Control

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT brings an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 3 configuration to Control, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. This is the Vermeer architecture on the 7 nm process node, and it supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus delivering 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU's benchmark profile shows strong scaling from 2 threads (3dmark score 1879) up to 16 threads (7683), with the max-thread score of 7680 nearly identical to the 16-thread result — indicating the processor is fully utilized at high thread counts.

In Control, which is an Action Adventure title from 2019, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the 1080p Low preset. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo achieves 160.7 FPS average, which is the highest measured result across all settings. This suggests that at lower resolutions and reduced graphics settings, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames to reach high refresh rates. The single-thread performance, measured at 959 in 3dmark_single_thread and 3359 in Cinebench R23 single-core, is relevant because Control's gameplay logic and physics calculations often rely on a few heavily loaded threads.

The CPU's 32 MB of L3 cache is a notable asset for game data locality. When comparing to nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 5800XT sits within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (deltaPct 0.1), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (deltaPct -0.3), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (deltaPct 0.3), and the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (deltaPct -0.3). These tight margins indicate that for CPU-bound workloads, the 5800XT is effectively interchangeable with several modern mobile and desktop parts — yet the 5800XT's desktop power envelope of 105 W TDP and its 86th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggest it has headroom that lower-power rivals lack.

The data from the measured FPS reveals a pattern: at 1080p, going from Low (160.7 FPS) to Ultra (85.2 FPS) drops performance by 75.5 FPS, a 47% reduction. This drop is primarily attributable to the GPU becoming the bottleneck as settings increase, but the CPU must sustain the frame pacing. With a Passmark multithread score of 27988 and data compression score of 350154, the 5800XT has ample computational headroom for Control's procedural destruction and physics-heavy environments.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for Control's texture streaming and particle effects. The GPU's boost clock of 1725 MHz (base 1500 MHz) and its 5888 shading units contribute to a 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 throughput. The 46 RT cores are particularly relevant since Control was one of the early showcases for real-time ray tracing, though the measured FPS data here does not specify whether ray tracing was enabled.

At 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 42.2 FPS average — the lowest measured result. This aligns with the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM capacity being stressed at 3840x2160 with maximum settings. The GPU's 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the upper-midrange tier. Its nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro S7150 (deltaPct -0.6), AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (deltaPct 0.9), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (deltaPct 1), and AMD Radeon R9 M295X (deltaPct -1.1). Notably, the RX 6600 XT has the same 8 GB VRAM capacity, while the GTX 980 Ti has only 6 GB — yet the RTX 3070's performance delta of 0.9% over the RX 6600 XT in synthetic benchmarks translates to a meaningful advantage in Control's rasterized scenes.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The measured FPS at 4K shows a steep decline from Low (84 FPS) to Medium (58 FPS) to High (53 FPS) to Ultra (42.2 FPS). The delta between Low and Medium at 4K is 26 FPS, which is larger than the delta between Medium and High (5 FPS) — suggesting that the Low preset's reduced texture quality alleviates VRAM pressure substantially, while the jump from Medium to High introduces diminishing returns in visual quality for the performance cost.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

Examining the High preset across resolutions reveals the scaling behavior: 1080p High yields 98.9 FPS, 1440p High drops to 78.3 FPS (a 20.8% reduction), and 4K High falls to 53 FPS (a 32.3% reduction from 1440p). This progressive decline with each resolution step indicates that the RTX 3070 is the primary bottleneck at High settings — the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are not saturated at these frame rates.

The Low preset tells a different story. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 160.7 FPS, which drops to 122.8 FPS at 1440p (a 23.6% reduction) and then to 84 FPS at 4K (a 31.6% reduction from 1440p). The fact that even at 4K Low the combo manages 84 FPS — higher than the 4K High result of 53 FPS — demonstrates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the constraining factors, not the CPU. If the CPU were the limiter, we would expect similar FPS across resolutions at the same settings, which is not the case.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 85.2 FPS at 1080p, 67.9 FPS at 1440p, and 42.2 FPS at 4K. The 1440p-to-4K drop of 25.7 FPS (a 37.8% reduction) is the steepest resolution penalty observed in the dataset. This steepness suggests that at Ultra settings, the combination of increased pixel count and higher-quality textures overwhelms the 8 GB VRAM, causing the GPU to fall back on slower memory access patterns. The medium preset's scaling (111.5 → 88.2 → 58) shows a more linear progression, with the 1440p-to-4K drop of 30.2 FPS being proportionally similar to other presets.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination ranks 721st out of 1636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 56th percentile of all configurations. This is a solidly mid-pack result, which may surprise given the individual component rankings — the CPU sits at the 86th percentile and the GPU at the 72nd percentile. The gap between individual component percentiles and the combo's overall rank suggests that Control's performance is more heavily influenced by GPU capability than CPU capability, and that many of the 1636 combos feature stronger GPUs paired with weaker CPUs.

The combo's rank of 721 out of 1636 means it outperforms approximately 56% of tested configurations. However, the measured FPS data reveals that this combo delivers playable frame rates at most settings and resolutions — only 4K Ultra falls below 60 FPS (42.2 FPS). The 1080p results are all above 85 FPS, and even 1440p stays above 67 FPS at Ultra. This suggests that while the combo ranks in the middle of the database, its real-world performance in Control is more than adequate for smooth gameplay at mainstream resolutions.

When considering the CPU's nearest rivals (all within 0.3% of each other in average benchmark score), the 5800XT's edge over these parts is marginal in synthetic tests. Yet in Control, the desktop CPU's higher sustained power budget (105 W TDP) versus the mobile-oriented rivals (6800HS, 7840H) could translate to more consistent frame times, even if average FPS is similar. The GPU's nearest rivals show a wider spread (from -1.1% to +1%), and the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM gives it an advantage over older cards like the GTX 980 Ti in memory-heavy scenes.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For 1080p gaming, the Medium preset at 111.5 FPS provides a balanced experience — it is only 49.2 FPS lower than Low (160.7 FPS) but delivers substantially better visual fidelity. High at 98.9 FPS is also viable for those prioritizing visual quality, while Ultra at 85.2 FPS remains above 60 FPS and is playable. The data shows that at 1080p, all four presets deliver playable frame rates, so the choice depends on the user's refresh rate and visual preferences.

At 1440p, the Medium preset (88.2 FPS) offers the best compromise, with High (78.3 FPS) close behind. Ultra at 67.9 FPS is still above 60 FPS, making it viable for 60 Hz displays, while Low at 122.8 FPS is excessive for most monitors and sacrifices too much visual quality. The 4K results are more constrained: Medium (58 FPS) and High (53 FPS) are borderline playable, while Ultra (42.2 FPS) falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for smooth action gameplay. Low at 84 FPS is the only 4K preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant.

The recommendation based on the measured data is clear: for 1080p and 1440p, Medium or High presets provide the best experience, with Ultra being acceptable at these resolutions. For 4K, players should choose Medium at most, or consider lowering to Low if frame rate is a priority. The Ultra preset at any resolution below 4K is viable, but the 42.2 FPS result at 4K Ultra indicates this is not a recommended configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this CPU/GPU pair in Control?

A: At 1080p, all settings are playable with Ultra at 85.2 FPS. At 1440p, Medium (88.2 FPS) or High (78.3 FPS) are recommended. At 4K, Low (84 FPS) is the only preset above 60 FPS, with Medium (58 FPS) being borderline.

Q: How does this combo's rank in Control compare to its individual component rankings?

A: The combo ranks 721st out of 1636 tested combos (56th percentile). The CPU ranks at the 86th percentile and the GPU at the 72nd percentile among all components, indicating the combo's performance is weaker than what the individual component rankings might suggest.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more limiting in Control at 4K?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting factor at 4K. At Low settings, the combo achieves 84 FPS, but this drops to 42.2 FPS at Ultra — a 41.8 FPS difference attributable to GPU workload. The CPU maintains similar performance across settings at each resolution.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low delivers 160.7 FPS while Ultra delivers 85.2 FPS, a difference of 75.5 FPS. This represents a 47% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does this combo support ray tracing in Control, and what are the FPS implications?

A: The RTX 3070 has 46 RT cores, indicating ray tracing capability. However, the measured FPS data does not specify whether ray tracing was enabled, so the performance impact cannot be determined from this dataset.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3070's average benchmark score is 28238, placing it 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT and 1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, while trailing the AMD FirePro S7150 by 0.6% and the AMD Radeon R9 M295X by 1.1%.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 160.7 FPS average
• Medium: 111.5 FPS average
• High: 98.9 FPS average
• Ultra: 85.2 FPS average

The 1080p results show a clear progression: Low to Medium drops 49.2 FPS, Medium to High drops 12.6 FPS, and High to Ultra drops 13.7 FPS. The largest single-setting penalty occurs between Low and Medium, suggesting that the Medium preset introduces significant visual features that tax the GPU.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 122.8 FPS average
• Medium: 88.2 FPS average
• High: 78.3 FPS average
• Ultra: 67.9 FPS average

At 1440p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 54.9 FPS. The relative drop from Low to Medium (34.6 FPS) is proportionally similar to the 1080p drop, but the absolute frame rates are lower. The High to Ultra penalty at 1440p is 10.4 FPS, which is less severe than at 1080p (13.7 FPS).

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 84 FPS average
• Medium: 58 FPS average
• High: 53 FPS average
• Ultra: 42.2 FPS average

The 4K results show the most constrained performance. The Low to Medium drop is 26 FPS, Medium to High is 5 FPS, and High to Ultra is 10.8 FPS. Notably, the Medium-to-High penalty at 4K is minimal, suggesting that these two presets have similar GPU demands in this resolution. The 4K Ultra result of 42.2 FPS is the only measured frame rate below 50 FPS across the entire dataset.

Comparing across resolutions at each setting: Low goes from 160.7 (1080p) to 122.8 (1440p) to 84 (4K), representing a 47.7% total drop from 1080p to 4K. Medium goes from 111.5 to 88.2 to 58, a 48% drop. High goes from 98.9 to 78.3 to 53, a 46.4% drop. Ultra goes from 85.2 to 67.9 to 42.2, a 50.5% drop. The Ultra preset shows the largest proportional drop, consistent with it being the most demanding on GPU memory and compute resources.