Control

Control is a 2019 Action Adventure title that stresses both GPU rendering and CPU physics, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X with the Intel Arc B570 produces a set of measured results that reveal a clear performance hierarchy. The data shows a system that is firmly capable at 1080p and 1440p, but which struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K, particularly on higher quality presets. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, examines the roles of the GPU and CPU, and provides actionable recommendations based strictly on the provided benchmark data.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and the Intel Arc B570 achieves a rank of 2307 out of 2888 tested combos in Control. That places this pairing in the lower 20th percentile of all tested systems, which is a significant finding given the individual components' capabilities. The Intel Arc B570, for instance, sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, while the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X sits at the 86th percentile among all CPUs. The large discrepancy between the component-level percentiles and the combo-level rank suggests that this game is heavily dependent on the graphics card, and the relatively modest GPU is the primary bottleneck preventing a higher overall ranking.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 37943 puts it in close competition with several rivals, including the Intel Core i9-14901E (37911, 0.1% slower), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (37904, 0.1% slower), and the Intel Core 5 211E (37829, 0.3% slower). This indicates that the Ryzen 7 9700X is a very strong processor, but its power is not fully translated into Control’s frame rates due to the GPU constraint. The combo rank of 2307 suggests that many systems with weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs will outperform this configuration in this specific title. The data implies that for Control, the graphics card is the dominant factor in determining overall system performance, and this pairing’s rank reflects the Arc B570's limitations at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC, featuring 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. It carries 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. The GPU operates at a consistent base and boost clock of 2500 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s, with an FP32 compute throughput of 11.52 TFLOPS.

In the context of Control’s measured results, the GPU’s role is clearly defined by the frame rate drops as resolution increases. The Arc B570’s 10 GB VRAM buffer appears sufficient for this game, as there are no signs of texture thrashing or load failures in the data. However, the raw compute power is the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces only 28 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 20556, placing it just 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and 0.1% behind the Intel Arc A750 (20582). This places the B570 in a competitive mid-range tier, but Control’s demanding rendering at high resolutions exposes its limits. The 18 ray tracing cores are present, but the measured FPS data does not include ray tracing settings, so their impact on this title cannot be assessed from the provided numbers.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 101 FPS, which is excellent for fast-paced action. The Medium preset provides 71 FPS, which is still very smooth, while High drops to 63 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 55 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a game that requires precise aiming. For a balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 1080p offers a solid 63 FPS, but the data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for maintaining high frame rates without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the situation tightens. The Low preset delivers 76 FPS, which is smooth, but the Medium preset drops to 54 FPS, and High falls to 48 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p produces 42 FPS, which starts to feel sluggish for a game like Control. The recommendation here is to use the High preset if visual quality is paramount, accepting the 48 FPS average, or to stick with Low for a consistently smooth experience. At 3840x2160, the data shows that only the Low preset (51 FPS) approaches playability, while Medium (36 FPS), High (32 FPS), and Ultra (28 FPS) all fall below the 40 FPS threshold that most players consider the minimum for an acceptable experience. Therefore, 4K gaming with this combo requires the Low preset at best, and even then, the 51 FPS average is not a comfortable margin.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at this combo’s performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are as follows: Low averages 101 FPS, Medium averages 71 FPS with a minimum of 61 and a maximum of 82, High averages 63 FPS, and Ultra averages 55 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 46 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for higher visual fidelity. The Medium preset’s recorded minimum of 61 FPS indicates that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above the 60 FPS threshold, which is a strong result for 1080p gaming.

Moving to 2560x1440, the data shows: Low averages 76 FPS, Medium averages 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 and a maximum of 62, High averages 48 FPS, and Ultra averages 42 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 34 FPS, but the overall performance takes a clear hit. The Medium preset’s minimum of 46 FPS suggests occasional stutters in heavy combat, but the average of 54 FPS is still playable. At 3840x2160, the results are more constrained: Low averages 51 FPS, Medium averages 36 FPS with a minimum of 31 and a maximum of 42, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 31 FPS highlights the difficulty this GPU faces at 4K, where even the lowest settings struggle to maintain a stable frame rate.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 101 at 1080p to 76 at 1440p (a 24.8% decrease) and then to 51 at 4K (a 49.5% decrease from 1440p). This steep decline indicates that the Intel Arc B570 is being pushed to its limits as the pixel count increases. At High settings, the progression is 63 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p (a 23.8% drop), and 32 FPS at 4K (a 33.3% drop from 1440p). The percentage drops are less severe at higher settings because the GPU is already saturated, but the absolute numbers become unplayable.

This scaling behavior strongly suggests that the limiting component is the GPU. The Ryzen 7 9700X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, has ample processing power, as evidenced by its high benchmark scores. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller FPS difference between 1080p and 1440p, with the gap widening only at higher resolutions where the GPU has more work to do. Instead, the linear decline in FPS across all resolutions points to the Arc B570’s 11.52 TFLOPS of compute power being insufficient for Control’s demanding rendering at higher pixel counts. The data implies that to improve 4K performance, a more powerful GPU would be necessary, as the CPU has significant headroom.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a Zen 5 architecture processor, codenamed Granite Ridge, manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The CPU has a 65 W TDP and is designed for the AMD Socket AM5 platform. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 32 MB of L3 cache. The CPU supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, and it has 24 PCIe Gen 5 lanes.

In Control, the CPU’s role is less prominent than the GPU’s, as the measured FPS data shows consistent performance across different settings presets at the same resolution. For example, at 1440p, the difference between Low (76 FPS) and Ultra (42 FPS) is 34 FPS, which is entirely attributable to the GPU’s workload. The CPU’s 16 threads are more than sufficient for Control’s physics and AI calculations, as evidenced by the Ryzen 7 9700X’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20485 and single-core score of 2211. The CPU’s high single-thread performance is particularly important for game logic, and its 86th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it is not a bottleneck. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14901E, has a nearly identical average benchmark score (37911 vs 37943), confirming that the Ryzen 7 9700X is well within the performance envelope expected for modern gaming. The data suggests that users could pair this CPU with a more powerful GPU without worrying about CPU-induced frame rate drops.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Control?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the best resolution, as it provides a minimum average of 55 FPS across all settings, with Low reaching 101 FPS and Medium reaching 71 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (76 FPS) and Medium (54 FPS) are playable, while 4K is generally not recommended.

Q: Why does the combo rank so low (2307 out of 2888) despite having a high-end CPU?

A: The low combo rank is primarily due to the Intel Arc B570’s GPU performance. The CPU ranks in the 86th percentile, but the GPU only ranks in the 65th percentile. In Control, the GPU is the limiting factor, so the system’s overall performance is dragged down by the graphics card.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B570’s 10 GB of VRAM enough for Control?

A: The measured data shows no evidence of VRAM-related issues, such as texture pop-in or crashes. The 10 GB of GDDR6 memory with 380.0 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for Control, as the performance drops are consistent with compute limitations rather than memory capacity.

Q: How much FPS does the Ultra preset cost compared to Low at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 55 FPS, while Low averages 101 FPS. This represents a 46 FPS difference, meaning Ultra demands roughly 84% more GPU processing power than Low for this game.

Q: Could a different CPU improve the performance of this combo in Control?

A: The data suggests no. The Ryzen 7 9700X has a high single-core score (2211 in Cinebench R23) and multi-core score (20485), and its benchmark scores are nearly identical to rivals like the Intel Core i9-14901E. The frame rate drops are consistent across resolutions, which is a classic sign of GPU bottlenecking, not CPU limitation.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded in the measured data is 31 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The highest minimum FPS is 61 FPS, recorded at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, indicating that 1080p Medium provides a stable experience.