Control

# Control with AMD Ryzen 7 7700 + Intel Arc B390

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 paired with the Intel Arc B390 produces a benchmark profile in Control that is heavily constrained by the graphics subsystem, with the combo ranking in the 12th percentile of all tested configurations. Across all resolutions and settings, the measured average frame rates range from a low of 18 FPS at 4K Ultra to a high of 65 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this system is suited primarily for lower-resolution or reduced-settings gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and consistent across all settings presets, revealing that the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting component in this configuration. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 41 FPS at 1920x1080 to 31 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 10 FPS or approximately 24%. Continuing to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 21 FPS, representing a total decline of 20 FPS from 1080p to 4K, or roughly 49% of the baseline performance.

The Low settings preset shows the same pattern with slightly higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 65 FPS, which drops to 50 FPS at 1440p and then to 33 FPS at 4K. The percentage decline from 1080p to 1440p is about 23%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 34%, indicating that the GPU becomes progressively more saturated as pixel count increases. This non-linear scaling is typical of a graphics-bound scenario where memory bandwidth and shading throughput are exhausted.

Medium settings, which include min and max frame data, show a 1080p average of 46 FPS with a min of 40 and max of 53. At 1440p, the average falls to 35 FPS with a range of 30 to 40, and at 4K the average is 24 FPS with a range of 20 to 27. The frame time consistency, as measured by the spread between min and max, remains relatively stable across resolutions, suggesting that the bottleneck is sustained throughput rather than transient spikes.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates at every resolution, with 36 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is a 50% reduction, which is the largest relative drop among all presets. This indicates that the highest quality settings impose additional shading and texture work that disproportionately affects the Arc B390's limited compute resources.

The overall pattern strongly suggests that the Ryzen 7 7700's processing power is not the primary constraint in this game. The CPU is capable of far higher frame rates in synthetic benchmarks, as indicated by its 3DMark scores, but the GPU's performance ceiling of 65 FPS at 1080p Low demonstrates that the Arc B390 saturates well before the CPU becomes a factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank in Control is 2551 out of 2888 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems evaluated. This low ranking is primarily attributable to the Intel Arc B390's position in the GPU hierarchy, where it sits at the 9th percentile of all graphics cards based on its average benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are all older, low-end NVIDIA parts. The GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, which is 1.3% below the Arc B390's score. The GeForce 800M scores 1460, a 1.5% deficit. The GeForce GT 625 OEM and GT 710 score 1446 and 1443 respectively, representing 2.5% and 2.7% gaps. These deltas are small, indicating that the Arc B390 competes in a performance tier that is severely underserved for modern gaming titles like Control.

In contrast, the CPU's standing is much stronger. The Ryzen 7 7700 sits at the 87th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 40081. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 at 40048 (0.1% lower), the Intel Core 5 221E at 40144 (0.2% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 270 at 40246 (0.4% higher), and the Intel Core i9-13905H at 40313 (0.6% higher). These differences are negligible, placing the 7700 in a tightly contested mid-to-high tier of CPU performance.

The disparity between the CPU's 87th percentile ranking and the GPU's 9th percentile ranking explains the combo's overall position. In a game like Control, which has moderate CPU demands but significant GPU requirements, the Arc B390 drags the entire system down to a level where even the strongest CPU cannot compensate. The data indicates that users of this combo would see substantial improvements by upgrading the GPU while keeping the Ryzen 7 7700, as the CPU has ample headroom for higher frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where any settings preset achieves an average frame rate above 60 FPS. At 1080p Low, the average is 65 FPS. All other resolution and settings combinations fall below 55 FPS, with 1440p and 4K averages ranging from 18 to 50 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 has an average benchmark score of 40081, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365's 40048, 0.2% lower than the Intel Core 5 221E's 40144, 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 270's 40246, and 0.6% lower than the Intel Core i9-13905H's 40313.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all tested graphics cards?

A: The Intel Arc B390 is at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its closest competitors are the GeForce GT 520MX (1463), GeForce 800M (1460), GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446), and GeForce GT 710 (1443).

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the measured average FPS is 35, with a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40. This indicates moderately playable performance but with noticeable frame dips during intense scenes.

Q: Does the system maintain consistent frame times across resolutions?

A: For the Medium preset, where min and max data is available, the frame spread is 13 FPS at 1080p (40-53), 10 FPS at 1440p (30-40), and 7 FPS at 4K (20-27). The absolute spread narrows at higher resolutions, but the percentage variation relative to the average remains similar.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems in Control?

A: The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2551 out of 2888 total tested combos, placing it in the 12th percentile of all configurations evaluated for this game.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured frame rates, the only settings preset that delivers a consistently playable experience at 1080p is Low, with an average of 65 FPS. This is the sole configuration in the entire dataset that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold, making it the clear choice for users who prioritize smooth motion over visual fidelity. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 19 FPS (from 65 to 46), which is a 29% performance penalty for a moderate increase in visual quality.

At 1440p, no settings preset achieves an average above 50 FPS. The Low preset at 50 FPS is the most playable option, but users seeking higher visual quality would face averages of 35 FPS at Medium and 31 FPS at High, both of which are below the typical 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 27 FPS is not recommended for active gameplay, as the frame rate dips into territory where responsiveness suffers.

At 4K, all settings presets produce averages below 35 FPS. The Low preset at 33 FPS is the highest, followed by Medium at 24 FPS, High at 21 FPS, and Ultra at 18 FPS. These frame rates are unsuitable for fast-paced action, and users should consider lowering the resolution or accepting significant visual compromises.

The data suggests that the optimal experience with this combo is 1080p Low, which provides the only 60+ FPS average. For users who prefer higher visual settings, 1080p Medium at 46 FPS is the best compromise, offering a 13 FPS improvement over High at the same resolution. The Ultra preset at 36 FPS is the lowest playable option at 1080p, but the performance penalty relative to Medium (10 FPS) may not justify the visual gains.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 65 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire dataset. Medium settings produce an average of 46 FPS with a minimum of 40 and maximum of 53, providing a stable but sub-60 experience. High settings reduce the average to 41 FPS, and Ultra drops further to 36 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a total penalty of 29 FPS, or 45% of the Low baseline.

At 2560x1440, performance declines across the board. Low settings average 50 FPS, which is 15 FPS lower than at 1080p. Medium settings average 35 FPS with a range of 30 to 40, High settings average 31 FPS, and Ultra settings average 27 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 23 FPS, representing a 46% reduction from the Low baseline. This resolution is marginal for playability, with only the Low preset approaching acceptable frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable performance. Low settings average 33 FPS, Medium settings average 24 FPS with a range of 20 to 27, High settings average 21 FPS, and Ultra settings average 18 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 15 FPS, or 45% of the Low baseline. None of the 4K presets reach 35 FPS, making this resolution impractical for Control with this hardware.

Looking at the Medium preset across all resolutions, the min and max values provide insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p, the range is 40 to 53 FPS (13 FPS spread). At 1440p, the range narrows to 30 to 40 FPS (10 FPS spread). At 4K, the range is 20 to 27 FPS (7 FPS spread). The absolute spread decreases as resolution increases, but the relative spread (max divided by min) remains approximately 1.33 at 1080p, 1.33 at 1440p, and 1.35 at 4K, indicating consistent frame pacing regardless of resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael, built on TSMC's 5 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a TDP of 65 watts. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and a memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 7700 demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance, scoring 18760 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3047 in Cinebench R15 multi-core. Single-thread performance is also respectable, with scores of 1930 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 308 in Cinebench R15 single-core. The Geekbench scores are 15371 multi-core and 2525 single-core, while 3DMark scores show scaling from 2043 with 2 threads to 8484 with max threads, indicating good thread scaling.

Control's performance with this combo is not limited by the CPU, as evidenced by the fact that the frame rates are consistently low across all settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see smaller FPS differences between Low and Ultra settings, since the CPU workload would remain constant while GPU load changes. Instead, the data shows a 45% performance penalty from Low to Ultra at every resolution, which is characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios.

The CPU's 87th percentile ranking, with an average benchmark score of 40081, places it well above the GPU's 9th percentile. This indicates that the Ryzen 7 7700 has substantial headroom for higher frame rates if paired with a more capable graphics card. The nearest CPU rivals, with scores ranging from 40048 to 40313, are all within 0.6% of the 7700's score, confirming that this processor is competitive with modern alternatives in its class.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, part of the Arc Graphics-M generation for Panther Lake. It has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The GPU runs at a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS.

The GPU's memory is system shared, meaning it uses the same DDR5 memory as the CPU rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as system dependent, which means performance can vary based on the system configuration. This shared memory arrangement often results in lower effective bandwidth compared to dedicated graphics memory, which could explain the significant performance drops at higher resolutions.

The Arc B390's benchmark results are extremely limited, with only a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. This places the GPU at the 9th percentile of all tested graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 1482. The nearest rivals are all low-end NVIDIA parts from previous generations, with the GeForce GT 520MX scoring 1463 (1.3% lower), GeForce 800M scoring 1460 (1.5% lower), GeForce GT 625 OEM scoring 1446 (2.5% lower), and GeForce GT 710 scoring 1443 (2.7% lower).

In Control, the GPU's limitations are evident across all resolutions. The maximum frame rate achieved is 65 FPS at 1080p Low, which is the only configuration where the GPU can approach a 60 FPS experience. At higher resolutions and settings, the GPU quickly becomes saturated, with 4K frame rates ranging from 18 to 33 FPS depending on settings. The GPU's 80 watt TDP and integrated nature suggest it is designed for portable devices rather than desktop gaming, which aligns with its performance profile.