 12.9% improvement in frame rate while likely providing very similar visual quality. The Ultra preset at 81 FPS is acceptable for 60 Hz displays but may not be worth the performance cost for those with high refresh monitors. The Low preset at 148 FPS is the clear winner for competitive play or for users who prioritize maximum frame rates above all else.

At 1440p, the High preset at 71 FPS is the sweet spot for most users. This is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a good balance of visual fidelity and smoothness. The Medium preset at 80 FPS is also viable and offers a 12.7% performance boost over High, making it the better choice for 1440p displays with 75 Hz or 100 Hz refresh rates. The Ultra preset at 61 FPS is playable but sits right at the edge of 60 FPS, which could lead to noticeable frame drops in intense scenes. The Low preset at 112 FPS is available for those who want high refresh rates at 1440p, but the visual compromise is significant.

For 4K, the data suggests that users must make significant compromises. The Low preset at 76 FPS is the only setting that provides a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset at 54 FPS is playable but will show stutters, as indicated by the min FPS of 46. The High preset at 48 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 41 FPS is not recommended for a good experience. The measured data shows that for 4K, the Medium preset with its min/max range of 46-62 FPS is the highest setting that maintains a playable frame rate, but users should be prepared for occasional drops below 60 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the dominant component in this configuration for this game, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is more than sufficient for Control's texture requirements, and the 624.1 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that data transfer is not a bottleneck. The 256-bit memory bus and the 96 ROPs contribute to the card's ability to handle the pixel fill rate demands of 4K rendering, as evidenced by the 236.1 GPixel/s pixel rate.

The GPU's clock speeds play a critical role in the observed performance. The base clock of 1900 MHz and boost clock of 2459 MHz, with a game clock of 2041 MHz, indicate that the card is designed to operate at high frequencies. The benchmark results show that the card is capable of significant throughput, with a Passmark G3D score of 20974 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2865. These scores place the GPU in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, which is a mid-range position.

The relationship between the GPU's capabilities and the game's results is clear. At 1080p, the frame rates are high, but the GPU is not the limiting factor. As resolution increases, the GPU's raw compute power (25.18 TFLOPS FP32) becomes the primary constraint. The data shows that the GPU is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it lacks the headroom for 4K Ultra settings. The GPU's transistor count of 28,100 million and die size of 346 mm² indicate a substantial chip, but the performance at 4K suggests that the architecture is optimized for lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1294 out of 2888 tested combos in Control. This places it in the 44.8th percentile of all tested combos, indicating that it performs better than a majority of systems tested but is not in the top tier. This ranking is consistent with the mid-range positioning of the individual components.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its contribution to this ranking. The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X has an average benchmark score of 27578, which is identical to the Intel Core i5-12600K (0% delta). It is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, but 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X. These are all very close scores, indicating that the CPU is performing as expected for its class and is not a significant outlier in either direction.

The GPU's ranking is more telling. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15852, which places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R9 370X, has a score of 15862, which is a 0.1% difference. The RX 7700 is 1% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9060 and 1.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. This close grouping suggests that the RX 7700 is performing at the expected level for its hardware specifications, and the combo's overall ranking is a reflection of the GPU's mid-range standing rather than any anomaly in the pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Control?

A: The data shows that 1080p and 1440p are the most suitable resolutions. At 1080p High, the system achieves 93 FPS, and at 1440p High, it achieves 71 FPS. At 4K High, the average drops to 48 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the system perform at 1440p Ultra?

A: At 2560x1440 with Ultra settings, the combo delivers an average of 61 FPS. This is playable, but the frame rate is very close to the 60 FPS mark, leaving little headroom for demanding scenes.

Q: Is the RX 7700's 16 GB of VRAM sufficient for Control?

A: Yes, the 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is more than adequate for this game. The measured results show that the GPU's memory capacity is not a limiting factor, as performance scales with resolution and settings without hitting a memory capacity wall.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 5700X compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 5700X has an average benchmark score of 27578, which is exactly equal to the Intel Core i5-12600K. It is 0.2% faster than the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 and 0.3% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, but 0.2% slower than the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 46, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This indicates that the system can experience significant frame drops at 4K, reinforcing the recommendation to use lower settings at that resolution.

Q: Does the system perform better at 1080p Low or 4K Low?

A: The system achieves 148 FPS at 1080p Low, which is significantly higher than the 76 FPS at 4K Low. This shows that even at the lowest settings, the resolution increase from 1080p to 4K imposes a 48.6% performance penalty.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo in Control is as follows:

• 1920x1080 Low: Average 148 FPS.
• 1920x1080 Medium: Average 105 FPS, with a minimum of 89 FPS and a maximum of 121 FPS.
• 1920x1080 High: Average 93 FPS.
• 1920x1080 Ultra: Average 81 FPS.
• 2560x1440 Low: Average 112 FPS.
• 2560x1440 Medium: Average 80 FPS, with a minimum of 68 FPS and a maximum of 92 FPS.
• 2560x1440 High: Average 71 FPS.
• 2560x1440 Ultra: Average 61 FPS.
• 3840x2160 Low: Average 76 FPS.
• 3840x2160 Medium: Average 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 62 FPS.
• 3840x2160 High: Average 48 FPS.
• 3840x2160 Ultra: Average 41 FPS.

This data shows a consistent pattern across all resolutions. The Low setting provides the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra in descending order. The step from Low to Medium results in a significant drop of 43 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p, and 22 FPS at 4K. The step from High to Ultra results in a smaller drop of 12 FPS at 1080p, 10 FPS at 1440p, and 7 FPS at 4K. This suggests that the performance cost of moving from High to Ultra is relatively modest compared to the cost of moving from Low to Medium.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X plays a supporting role in this game's performance, but it is not the primary bottleneck in most scenarios. The CPU features 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This is a capable processor that should not limit frame rates in a game like Control, which is not heavily CPU-dependent.

The CPU's benchmark scores support this assessment. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 13184 and a single-core score of 1499. Its 3DMark 16-thread score is 6858, and its Passmark multi-thread score is 26612. These scores place the CPU in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, which is a strong showing. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-12600K, has an identical average score of 27578, indicating that the 5700X is performing at the expected level for its class.

The data suggests that the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. The fact that the system achieves 148 FPS at 1080p Low versus 81 FPS at 1080p Ultra shows that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to achieve high frame rates. However, the CPU's performance is not the limiting factor in this scenario, as the GPU is the one that is being stressed by the higher quality settings. At 4K, the CPU's role is even less significant, as the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 16 threads provide ample headroom for the game's logic and physics, ensuring that the GPU is not starved of data.