Control

Control is a demanding action-adventure title that stresses both the CPU and GPU, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER produces a specific performance profile. The benchmark data shows that this combination is positioned in the lower-middle tier of tested configurations, where the graphics card’s limitations become the primary obstacle to high frame rates at higher resolutions. The following analysis breaks down the measured results, the role of the GPU, and how the system scales across different settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Control, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks at 1465 out of 1636 total combos. This places it in the 89th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 11% of systems perform worse, while the vast majority deliver higher average frame rates. The low rank is not a reflection of the CPU, which is a strong performer in synthetic benchmarks, but rather a direct consequence of the GPU’s mid-range standing. The GTX 1660 SUPER sits at the 55th percentile among all GPUs, a modest position that aligns with the combo’s overall placement in this game.

The CPU’s synthetic scores highlight its capability. The Ryzen 7 5800XT achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23794 and a single-core score of 3359, placing it in the 86th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, which is 0.1% ahead, and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS, which trails by 0.3%. This level of processing power is more than sufficient for Control’s logic and physics, but the frame rate data indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor well before the CPU is taxed. The combo’s rank reflects a system that is well-balanced for CPU-bound tasks but severely constrained in GPU-bound scenarios like this game’s higher settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the decisive component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the performance ceiling observed in Control. The card features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. For a game like Control, which uses large textures and complex shaders, this memory configuration is adequate for 1080p but becomes stressed at higher resolutions. The GPU’s base clock is 1530 MHz with a boost clock of 1785 MHz, and it offers 1408 shading units and 48 ROPs. These specifications produce a FP32 performance of 5.027 TFLOPS, which is modest by modern standards but capable of delivering playable frame rates at lower settings.

In the measured data, the GPU’s role is clear. At 1080p with Low settings, the system hits an average of 88.4 FPS, showing that the GPU can handle the game when the load is light. However, pushing to Ultra settings at the same resolution drops the average to 49.7 FPS, a significant reduction that indicates the card’s shading units and memory bandwidth are saturated. At 4K, the situation worsens dramatically, with the average falling to 26 FPS on Ultra. The GPU’s 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with nearest rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT trailing by 0.7%, confirms that this is a mid-range part. The data shows that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the bottleneck in this system, and its limitations dictate the playable settings for Control.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system in Control?

A: The data shows that 1080p with Low settings delivers the highest average frame rate at 88.4 FPS. For a balance of quality and performance, 1080p High settings produce 57.7 FPS, which is playable, while 1440p High drops to 43.2 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 5800XT has an average benchmark score that is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE and 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360. It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS by 0.3% and the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H by 0.3%.

Q: Is the GPU more of a limiting factor than the CPU in this game?

A: Yes. The CPU is ranked in the 86th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 55th percentile. The frame rate drops from 88.4 FPS at 1080p Low to 26 FPS at 4K Ultra, illustrating that the GPU’s performance ceiling is the primary constraint.

Q: Can this system handle 1440p gaming in Control?

A: At 1440p, the average frame rates range from 67.4 FPS on Low settings to 36.8 FPS on Ultra. Medium settings yield 47.4 FPS, which is acceptable, but High settings at 43.2 FPS approach the lower boundary of smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth and how does it affect performance?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s across a 192-bit bus. This bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p, but at 4K, the average frame rate drops to 45.5 FPS on Low and 26 FPS on Ultra, indicating that memory throughput becomes a limiting factor.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 1465 out of 1636 tested combos for Control, placing it in the lower tier. The GPU’s 55th percentile ranking drives this result, as the CPU’s high performance cannot compensate for the graphics card’s limitations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this system in Control show a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution and settings increase. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 88.4 on Low to 49.7 on Ultra. The step from Low to Medium reduces the average to 62.7 FPS, and High settings yield 57.7 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is relatively small, but the jump to Ultra causes a notable drop of 13 FPS from High, reflecting the additional shader and memory load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages fall significantly. Low settings produce 67.4 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium drops to 47.4 FPS. High settings yield 43.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 36.8 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings is consistent, with roughly a 20-30% decrease in frame rate, depending on the quality level. This suggests that the GPU is being pushed harder as pixel count increases, but the system remains usable for most settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal for playability. Low settings average 45.5 FPS, which is acceptable, but Medium drops to 33.5 FPS, High to 27.8 FPS, and Ultra to 26 FPS. The data shows that 4K is only viable on Low settings, and even then, the frame rate is below the ideal for fast-paced action. The measured results indicate that the GTX 1660 SUPER’s 6 GB memory and 192-bit bus are insufficient for high-quality 4K rendering in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the extent to which the GPU is the limiting component. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 57.7 at 1080p to 43.2 at 1440p, a reduction of 14.5 FPS, and then further to 27.8 at 4K, a total drop of 29.9 FPS from 1080p. This represents a 48% decrease in performance from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial scaling penalty. In contrast, the CPU’s performance does not change with resolution, so this drop is almost entirely attributable to the GPU’s rendering load.

The scaling pattern is similar across other settings. On Low, the average goes from 88.4 at 1080p to 67.4 at 1440p and 45.5 at 4K, a 49% reduction from the lowest to highest resolution. On Medium, the figures are 62.7, 47.4, and 33.5, respectively, a 47% drop. On Ultra, the averages are 49.7, 36.8, and 26, a 48% reduction. The consistency of this scaling, around 47-49% across all settings, suggests that the GPU is operating at its bandwidth and shading limits uniformly.

The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this scaling. The Ryzen 7 5800XT’s strong synthetic scores, such as a PassMark multithread score of 27988 and a 3DMark max threads score of 7680, indicate it can feed the GPU with data without issue. The near-linear drop in FPS with resolution scaling points directly to the GTX 1660 SUPER as the primary constraint. For users of this combo, the practical takeaway is that 1080p is the sweet spot, with 1440p viable only on lower settings, and 4K reserved for Low quality, as the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute capacity are exhausted at higher resolutions.