Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX delivers a robust performance profile in Control, with measured frame rates that scale predictably across resolutions and presets. The data indicates a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the processor’s large cache and eight-core configuration provide ample headroom for the game’s physics and rendering workloads. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across all twelve tested configurations, examining the implications for resolution scaling, component roles, and optimal settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and consistent across all settings, revealing a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 139.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 107.2 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 23.3%, and then further to 72.8 FPS at 3840x2160, which is 47.9% lower than the 1080p result. This pattern indicates that the RX 7900 XTX is the limiting factor as pixel count increases, with its 24 GB of GDDR6 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth being taxed by the higher resolution workloads.

The scaling becomes more pronounced when examining the Low preset, where the frame rate drops from 196.2 FPS at 1080p to 168.6 FPS at 1440p (a 14.1% decrease) and then to 112 FPS at 4K (a 42.9% decrease from 1080p). The fact that even at Low settings the 4K result is less than 60% of the 1080p figure suggests that the GPU’s raw compute capabilities, rather than memory bandwidth, are the primary constraint at 4K. The RX 7900 XTX’s 61.39 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 192 ROPs are substantial, but Control’s particle effects and post-processing at 4K still manage to overwhelm them.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is similar but with lower absolute numbers: 122.2 FPS at 1080p, 94.4 FPS at 1440p, and 63.7 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is barely above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this combination is only marginally suitable for 4K gaming at the highest quality preset. The data strongly suggests that for a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 4K, users should consider Medium or High settings, while 1440p and 1080p offer ample headroom even at Ultra.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX plays a dominant role in these results, with its specifications directly correlating with the measured performance gaps. The GPU’s 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus provides 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which appears sufficient for Control’s texture streaming at all tested resolutions. However, the clock speeds tell a more nuanced story: the base clock of 1929 MHz, game clock of 2365 MHz, and boost clock of 2498 MHz show that the GPU is running at near-maximum boost in most scenarios, indicating sustained load.

The GPU’s benchmark scores position it well among its peers. Its PassMark G3D score of 31238 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6841 reflect strong raw performance. Notably, the nearest rival comparison shows the RX 7900 XTX is 0.8% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile in average benchmark score (44019 vs 43667), though 2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti (44900). This mid-pack positioning in synthetic tests aligns with the measured FPS, where the GPU delivers solid but not class-leading results in Control.

The 20 Gbps effective memory speed and 479.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are critical for Control’s resolution scaling. At 4K, the pixel rate becomes a bottleneck, explaining why the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 yields only 63.7 FPS. The GPU’s 96 RT cores are relevant for the game’s ray tracing features, though the measured data does not isolate this effect; the overall performance suggests that the rasterization pipeline is the primary driver of the observed frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance. At 1920x1080, Medium achieves 158 FPS, which is only 6.7% lower than High (139.7 FPS) but 23.5% higher than Ultra (122.2 FPS). The gap between Medium and High is modest at 1080p, but at 1440p it widens: Medium delivers 121.7 FPS versus 107.2 FPS for High, a 13.5% improvement. This trend continues at 4K, where Medium’s 78.6 FPS is 8% faster than High’s 72.8 FPS.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset is the clear choice, delivering 196.2 FPS at 1080p and 168.6 FPS at 1440p. However, the drop from Medium to Low at 4K is substantial (78.6 to 112 FPS, a 42.5% increase), suggesting that Low is only necessary for those targeting very high refresh rates at lower resolutions. The Ultra preset, while visually impressive, shows diminishing returns: at 4K it produces 63.7 FPS, which is 18.9% slower than Medium and 12.5% slower than High.

The data indicates that Medium is the optimal preset for this combo, offering a 60+ FPS experience at 4K and well over 120 FPS at 1440p. For competitive play at 1080p, High is viable at 139.7 FPS, but Medium provides a safer margin. The measured results suggest that the RX 7900 XTX is over-provisioned for 1080p, where even Ultra (122.2 FPS) exceeds most display refresh rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX ranks 251st out of 1636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 15.3% of all configurations. This ranking is strong given the CPU’s mid-range positioning; the Ryzen 7 5700X3D has a percentile of 82 versus all CPUs, while the GPU’s percentile is 85 versus all GPUs. The combo outperforms many pairings that include newer or more expensive components, likely due to the CPU’s 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which benefits Control’s physics-heavy gameplay.

The CPU’s nearest rivals provide context for its contribution. The Intel Core i7-1360P is 0.2% ahead (24627 vs 24673 average score), while the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D is 0.3% behind (24605). These differences are negligible, indicating that the 5700X3D’s performance is well within the expected range for its class. The GPU’s nearest rivals show more variance: the AMD Radeon Pro 580 is 0.4% ahead (44195), while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is 0.8% behind (43667), but the RTX 4070 Ti is 2% ahead (44900).

The 251st rank out of 1636 suggests that this combo is better suited for 1440p and 1080p gaming than for 4K, where the GPU’s limitations become more apparent. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (63.7 FPS) is adequate but not exceptional, likely pushing the combo lower in the rankings than if the data focused solely on lower resolutions. The overall ranking indicates a well-balanced system that delivers high frame rates without being a top-tier 4K performer.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D contributes to the combo’s performance through its 8 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 3.00 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz. The CPU’s defining feature is its 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is exceptionally large for a Zen 3 part and helps with Control’s frequent memory access patterns. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22366 and a single-core score of 3157, with a Geekbench multicore score of 10108.

The CPU’s performance is competitive with its nearest rivals, as shown by the 0.2% delta versus the Intel Core i7-1360P and 0.3% delta versus the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D. Its PassMark multithread score of 26318 and single-thread score of 2970 indicate that it can handle both heavily threaded workloads and single-threaded tasks without bottlenecking the GPU. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6764 and 8-thread score of 5357 suggest that the CPU scales well with thread count, which is relevant for Control’s physics simulation.

At lower resolutions, the CPU’s role becomes more significant. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 196.2 FPS, which is close to the GPU’s maximum output, but the CPU must keep up with the high frame rate. The 5700X3D’s 3.00 GHz base clock is modest, but the boost clock of 4.10 GHz, combined with the large cache, provides sufficient single-thread performance to avoid creating a CPU bottleneck at these frame rates. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any tested resolution or setting, as the FPS scaling follows the GPU’s expected behavior.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset produces 196.2 FPS, followed by Medium at 158 FPS, High at 139.7 FPS, and Ultra at 122.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 74 FPS, representing a 37.7% reduction at the highest quality. This resolution is clearly GPU-bound, as even the most demanding preset exceeds 120 FPS, and the CPU’s 16 threads are sufficient to maintain these rates.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops notably but remains strong. Low achieves 168.6 FPS, Medium 121.7 FPS, High 107.2 FPS, and Ultra 94.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra widens to 74.2 FPS (44% reduction), indicating that the GPU’s pixel fill rate is becoming a constraint. The 1440p results show that Medium and High both exceed 100 FPS, making this resolution the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate gaming with this combo.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates fall below the 60 FPS threshold for Ultra. Low delivers 112 FPS, Medium 78.6 FPS, High 72.8 FPS, and Ultra 63.7 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 48.3 FPS drop (43.1% reduction), and the difference between High and Ultra is only 9.1 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset’s additional effects are not worth the performance cost at 4K. The 4K results indicate that Medium is the minimum for a smooth experience, while Low provides the best margin for those who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity.

The overall pattern across all twelve measured rows confirms that the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX form a capable pairing for Control, with the GPU being the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions and the CPU providing sufficient headroom to avoid bottlenecks. The combo’s 251st rank out of 1636 reflects its strong but not top-tier standing, with the most compelling performance delivered at 1440p where both components are utilized effectively.