Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Control, with 4K requiring compromises. The data shows a system where the GPU is the primary scaling factor, yet the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance ensures frame rates remain playable even at lower resolutions and settings. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions, component roles, and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a predictable yet pronounced drop as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 129.8 FPS, which falls to 100 FPS at 1440p and further to 63.4 FPS at 4K. This represents a 51% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating the GPU is heavily taxed at higher pixel counts.

The scaling pattern shifts with graphical presets. At High settings, the averages are 79.3 FPS (1080p), 64.7 FPS (1440p), and 43.8 FPS (4K). The drop from 1080p to 4K here is 45%, slightly less severe than at Low settings. This suggests that at higher presets, the increased graphical load masks some of the resolution penalty, as the GPU is already working closer to its limit. At Ultra settings, the numbers compress further: 73.4 FPS (1080p), 51.3 FPS (1440p), and 35 FPS (4K), a 52% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

The data indicates that 1080p is the sweet spot for this hardware, with all presets except Ultra staying above 79 FPS. At 1440p, High and Medium presets remain comfortably playable, but Ultra dips to 51.3 FPS. 4K is clearly GPU-bound, as even Low settings only manage 63.4 FPS, and High drops to 43.8 FPS. The limiting component at 4K is undoubtedly the RTX 2070 SUPER, as the CPU's performance headroom is not the bottleneck at these pixel counts. The frame rate deltas between settings at each resolution show that Low to Medium yields a 38% performance gain at 4K (50.2 vs 63.4 FPS), but Medium to High only adds 13% more, indicating diminishing returns as the GPU saturates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the decisive factor in Control's performance, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game's texture streaming at 1080p and 1440p, but becomes a constraint at 4K Ultra. The Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process, operates at a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective).

The GPU's benchmark scores position it in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22206. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A400 (deltaPct of -0.5%), NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (deltaPct of 0.9%), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (deltaPct of -2.3%). These close margins suggest the RTX 2070 SUPER is a mid-pack performer, and the measured FPS in Control reflect that positioning.

The 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs handle the game's particle effects and post-processing, but the 40 RT cores are underutilized at lower settings since ray tracing is not a factor in the measured presets. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU's compute throughput (9.062 TFLOPS FP32) is insufficient to maintain 60 FPS even at Medium settings (50.2 FPS). At 1080p, the same GPU achieves 129.8 FPS at Low, proving that the hardware is capable when pixel count is reduced. The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Ultra, the combination of high-resolution textures and the game's demanding lighting effects likely pushes memory usage to its limits, contributing to the 35 FPS average.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D provides a strong foundation for Control, though its role is secondary to the GPU in most tested scenarios. This 8-core, 16-thread processor based on Zen 3 (Vermeer) architecture runs at a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a notable feature for gaming, as it reduces memory latency and improves frame pacing.

Benchmark results show the CPU excels in multi-threaded workloads, scoring 22366 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 9393 in Cinebench R20 multi-core. The single-core scores are respectable (3157 in Cinebench R23, 1922 in Geekbench), which matters for Control's game logic and physics calculations. The CPU's average benchmark score of 24673 places it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core i7-1360P (deltaPct of 0.2%), AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D (deltaPct of 0.3%), and Intel Core i5-11600 (deltaPct of 0.5%).

In the measured FPS data, the CPU's influence is most apparent at 1080p Low, where the system reaches 129.8 FPS. At this point, the GPU is not fully saturated, and the CPU's 16 threads handle the game's draw calls and AI routines. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6764 and 8-thread score of 5357 indicate that the processor scales well with multi-threading, which is beneficial for Control's asynchronous compute tasks. However, at 4K, the CPU is not the bottleneck; the GPU's rendering limits dominate. The data shows that even at 4K Low (63.4 FPS), the CPU is likely waiting on the GPU to complete frames, as its compute capabilities far exceed what is needed at that resolution. The 105 W TDP and 7 nm process node keep thermal headroom ample, allowing sustained boost clocks during extended gaming sessions.

FAQ

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

A: 1080p is the optimal resolution, with all presets except Ultra maintaining at least 79.3 FPS. 1440p is also viable with High settings (64.7 FPS), but 4K struggles, as even Low settings only reach 63.4 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 22206. It is 0.5% faster than the NVIDIA RTX A400 (22307 score) and 0.9% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (22006 score), but 2.3% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (22729 score).

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 5700X3D bottleneck the RTX 2070 SUPER in this game?

A: No, the data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 129.8 FPS, and the CPU's 82nd percentile ranking suggests ample headroom. At 4K, the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low settings produce 100 FPS, while Ultra drops to 51.3 FPS, a 49% reduction. Medium (68.9 FPS) and High (64.7 FPS) sit between these extremes, with High being only 3% slower than Medium.

Q: How much performance does the CPU gain from multi-threading?

A: The 3DMark 16-thread score is 6764, which is 4.3 times higher than the 2-thread score of 1575. In Cinebench R23, the multi-core score of 22366 is 7.1 times the single-core score of 3157, showing strong scaling across its 16 threads.

Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Control?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 8 GB is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p across all presets. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 35 suggests VRAM capacity or bandwidth is a limiting factor, though the GPU's compute power is also strained.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience across resolutions. At 1080p, the High preset (79.3 FPS) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, as it is only 16% slower than Medium (94 FPS) but provides significantly better graphics. Ultra at 1080p (73.4 FPS) is playable but offers diminishing returns over High. For players prioritizing frame rate, Medium (94 FPS) is a strong choice, while Low (129.8 FPS) is reserved for competitive or high-refresh-rate scenarios.

At 1440p, the High preset (64.7 FPS) is the recommended sweet spot, providing smooth gameplay close to 60 FPS. Medium (68.9 FPS) is nearly identical in performance and could be chosen if frame rate stability is paramount. Ultra (51.3 FPS) is borderline, but the data suggests it is not worth the 21% performance loss over High. Low (100 FPS) is unnecessary unless targeting 100 Hz displays, but it demonstrates the GPU's capability at this resolution.

For 4K, the data shows that High settings (43.8 FPS) are not ideal, and Medium (50.2 FPS) is the maximum playable preset, though it still falls short of 60 FPS. Low (63.4 FPS) is the only preset that achieves a playable average above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K gaming with this hardware. Ultra at 4K (35 FPS) is not recommended based on the measured results. The overall best experience across the board is 1080p High, which combines a high frame rate with a visually rich preset, while 1440p Medium is the optimal choice for users who prefer a higher resolution with acceptable performance trade-offs.