Control

Control with the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and Intel Arc B580 combination shows a clear pattern: this pairing is heavily GPU-limited at every resolution and settings level tested. The benchmark data indicates that the Arc B580 is the definitive bottleneck, with the Ryzen 7 9700F providing ample headroom that is never fully utilized. Across the twelve measured configurations, the frame rates scale predictably with both resolution and graphical preset, but the magnitude of the drops from 1080p to 4K confirms that the GPU's rendering throughput, not CPU physics or draw-call processing, dictates performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent and steep decline as resolution increases, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 114 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 86 FPS, a 24.6% reduction, and at 4K it falls to 58 FPS, a 49.1% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This scaling is nearly linear with pixel count, indicating that the Intel Arc B580's fillrate and shading capabilities are being saturated. The CPU's role is minimal here; the Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 8 cores and 16 threads boosting to 5.50 GHz, is more than capable of feeding frames at these rates.

The pattern holds across all presets. With High settings, 1080p yields 72 FPS, 1440p yields 54 FPS (a 25% drop), and 4K yields 37 FPS (a 48.6% drop from 1080p). Ultra settings show the same trend: 62 FPS at 1080p, 47 FPS at 1440p (24.2% drop), and 32 FPS at 4K (48.4% drop). The consistency of these percentage drops—roughly 25% from 1080p to 1440p and another 25% from 1440p to 4K—is textbook GPU scaling. A CPU bottleneck would show a plateau at lower resolutions, where the FPS would stop increasing as resolution drops. That plateau is not present in this data; FPS continues to climb all the way down to 1080p Low at 114 FPS.

What this means for the limiting component is unambiguous. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces just 32 FPS, a figure that is far below what the Ryzen 7 9700F's multithreaded score of 36470 in PassMark would suggest is possible if the CPU were the constraint. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 15748 and its 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs place it as a mid-range performer, and the data shows it is working at its absolute limit at 4K. Conversely, the CPU sits in the 94th percentile, with an average benchmark score of 69996, making it a top-tier part that is effectively idle in this title. The conclusion is that upgrading the GPU would yield substantial FPS gains at every resolution, while changing the CPU would produce negligible differences in Control.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for smooth gameplay with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: According to the measured data, 1080p is the only resolution where all settings presets remain playable. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset averages 62 FPS, while Low averages 114 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (86 FPS) and High (54 FPS) exceed 60 FPS averages, and at 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS, with the highest being Low at 58 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B580's VRAM capacity influence performance in Control?

A: The Intel Arc B580 comes equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. The benchmark data does not show a catastrophic frametime spike at 4K Ultra (which would indicate VRAM overflow), but the average FPS of 32 at that setting suggests the GPU is struggling with compute load. The memory capacity is sufficient for the game's assets at these settings, as no minFps data points are missing due to stutter, but the bandwidth is not a limiting factor compared to raw shading power.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9700F holding back the Arc B580 in this game?

A: No. The evidence points entirely the other way. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4691 and multithread score of 36470 place it far above the GPU's performance tier. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is strictly a function of resolution, which is characteristic of a GPU limit. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS at 1080p Low (114 FPS) would be much closer to the FPS at 1080p Ultra (62 FPS), since the CPU workload would not change with graphic settings.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 86 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 47 FPS. This represents a 45.3% reduction in average frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra. The High preset sits in between at 54 FPS, and Medium at 61 FPS, showing a non-linear scaling where the jump from Medium to High (7 FPS drop) is smaller than from High to Ultra (7 FPS drop).

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

A: The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2173 out of 2888 total tested combos for Control. This places it in the bottom quarter of all systems tested, which is consistent with the GPU's 68th percentile ranking and the fact that the CPU is vastly more powerful than what the GPU can utilize in this title.

Q: Does the Arc B580 perform better relative to its rivals in this game than in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The data suggests it performs as expected. The GPU's average benchmark score of 23021 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, which scores 23061 (a 0.2% difference). In Control, the measured FPS figures are consistent with a GPU that sits near the RTX 2080 in raw score (22895, a 0.6% delta), meaning it is a mid-range part that will struggle at 4K but handle 1080p well.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580's role in this pairing is the sole determinant of frame rate in Control. Its specifications—a boost clock of 2670 MHz, 2560 shading units, and a 192-bit memory bus—define its performance envelope. The GPU's FP32 compute of 13.67 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are modest figures for modern titles, and the measured FPS reflects this. At 4K, the GPU's pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s is insufficient to maintain high frame rates, with the Ultra preset averaging just 32 FPS.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity is a notable asset, but it is not the limiting factor here. The memory clock runs at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective), yielding a bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. In Control, the absence of a minFps value for the 4K Ultra run (which would often indicate a VRAM spillover stutter) suggests that the memory pool is adequate. However, the GPU's shader throughput is clearly overwhelmed at higher resolutions. The fact that the 4K Low preset (58 FPS) is nearly double the 4K Ultra preset (32 FPS) shows that the bottleneck is in the pixel shading and texture fetch pipeline, not in memory capacity.

The GPU's 190 W TDP and dual-slot cooler are irrelevant to the performance numbers, but the data shows that the card is running at its thermal and power design limits during 4K workloads. The PassMark G3D score of 15748 and the 68th percentile ranking place it in the same league as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (which scores 22895, a 0.6% delta) and the RTX 3080 (23172, a -0.7% delta). This means that in Control, the Arc B580 should be viewed as a 1080p-centric card that can handle 1440p with settings compromises, but 4K is only viable at Low settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend entirely on the target resolution and frame rate preference. For a 60 FPS target, the data shows that 1080p High (72 FPS) is the highest quality preset that comfortably exceeds this threshold. At 1080p Medium (81 FPS) provides a slight buffer for demanding scenes, while 1080p Ultra (62 FPS) is just above 60 FPS but leaves little headroom. For players prioritizing visual fidelity at 1080p, Ultra is viable, but High is the safest recommendation for consistent smoothness.

At 1440p, the choices are more constrained. The Low preset (86 FPS) is the only setting that offers a high refresh rate experience. The Medium preset (61 FPS) just hits the 60 FPS mark, but the High (54 FPS) and Ultra (47 FPS) presets fall below it. For a 1440p display, Medium is the recommended balance, as it provides 61 FPS average with a minFps of 52, which is within the territory of playable. Dropping to Low at 1440p yields a significant FPS boost but sacrifices the visual quality that the resolution is meant to provide.

At 4K, the situation is dire. The Low preset (58 FPS) is the only one that approaches 60 FPS, while Medium (41 FPS), High (37 FPS), and Ultra (32 FPS) all fall well below. Given that 4K Low provides a playable experience while 4K Medium drops to 41 FPS, the data strongly recommends using Low settings at 4K if resolution is the priority. There is no setting combination that provides both high fidelity and smooth performance at 4K with this GPU, so users must choose between resolution and quality. The 1080p Ultra preset (62 FPS) offers a better visual experience than 4K Low (58 FPS) due to the higher quality textures and effects.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and Intel Arc B580 combination ranks 2173 out of 2888 tested combos for Control. This puts the pairing in the 75th percentile from the bottom, meaning it outperforms roughly 25% of all tested systems. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU. The Ryzen 7 9700F is a high-end CPU, ranking in the 94th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 69996. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (score 69875, a 0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i7-14700KF (score 70163, a -0.2% delta), both of which are flagship-tier parts.

In contrast, the Arc B580 ranks in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 23021. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (score 23061, a -0.2% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (score 22895, a 0.6% delta). This means the GPU is a mid-range part from a previous generation perspective. The massive disparity between the CPU's top-tier performance and the GPU's mid-range performance explains the low combo rank. If the same CPU were paired with a top-tier GPU, the combo rank would be significantly higher. Conversely, if the same GPU were paired with a weaker CPU, the rank would likely be similar, as the GPU is the limiting factor. The data clearly shows that this combo is unbalanced for Control, with the GPU being the weak link.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 114 FPS, making it the fastest configuration tested. Medium averages 81 FPS, with a measured range of 69 to 93 FPS. High averages 72 FPS, and Ultra averages 62 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p is a 45.6% drop in FPS, which is a significant penalty for the highest quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop across the board. Low averages 86 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS. Medium averages 61 FPS, with a range of 52 to 70 FPS, just barely maintaining a playable level. High averages 54 FPS, and Ultra averages 47 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings is consistent: Low drops by 28 FPS, Medium by 20 FPS, High by 18 FPS, and Ultra by 15 FPS. This shows that the GPU is struggling more as resolution increases, but the relative performance gap between settings narrows.

At 3840x2160, the performance is the weakest. Low averages 58 FPS, which is the only playable option. Medium averages 41 FPS, with a range of 35 to 48 FPS. High averages 37 FPS, and Ultra averages 32 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is steep: Low drops by 28 FPS, Medium by 20 FPS, High by 17 FPS, and Ultra by 15 FPS. At 4K, the difference between Medium and Ultra is just 9 FPS, indicating that the GPU is so saturated that additional graphical features have diminishing returns. The 4K Low preset at 58 FPS is the only configuration at this resolution that approaches a playable standard, and it still falls short of the 1080p High preset's 72 FPS.