Control

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is an 8-core, 16-thread desktop processor built on the Zen 4 architecture (Raphael) using TSMC's 5 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, backed by 32 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29302 and single-core score of 4136 place it in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40468.

For a game like Control, which is an action-adventure title released in 2019, the CPU's strong single-thread performance matters most for maintaining high frame rates. The 3dmark single-thread score of 1049 and the 2-thread score of 2043 indicate robust per-core throughput, which is critical for the game's physics and AI systems. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration ensures that background tasks and game threads never contend for resources, even when the GPU is fully loaded.

Comparing the 7700 to its nearest rivals, the data shows a difference of only 0.1% against the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H (average score 40431), 0.5% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (40262), and 0.6% behind the Intel Core i9-13905H (40712). The 7700 also leads the Intel Core Ultra 5 235T (39995) by 1.2%. These margins are negligible in real-world gaming, meaning the 7700's role in Control is to provide consistent, high-frequency execution without being a bottleneck.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for feeding the RTX 4060. In Control, the measured FPS at 1080p Low (142.9 FPS) versus 4K Low (69.6 FPS) suggests that at lower resolutions the CPU is capable of pushing high frame rates, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs. The 7700's architecture, with its 5 nm process and 6,570 million transistors on a 71 mm² die, delivers the instruction-level efficiency that Control's engine can exploit at high refresh rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the Ryzen 7 7700's average benchmark score and how does it compare to its closest rival?

A: The average benchmark score is 40468. It is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H (40431) and 0.5% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (40262). It trails the Intel Core i9-13905H (40712) by 0.6%.

Q: What is the best measured FPS for this combo in Control?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 142.9 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest is 41.9 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 930 out of 1636 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database.

Q: What is the RTX 4060's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 4060 sits in the 66th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23181. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321), outperforms it by 0.6%.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU become the bottleneck at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the FPS drops significantly compared to 1080p, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor. For example, at High settings, FPS drops from 90.2 at 1080p to 43.1 at 4K, a 52% reduction that aligns with GPU-bound behavior.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the Ryzen 7 7700?

A: The launch MSRP is $329. The RTX 4060 has a launch MSRP of 299 USD.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 930 out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This places it in the 57th percentile of all tested combinations — meaning roughly 43% of combos perform better and 57% perform worse. The ranking reflects a mid-pack position, which is consistent with the GPU's 66th percentile standing and the CPU's 91st percentile performance.

The CPU is clearly the stronger component in this pairing. While the 7700 outperforms 91% of all CPUs in the database, the RTX 4060 only exceeds 66% of GPUs. This imbalance suggests that the GPU is the primary constraint on overall gaming performance in Control. The combo's rank of 930 is therefore more indicative of GPU capability than CPU capability.

When examining the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 4060 (23181 average score) trails the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321) by 0.6% and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23338) by 0.7%. It leads the Intel Arc B580 (23021) by 0.7% and the AMD Radeon 760M (22999) by 0.8%. These tight margins mean that swapping the GPU for any of these alternatives would yield nearly identical frame rates in Control, whereas upgrading the CPU to a faster model would have minimal impact at higher resolutions.

The data indicates that this combo is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but less suited for 4K, where the GPU's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus (272.0 GB/s bandwidth) struggle to maintain high frame rates with demanding settings. The rank of 930 reflects this mid-tier positioning.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low settings yield 142.9 FPS, Medium produces 98.6 FPS, High reaches 90.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 75.8 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 67.1 FPS, or 47% — a wide spread that shows the GPU's performance ceiling at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down proportionally. Low settings produce 108 FPS, Medium hits 73.2 FPS, High achieves 65 FPS, and Ultra falls to 58.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 49.9 FPS (46%), suggesting that the CPU is still providing sufficient headroom and the GPU is becoming more stressed.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. Low settings drop to 69.6 FPS, Medium to 50.6 FPS, High to 43.1 FPS, and Ultra to 41.9 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra shrinks to 27.7 FPS (40%), indicating that even at Low settings, the GPU cannot fully utilize the CPU's capabilities. The 4K Ultra result of 41.9 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay without additional upscaling or reduced settings.

The data shows a consistent pattern: at each resolution, the relative performance drop from Low to Ultra is between 40% and 47%, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. The FPS figures are measured data, not estimates, providing reliable numbers for comparing settings and resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the bottleneck characteristics of this combo. At Low settings, FPS drops from 142.9 at 1080p to 108 at 1440p (a 24% reduction) and then to 69.6 at 4K (a 51% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K but FPS only falls to roughly half.

At High settings, the scaling is similar: 90.2 FPS at 1080p, 65 FPS at 1440p (28% reduction), and 43.1 FPS at 4K (52% reduction). The near-identical percentage drops across Low and High settings suggest that the GPU's shading and rasterization capabilities, not memory bandwidth or cache, are the binding constraints.

Ultra settings show the most severe scaling: 75.8 FPS at 1080p, 58.1 FPS at 1440p (23% reduction), and 41.9 FPS at 4K (45% reduction). The smaller percentage drop from 1440p to 4K (28%) compared to 1080p to 1440p (23%) hints that at Ultra, other factors like memory bandwidth begin to play a larger role.

The RTX 4060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the memory capacity and bandwidth become marginal, especially with Ultra textures. The 128-bit bus width is a known limitation for high-resolution gaming, and the data reflects this: at 4K Ultra, the combo achieves just 41.9 FPS, which is 45% below the 1080p Ultra result.

The CPU's role in resolution scaling is minimal. Since the 7700 ranks in the 91st percentile and its nearest rivals show deltas under 1.2%, any CPU-related bottleneck would manifest as inconsistent scaling across settings. Instead, the FPS reductions are smooth and proportional to resolution, confirming that the RTX 4060 is the limiting component at 4K, while the 7700 provides ample headroom at 1080p and 1440p.