Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 83rd out of 1636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 5% of all configurations. This is a strong result for a 2019 Action Adventure title, indicating that the combination of the 8-core Zen 3 processor and the Blackwell 2.0 GPU provides a high-performance foundation. The combo’s percentile standing is reinforced by the GPU’s 89th percentile rank among all GPUs and the CPU’s 86th percentile rank among all CPUs, showing that both components are well above average in their respective categories. The data suggests that this pairing is not bottleneck-limited in a meaningful way at most settings, though the scaling patterns reveal where each component takes the lead.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 83 out of 1636 tested configurations puts it in the 95th percentile of all tested combinations for Control. This is a decisive placement, showing that the RTX 5080’s raw throughput is the primary driver of the score. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 59188 places it just 1.6% ahead of the Intel Arc A570M and 2.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A580, but those rivals are far less capable in real-world gaming due to driver overhead and feature support—though the data here only reflects the GPU’s synthetic averages. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 29774 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE just 0.1% behind and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS 0.3% ahead. This near-tie in CPU synthetic scores means the 5800XT is not a differentiator in this combo; the RTX 5080’s 89th percentile GPU rank is what pushes the pair into the top tier. For Control specifically, the rank suggests the game is GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s 8 cores and 16 threads are sufficient to avoid holding back the frame rate at 1080p.

GPU Role

The RTX 5080 brings 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a critical asset for Control, which features heavy texture streaming and particle effects that can quickly consume VRAM at high resolutions. The 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores are particularly relevant, as Control’s real-time reflections and ray-traced lighting can leverage these units, though the measured FPS data does not isolate ray tracing. The GPU’s boost clock of 2617 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz, combined with 10752 shading units, produce a pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s. These specs translate into the measured FPS: at 4K Ultra, the combo averages 73.2 FPS, which is a playable result for a demanding title, while 4K High reaches 84.8 FPS. The GPU’s FP32 throughput of 56.28 TFLOPS ensures that compute-heavy effects do not become a bottleneck, and the data shows that dropping from Ultra to High at 4K yields an 11.6 FPS improvement, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution. The 16 GB VRAM is generous for Control, and the benchmark results show no signs of memory pressure even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS remains above 70.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, manufactured on a 7 nm process. Its base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 4.80 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3359 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 959. In Control, which is known for its physics simulation and destructible environments, multi-threaded performance matters. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23794 and 3DMark max-thread score of 7680 show that it can handle the game’s background simulation tasks without becoming a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 236.8 FPS, and at 1080p Medium it reaches 188.1 FPS, both of which are high enough to suggest the CPU is keeping up with the GPU’s output. However, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a drop of 37.6 FPS at High settings (from 167.1 to 125), which is a 22.5% reduction, indicating that the GPU is starting to take over as the primary limiter. The CPU’s 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for this game, and the 105 W TDP means it can sustain boost clocks without thermal throttling in a typical desktop chassis.

FAQ

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5080’s average benchmark score of 59188 is 1.6% higher than the Intel Arc A570M (58239) and 2.5% higher than the Intel Arc A580 (57756), but it is 1.9% lower than the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326). This puts it in a competitive mid-range position, though its 89th percentile rank among all GPUs reflects its gaming strengths.

Q: What is the CPU’s single-threaded performance, and why does it matter for Control?

A: The 5800XT achieves a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3359 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 959. Control’s game logic and physics calculations rely on strong per-core performance, so these scores help ensure that frame times remain consistent even when the GPU is not saturated.

Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM sufficient for Control at 4K?

A: Yes. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 73.2 FPS, and at 4K High it reaches 84.8 FPS. The 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 16 GB capacity are more than enough for Control’s assets, and the measured FPS does not indicate any VRAM-related stuttering or drops.

Q: How does the CPU’s multi-threaded score impact performance at 1080p?

A: The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23794 and 3DMark max-thread score of 7680 allow it to feed the GPU efficiently at 1080p Low, where the combo reaches 236.8 FPS. This shows that the 8-core/16-thread configuration is not a limiting factor at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the combo’s rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 83rd out of 1636 tested, which places it in the top 5% of all combinations. This is driven largely by the GPU’s 89th percentile standing, while the CPU’s 86th percentile rank provides solid support.

Q: Does the data show any signs of CPU bottlenecking at 1440p?

A: At 1440p High, the combo averages 125 FPS, which is a 25.2% drop from 1080p High’s 167.1 FPS. This drop is proportional to the increase in pixel count, suggesting the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At High settings, the combo delivers 167.1 FPS at 1080p, 125 FPS at 1440p, and 84.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 25.2% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 49.3% drop from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is nearly linear with pixel count, which indicates that the RTX 5080’s rendering throughput is the dominant factor. At Low settings, the FPS is 236.8 at 1080p, 199.2 at 1440p, and 132.9 at 4K—a 15.9% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 43.9% drop to 4K. The lower percentage drop at 1440p Low suggests that the CPU is providing some headroom, but the larger drop at 4K confirms the GPU is the primary constraint. At Ultra settings, the 4K average of 73.2 FPS is 48.4% lower than the 1080p average of 141.8 FPS, which is a steeper decline than at High settings. This is because Ultra settings increase the GPU’s workload with more demanding effects, making the RTX 5080’s limits more apparent. The data shows that Control is consistently GPU-bound across all resolutions, with the CPU’s role diminishing as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, the High preset at 1440p is the standout choice. It delivers 125 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and it retains most of the visual features that make Control’s environments compelling. At 4K, the High preset averages 84.8 FPS, which is also playable, but the Ultra preset drops to 73.2 FPS—still acceptable for a single-player title, but the 11.6 FPS gain from dropping to High is significant. At 1080p, the Medium preset yields 188.1 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate displays, while Ultra at 141.8 FPS is still excellent. The Low preset at 236.8 FPS (1080p) and 132.9 FPS (4K) shows that even at the lowest settings, the combo maintains high frame rates, but the visual cost is likely too high for most users. The data suggests that High is the sweet spot: it offers a 15.9% improvement over Ultra at 4K (from 73.2 to 84.8 FPS) and a 10.8% improvement at 1440p (from 110.8 to 125 FPS), while preserving most of the game’s graphical effects. For users with 144 Hz monitors, 1440p High is the recommended configuration, while 4K High is the best option for those prioritizing resolution over frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo averages 236.8 FPS on Low, 188.1 FPS on Medium, 167.1 FPS on High, and 141.8 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 95 FPS, showing that the RTX 5080 has ample headroom at this resolution, and the CPU’s 8-core configuration is sufficient to avoid bottlenecks. At 2560x1440, the averages are 199.2 FPS on Low, 140.6 FPS on Medium, 125 FPS on High, and 110.8 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 88.4 FPS, which is a slightly smaller absolute gap than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor. At 3840x2160, the averages are 132.9 FPS on Low, 94.8 FPS on Medium, 84.8 FPS on High, and 73.2 FPS on Ultra. The 59.7 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the smallest absolute gap across all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is heavily loaded at this resolution. Comparing settings across resolutions, the High preset at 4K (84.8 FPS) is slightly slower than the Ultra preset at 1440p (110.8 FPS), which highlights the impact of resolution on performance. The data also shows that the Medium preset at 1440p (140.6 FPS) outperforms the High preset at 4K (84.8 FPS) by 65.8%, reinforcing that resolution has a larger impact on FPS than settings within this combo.