Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT delivers a strong performance profile in Control, with the data showing a clear progression across resolutions and settings. The combination ranks 588th out of 1636 tested combos, placing it comfortably in the upper tier of systems. The measured results indicate that the pairing is well-balanced, though the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions and quality presets.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in Control?*

A: The combination ranks 588th out of 1636 tested combos, placing it in the top 36% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700X compare to its nearest CPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU has an average benchmark score of 36029, placing it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14500HX, 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, while being 0.4% behind the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and 0.8% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all other graphics cards?

A: The Radeon RX 7800 XT sits in the 76th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the AMD FirePro S9300 X2, which it outperforms by 0.2%.

Q: What are the best performance numbers at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 175.2 FPS, while the Ultra preset still delivers 97.2 FPS, showing a very playable range even at maximum quality.

Q: Is 4K gaming feasible with this hardware?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset achieves 54.1 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 46.4 FPS. The Low preset reaches 88.1 FPS, indicating that 4K is possible but requires lowering settings for smoother frame rates.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread score compare to its multi-thread score?

A: The CPU scores 1280 in 3DMark single-thread and 9771 in 3DMark max-threads, showing a roughly 7.6x scaling from single to full multi-threaded workloads.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 7800 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip, featuring 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation pipelines. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1295 MHz with a boost clock of 2430 MHz, and its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 2438 MHz with an effective speed of 19.5 Gbps across a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This memory configuration is substantial for Control, a game that benefits from larger frame buffers at higher resolutions, though the data suggests that the GPU's raw compute power is the deciding factor in frame rate scaling.

The benchmark scores for the GPU show a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 4157, with PassMark G3D and GPU compute scores of 24176 and 13473 respectively. These numbers place the GPU in the 76th percentile of all graphics cards, with its closest rival being the AMD FirePro S9300 X2, which it edges out by 0.2%. In practical terms for Control, the GPU's 37.32 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 233.3 GPixel/s pixel rate directly influence how the game renders at each quality setting.

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern: at 3840x2160, the High preset produces 54.1 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 46.4 FPS, indicating that the GPU is under significant load at 4K. The Low preset at the same resolution produces 88.1 FPS, showing that the GPU can handle 4K when the graphical load is reduced. The GPU's 60 ray tracing cores and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) are relevant for Control's advanced rendering features, though the measured data shows that the rasterization performance at standard quality presets is the primary metric.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache, totaling a robust cache hierarchy that supports gaming workloads effectively. Its memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 89.6 GB/s bandwidth provides ample data throughput for Control's physics and AI calculations.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 31588 and a single-core score of 4459, demonstrating strong multi-threaded headroom. The 3DMark scores show scaling from 2525 in 2-thread tests to 9771 in max-threads, indicating that the processor can efficiently utilize its 16 threads. The CPU's percentile ranking of 89th among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36029, places it in the upper echelon of processors, though its nearest rivals show minimal deltas—just 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14500HX and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845.

For Control, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic. The measured FPS at 1920x1080 with the Low preset hits 175.2 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors and suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions. Even at the Ultra preset, the 1080p result of 97.2 FPS indicates that the processor has sufficient headroom, as the frame rate drops more steeply when resolution increases—a pattern that points to GPU limitation rather than CPU constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 588th out of 1636 tested combinations in Control, a position that places it in the upper-middle tier of all systems. This ranking is notable because it reflects the balance between the 89th percentile CPU and the 76th percentile GPU. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1280, helps maintain high frame rates even when the GPU is stressed, while the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM ensures that texture-heavy scenes do not cause stuttering.

The ranking relative to other combos can be understood through the measured FPS at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the combo produces 109.1 FPS on High settings, which is a solid result for competitive play. At 2560x1440, the High preset drops to 86 FPS, still comfortably playable. The 4K High result of 54.1 FPS indicates that the combo is at the edge of playability at the highest resolution, but the Low preset's 88.1 FPS shows that the hardware can adapt to demanding scenarios.

The delta percentages for the CPU's nearest rivals are minimal, ranging from -0.8% to 0.6%, which suggests that any of these processors would produce near-identical results in Control with the same GPU. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rival, the AMD FirePro S9300 X2, is only 0.2% behind in average score, so the combo's ranking is more dependent on the balance of the two components rather than a single standout part.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of which settings offer the best experience at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves 97.2 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, making it the recommended choice for users with high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset at 122 FPS and High at 109.1 FPS also offer excellent performance, but Ultra provides the highest quality without sacrificing playability.

At 2560x1440, the High preset produces 86 FPS, which is the sweet spot for quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 72.5 FPS is still playable, but the Medium preset at 95.2 FPS offers a better margin for demanding scenes. For users who prioritize frame rate over visuals, the Low preset at 132.9 FPS is an option, though the visual trade-off may be significant.

At 3840x2160, the High preset at 54.1 FPS is the highest quality setting that remains near playable, but the Medium preset at 61.3 FPS provides a more comfortable margin. The Low preset at 88.1 FPS is the only setting that offers a clearly smooth experience at 4K, suggesting that users with 4K displays should either lower settings or accept a cinematic frame rate. The Ultra preset at 46.4 FPS is below the playability threshold for most users and is only recommended for screenshot purposes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four quality settings, providing a comprehensive view of the combo's performance. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 175.2 FPS, the Medium preset reaches 122 FPS, the High preset produces 109.1 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers 97.2 FPS. This shows a scaling pattern where Low to Medium incurs a 30% drop, while High to Ultra only incurs an 11% drop, indicating that the Ultra preset is more efficiently optimized than the lower tiers.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset produces 132.9 FPS, the Medium preset hits 95.2 FPS, the High preset achieves 86 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 72.5 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p results in a 24% reduction in frame rate at the Low preset (175.2 to 132.9), while at Ultra, the reduction is 25% (97.2 to 72.5), showing a consistent resolution scaling across settings.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 88.1 FPS, the Medium preset reaches 61.3 FPS, the High preset produces 54.1 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 46.4 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 4K at the Low preset reduces frame rate by 34% (132.9 to 88.1), while at Ultra, the reduction is 36% (72.5 to 46.4). This indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s and 16 GB VRAM are sufficient for 4K textures, but the raw compute power limits higher quality presets.

The data shows that the combo performs best at 1080p, where even the Ultra preset exceeds 97 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays. At 1440p, the High preset at 86 FPS is the recommended balance, while at 4K, users must choose between the Low preset's playable 88.1 FPS or the High preset's cinematic 54.1 FPS. The overall pattern confirms that this pairing is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring settings adjustments.