Control

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor built on the Zen 4 architecture (codenamed Raphael), manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 4.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, drawing a TDP of 105 W. The CPU features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. The chip is socketed on AMD Socket AM5 and includes 24 PCIe Gen 5 lanes (CPU only), plus integrated Radeon Graphics.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 7700X posts a single-thread score of 1090 in 3DMark, and scales to 2112 with 2 threads, 4074 with 4 threads, 7057 with 8 threads, and 8859 with 16 threads. The max-thread score is 8852, nearly identical to the 16-thread result, indicating that the chip’s scaling plateaus after 16 threads — a typical pattern for an 8-core/16-thread part. Cinebench R23 results show a multi-core score of 19088 and a single-core score of 1987, while Cinebench R15 yields 3113.5 multi-core and 315 single-core. Geekbench reports 12451 multi-core and 2289 single-core. PassMark results include a multi-thread score of 35686, a single-thread score of 4190, and a physics score of 2007. The CPU’s percentile versus all CPUs is 85, and its average benchmark score is 35909.

For Control, an action-adventure title that relies heavily on consistent frame pacing and moderate thread usage, the 7700X’s strong single-core performance is the primary driver. The game’s physics and AI systems are not massively parallel, so the 8-core/16-thread configuration provides ample headroom without becoming a bottleneck. The 3DMark 8-thread score of 7057 — roughly 80% of the 16-thread score — suggests that even if Control uses only half the threads, the CPU still delivers near-peak throughput. The single-thread score of 1090 is particularly relevant because Control’s frame generation and input response are sensitive to per-core speed; a boost clock of 5.40 GHz helps maintain high minimum FPS in crowded scenes. The 32 MB L3 cache reduces latency when accessing game assets, and the dual-channel DDR5 bandwidth ensures that memory transfer does not throttle the GPU’s data requests.

In the context of the measured FPS data, the CPU’s role is most apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 211 FPS average, which is far above the GPU’s raw output capability at higher settings, indicating that the CPU is not the limiting factor even in the lightest load. The CPU’s percentile rank of 85 places it well above most desktop processors, and its nearest rivals — the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (avg score 35802, delta 0.3%), Intel Core 7 250H (35728, delta 0.5%), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 (35719, delta 0.5%), and Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (35670, delta 0.7%) — are all within 0.7% in aggregate benchmark scores, confirming that the 7700X sits in a tightly contested performance band. For Control specifically, the CPU’s single-thread capability is the deciding factor: it ensures that draw-call submission and physics updates do not introduce stutter, even when the GPU is pushing 4K Ultra at 70 FPS.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture (chip AD103), fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. It features 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, 112 ROPs, 76 RT cores, and 304 tensor cores. The GPU’s base clock is 2205 MHz, with a boost clock of 2505 MHz. Memory is 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s (1400 MHz memory clock, 22.4 Gbps effective). The card’s FP32 performance is 48.74 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 48.74 TFLOPS (1:1). Pixel rate is 280.6 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 761.5 GTexel/s. The TDP is 320 W, with a triple-slot cooler and a single 16-pin power connector, requiring a 700 W suggested PSU. It uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4080 scores 6567 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 214739 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 263779 in Geekbench Vulkan. PassMark results show a G3D score of 34457, a G2D score of 1239, DirectX 10 at 204, DirectX 11 at 314, DirectX 12 at 132, and DirectX 9 at 370. The GPU compute score is 20671. The GPU’s percentile versus all GPUs is 86, with an average benchmark score of 54247. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER (avg score 54209, delta 0.1%), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828, delta -1.1%), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698, delta -2.6%), and AMD Radeon 8060S (55757, delta -2.7%). Notably, the RTX 4080 SUPER is nearly identical in aggregate performance (0.1% difference), while the other three rivals are actually ahead by 1.1% to 2.7%, meaning the RTX 4080 sits slightly below those specific cards in raw benchmark averages.

For Control, the GPU’s role is dominant at higher resolutions and settings. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for the game’s textures at 4K Ultra, eliminating any memory spillover risk. The 716.8 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming at 4K remains fluid, which is critical for Control’s destructible environments and physics-heavy scenes. The boost clock of 2505 MHz allows the GPU to maintain high occupancy during GPU-bound segments, and the 76 RT cores enable ray-traced reflections and shadows without a catastrophic frame drop — though the measured FPS data in this pack does not isolate RT effects, the presence of these cores is a qualitative advantage. The 112 ROPs and 280.6 GPixel/s pixel rate directly influence fill-rate-limited scenarios, such as the game’s particle effects and volumetric lighting.

Benchmark results indicate that the RTX 4080 is a high-end part, but its percentile of 86 (versus all GPUs) shows it is not at the very top of the stack. The deltaPct values are informative: the RTX 4080 SUPER is essentially a peer, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, and Radeon 8060S all outperform it in aggregate synthetic scores by 1.1% to 2.7%. This means that in Control, the RTX 4080 is not an absolute class leader, but its real-world FPS results are strong enough to deliver smooth 4K gameplay at High settings (73 FPS average) and even 4K Medium (97 FPS). The GPU’s memory clock of 1400 MHz and effective 22.4 Gbps are the same as the SUPER variant, so the performance delta likely comes from minor core clock differences.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combo ranks 530th out of 3720 combos for Control. This places it in the top 14.3% of all tested systems — a strong showing, though not a top-tier position. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU: the 7700X is a capable mid-high-end processor, and the RTX 4080 is a high-end GPU, but the combination does not reach the absolute peak performance seen with top-of-the-line parts like a Ryzen 9 or RTX 4090.

The percentile data supports this interpretation. The CPU’s percentile of 85 and the GPU’s percentile of 86 are both above average, but neither is in the 90th+ percentile. When paired, the combo’s rank of 530 out of 3720 suggests that many other systems — likely with more powerful GPUs or CPUs — achieve higher FPS in Control. However, the rank also indicates that this combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, making it a solid high-end choice for this game. The deltaPct values for the GPU’s nearest rivals show that the RTX 4080 is only 0.1% behind the RTX 4080 SUPER in aggregate benchmarks, so the combo’s rank would not change materially with that GPU swap. The CPU’s nearest rivals are all within 0.7%, meaning the combo’s position is stable relative to minor hardware variations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). All entries report average FPS, with Medium settings additionally providing minimum and maximum FPS.

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 211 FPS average
• Medium: 164 FPS average (min 139, max 188)
• High: 123 FPS average
• Ultra: 117 FPS average

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 170 FPS average
• Medium: 132 FPS average (min 112, max 152)
• High: 99 FPS average
• Ultra: 95 FPS average

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 125 FPS average
• Medium: 97 FPS average (min 83, max 112)
• High: 73 FPS average
• Ultra: 70 FPS average

Starting at 1080p Low, the combo delivers 211 FPS, which is a very high refresh-rate experience. Moving to 1080p Medium drops to 164 FPS (a 22% reduction), then to 123 FPS at High (a further 25% drop), and finally to 117 FPS at Ultra (a 5% drop from High). The gap between High and Ultra at 1080p is small, suggesting that Ultra settings add little visual benefit relative to the FPS cost. The 1080p Medium minimum of 139 FPS and maximum of 188 FPS show a 49 FPS range, indicating some scene-to-scene variability but still above 120 FPS consistently.

At 1440p, Low yields 170 FPS (19% lower than 1080p Low), Medium yields 132 FPS (20% lower than 1080p Medium), High yields 99 FPS (20% lower than 1080p High), and Ultra yields 95 FPS (19% lower than 1080p Ultra). The consistency of the ~20% drop across all settings at 1440p versus 1080p indicates that the scaling is resolution-driven rather than setting-driven. The 1440p Medium minimum of 112 FPS and maximum of 152 FPS show a 40 FPS range, still comfortably above 100 FPS.

At 4K, Low yields 125 FPS (26% lower than 1440p Low), Medium yields 97 FPS (27% lower than 1440p Medium), High yields 73 FPS (26% lower than 1440p High), and Ultra yields 70 FPS (26% lower than 1440p Ultra). The 4K Medium minimum of 83 FPS and maximum of 112 FPS show a 29 FPS range, with the minimum still above 80 FPS. The 4K High average of 73 FPS and Ultra of 70 FPS are close, again suggesting diminishing returns from High to Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K reveal a clear pattern. At Low settings, the drop from 1440p to 4K is 26% (170 to 125 FPS), while from 1080p to 1440p it is 19% (211 to 170 FPS). At Medium, the drop from 1440p to 4K is 27% (132 to 97 FPS), and from 1080p to 1440p it is 20% (164 to 132 FPS). At High, the drop from 1440p to 4K is 26% (99 to 73 FPS), and from 1080p to 1440p it is 20% (123 to 99 FPS). At Ultra, the drop from 1440p to 4K is 26% (95 to 70 FPS), and from 1080p to 1440p it is 19% (117 to 95 FPS).

The uniformity of these percentages — approximately 20% for the 1080p-to-1440p step and 26% for the 1440p-to-4K step — indicates that the scaling is primarily GPU-limited. The 4K step requires 2.25 times the pixel count of 1440p, and the observed 26% drop is less than the pixel count increase would suggest if the GPU were perfectly fill-rate-bound, implying that the RTX 4080’s bandwidth and compute are sufficient to partially offset the pixel load. Conversely, the 1080p-to-1440p step (1.78x pixel increase) results in a 20% drop, again showing that the GPU is the dominant limiter at these resolutions.

The limiting component is clearly the GPU, not the CPU. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 211 FPS, which is a high number that still leaves headroom — if the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect lower frame rates even at low settings. The CPU’s 3DMark single-thread score of 1090 and Cinebench R23 single-core of 1987 are strong, but the fact that FPS scales nearly linearly with resolution (and not with CPU load) confirms that the RTX 4080 is the constraining factor. At 4K Ultra, the 70 FPS average is about one-third of the 1080p Low figure, a direct consequence of the fourfold pixel increase. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it delivers 95-170 FPS across settings, and can handle 4K at Medium (97 FPS) or High (73 FPS) for a smooth experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution and refresh rate.

At 1080p, the Medium preset (164 FPS average, 139 FPS minimum) offers the best balance. The jump from Medium to High (123 FPS) costs a 25% performance reduction, while the visual difference is typically modest in Control’s art style. The Ultra preset (117 FPS) is only 5% slower than High, so if you have a 120 Hz display, Ultra is viable, but the minimum FPS is not recorded for Ultra (only average), so frame pacing may vary. The Low preset (211 FPS) is excessive for most 1080p displays unless you have a 240 Hz monitor, and the visual quality loss is significant. For a 144 Hz display, Medium is the sweet spot, providing a 164 FPS average with a 139 FPS minimum, ensuring no drops below the refresh rate.

At 1440p, the High preset (99 FPS average) is the recommended choice for a 100 Hz or 120 Hz display. The Medium preset (132 FPS) offers a higher frame rate for 144 Hz displays, but the visual fidelity drop from High is noticeable in texture detail and shadow quality. The Ultra preset (95 FPS) is nearly identical to High (99 FPS) — only a 4 FPS difference — so it is advisable to use Ultra if you want the best image quality at 1440p, as the performance cost is negligible. The Low preset (170 FPS) is only for esports-style play, which is not the target for a single-player action adventure.

At 4K, the Medium preset (97 FPS, minimum 83 FPS) is the best experience per the measured rows. It delivers a fluid 97 FPS average with a minimum of 83 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset (73 FPS) is playable but lacks the headroom for demanding scenes; the minimum is not recorded, so there is a risk of drops below 60 FPS. The Ultra preset (70 FPS) is only 3 FPS slower than High, so if you have a 60 Hz display, either High or Ultra will work, but Medium provides a clearly better frame rate for a 120 Hz display. The Low preset (125 FPS) at 4K is a compromise that sacrifices too much visual quality for a marginal FPS gain over Medium.

In summary, for 1080p use Medium, for 1440p use High or Ultra (given the small gap), and for 4K use Medium to maximize frame rate with acceptable visuals. The data indicates that the RTX 4080 and Ryzen 7 7700X are well-matched for 1440p gaming, with 4K as a secondary capability.