Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination delivers exceptional performance in Control, securing the top spot out of 2,888 tested combos. The data reveals a system where the GPU is the clear performance driver, though the CPU provides sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, component roles, and optimal settings based strictly on the provided benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop reveals the system's balance. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves 188 FPS. Moving to 1440p reduces this to 142 FPS, a 24.5% decrease. The jump to 4K further reduces the average to 96 FPS, which is a 32.4% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling behavior is typical for a system where the GPU is the primary limiting factor.

The Low settings preset provides the clearest illustration of this dynamic. At 1080p Low, the system produces 298 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 225 FPS, a 24.5% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 152 FPS, a 32.4% decrease from 1440p. The consistent percentage drops between each resolution step suggest that the rendering load scales uniformly with pixel count, and the RTX 5090 D's compute resources are being fully utilized at each step.

For the Medium preset, the scaling is slightly less steep but still pronounced. The 1080p Medium average is 211 FPS, which drops to 160 FPS at 1440p (a 24.2% decrease) and then to 108 FPS at 4K (a 32.5% decrease). The Ultra preset follows the same trajectory: 163 FPS at 1080p, 124 FPS at 1440p (a 23.9% drop), and 83 FPS at 4K (a 33.1% drop). This consistent pattern across all settings indicates that the resolution scaling is independent of the quality preset, confirming the GPU's role as the bottleneck.

The data suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, the system has more than enough headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. Even at 4K Ultra, the 83 FPS average remains playable, though users targeting 120 FPS or higher at 4K would need to consider lower settings. The transition from 1440p to 4K represents the most significant performance cost, with average frame rates dropping by roughly one-third across all presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the undisputed performance leader in this configuration, and its specifications align with the measured results. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. This substantial memory subsystem is well-suited for Control's high-resolution textures and complex visual effects, as evidenced by the strong 4K performance. The GPU's 21760 shading units and 680 texture mapping units contribute to its raw compute power, which translates directly into the high frame rates observed.

The GPU's clock behavior also plays a role in the results. With a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, the RTX 5090 D maintains high operating frequencies under load. The measured FPS figures suggest that the GPU is able to sustain these boosts consistently, as the frame rates do not show signs of thermal throttling or clock instability. The 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput provides ample compute headroom for the game's physics and particle effects.

The RTX 5090 D's memory configuration is particularly relevant for Control at 4K. The 32 GB VRAM capacity means the game's assets can be fully loaded without any spillover to system memory, which could otherwise cause stuttering. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and memory-intensive effects do not become bottlenecks. The benchmark data supports this, as the 4K Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 92, indicating stable frame pacing even under demanding memory loads.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 92 among all GPUs, combined with its average benchmark score of 77,712, confirms its high-end positioning. However, the nearest rivals list shows that the performance gap to the next tier is small: the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is only 1.6% slower, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB is 2.4% slower. This suggests that while the RTX 5090 D is a top performer, the competition is close in synthetic benchmarks, though the measured game FPS shows it is clearly capable of leading the pack in Control.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for most users. At 1080p High, the system achieves 188 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on gaming monitors. At 1440p High, the 142 FPS average is still excellent for high-refresh-rate displays, and at 4K High, the 96 FPS average provides a smooth experience on standard 60 Hz panels.

The Ultra preset provides the highest visual fidelity but comes with a measurable performance cost. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 163 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 13.3% reduction compared to High. At 1440p Ultra, the 124 FPS average is borderline for 120 Hz displays, and at 4K Ultra, the 83 FPS average is only suitable for 60 Hz panels. The data suggests that Ultra is best reserved for users who prioritize image quality over frame rate, particularly at lower resolutions where the performance hit is less noticeable.

The Medium preset offers a middle ground, with 211 FPS at 1080p, 160 FPS at 1440p, and 108 FPS at 4K. The minimum FPS values for Medium are also recorded: 180 at 1080p, 136 at 1440p, and 92 at 4K. These minimums indicate that the Medium preset provides more consistent frame pacing than the higher presets, making it a good choice for competitive play or for users sensitive to frame time variance.

The Low preset delivers the highest frame rates, with 298 FPS at 1080p and 225 FPS at 1440p. However, the visual quality reduction is significant, and the 152 FPS at 4K Low suggests diminishing returns in terms of playability. For a game like Control with its atmospheric environments, the Low preset is likely too visually compromised for most users, even with the performance benefit.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks first out of 2,888 tested combos for Control. This top ranking is a direct result of the GPU's exceptional performance, as the RTX 5090 D is capable of producing frame rates that surpass virtually all other configurations in this specific game. The rank of 1 indicates that no other tested combination of CPU and GPU achieves higher average FPS across the measured settings and resolutions.

The CPU's contribution to this ranking is supportive rather than dominant. The Ryzen 7 9700F performs well in synthetic benchmarks, with a percentile ranking of 94 among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 69,996. Its nearest rivals show it is closely matched with other high-end processors: the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX is 0.2% faster, the Intel Core i7-14700KF is 0.2% slower, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is 0.7% faster, and the Intel Core i7-14700K is 0.9% faster. This clustering indicates that the CPU is not a differentiator in this ranking; rather, it is the GPU that sets this combo apart.

The fact that this combo ranks first despite the CPU not being the absolute fastest in synthetic tests underscores the GPU-bound nature of Control. The game's rendering demands are clearly dominated by the graphics card, and the Ryzen 7 9700F provides enough processing power to avoid limiting the RTX 5090 D's output. This is an important consideration for users who might otherwise prioritize a more expensive CPU at the expense of GPU performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F plays a supporting role in this configuration, providing 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture. The CPU's base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz offer strong single-threaded performance, which is reflected in its Passmark single-thread score of 4,691. For Control, which is a game that benefits from both single-threaded and multi-threaded performance, this CPU provides a solid foundation.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are evident in its Passmark multithread score of 36,470 and its floating-point math score of 77,955. These results indicate that the Ryzen 7 9700F can handle the game's background tasks, physics calculations, and AI processing without creating a bottleneck. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for game logic that frequently accesses shared data.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node suggest it operates efficiently, which is important for maintaining consistent performance in longer gaming sessions. The DDR5 memory support and dual-channel memory bus provide 89.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is sufficient for feeding the GPU's demands. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 24 lanes ensures that the GPU has full bandwidth available for data transfer.

The benchmark data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low, where the CPU has the most influence on frame rates, the system achieves 298 FPS. This high frame rate indicates that the Ryzen 7 9700F is capable of feeding the RTX 5090 D with enough data to saturate its rendering pipeline. The CPU's performance in the Passmark physics test (score of 2,122) and integer math test (score of 120,788) further supports its ability to handle game simulation tasks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across all resolution and settings combinations. At 1080p, the system delivers exceptional performance across all presets. The Low preset achieves 298 FPS, the Medium preset achieves 211 FPS with a minimum of 180 FPS and maximum of 243 FPS, the High preset achieves 188 FPS, and the Ultra preset achieves 163 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is capable of driving even the highest refresh rate monitors without compromise.

At 1440p, the performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU's workload. The Low preset produces 225 FPS, the Medium preset produces 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS and maximum of 184 FPS, the High preset produces 142 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces 124 FPS. The 1440p results are suitable for high-refresh-rate gaming, with the Ultra preset still exceeding 120 FPS.

At 4K, the system delivers playable frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves 152 FPS, the Medium preset achieves 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 FPS and maximum of 124 FPS, the High preset achieves 96 FPS, and the Ultra preset achieves 83 FPS. The 4K results show that the system can handle the highest resolution effectively, though users seeking 4K 120 FPS would need to use the Low or Medium presets.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data for all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the frame rate ranges from 180 to 243 FPS, indicating a 63 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 136 to 184 FPS, a 48 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 92 to 124 FPS, a 32 FPS spread. This data suggests that frame time variance decreases as resolution increases, which is typical for GPU-bound scenarios where the workload is more consistent.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p High provides an excellent balance with 142 FPS, while 4K High is also viable at 96 FPS. For maximum frame rates, 1080p Low achieves 298 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks first out of 2,888 tested combos for Control, indicating it delivers the highest average FPS among all tested CPU and GPU pairings.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as frame rates scale consistently with resolution changes. The CPU provides sufficient performance to avoid limiting the GPU, as shown by the high frame rates at 1080p.

Q: What is the performance difference between the High and Ultra presets?

A: At 1080p, the High preset achieves 188 FPS compared to 163 FPS for Ultra, a 15.3% difference. At 1440p, the difference is 142 FPS versus 124 FPS (14.5%), and at 4K, it is 96 FPS versus 83 FPS (15.7%).

*Q: Does the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB VRAM matter for Control?*

A: The 32 GB GDDR7 memory with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that the game's assets are fully loaded without memory constraints, which contributes to stable frame rates, particularly at 4K where the Medium preset shows a minimum of 92 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700F compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69,996, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i7-14700KF, 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, and 0.9% lower than the Intel Core i7-14700K.