Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and AMD Radeon RX 580 pairing delivers a distinctly last-generation experience in Control, with the data showing a system that is firmly GPU-bound across all tested resolutions and settings. The measured frames per second indicate that this combo is positioned near the bottom of the database, ranking 2633 out of 2888 tested combinations, making it a pairing best suited for 1080p gameplay at modest graphical presets.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, revealing a graphics card that is overwhelmed by the game's demands at higher resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 63 FPS average, but this falls to 48 FPS at 1440p and plummets to 32 FPS at 4K. This represents a 24% reduction when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 33% decline when stepping up to 4K. The pattern is similar across all quality presets, with the scaling becoming more punishing as resolution increases.

The data shows that at 4K, the system is barely playable even at the lowest settings. The jump from Low (32 FPS) to Medium (23 FPS) at 4K is a 28% performance hit, while High (20 FPS) and Ultra (18 FPS) push the experience into slideshow territory. The 4K Ultra result of 18 FPS is less than a third of the 1080p Low result, indicating that the RX 580's 256-bit memory bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the pixel throughput required at that resolution.

At 1440p, the picture is slightly better but still constrained. The High preset produces 30 FPS, which is playable but far from smooth, while Medium delivers 34 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at High settings is 10 FPS (from 40 to 30), showing that the GPU is the primary limiter rather than the CPU. The 9700F's 8 cores and 16 threads are not the bottleneck here; the RX 580's 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is clearly the ceiling.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings is particularly telling: 35 FPS to 18 FPS, a 49% reduction. This suggests that the game's visual effects at Ultra, combined with the resolution increase, create a compounding load that the Polaris 20 chip cannot handle. The 14 nm process node and 5,700 million transistors are simply outmatched by Control's demanding renderer, which was released in 2019 but scales heavily with GPU compute.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a modern processor that is largely underutilized in this configuration. With 8 cores, 16 threads, and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, the CPU has ample headroom for Control's physics and AI workloads. The Zen 5 architecture, built on TSMC's 4 nm process, provides strong single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Passmark single-thread score of 4691. This places the CPU in the 94th percentile of all processors, indicating that it is far more capable than the GPU it is paired with.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 is more than sufficient for a game of this era. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps with data locality, and the 4 nm process node ensures efficient power delivery with a 65 W TDP. In benchmark terms, the 9700F's average score of 69996 puts it in close competition with the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875, 0.2% faster) and the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163, 0.2% slower). These rivals are all high-end desktop or mobile parts, showing that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this pairing.

The data supports this conclusion when examining the FPS results. At 1080p Low, the system produces 63 FPS, which is a respectable number for a game like Control. However, the fact that this score drops to 35 FPS at 1080p Ultra — a 44% reduction — while the CPU load likely remains similar, points squarely at the GPU as the bottleneck. The CPU's Passmark multithread score of 36470 and floating point math score of 77955 indicate it can handle complex game logic without breaking a sweat.

The 9700F's 5.50 GHz boost clock is particularly relevant for Control, which relies on single-threaded performance for its physics simulation. The CPU's integer math score of 120788 and extended instructions score of 33688 suggest strong per-core throughput. However, none of this raw CPU power translates into higher FPS at 4K, where the GPU's 32 ROPs and 144 TMUs are simply unable to process the frame data fast enough.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the clear performance limiter in this configuration. Released in 2017, this Polaris 20 chip features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operations pipelines. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p but struggles at higher resolutions. The GPU's 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is modest by modern standards, and its 14 nm process node means it runs hot and inefficiently compared to newer parts.

The RX 580's benchmark scores reinforce its position. Its Passmark G3D score of 8813 and average benchmark score of 12928 place it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940, 0.1% faster) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986, 0.4% faster), both of which are also older or lower-tier parts. This confirms that the RX 580 is a mid-range GPU from a previous generation, and Control's demanding rendering pushes it to its limits.

The GPU's clock speeds are modest: a base of 1257 MHz and a boost of 1340 MHz, with memory running at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). The pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s are the key metrics for Control's visual effects, and they are simply not enough for 1440p or 4K at high quality. The measured FPS at 1440p High (30 FPS) and 4K High (20 FPS) show a linear decline that tracks the GPU's compute limitations.

The RX 580 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, which covers Control's API requirements. However, the lack of ray tracing cores means the game's advanced lighting effects must be handled via traditional rasterization, further burdening the 32 ROPs. The 185 W TDP and dual-slot cooler are typical for the era, but the GPU's end-of-life production status and 2017 release date mean it was already aging when Control launched in 2019.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Ryzen 7 9700F and RX 580 ranks 2633 out of 2888 combos, placing it in the bottom 9% of all systems tested. This is a remarkably low position for a CPU that ranks in the 94th percentile of all processors, underscoring how severely the GPU drags down the overall experience. The combo's rank suggests that most other pairings, even those with weaker CPUs, outperform it due to having more capable graphics cards.

The data indicates that this is a mismatched pairing: the 9700F is a high-end CPU from 2025, while the RX 580 is a budget GPU from 2017. The CPU's nearest rivals — the Ryzen 9 7940HX, Core i7-14700KF, and Ryzen 9 7950X — are all flagship parts that would typically be paired with much stronger GPUs. The fact that this combo sits at rank 2633 means that even a mid-range GPU like the GTX 1660 SUPER, which has a similar average benchmark score (12986 vs 12928), would likely perform better in Control due to architectural advantages.

Benchmark results show that the combo's measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (35 FPS) is below the playable threshold for a fast-paced action game. At 1440p, the best achievable result is 48 FPS on Low, which is playable but visually compromised. The 4K results are uniformly poor, with even the Low preset (32 FPS) failing to maintain smooth motion. This ranking position reflects a system that is only suitable for 1080p gaming at medium-to-low settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1080p with the Medium preset, which delivers 45 FPS average with a minimum of 38 FPS and maximum of 51 FPS. This is the only preset/resolution combination that provides a consistent frame rate above 40 FPS while maintaining some visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1440p yields 34 FPS (min 29, max 39), which is borderline playable but will suffer during intense combat sequences.

For players prioritizing smoothness over visuals, the 1080p Low preset offers the best performance at 63 FPS, which is nearly double the frame rate of the High preset at the same resolution (40 FPS). The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p is 18 FPS (from 63 to 45), a 29% reduction that may not be worth the visual upgrade given the game's demanding effects. The High preset at 1080p (40 FPS) and Ultra preset at 1080p (35 FPS) provide diminishing returns and are not recommended due to the risk of frame drops.

At 1440p, the Low preset (48 FPS) is the only viable option for a playable experience, but it requires significant visual compromises. The Medium preset at 1440p (34 FPS) is playable but will struggle in areas with heavy particle effects or destructible environments. All 4K presets are unplayable, with the best result being 32 FPS on Low, which is below the 60 FPS target most action games require.

The data suggests that the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, as it maintains a minimum FPS of 38, which is above the stutter threshold. Players who have a 144Hz monitor may want to drop to Low at 1080p (63 FPS) to take advantage of higher refresh rates, but this comes at the cost of reduced texture quality and shadow detail.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Control?*

A: The data shows 1080p is the only resolution where the combo achieves playable frame rates across all presets. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 45, while 1440p Medium drops to 34 FPS and 4K Medium falls to 23 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700F perform relative to its rivals?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score of 69996 is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875), 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163), and 0.7% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515).

Q: Is the RX 580 the bottleneck in this system?

A: Yes. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 8813 is in the 53rd percentile, while the CPU is in the 94th percentile. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a GPU-bound system, as the CPU's 8 cores and 5.50 GHz boost clock have ample headroom.

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

A: At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 63 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 35 FPS, a 44% reduction. The Medium preset sits at 45 FPS and High at 40 FPS, showing that Ultra provides minimal visual benefit for a significant performance cost.

*Q: Can this combo handle 1440p gaming in Control?*

A: Only at Low settings, which achieves 48 FPS average. The Medium preset at 1440p produces 34 FPS with a minimum of 29 FPS, which may cause noticeable stuttering during action sequences. High and Ultra at 1440p are below 30 FPS and not recommended.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 580's average benchmark score of 12928 is 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940) and 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986). It is 0.5% higher than the AMD Radeon 740M (12870) and 0.6% higher than the AMD FirePro W5100 (12847).