Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 pairing in Control produces a fascinating dataset, ranking 82nd out of 1636 tested combos. This places the system firmly in the top 5% of all configurations, yet the measured FPS reveals that the RTX 5090 is not being fully utilized at lower resolutions. The data suggests a significant bottleneck shift as resolution increases, making this a case study in how a high-end GPU interacts with a capable, but not top-tier, CPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 156.5. This is only slightly lower than the High preset's 166.2 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional visual effects have a minor performance cost at this resolution.

*Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations in Control?*

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination ranks 82nd out of 1636 total combos tested for this game. This places it in the upper echelon of performance, but with 81 other combos ahead, there is still headroom for even higher frame rates.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 143.7 on Low settings to 76.9 on Ultra settings. This represents a significant 66.8 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset is extremely demanding at 4K resolution, nearly halving the frame rate compared to Low.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data implies the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p. The frame rate only increases from 156.5 FPS at Ultra to 197.5 FPS at Low, a 41 FPS gain. If the GPU were the sole bottleneck, the jump to Low settings would typically yield a much larger performance increase, suggesting the CPU is capping performance.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the measured average FPS is 155.1. This is a very playable frame rate, only slightly below the 1080p High preset score of 166.2 FPS, showing that 1440p Medium offers a good balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: Does the RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM appear to be a constraint in this game?

A: No, the data does not suggest VRAM is a constraint. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, which is far more than required for Control's 2019-era graphics. The performance drops observed are consistent with compute and fill-rate limits, not memory capacity limits.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It operates with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. The key differentiator for this chip is its large 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is designed to improve gaming performance by holding more data closer to the cores. The benchmark results show a multi-threaded score of 22,366 in Cinebench R23 and a single-core score of 3,157 in the same test, indicating solid all-around performance.

In the context of Control, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is just 41 FPS (197.5 vs. 156.5). This relatively small spread suggests that the CPU is hitting a performance ceiling around the 197.5 FPS mark. The game's physics and AI calculations are likely causing this limit, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames faster. The 5700X3D's performance percentile of 82 places it above average, but its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-1360P and AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D, are within a 0.5% average benchmark score, confirming it is a mid-to-high-tier part rather than the absolute fastest available.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a behemoth of a graphics card, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB202 chip. It features a massive 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a staggering 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock is rated at 2407 MHz. With 21,760 shading units and 170 RT cores, it is designed to crush any modern workload. Its average benchmark score of 84,306 places it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, with its closest rival, the RTX 5090 D, being nearly identical in score (0.1% delta).

In Control, the GPU's power becomes the dominant factor at 4K resolution. The frame rate scales dramatically with settings at this resolution, from 143.7 FPS at Low to 76.9 FPS at Ultra. This shows that the RTX 5090 is being pushed hard by the game's rendering demands at 4K. The GPU's compute capabilities are the primary driver here, as the gap between settings widens considerably compared to 1080p. The 32 GB VRAM buffer ensures that even the highest-resolution textures will not cause memory swapping, allowing the GPU to focus purely on processing the visuals.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 5700X3D and RTX 5090 achieves a rank of 82 out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This is an exceptional result, placing the system in the top 5% of all configurations. However, the rank is not number one, which prompts a question: why? Given the raw power of the RTX 5090, the limiting factor is almost certainly the CPU. The 5700X3D's average benchmark score of 24,673 places it just 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i7-1360P and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i5-11600. While it is a strong gaming CPU, it is not the absolute fastest, and in a game like Control that can be CPU-bound at high frame rates, it prevents the system from reaching the very top of the rankings. The data suggests that combos ranked higher likely feature more powerful CPUs that can feed the RTX 5090 more frames at 1080p and 1440p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance scaling across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers very high frame rates. The average FPS ranges from 197.5 on Low settings, to 175.6 on Medium, 166.2 on High, and 156.5 on Ultra. The performance delta between Low and Ultra is 41 FPS, showing that the CPU is constraining the GPU from pushing even higher.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain impressive. Low settings yield 179.5 FPS, Medium 155.1 FPS, High 134.8 FPS, and Ultra 115.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra widens to 63.9 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming a more significant factor as the pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily utilized. The average FPS drops to 143.7 on Low, 105.6 on Medium, 88.9 on High, and 76.9 on Ultra. The difference between Low and Ultra is now 66.8 FPS, the largest spread in the dataset, confirming that the RTX 5090 is the primary bottleneck at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For players with a 1080p display, the High preset appears to be the sweet spot. It delivers 166.2 FPS, which is only 9.4 FPS lower than Medium, but offers significantly better visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 156.5 FPS is also viable, but the 9.7 FPS cost over High is not worth the marginal visual improvement for most users.

For 1440p, the High preset again provides a strong balance, achieving 134.8 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and even supports high refresh rate monitors. The Medium preset at 155.1 FPS is another good option for those seeking maximum smoothness, but the visual downgrade from High is noticeable. Ultra at 115.6 FPS is still playable and offers the best image quality.

At 4K, the situation changes. The Ultra preset drops to 76.9 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. The High preset at 88.9 FPS offers a better experience, providing a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS. For those who prioritize high refresh rates at 4K, the Medium preset at 105.6 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a significant performance boost over High while maintaining good visual quality.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear story about system balance. When moving from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS across all settings drops by approximately 15-20%. For example, the High preset goes from 166.2 FPS at 1080p to 134.8 FPS at 1440p, a 31.4 FPS decrease. This is a moderate drop, indicating that the system is transitioning from a CPU-bound state to a more balanced one.

The jump from 1440p to 4K is much more severe. The High preset falls from 134.8 FPS to 88.9 FPS, a 45.9 FPS decline. This substantial drop shows that the GPU is now the dominant limiting factor. The RTX 5090 is working at full capacity to render the 4K image, and the CPU has ample headroom. This is further illustrated by the fact that the FPS gap between Low and Ultra settings nearly doubles from 1080p to 4K (41 FPS vs. 66.8 FPS). The data implies that the Ryzen 7 5700X3D is sufficient to keep the RTX 5090 fed at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the GPU's raw pixel-pushing power is the sole determinant of performance.