Control

# Control: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER

This pairing of AMD's 8-core Zen 3 processor with NVIDIA's Turing-based RTX 2070 SUPER represents a balanced mid-to-high-end 2019-era build, and the measured frame rates in Control show a system that is firmly GPU-limited at higher resolutions while retaining enough CPU headroom for smooth operation. The RTX 2070 SUPER, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivers playable performance at 1440p and surprisingly workable 4K results when settings are managed carefully, while the Ryzen 7 5800X's 8 cores and 16 threads ensure that frame pacing stays consistent even when the GPU is the bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance curve as resolution climbs, with the GPU becoming the dominant limiting factor well before 4K. At 1080p with High settings, the combo averages 82 FPS, which drops to 62 FPS at 1440p (a 24.4% reduction) and further to 42 FPS at 4K (a 48.8% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern is classic GPU-bound behavior—the CPU is not the constraint here, as evidenced by the fact that even at 1080p Low, the system only reaches 130 FPS, suggesting the RTX 2070 SUPER's raw rasterization throughput caps out well before the Ryzen 7 5800X's processing limits.

Looking at the Low preset across resolutions, the frame rate drops from 130 FPS at 1080p to 98 FPS at 1440p (24.6% loss) and then to 66 FPS at 4K (49.2% loss from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage losses across different presets confirms that resolution scaling is purely a GPU workload issue. The RTX 2070 SUPER's 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 2560 shading units are being pushed to their limits, and the 8 GB VRAM capacity becomes a factor at higher resolutions where larger textures and more complex scenes demand more memory.

The frame rate gap between 1080p and 1440p is smaller in absolute terms (20 FPS at High) than the gap between 1440p and 4K (also 20 FPS at High), but the percentage loss is telling: going from 1440p to 4K costs roughly 32% of the frame rate at High settings. This suggests that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints at 4K, and that the CPU is comfortably keeping up even at the highest resolution tested. For users targeting 4K, the data indicates that compromises in settings will be necessary to maintain playable frame rates, as even the Low preset only manages 66 FPS at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this pairing holds position 2152 out of 3720 combos tested in Control, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all possible system configurations. This ranking reflects the RTX 2070 SUPER's position in the GPU hierarchy—it scores in the 65th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20282. Its nearest rivals in the GPU benchmarks are the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, 1% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, 1.2% faster), the Intel Arc B570 (20556, 1.3% faster), and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, 1.5% faster). The RTX 2070 SUPER is effectively trading blows with these cards, all within a 1.5% performance band.

The CPU side of the equation is comparatively stronger. The Ryzen 7 5800X sits in the 81st percentile against all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 29123, and its nearest rivals are separated by less than 1%. The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H (29093, 0.1% faster), Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (29245, 0.4% slower), Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270, 0.5% slower), and AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940, 0.6% faster) all occupy essentially the same performance tier. This means the CPU is not holding the combo back, and the ranking in Control is likely determined almost entirely by the GPU's capabilities.

The combo's rank of 2152 out of 3720 suggests that while this is not a top-tier configuration for Control specifically, it is far from the bottom. The game's demanding real-time ray tracing and physics effects place significant load on the GPU, and the RTX 2070 SUPER's 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores provide some acceleration for these features, though the measured FPS data suggests that enabling such features would severely impact frame rates at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset appears to offer the best balance of visual quality and performance across all three tested resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system averages 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS and maximum of 106 FPS, which provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 1080p drops to 82 FPS, still playable but not as fluid, while Ultra falls to 71 FPS—noticeably lower but still within acceptable range for a single-player action game.

At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 70 FPS average with a minimum of 59 FPS and maximum of 80 FPS, which is right at the edge of maintaining consistent 60+ FPS gameplay. The High preset at 1440p drops to 62 FPS, and while this is technically above 60 FPS, the margin is thin enough that demanding scenes could cause dips below the threshold. Ultra at 1440p manages only 54 FPS, which is noticeably less smooth. For 1440p gaming, Medium is the clear recommendation if frame rate consistency is a priority.

At 4K, the Medium preset averages 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS and maximum of 54 FPS, which is playable for a slower-paced action adventure but will feel less responsive in combat-heavy sequences. The Low preset at 4K achieves 66 FPS, which is actually smoother than Medium, but the visual sacrifice is significant. The data suggests that for 4K, users should either accept Medium settings with frame rates in the 40s or drop to Low for smoother motion. The High and Ultra presets at 4K (42 FPS and 36 FPS respectively) are below the threshold for comfortable play.

FAQ

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 1440p in Control?

A: At Medium settings, the average is 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, meaning it can hold around 60 FPS with occasional dips. The High preset averages 62 FPS but the minimum is not recorded, so Medium is the safer choice for consistent 60+ FPS.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: Yes, but with compromises. The Medium preset averages 47 FPS (min 40, max 54), which is playable for a single-player game. The Low preset achieves 66 FPS for smoother motion, while Ultra drops to 36 FPS, which is not recommended.

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

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER scores 20282 on average benchmarks, placing it within 1.5% of the Quadro M4000M, RTX 3070 Mobile, Arc B570, and Arc A750. All five cards are effectively performance equals in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the CPU's performance standing relative to other processors?

A: The Ryzen 7 5800X sits in the 81st percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29123. Its nearest rivals (Core Ultra 5 135H, Xeon Phi 7210, Core i5-13500HX, Ryzen 5 5600XT) are all within 0.6% of its score.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this system at 1080p?

A: Medium provides 92 FPS average (min 78, max 106) and is the sweet spot. High offers 82 FPS, and Ultra drops to 71 FPS—all are playable, but Medium gives the most headroom for demanding scenes.

Q: Does the system benefit from the CPU's multi-threading in this game?

A: The Ryzen 7 5800X scores 15476 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7578 in 3DMark max threads, but the frame rate scaling with resolution suggests the GPU is the bottleneck, so the CPU's threading capabilities are not the limiting factor in Control.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the TU104 chip using TSMC's 12 nm process, packing 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die. Its 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs provide the raw rasterization throughput that Control demands, while the 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores offer optional hardware acceleration for ray-traced effects, though their impact on the measured FPS is not directly quantified. The GPU's base clock of 1605 MHz boosts to 1770 MHz, and the 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

The GPU's benchmark results show a 65th percentile standing against all GPUs, with an average score of 20282. Its nearest rivals in benchmark scores are all within 1.5%, indicating that the RTX 2070 SUPER is a mid-tier performer in the current landscape. In Control specifically, the GPU's workload is evident in the frame rate scaling: at 1080p High, the system manages 82 FPS, but this drops to 62 FPS at 1440p and 42 FPS at 4K. The Low preset at 4K achieves 66 FPS, which suggests that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are sufficient for 4K when visual effects are minimized.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is worth noting for Control, as the game's high-resolution textures and complex environments can consume significant memory. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 36 FPS, which may indicate that memory bandwidth or capacity is a limiting factor at the highest settings. The GPU's pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s are the specifications that determine how quickly it can fill the screen, and these figures directly influence the measured frame rates at higher resolutions. The FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS provides the compute headroom for the game's physics and particle effects.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (codenamed Vermeer), fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm process with 4,150 million transistors on a 74 mm² die. Its base clock of 3.80 GHz boosts up to 4.70 GHz, and it carries 32 MB of L3 cache along with 512 KB L2 per core and 64 KB L1 per core. The CPU's 105 W TDP and AMD Socket AM4 compatibility make it a straightforward upgrade for existing AM4 platforms, and its support for DDR4 memory with dual-channel configuration provides 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

The CPU's benchmark results indicate strong multi-threaded performance: 3DMark 16-thread score of 7586, Cinebench R23 multi-core of 15476, and Geekbench multi-core of 11036. Single-thread performance is also solid, with 3DMark single-thread at 943, Cinebench R23 single-core at 1574.5, and Geekbench single-core at 2032. The CPU sits in the 81st percentile against all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 29123, and its nearest rivals are separated by less than 1%, indicating that it remains a competitive processor despite being from the 2020 generation.

In Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls, physics calculations, and game logic updates. The measured FPS scaling strongly suggests that the Ryzen 7 5800X is not the bottleneck at any resolution tested. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 130 FPS, which is a demanding scenario for CPU-bound games, yet the frame rate is still capped by the GPU's capabilities. The 8 cores and 16 threads provide ample parallelism for the game's background tasks, and the high boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensures responsive single-threaded performance for the main game loop. The CPU's 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and dual-channel DDR4 support are adequate for feeding the GPU with data without creating a bottleneck.