Control

# Control with AMD Ryzen 7 7700 + Intel Arc B370

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 paired with the Intel Arc B370 delivers a highly constrained experience in Control, with the combination ranking 2657th out of 2888 tested combos. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings remain modest, with the strongest result being 59 FPS at 1080p Low settings, while 4K Ultra produces just 17 FPS. This pairing exhibits a clear GPU-bound profile, as the Arc B370's integrated-class performance (25 W TDP, 6.144 TFLOPS FP32) becomes the primary limiting factor even at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in Control?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 59 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The next best result is 45 FPS at 2560x1440 Low, followed by 42 FPS at 1080p Medium.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Control?

A: The combo ranks 2657th out of 2888 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8 percent of all configurations. This reflects the Intel Arc B370's low percentile ranking (5th percentile among all GPUs) rather than any CPU limitation.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: Benchmark data indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The Ryzen 7 7700 scores in the 87th percentile among all CPUs with a multi-threaded PassMark score of 34,470, while the Arc B370 sits in the 5th GPU percentile. Resolution scaling shows frame rates drop by roughly 50% from 1080p to 1440p and another 35-40% from 1440p to 4K, a pattern consistent with GPU-bound rendering.

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

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 59 FPS average, while Ultra produces 32 FPS. This 27 FPS difference (about 46% reduction) shows how drastically quality presets impact performance on this GPU.

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 7700's integrated graphics affect the Arc B370's performance?

A: The data does not indicate any interaction between the CPU's integrated Radeon Graphics and the discrete Arc B370. The measured results are attributed solely to the Intel Arc B370, which uses system shared memory and has a 25 W TDP, indicating it operates in a power-constrained, integrated-class performance envelope.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at any settings?

A: No measured configuration reaches 60 FPS. The closest is 1080p Low at 59 FPS average. All other tested settings fall below this threshold, with 4K resolutions ranging from 17 to 30 FPS depending on quality preset.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 provides substantial processing headroom that goes largely unused in this configuration. Built on the Zen 4 Raphael architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, this 8-core, 16-thread processor operates with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (83.2 GB/s bandwidth) position it as a capable mid-range desktop part, evidenced by its 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 7 7700 demonstrates strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18,760 and single-core score of 1,930 indicate robust compute capability. Geekbench results show 15,371 multi-core and 2,525 single-core scores. The 3DMark threaded tests reveal scaling from 2,043 (2 threads) to 8,479 (max threads), with the 8-thread score of 6,933 confirming that the processor efficiently utilizes its physical cores.

For Control, an action-adventure title with moderate CPU demands, the Ryzen 7 7700's specifications suggest it could handle the game's physics and AI workloads without issue. However, the measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low (59 FPS), the system cannot exceed 60 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra the result drops to 32 FPS. This pattern indicates the CPU is not the performance bottleneck; the processor's capability far exceeds what the GPU can deliver. The CPU's 32 MB shared L3 cache and per-core L2 cache (1 MB per core) provide ample bandwidth for game logic, but these resources remain underutilized when the GPU limits frame production.

The Ryzen 7 7700's nearest rivals in overall CPU benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (0.1% higher average score), Intel Core 5 221E (0.2% lower), and AMD Ryzen 9 270 (0.4% lower). These deltas are negligible, confirming the 7700 sits in a tightly contested performance tier. None of these differences would meaningfully alter Control's frame rates given the GPU constraint.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the decisive component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured results. Based on the Xe3-LPG architecture (Panther Lake chip) built on Intel's 3 nm process, this GPU has 1,280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and boost clock of 2400 MHz, producing a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS and FP16 of 12.29 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) place it in an entry-level segment, consistent with its 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

The Arc B370 uses system shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth, which is a critical limitation for a game like Control that features detailed environments and particle effects. The 25 W TDP and IGP slot width indicate this is an integrated-class solution despite being listed as a separate GPU. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,184 positions it near older discrete cards: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (0.2% higher), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (0.5% higher), and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (0.7% higher). The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1.4% lower.

These benchmark comparisons reveal the Arc B370's performance class: it competes with GPUs from over a decade ago, not modern gaming hardware. The 10 RT cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support provide architectural features, but the raw throughput cannot sustain demanding rendering workloads. In Control, which uses ray-traced reflections and advanced physics, this GPU's limitations become apparent across all tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four quality presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), with 12 total configurations tested.

At 1920x1080, the results show a clear progression: Low produces 59 FPS average, Medium produces 42 FPS (with min 36, max 48), High produces 37 FPS, and Ultra produces 32 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is the largest drop at 17 FPS (29% reduction), while Medium to High and High to Ultra each reduce by 5 FPS (12% and 14% respectively). This pattern suggests the Low preset avoids certain GPU-intensive effects that heavily impact the Arc B370.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates decline further: Low produces 45 FPS, Medium produces 32 FPS (with min 27, max 37), High produces 28 FPS, and Ultra produces 25 FPS. The Low-to-Medium drop is again 13 FPS (29% reduction), while High to Ultra is only 3 FPS (11% reduction). The 1440p results show the GPU struggling more as pixel count increases, with even Low settings falling well below 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal: Low produces 30 FPS, Medium produces 21 FPS (with min 18, max 25), High produces 19 FPS, and Ultra produces 17 FPS. The Low-to-Medium gap narrows to 9 FPS (30% reduction), while High to Ultra is just 2 FPS (11% reduction). At 4K, even the lowest settings cannot maintain 30 FPS consistently, and the Ultra preset becomes nearly unplayable.

The min/max data available only for Medium settings across all resolutions shows the frame pacing: at 1080p Medium, the range is 36-48 FPS; at 1440p Medium, 27-37 FPS; and at 4K Medium, 18-25 FPS. These ranges indicate relatively stable frame delivery without severe stuttering, though the absolute values remain low.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2657 out of 2888 tested configurations places it in the bottom 8% of all combinations for Control. This ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU, as the Ryzen 7 7700's 87th CPU percentile demonstrates ample processing capability. The gap between CPU and GPU percentiles (82 points) is among the largest possible mismatches, indicating a severely unbalanced configuration for gaming purposes.

Among the 2888 tested combos, this pairing outperforms only 231 configurations. The nearest GPU rivals in benchmark scores (ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, ATI Radeon HD 5770, AMD Radeon HD 7650M) all belong to legacy hardware generations, suggesting this combo's performance aligns with systems from roughly 2010-2012 era discrete GPUs or modern integrated graphics. The CPU's strength cannot compensate for this GPU limitation in Control.

The ranking implies that for Control specifically, almost any modern discrete GPU would improve performance. However, the data does not include comparisons with other GPU pairings for this CPU, so the exact uplift cannot be quantified from the provided facts. What is clear is that this combo sits at the bottom tier of tested configurations, and the measured FPS confirms the ranking's validity.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the user's priorities. For playable frame rates, 1080p Low provides the best experience at 59 FPS average, approaching the 60 FPS target. This setting sacrifices visual quality but delivers the only configuration near standard monitor refresh rates.

For a balance between visual fidelity and performance, 1080p Medium (42 FPS) or 1440p Low (45 FPS) are viable options. The 1080p Medium preset offers improved detail over Low while maintaining a playable frame rate, though the 17 FPS drop from Low is substantial. The 1440p Low setting provides higher resolution with similar frame rates to 1080p Medium, though the min/max data is not available for that configuration.

Users prioritizing visual quality should consider 1080p High (37 FPS) or 1080p Ultra (32 FPS). These settings produce the most detailed visuals at the lowest resolutions, but frame rates dip below 40 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (45 FPS) and Medium (32 FPS) are recommended, as High (28 FPS) and Ultra (25 FPS) fall below playable thresholds for most users.

The 4K configurations are not recommended for gameplay. Even at Low settings (30 FPS), the experience is marginal, and Ultra (17 FPS) is effectively unplayable. Users with 4K displays should reduce resolution to 1080p or 1440p for any reasonable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals the GPU-bound nature of this configuration. At Low settings, performance drops from 59 FPS at 1080p to 45 FPS at 1440p (24% reduction) and then to 30 FPS at 4K (33% reduction from 1440p, 49% from 1080p). This scaling is less than linear with pixel count, suggesting some CPU involvement at lower resolutions or memory bandwidth constraints at higher ones.

At Medium settings, the progression is 42 FPS (1080p) → 32 FPS (1440p) → 21 FPS (4K), representing 24% and 34% reductions respectively. The 4K result shows a 50% drop from 1080p. High settings follow a similar pattern: 37 → 28 → 19 FPS (24% and 32% reductions). Ultra settings show 32 → 25 → 17 FPS (22% and 32% reductions).

The consistent ~24% drop from 1080p to 1440p across all settings suggests a stable scaling factor, while the ~32-34% drop from 1440p to 4K indicates the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth becoming more critical at higher pixel counts. The system-shared memory bandwidth (system dependent) likely contributes to the steeper decline at 4K, as the GPU competes with CPU memory access.

The limiting component is clearly the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, frame rates would show less variation across resolutions, as CPU workload remains relatively constant regardless of pixel count. Instead, the significant FPS drops with increasing resolution confirm that the Arc B370's throughput and memory subsystem are the constraining factors. The Ryzen 7 7700's 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and dual-channel DDR5 support far exceed what this GPU can utilize, reinforcing the conclusion that this combo's performance is entirely GPU-limited in Control.