Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination delivers a playable but not flawless experience in Control, with performance that scales predictably across resolutions and settings. The data shows a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strong single-thread and multi-thread scores provide ample headroom for the game’s physics and logic at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, contextualizes them against rival components, and offers specific guidance on how to configure the game for the best balance of visual fidelity and smoothness.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance drop as resolution increases, which is a classic indicator of a GPU-limited scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 124 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 94 FPS, a 24% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 63 FPS, which is a 49% reduction from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets, confirming that the Radeon RX 7600 XT is the primary bottleneck as pixel count rises.

The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly telling. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 67 at 1440p to 45 at 4K, a 33% drop. At High settings, the drop from 59 to 40 FPS represents a 32% loss. At Ultra, the decline is from 51 to 35 FPS, a 31% reduction. These consistent percentage drops across presets indicate that the GPU's rendering pipeline is saturated at 4K, and the CPU is not a limiting factor at these resolutions. The Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, has more than enough computational headroom to feed the GPU at 4K.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p is less punishing but still substantial. For instance, at High settings, the average drops from 78 FPS to 59 FPS, a 24% reduction. This suggests that even at 1440p, the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's role only becomes more apparent at 1080p with Low settings, where the 124 FPS result suggests the GPU is still managing the load well, but the CPU's single-thread performance (PassMark single-thread score of 4691) is sufficient to avoid creating a bottleneck. The data implies that users targeting 4K should expect a playable but not high-refresh-rate experience, while 1080p and 1440p are more suitable for higher frame rates.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is the dominant factor in these results, with its memory configuration and clock speeds directly influencing performance. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. This memory capacity is ample for Control at all tested settings, as the game’s textures and assets fit comfortably within the frame buffer, preventing any memory-related stuttering or texture pop-in that could reduce average FPS. The 128-bit bus width and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game’s demands at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Ultra, the data shows a 35 FPS average, suggesting that the memory bandwidth is a contributing factor to the GPU being the limiting component.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2755 MHz and game clock of 2470 MHz are key to its performance. The high boost clock allows for strong pixel and texture fill rates (176.3 GPixel/s and 352.6 GTexel/s, respectively), which are essential for rendering the game’s detailed environments and effects. The FP32 performance of 22.57 TFLOPS provides the raw compute power for the game’s DirectX 12 rendering path. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 17132 places it in the 60th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, has an average score of 17208, a delta of -0.7%. This indicates the RX 7600 XT is nearly on par with the RTX 3070 in synthetic benchmarks, which aligns with the measured FPS being competitive for its class.

The 4K results are particularly illustrative of the GPU's limits. The average FPS at 4K High is 40, and at 4K Ultra it drops to 35. These numbers are playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The 4K Low average of 63 FPS shows that reducing settings can reclaim significant performance, but the GPU is still the primary constraint. The VRAM usage is not explicitly measured in the data, but given the 16 GB capacity and the game’s 2019 release date, it is unlikely that VRAM is a limiting factor at any tested setting, even at 4K Ultra.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 7600 XT compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU’s PassMark G3D score is 17132, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070’s average score of 17208. It is also 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690’s score of 17037.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9700F a bottleneck at 4K?

A: The data suggests no. The average FPS drops consistently between 1440p and 4K across all settings (e.g., from 59 to 40 FPS at High), indicating the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU’s high multi-thread score of 36470 in PassMark supports this, as it has ample headroom.

Q: What is the best resolution for achieving over 60 FPS on High settings?

A: The only resolution where High settings average above 60 FPS is 1920x1080, with an average of 78 FPS. At 2560x1440, the average drops to 59 FPS.

Q: How much performance is gained by dropping from Ultra to Low at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS increases from 51 FPS on Ultra to 94 FPS on Low, a performance gain of 84%.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested combinations?

A: This CPU and GPU combination ranks 1817 out of 2888 total tested combos for Control.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. With Low settings, the average FPS is 124, offering a high-refresh-rate experience. Medium settings yield an average of 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 and a maximum of 101 FPS. High settings produce an average of 78 FPS, while Ultra settings reduce the average to 68 FPS. All 1080p presets are above 60 FPS, making this resolution the sweet spot for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decline noticeably. Low settings still provide a strong 94 FPS average. Medium settings have an average of 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 and a maximum of 76 FPS. High settings average 59 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra settings average 51 FPS. At this resolution, users will need to choose between higher visual fidelity and frame rates near or above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. Low settings average 63 FPS, which is playable. Medium settings average 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 and a maximum of 52 FPS. High settings average 40 FPS, and Ultra settings average 35 FPS. The 4K results are best suited for slower-paced exploration or for users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate. The data shows no settings preset at 4K that averages above 63 FPS, highlighting the GPU’s limitations at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1817 out of 2888 tested combinations places it in the lower-middle tier of systems tested for Control. This ranking reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU. The Ryzen 7 9700F is a high-performing processor, with an average benchmark score of 69996 and a percentile rank of 94 against all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, has an average score of 70163, which is only 0.2% higher, indicating the 9700F is within a hair’s breadth of one of Intel’s top desktop parts.

The GPU, however, is less exceptional. The RX 7600 XT’s PassMark G3D score of 17132 places it in the 60th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, scores 17208, a delta of -0.7%. This means the GPU is slightly below the RTX 3070 in raw synthetic performance. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a mid-range GPU results in a system that is severely GPU-limited in Control, particularly at higher resolutions.

The rank of 1817 out of 2888 suggests that many other combinations, likely with more powerful GPUs, achieve higher frame rates. The data indicates that this combo is better suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the CPU’s strength can be leveraged, rather than 4K, where the GPU’s weaknesses are exposed. The rank is a function of the GPU’s performance ceiling, not the CPU’s capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For users with a 1080p display, the High preset is recommended. It delivers an average of 78 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while maintaining a higher level of visual quality than Medium or Low. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 68 FPS, which is still playable, but the 10 FPS loss compared to High may not be worth the marginal visual improvement.

For 1440p displays, the Medium preset is the best balance. It averages 67 FPS, just above the 60 FPS target, with a minimum of 57 FPS that indicates occasional dips below that threshold. The High preset at 1440p averages 59 FPS, which is close to 60 but may experience more noticeable stutters. Low settings at 1440p average 94 FPS, but the visual quality is significantly reduced. Medium settings provide a good middle ground.

For 4K displays, the data shows that only Low settings provide a comfortable experience, averaging 63 FPS. Medium settings average 45 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and may feel less responsive. High and Ultra settings are not recommended for 4K, as their averages of 40 and 35 FPS, respectively, are likely to result in a suboptimal experience for a game with fast-paced action. Users with 4K displays should prioritize Low settings to maintain playability, or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F plays a supporting role in these results, but its capabilities are essential for ensuring the GPU is not starved of data. The CPU features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its PassMark multi-thread score is 36470, and its single-thread score is 4691. These scores are strong, placing the CPU in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, has an average score of 69875, which is 0.2% lower, while the Intel Core i7-14700KF is 0.2% higher.

In Control, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, physics, and AI, which are typically single-thread or lightly threaded tasks. The high single-thread score of 4691 ensures that the CPU can process these tasks quickly, preventing a bottleneck even when the GPU is rendering at high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the 124 FPS average suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough frames to reach that level. The 16 threads also provide headroom for background tasks and any multi-threaded game systems.

The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any tested resolution. The consistent FPS drops between resolutions are directly attributable to the GPU’s rendering workload. The 9700F’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR5 memory support (with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s) provide fast data access for game assets, further reducing the likelihood of a CPU bottleneck. The CPU’s TDP of 65 W and 4 nm process node mean it runs efficiently, but the benchmark data indicates its performance is what matters most here, and it is more than adequate for this game.