Control

# Control with AMD Ryzen 7 7700X + Intel Arc B390

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X paired with the Intel Arc B390 produces a heavily GPU-limited experience in Control, with frame rates that range from a playable 65 FPS at 1080p Low down to an unplayable 18 FPS at 4K Ultra. The data reveals a system where the CPU's substantial compute headroom is largely irrelevant, as the integrated-class GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck across every measured configuration. This combination ranks near the bottom of the database, at position 2551 out of 2888 tested combos, placing it in the 12th percentile of overall performance for this title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data across three resolutions and four settings presets shows a clear pattern: the Low preset is the only viable path to acceptable frame rates in Control. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 65 FPS average, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that approaches or exceeds the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 46 FPS, a 29% reduction from Low, while High falls to 41 FPS and Ultra bottoms out at 36 FPS. For users targeting 1080p, Low is the only sensible choice if fluidity is the priority.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset yields 50 FPS average, which is still discernibly below the 60 FPS mark but remains the best available option. Medium drops to 35 FPS, High to 31 FPS, and Ultra to 27 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is substantial at 15 FPS, suggesting that the GPU's fill rate and shading resources are already stretched thin at this resolution. The data indicates that even the Low preset at 1440p will feel noticeably less responsive than the same preset at 1080p.

For 4K, the data paints a grim picture. The best result is 33 FPS at Low, which is the only 4K configuration that reaches the 30 FPS baseline. Medium manages 24 FPS, High 21 FPS, and Ultra 18 FPS. Given these numbers, 4K gaming with this combo is only marginally viable at Low settings, and even then, the experience will be choppy. The measured minimum FPS of 20 at 4K Medium further confirms that frame pacing will be inconsistent at higher resolutions.

The optimal preset for this combination is unequivocally Low, regardless of resolution. The performance delta between Low and the next step up (Medium) ranges from 10 FPS at 4K to 19 FPS at 1080p, representing performance gains of 30% to 41%. This is not a subtle tuning knob; it is a massive performance cliff that suggests the GPU is operating at the edge of its capabilities. Users who value visual fidelity over frame rate may consider Medium at 1080p, where 46 FPS is at least within a tolerable range, but the data does not support any preset above Medium for a consistent experience.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. Its specifications reveal a part designed for efficiency rather than raw performance: 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, 24 raster output pipelines, and 12 ray tracing cores. The clock speeds range from a 300 MHz base to a 2500 MHz boost, with a peak FP32 throughput of 7.680 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. The GPU's memory is "System Shared" with bandwidth described as "System Dependent," meaning performance will vary based on the host system's DDR5 memory configuration.

The benchmark data positions this GPU in the 9th percentile of all tested GPUs, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). This places the Arc B390 in the company of entry-level discrete GPUs from over a decade ago, which contextualizes its struggles in Control. The GPU's 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs are simply insufficient for the rendering demands of a 2019 action-adventure title at modern resolutions.

The measured FPS data confirms that the GPU is the sole limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 65 FPS, but the Ryzen 7 7700X is capable of far more — its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19088 and single-core score of 1987 indicate a processor with ample headroom. The GPU's 2500 MHz boost clock is being fully utilized, yet the frame rates remain low, suggesting that the shading units and memory bandwidth are saturated. The ray tracing cores, while present, offer no measurable benefit in the rasterized benchmark data provided.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K provides a textbook example of GPU-bound behavior. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 65 at 1080p to 50 at 1440p (a 23% reduction) and further to 33 at 4K (a 49% reduction from 1080p). This scaling is roughly proportional to the pixel count increase: 1440p has 1.78 times the pixels of 1080p, and 4K has 4 times the pixels. The FPS drop is less severe than the pixel increase, which indicates some efficiency gains at higher resolutions, but the overall trend is unmistakably GPU-limited.

At Medium settings, the scaling is even more pronounced: 46 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p (24% drop), and 24 FPS at 4K (48% drop). The High preset follows a similar pattern: 41 FPS at 1080p, 31 FPS at 1440p (24% drop), and 21 FPS at 4K (49% drop). Ultra settings show the steepest absolute decline: 36 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p (25% drop), and 18 FPS at 4K (50% drop). The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings presets is remarkable and confirms that resolution scaling is the dominant factor.

The data implies that the limiting component is definitively the GPU, not the CPU. If the Ryzen 7 7700X were the bottleneck, the frame rate would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU's workload is largely independent of pixel count. Instead, the FPS halves from 1080p to 4K, which is exactly what a GPU with fixed shading resources would exhibit. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads, running at a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, are more than sufficient to feed this GPU at any resolution, as evidenced by the fact that the frame rates scale precisely with pixel load.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear progression across settings. Low settings deliver 65 FPS average, which is the highest measured value for this combo in any configuration. Medium drops to 46 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS, indicating some frame time variance but no catastrophic stuttering. High settings yield 41 FPS, while Ultra falls to 36 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 29 FPS, a 45% performance penalty for the highest visual quality preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages shift downward across the board. Low settings produce 50 FPS, still the best option but now noticeably below the 60 FPS target. Medium averages 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS — the minimum is right at the edge of playability. High manages 31 FPS, and Ultra drops to 27 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 23 FPS, a 46% reduction, which mirrors the 1080p scaling pattern.

At 3840x2160, the results are marginal at best. Low settings achieve 33 FPS, barely crossing the 30 FPS threshold for minimum playability. Medium averages 24 FPS, with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS — the minimum here is below what most would consider acceptable for an action game. High delivers 21 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 18 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 15 FPS, a 45% reduction, maintaining the consistent ratio seen at lower resolutions.

The measured minimum FPS values, available only for Medium settings, provide additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 40 FPS against an average of 46 FPS, indicating a fairly tight distribution. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 30 FPS against an average of 35 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 20 FPS against an average of 24 FPS. The minimum-to-average ratio remains roughly consistent at about 83-87%, suggesting that frame pacing is stable even if the absolute numbers are low.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X + Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2551 out of 2888 tested combos in Control, placing it in the bottom 12% of all configurations. This rank reflects the GPU's severe limitations rather than any deficiency in the CPU. The Ryzen 7 7700X itself is a strong processor, with an 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 35909. Its nearest CPU rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35802, 0.3% slower), the Intel Core 7 250H (35728, 0.5% slower), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 (35719, 0.5% slower), and the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (35670, 0.7% slower). These deltas are minuscule, indicating that the CPU is performing exactly as expected for its class.

In contrast, the GPU's 9th percentile ranking and its rivalry with the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and GT 710 highlight the performance tier this combo occupies. The combo rank of 2551 is driven almost entirely by the GPU's inability to render Control at competitive frame rates. The data suggests that pairing this high-end CPU with such a low-end GPU creates a massive imbalance: the CPU has 8 cores at 5.40 GHz boost and 32 MB of shared L3 cache, while the GPU has only 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput and 24 ROPs. This is a configuration where the CPU is never the limiting factor, yet the overall experience is constrained by the GPU's modest capabilities.

The fact that this combo ranks below 88% of all tested configurations underscores the GPU's role as the primary bottleneck. Users with this combo would see dramatic improvements by upgrading the GPU to any discrete option, while upgrading the CPU would yield negligible gains in Control. The data implies that the 7700X is wasted in this pairing, as its multi-threaded capabilities (Cinebench R23 multi-core of 19088) are never exercised by a game that is GPU-bound at every measured setting.

FAQ

Q: What is the best frame rate this combo can achieve in Control?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 65 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the dataset that exceeds 60 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this combination?

A: At 3840x2160, the best result is 33 FPS at Low settings. Medium delivers 24 FPS, High 21 FPS, and Ultra 18 FPS. Only Low settings at 4K approach minimum playability.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 places it 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M, 2.5% ahead of the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710.

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 7700X bottleneck the Arc B390 in Control?

A: No. The FPS scales proportionally with resolution (e.g., 65 FPS at 1080p Low vs. 33 FPS at 4K Low), which indicates GPU-bound performance. The CPU's benchmarks (e.g., 19088 multi-core in Cinebench R23) show it has far more headroom than the game requires.

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

A: Low delivers 65 FPS, while Ultra delivers 36 FPS — a 29 FPS difference, representing a 45% performance drop for the highest preset.

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

A: It ranks 2551 out of 2888 combos, placing it in the bottom 12% of all tested systems for this game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is a Zen 4 architecture processor built on TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock is 4.50 GHz with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, backed by a 32 MB shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core. The CPU's memory bandwidth is rated at 83.2 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5, and it supports PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes. The processor's 105 W TDP and unlocked multiplier make it a versatile desktop part, though in this combo, its capabilities are entirely untapped by Control's rendering demands.

Benchmark data shows the 7700X is a high-performing CPU. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19088 and single-core score of 1987 indicate strong both-threaded and single-threaded performance. The Geekbench multi-core score of 12451 and single-core score of 2289 reinforce this picture. PassMark results show 35686 for multithread and 4190 for single-thread, with specific sub-scores like 112601 for integer math and 68986 for floating point math. These numbers are all in the upper echelon for desktop processors, consistent with its 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

In the context of Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU limitation: the frame rates scale perfectly with resolution, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. The 7700X's 16 threads are more than adequate for a game like Control, which typically uses fewer than 8 threads. The CPU's 5.40 GHz boost clock ensures that even single-threaded game logic runs with minimal latency, but this advantage is invisible when the GPU can only produce 65 FPS at best.

The comparison with rival CPUs via nearestRivals shows that the 7700X sits at the top of its performance class. Its average benchmark score of 35909 is 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, 0.5% higher than the Intel Core 7 250H, 0.5% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, and 0.7% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H. These tiny deltas mean that swapping the 7700X for any of these rivals would produce virtually identical frame rates in Control, since the GPU bottleneck would remain unchanged. The data strongly suggests that the CPU is not a meaningful factor in this combo's low ranking.