Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 pairing delivers a performance profile in Control that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet reveals a surprisingly balanced workload at 1080p. The data indicates that this combo ranks in the top 4% of all tested configurations, placing it at rank 56 out of 1636 combos. The measured frame rates show that the RTX 4090’s immense rendering power is the primary driver of performance, but the 5800X’s 8-core, 16-thread design provides sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck until frame rates climb well past 200 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and clearly illustrates where the performance ceiling lies. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 175.7 at 1920x1080 to 128.6 at 2560x1440, a 26.8% reduction, and then further to 87.2 at 3840x2160, a 50.4% drop from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario where pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low (230.5 FPS) and Ultra (149.2 FPS) is 81.3 FPS, but at 4K, that same comparison shows only a 57.3 FPS gap (136.5 vs 79.2). The data suggests that at 4K, the RTX 4090 is so heavily tasked that even reducing settings to Low cannot push frame rates past 136.5 FPS, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are saturated regardless of the visual load.

At 1440p, the scaling is more moderate. The jump from 4K to 1440p yields a 47.5% improvement in High settings (87.2 to 128.6 FPS), while the jump from 1440p to 1080p yields a 36.6% improvement (128.6 to 175.7 FPS). This non-linear scaling confirms that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a substantial frame rate boost over 4K without the extreme CPU dependency seen at 1080p.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 5800X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, shows its strength in the lower-resolution benchmarks where frame rates exceed 200 FPS. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 230.5 FPS, which is only 11.7% higher than the 1440p Low result of 206.4 FPS. This relatively small gain suggests that at 1080p, the CPU’s single-thread performance (a 3dmark single-thread score of 943 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3327) begins to limit the frame rate, preventing the GPU from fully stretching its legs.

The 5800X’s boost clock of 4.70 GHz and base clock of 3.80 GHz provide the raw frequency needed for Control’s physics and AI calculations. The data shows that at 1080p Ultra, the combo still manages 149.2 FPS, which is 39.1% higher than the 4K Ultra result of 79.2 FPS. This indicates that even under heavy CPU load, the 5800X can feed the RTX 4090 enough data to maintain high frame rates, though it starts to show a ceiling around the 230 FPS mark.

The CPU’s 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s are adequate for this title. However, the benchmark results reveal that the 5800X’s multi-threaded capabilities (a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23571) are not fully utilized in Control, as the frame rate differences between 1080p and 1440p are far smaller than the differences between 1440p and 4K, implying that the game’s thread count demands are modest.

GPU Role

The RTX 4090 is the undisputed star here, with its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth providing ample headroom for Control’s texture-heavy environments. The GPU’s boost clock of 2520 MHz and its 16384 shading units drive the high frame rates observed across all settings. At 4K High, the 87.2 FPS average is a strong result, but the data shows that the card is not fully utilized until resolution drops, as evidenced by the 230.5 FPS at 1080p Low.

The GPU’s 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are relevant for Control’s ray-tracing effects, though the measured data does not isolate this. The passmark G3D score of 38194 places the 4090 in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, is only 0.4% behind in average benchmark score, but the measured FPS in Control shows a clear separation. The 4090’s 24 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Ultra settings at 4K, where the 79.2 FPS result indicates the card is working hard but not memory-limited.

The scaling from Medium to Ultra at 4K is telling: Medium (97.6 FPS) drops to High (87.2 FPS) and then to Ultra (79.2 FPS), a 18.9% reduction from Medium to Ultra. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces significant GPU workload increases, likely from advanced shading and post-processing effects, that the 4090 handles with a still-playable frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

This configuration sits at rank 56 out of 1636 tested combos, placing it in the 96.6th percentile of all systems tested for Control. This top-tier ranking is expected given the RTX 4090’s position as the flagship GPU in its generation, and the 5800X’s solid mid-high range CPU performance. The CPU’s own ranking is less impressive, at the 84th percentile of all CPUs, but in this game, the GPU clearly dominates the performance equation.

The data shows that the 5800X’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-12600KF (0.8% higher average benchmark score) or the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (0.4% lower), would likely produce similar results in Control at 4K, where the GPU is the bottleneck. However, at 1080p, the 5800X’s 3dmark single-thread score of 943 and its 16 threads provide a slight edge in maintaining high frame rates, though the difference is likely minimal given the game’s engine.

For context, the RTX 4090’s nearest rivals (NVIDIA Tesla T4, Tesla P40, AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56) are all workstation or datacenter cards that score similarly in synthetic benchmarks but lack the gaming-specific optimizations of the 4090. The measured FPS in Control confirms that the 4090 is in a class of its own for this title, as even the lowest measured result (79.2 FPS at 4K Ultra) exceeds what most GPUs could achieve at that resolution.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this combo if I want over 100 FPS?*

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with High settings achieves 128.6 FPS, and even Ultra at 1440p hits 112.9 FPS. For 4K, you would need to drop to Medium settings to reach 97.6 FPS, which is just under 100 FPS.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5800X bottlenecking the RTX 4090 in this game?

A: At 1080p, yes. The jump from 1440p Low (206.4 FPS) to 1080p Low (230.5 FPS) is only 11.7%, suggesting the CPU limits performance around 230 FPS. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting component.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K on Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, 1080p (149.2 FPS) is 88.4% faster than 4K (79.2 FPS). This indicates a massive GPU workload increase at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: High settings at 1440p achieve 128.6 FPS, while Ultra drops to 112.9 FPS, a 12.2% performance penalty for the higher visual fidelity.

Q: Does this combo maintain above 60 FPS at 4K with all settings maxed?

A: Yes. The 4K Ultra result is 79.2 FPS, which is 32% above the 60 FPS threshold. Even the most demanding preset is comfortably playable.

Q: How does the 5800X compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5800 scores 27535 in average benchmarks, which is 0.3% lower than the 5800X’s 27606. The Intel Core i5-12600KF is 0.8% higher, but these differences are negligible for gaming performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to 2560x1440 with High settings as the optimal balance for this combo. At this configuration, the 128.6 FPS average provides a smooth experience well above the 60 FPS standard, while the 1440p resolution offers a significant visual upgrade over 1080p. The High preset delivers only a 12.2% frame rate penalty compared to Medium (146.8 FPS), but the visual improvement is typically substantial in Control’s detailed environments.

For users prioritizing maximum visual quality, 1440p Ultra at 112.9 FPS is also viable, as the frame rate remains above 100 FPS. At 4K, the recommendation is to use Medium settings, which achieve 97.6 FPS, as stepping up to High drops to 87.2 FPS and Ultra falls to 79.2 FPS. The Low preset at any resolution is unnecessary given the hardware’s capability, as even 4K Low (136.5 FPS) provides excellent performance, but the graphical downgrade is likely not worth the frame rate gain.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 230.5 FPS, Medium reaches 195.8 FPS, High achieves 175.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 149.2 FPS. The spread of 81.3 FPS between Low and Ultra is the largest of any resolution, reflecting the CPU’s ability to push high frame rates when GPU load is low.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low at 206.4 FPS, Medium at 146.8 FPS, High at 128.6 FPS, and Ultra at 112.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 59.6 FPS, indicating a steep performance cliff as settings increase, likely due to more demanding shaders and texture filtering.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates compress significantly: Low achieves 136.5 FPS, Medium reaches 97.6 FPS, High is 87.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 79.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 57.3 FPS, but the absolute numbers are much lower than at 1080p, confirming that the GPU is the binding constraint at 4K. The data shows that this combo can handle Control at any resolution and setting, but the most efficient use of its power is at 1440p, where the balance between CPU and GPU workload yields the best frame rate per visual quality.