Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X brings 8 cores and 16 threads to this benchmark run, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This is a Zen 3 (Vermeer) part on the AMD Socket AM4 platform, built on a 7 nm process from TSMC. In synthetic testing, the CPU demonstrates a strong balance between single-thread and multi-thread work, scoring 921 in 3dmark single-thread and 6858 in the 16-thread run, while Cinebench R23 results show 3193 single-core and 22620 multi-core. That multi-core capability is relevant to Control, which is an Action Adventure title that runs on the Northlight engine and benefits from a capable processor to manage its physics and AI systems. The 5700X sits in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 26214, and it lands within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U, effectively trading blows with those parts in raw compute.

The measured FPS rows in Control show that at 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 81.8 FPS, which is the highest number recorded across all settings at that resolution. Moving to Medium drops the average to 57.7 FPS, High yields 51.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 46.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is the largest single step at 1080p, suggesting that the graphics preset has a pronounced effect on frame rate. At 1440p, the Low preset still manages a playable 66 FPS average, but Medium falls to 43, High to 39.4, and Ultra to 37.6. At 4K, the numbers compress further: Low averages 44.5 FPS, Medium 31.7, Ultra 25.9, and High 25.1. The data indicates that the Low preset is the only one that consistently clears 60 FPS at 1080p, and even at 1440p it stays above 60, making it the only setting that provides a smooth experience across the board. The Ultra preset is only viable if the target is 30 FPS at 1440p, and even that is marginal, as the average sits at 37.6 FPS.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 5700X’s 8-core, 16-thread configuration is well-suited for Control’s demands, but the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is rarely the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low, the average of 81.8 FPS reflects a scenario where the GPU is still handling most of the rendering load, but the CPU’s 3.40 GHz base and 4.60 GHz boost clocks are sufficient to feed the RTX 3050. The 3dmark results reinforce this: the 4-thread score of 3512 and 8-thread score of 5768 indicate that the processor has ample headroom for the game’s thread scheduling. The percentileVsAllCpus value of 83 places it in the top quartile, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-11900KF, is just 0.1% ahead in average score, meaning the 5700X is essentially on par with a high-end Intel part from the same era. In Control, the CPU’s role is to maintain frame pacing, and the fact that the FPS drops by roughly 20% from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings (e.g., 51.1 to 39.4 FPS on High) suggests that the GPU is taking on more work, while the CPU’s 16 threads are rarely saturated.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured rows, the Low preset is the only one that delivers a consistent 60+ FPS experience, with a 1080p average of 81.8 FPS and a 1440p average of 66 FPS. At 4K, even Low drops to 44.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable for a slower-paced action title. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 57.7 FPS, which is close to 60 but not quite there, and at 1440p it falls to 43 FPS, making it unsuitable for high-refresh displays. High and Ultra presets are only recommended for 1080p if the user accepts averages of 51.1 and 46.5 FPS, respectively, which are below the standard 60 FPS target. The data shows a clear trade-off: Low setting at 1080p offers the best balance of smoothness and visual fidelity, as the 81.8 FPS average provides enough headroom for demanding scenes. For users prioritizing visual quality over frame rate, Medium at 1080p is the highest preset that stays within a 10% margin of 60 FPS, but the measured 57.7 FPS leaves little margin for dips.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings. At Low, the average falls from 81.8 FPS at 1080p to 66 FPS at 1440p, then to 44.5 FPS at 4K, representing a 19% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 33% drop from 1440p to 4K. At High, the numbers are 51.1, 39.4, and 25.1 FPS, respectively, with a 23% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 36% drop from 1440p to 4K. This pattern indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU’s performance does not degrade with resolution. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is a critical constraint at 4K, where the memory bus width of 128 bit and bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s are likely saturated. The scaling is not linear; the jump from 1440p to 4K is more punishing than from 1080p to 1440p, which suggests that the GPU is running out of shading units and memory bandwidth rather than being limited by the CPU. The RTX 3050’s boost clock of 1740 MHz and 2048 shading units are modest for 4K, and the data confirms that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, with 4K only viable at Low settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos for Control, this pairing of AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB ranks 1475 out of 1636 total combinations. That places it in the bottom 10% of all tested systems, which is a direct consequence of the GPU’s performance tier. The CPU itself is a strong part, as evidenced by its 83rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, but the RTX 3050 4 GB sits at the 50th percentile among all GPUs, and its 4 GB memory is a limiting factor in a game like Control that can use more VRAM at higher settings. The combo rank of 1475 is not a reflection of the CPU’s capability, but rather the GPU’s inability to keep pace with the processor. In synthetic CPU benchmarks, the 5700X’s nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, is only 0.2% faster in average score, which shows that the processor is not holding back the system. The low rank is entirely attributable to the GPU, and the data indicates that pairing this CPU with a more powerful GPU would yield a significantly higher rank.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is the decisive component in this combo, and its specifications explain the measured FPS results. The GPU has 2048 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, with a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1740 MHz. The memory configuration is 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specs are entry-level for the GeForce 30-series, and the 4 GB VRAM is particularly problematic for Control at high resolutions. The measured FPS at 4K High is 25.1 FPS, which is below playable thresholds, and even at 1080p Ultra the average of 46.5 FPS shows the GPU struggling with the game’s effects and textures. The RTX 3050 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and features 16 ray tracing cores, but the low memory capacity and moderate compute throughput mean that enabling ray tracing would likely push FPS below playable levels, though no such measurements are present in the data. The GPU’s launch MSRP of 199 USD places it in the entry-level market, and its performance in Control reflects that positioning. The 90 W TDP and PCIe 4.0 x8 interface are adequate for the card, but the 4 GB memory is the fundamental bottleneck, as the 192.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot feed the GPU efficiently at 4K. The data shows that the RTX 3050 is best utilized at 1080p with Low or Medium settings, where it can maintain 57.7 to 81.8 FPS, and the CPU’s 8 cores and 16 threads are more than enough to support that workload.