Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Control, with 4K remaining a challenge for the GPU. The benchmark data shows a clear pattern where the RX 6700 XT becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, while the 9700F provides ample headroom. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions and settings, examining the specific roles of the CPU and GPU in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance curve as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 141 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 107 FPS, a 24% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 72 FPS, which is a 49% decline from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions; the RX 6700 XT's rendering workload doubles as pixel count quadruples, leading to significant frame rate erosion.

The trend is consistent across all settings presets. For High settings, the average FPS goes from 89 at 1080p, to 67 at 1440p, and finally to 46 at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 31%, which is slightly less severe than the 33% drop from 1080p to 1440p, but still substantial. Ultra settings show the same pattern: 77 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p, and 40 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 40 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold typically desired for smooth gameplay, confirming that this resolution is not viable for an optimal experience with this hardware.

The scaling data suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game. The Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, appears to keep up with the GPU's demands at all tested resolutions. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see smaller FPS differences between resolutions, particularly at lower settings where the GPU has less work to do. Instead, the consistent and large FPS drops with each resolution increase point squarely at the RX 6700 XT as the performance ceiling.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results provide a clear hierarchy for settings presets at each resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers an average of 100 FPS, which is a strong balance between visual quality and performance. The High preset at 1080p is also excellent, averaging 89 FPS, and offers a noticeable visual upgrade over Medium for a 12% performance cost. For players with high refresh rate monitors, the Low preset at 141 FPS is the only way to fully utilize a 144Hz display, but it comes with significant visual compromises.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the sweet spot, achieving an average of 76 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS. This keeps gameplay fluid and responsive. The High preset at 67 FPS is still playable, but the frame rate is closer to the edge of what many consider smooth. The Ultra preset at 59 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold, making it a less desirable choice for consistent performance. The Low preset at 107 FPS is the fastest option at 1440p, but the visual quality reduction is substantial.

At 4K, no preset achieves a fully smooth experience. The Low preset averages 72 FPS, which is the only option that stays above 60 FPS. However, this requires the lowest visual settings. The Medium preset averages 51 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Both High and Ultra presets fall below 46 FPS, making them difficult to recommend for anything other than screenshots or slow-paced exploration. The data indicates that 4K gaming with this combo requires either the Low preset or a willingness to accept sub-60 FPS performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the decisive component in this game's performance profile. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the textures and assets in Control at the tested settings. The GPU's 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs handle the rendering workload, and its 40 ray tracing cores are present but not heavily utilized in the standard benchmark settings.

The GPU's clock speeds are a key factor in its performance. The base clock is 2321 MHz, with a game clock of 2424 MHz and a boost clock of 2581 MHz. These high frequencies allow the RX 6700 XT to maintain strong throughput in Control, which is a title that responds well to raw GPU compute. The GPU's FP32 performance of 13.21 TFLOPS provides the raw power needed to drive the game's physics and particle effects.

The VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in these tests. At 4K Ultra, the game likely uses a significant amount of memory, but the 12 GB frame buffer is sufficient to avoid any texture swapping or stuttering that would be visible in the frame time data. The fact that the 4K Ultra result is 40 FPS, rather than a lower number caused by memory pressure, indicates that the GPU's compute throughput is the primary constraint. The RX 6700 XT's percentile rank of 72 among all GPUs places it in the upper tier, but its performance in Control shows that it is not a 4K-class card for this demanding title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured FPS data shows a consistent pattern of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 141 FPS, which is the highest result in the entire dataset. Medium follows with 100 FPS, with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS. High averages 89 FPS, and Ultra averages 77 FPS. The range from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 64 FPS, showing the significant impact of the settings preset.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 107 FPS. Medium drops to 76 FPS, with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 87 FPS. High averages 67 FPS, and Ultra averages 59 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 48 FPS. The relative difference between settings is similar to 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower due to the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 72 FPS. Medium averages 51 FPS, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS. High averages 46 FPS, and Ultra averages 40 FPS. The range from Low to Ultra narrows to 32 FPS, because the GPU is so heavily loaded that even the lowest settings cannot produce a dramatically higher frame rate. The 4K results are consistently below the 60 FPS target, with the exception of the Low preset.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this CPU and GPU combo?*

A: The data shows that 1440p with Medium settings is the optimal choice, delivering an average of 76 FPS. This provides a good balance of visual fidelity and smooth gameplay, staying above the 60 FPS threshold.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Control?*

A: The benchmark results indicate that 4K is only viable at Low settings, which averages 72 FPS. At Medium settings, the average drops to 51 FPS, and at High or Ultra, it falls to 46 FPS or 40 FPS, respectively, which is not a smooth experience.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The measured data shows a significant gap. The Low preset averages 141 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 77 FPS. This is a 64 FPS difference, or roughly 45% lower performance at Ultra compared to Low.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The resolution scaling data indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, the frame rate drops substantially, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The Ryzen 7 9700F's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at all tested settings.

Q: What are the minimum FPS numbers for the Medium preset at different resolutions?

A: The measured data includes minimum FPS for the Medium preset. At 1080p, the minimum is 85 FPS. At 1440p, the minimum is 65 FPS. At 4K, the minimum is 44 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 6700 XT's overall performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 27425. This is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, which scores 27435 and shows a 0% deltaPct. It is also very close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, which scores 27565 and has a -0.5% deltaPct, meaning the RX 6700 XT is only 0.5% slower.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F plays a supporting role in Control, providing the necessary processing power without becoming a bottleneck. The CPU has 8 cores and 16 threads, which is more than sufficient for the game's threading model. Its base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz, combined with the Zen 5 architecture, ensure that it can handle the game's AI, physics, and game logic calculations without causing frame rate dips.

The CPU's benchmark scores support this analysis. Its Passmark single-thread score is 4691, and its multithread score is 36470. These are strong numbers, and its percentile rank of 94 among all CPUs places it in the top tier. The nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, which is 0.2% slower, and the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which is 0.2% faster. This indicates that the 9700F's processing power is comparable to some of the best desktop and mobile CPUs available.

In Control, the CPU's role is to maintain a stable frame pipeline. The fact that the measured FPS scales consistently with resolution and settings suggests that the CPU is never waiting on the GPU or vice versa in a way that would cause stuttering or frame pacing issues. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache provides fast access to frequently used data, and the 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth from the dual-channel DDR5 support is sufficient for the game's data streams. The CPU's 65 W TDP also indicates efficient operation, which allows for sustained performance without thermal throttling.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination ranks 1484 out of 2888 tested combos in Control. This places it in the 51st percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it performs better than just over half of the systems in the database. This ranking is a reflection of the GPU's mid-range to upper-mid-range standing, as the CPU is a high-end part that is not holding the system back.

The combo's ranking is influenced by the RX 6700 XT's position in the GPU hierarchy. The GPU's average benchmark score of 27425 places it near the top of the mid-range segment. Its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile and the RTX 3090, have nearly identical scores, showing that the GPU is competitive with those parts in general compute tasks. However, in Control, the specific demands of the game can shift the ranking compared to synthetic benchmarks.

The 1484th rank out of 2888 combos indicates that there is a significant number of systems with more powerful GPUs that achieve higher frame rates in this game. The data shows that the combo is capable of delivering a high-refresh-rate experience at 1080p and a smooth 60+ FPS experience at 1440p, but it is not a top-tier performer for 4K gaming. The rank is a useful data point for comparing this specific CPU-GPU pairing against others, and it confirms that the system is a balanced mid-range solution for Control, with the GPU being the determining factor for its overall standing.