Control

Control pairs the eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 7700 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, and the measured frame rates in this Action Adventure title reveal a combination that is consistently capable across resolutions. The data shows a system where the GPU is the primary scaling factor as resolution increases, while the CPU provides ample headroom to keep the RTX 3080 Ti fed at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, the role of each component, and how this specific combo ranks against 1,636 other tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and clearly indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the limiting component at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 124.7 at 1920x1080 to 91.1 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 33.6 FPS, and then further down to 62 at 3840x2160. This represents a 50% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, a pattern consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where the rendering load on the graphics card increases dramatically with pixel count.

The scaling pattern is similar across all quality presets, which reinforces the notion that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this title. When moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings, the average FPS drops from 144.3 to 97.7, a 46.6 FPS difference. At Ultra settings, the same resolution step sees a drop from 78.8 to 51.3, a 27.5 FPS difference. The absolute FPS loss is smaller at Ultra because the baseline frame rate is lower, but the percentage drop remains substantial, hovering around 35% to 40% when stepping up to 4K. This behavior is typical of a GPU with a fixed memory bandwidth and compute throughput that must handle a much larger pixel workload at 3840x2160.

Interestingly, the scaling between Low and High settings at the same resolution is not enormous, suggesting that the game’s visual effects at higher presets do not disproportionately punish the graphics card. For instance, at 1080p, the difference between Low (193.4 FPS) and High (124.7 FPS) is 68.7 FPS, which is significant but not as large as the resolution scaling penalty. The data implies that if a player wants to maintain a high refresh rate experience, lowering the resolution has a much more profound effect than tweaking quality presets.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows suggest that the High preset offers the most balanced experience for this combo, particularly at 1440p and 4K. At 2560x1440, High yields an average FPS of 91.1, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay on standard monitors, while still providing the visual uplift over Medium (104.5 FPS) and Low (144.3 FPS). For users with high refresh rate 1440p displays, the Medium preset at 104.5 FPS is a viable alternative, as it closes the gap to the 144 FPS mark that Low achieves.

At 4K, the situation is more delicate. The Ultra preset falls to 51.3 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target, while High offers 62 FPS, making it the recommended choice for a stable 60 FPS experience at 3840x2160. Low at 4K produces 97.7 FPS, which is an option for competitive play, but the visual compromise is considerable. For 1080p users, all presets exceed 100 FPS, with High at 124.7 FPS and Ultra at 106.7 FPS, so the choice comes down to personal preference for visual fidelity versus raw frame rate.

The data indicates that the RTX 3080 Ti is strong enough to handle High settings at 4K without dropping below the 60 FPS mark, but it does not have enough headroom for Ultra at that resolution. Therefore, the best experience per the measured rows is to use High settings for 4K and 1440p, and only consider Ultra at 1080p where the frame rate remains above 100 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the star of this show, and its specifications align well with the measured performance. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s. This ample bandwidth is crucial for 4K gaming, as the texture data and frame buffer requirements at 3840x2160 are substantial. The GPU’s boost clock of 1665 MHz and its 10,240 shading units deliver the raw compute power needed to maintain the observed frame rates.

The GPU’s role is evident in the fact that the FPS scales inversely with resolution, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload. The RTX 3080 Ti’s 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 80 RT cores are more than sufficient for Control’s rendering demands at 1080p, where it achieves 193.4 FPS at Low settings. However, at 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly stretched, as evidenced by the 51.3 FPS average, which is only slightly above half of the 1080p Low result.

The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is not a limiting factor in these tests, as the game’s maximum memory usage at 4K Ultra is unlikely to exceed that with the measured settings. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 83 versus all GPUs indicates it is a high-end part, and its average benchmark score of 41,224 places it close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, which is only 0.5% higher in score. This proximity in synthetic benchmarks translates to the observed real-world performance in Control, where the 3080 Ti holds its own against more recent cards.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the combo’s performance across twelve different configurations. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 193.4 at Low settings to 106.7 at Ultra, with High at 124.7 and Medium at 139.6. This shows that even at the highest quality preset, the system easily exceeds 100 FPS, making it ideal for high refresh rate 1080p monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 144.3 (Low), 104.5 (Medium), 91.1 (High), and 78.8 (Ultra). The drop from Low to Ultra is 65.5 FPS, which is a significant spread, but all presets remain playable, with even Ultra staying above the 75 FPS mark. At 3840x2160, the results are 97.7 (Low), 70 (Medium), 62 (High), and 51.3 (Ultra). Here, the Ultra preset dips below 60 FPS, making it the only configuration in the entire dataset that falls short of the smoothness standard.

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows a consistent pattern of diminishing returns, where each step up in quality costs roughly 15% to 20% of the frame rate. For example, at 1440p, moving from Low to Medium costs 39.8 FPS, from Medium to High costs 13.4 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 12.3 FPS. This suggests that the High preset is the sweet spot, as it offers a substantial visual improvement over Medium for a relatively small FPS penalty.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti holds a rank of 430 out of 1,636 combos in Control. This places it in the top 26% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing for a CPU that was released in 2023 and a GPU that is now end-of-life. The combo’s percentile is not explicitly given, but the rank of 430 out of 1,636 implies it outperforms roughly 74% of all other configurations.

This ranking is notable because it indicates that the combination of a mid-range Zen 4 CPU with a high-end Ampere GPU is still highly competitive in this game. The rank is likely driven by the GPU’s strong performance, as the 3080 Ti’s average benchmark score of 41,224 is within 1.6% of the NVIDIA Tesla M40, which is a much older card. The CPU’s contribution to the rank is more about ensuring the GPU is not bottlenecked, which is supported by the fact that the FPS scales smoothly with resolution changes.

Compared to other combos, this setup is clearly in the upper echelon, but it is not at the very top. The data suggests that to rank higher, one would need either a faster GPU like the RTX 3090, which is only 0.5% ahead in synthetic benchmarks, or a newer generation card. The 430th rank also indicates that there are many systems with more powerful GPUs that can push higher frame rates at 4K Ultra, but for the vast majority of gaming scenarios, this combo is more than adequate.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 plays a supporting role in this pairing, but its capabilities are crucial for avoiding bottlenecks. With 8 cores and 16 threads, it has enough processing power to handle the game’s physics and AI calculations without slowing down the GPU. Its boost clock of 5.30 GHz is particularly beneficial for single-threaded tasks, which are common in game logic, and its single-core Cinebench R23 score of 4,136 points is indicative of strong per-core performance.

The CPU’s role is most evident when examining the frame rates at 1080p Low settings, where the average FPS reaches 193.4. This high frame rate suggests that the CPU is able to keep up with the GPU’s output, as a slower processor would limit the FPS to a lower value. The fact that the FPS drops when moving to higher resolutions confirms that the GPU becomes the limiting factor, not the CPU.

The 7700’s 32 MB of L3 cache and 5 nm process node contribute to its efficiency, allowing it to maintain high performance without excessive power draw. Its 3DMark single-thread score of 1,049 and multithread score of 8,484 indicate that it is a well-rounded processor that can handle both light and heavy workloads. In Control, the CPU’s 16 threads are likely utilized for background tasks, but the game’s main thread benefits from the high boost clock. This synergy between CPU and GPU ensures that the system delivers the measured FPS without a significant performance bottleneck from the processor side.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 91.1.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 Ti handle 4K Ultra settings in Control?

A: No, the average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 51.3, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

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

A: This combo ranks 430 out of 1,636 tested combinations, placing it in the top 26% of all systems.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded in the dataset?

A: The highest average FPS is 193.4, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p, as the FPS reaches 193.4 at Low settings, indicating the CPU has enough headroom to support higher frame rates.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between High and Ultra at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, High settings yield 62 FPS, while Ultra yields 51.3 FPS, a difference of 10.7 FPS.