Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a playable but demanding experience in Control across tested resolutions. The measured frame rates show a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher settings, while the CPU provides ample headroom. This analysis breaks down the optimal settings, CPU role, ranking, and resolution scaling based solely on the provided benchmark data.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal preset for this combination depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, the High preset delivers an average of 80.5 FPS, which is the most balanced choice for smooth gameplay. Moving to Ultra at 1080p yields 71.7 FPS, still playable but with diminishing returns for the performance cost. The Low preset at 1080p reaches 129.2 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant for a title like Control.

At 1440p, the High preset produces an average of 63.9 FPS, which remains viable for most displays. The Medium preset at 1440p achieves 72.6 FPS, offering a better frame rate than High with a modest visual step down. Ultra at 1440p drops to 55 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced exploration but is less ideal for combat sequences. Low at 1440p delivers 98.6 FPS, but again, the visual quality suffers considerably.

For 4K, the data shows a steep compromise. High settings at 3840x2160 produce only 42.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 34.5 FPS. The Medium preset at 44.8 FPS is barely better than High. The Low preset at 4K reaches 67.8 FPS, which is the only configuration at this resolution that approaches a smooth 60 FPS experience. However, playing Control at Low settings negates the atmospheric effects that define the game. Benchmark results indicate that for the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, 1080p High or 1440p Medium are the recommended presets, with 4K reserved for those who prioritize resolution over frame rate.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This configuration provides substantial multi-threaded capability, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 31588 and single-core score of 4459. In Control, which is a GPU-intensive title, the CPU's role is to feed the graphics card without becoming a limiting factor.

The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the average frame rate reaches 129.2 FPS, which is likely near the upper limit of what this GPU can produce. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, indicated by a PassMark single-thread score of 4654, ensures that game logic and physics calculations are handled efficiently. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth further support smooth data flow to the GPU.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 9700X holds its own. It is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14500HX in average benchmark score, and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845. It trails the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H by 0.4% and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H by 0.8%. These deltas are minimal, indicating that CPU performance is not the differentiator in this system's gaming results. The data suggests that the processor is well-suited for this workload, providing ample headroom even at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully stressed.

FAQ

*Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER capable of running Control at 4K?*

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. At 4K High settings, the average FPS is 42.6, and at Ultra it drops to 34.5. Only the Low preset at 4K achieves a playable average of 67.8 FPS, but this sacrifices the game's visual effects.

Q: What is the best resolution for a consistent 60 FPS experience?

A: At 1080p, the High preset delivers 80.5 FPS, and the Medium preset achieves 90.7 FPS, both comfortably above 60 FPS. At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 72.6 FPS, while High drops to 63.9 FPS. For a solid 60 FPS target, 1440p High is the highest quality option that stays above the threshold.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700X compare to the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X trails the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H by 0.4% in average benchmark score. This is a negligible difference, indicating comparable CPU performance between the two processors.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 129.2, which is the highest measured across all settings. This indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU can push frame rates higher than the GPU can render.

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

A: At 1440p, the Low preset averages 98.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 55 FPS. This represents a substantial 44% performance drop when moving from Low to Ultra, highlighting the heavy cost of the game's advanced visual effects.

Q: Is this combo ranked high among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 998 out of 1636 tested combinations in Control. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the rankings, reflecting the GPU's age and mid-range positioning relative to other tested hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 998 out of 1636 tested combos in Control. This ranking places it in the 39th percentile of all tested configurations, indicating that a majority of other hardware combinations deliver higher frame rates. The GPU is the primary reason for this position, as the RTX 2070 SUPER sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU is at the 89th percentile among all CPUs.

The GPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the NVIDIA RTX A400, which is 0.5% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z, which is 0.9% lower. The RTX 4060 Mobile is 2.3% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 is 2.5% lower. These close scores confirm that the RTX 2070 SUPER is competitive with other mid-range options from its era, but it lacks the raw performance of newer or higher-tier cards. The CPU's strong benchmark scores, such as its PassMark multi-thread score of 37161, do not compensate for the GPU's limitations in this GPU-bound title. The data shows that to improve the combo's rank, a more powerful graphics card would be necessary.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 80.5 at 1080p to 63.9 at 1440p, and further to 42.6 at 4K. This represents a 21% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a 47% decrease from 1080p to 4K. The progression indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed as resolution increases, with the frame rate falling nearly in half at the highest resolution.

At Low settings, the scaling is more gradual. The average FPS goes from 129.2 at 1080p to 98.6 at 1440p, and then to 67.8 at 4K. This is a 24% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 48% drop from 1080p to 4K. The consistency of the percentage drops across different settings suggests that the GPU is the limiting component at all resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would be more consistent across resolutions, particularly at lower settings where the GPU load is reduced.

The data indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER’s memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K. The pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s are also limiting factors at higher resolutions. Benchmark results show that the system is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the GPU can provide playable frame rates without being overwhelmed by the pixel count.