Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti pairing in Control presents a study in generational imbalance: a brand-new, high-end CPU from 2024 driving a graphics card from 2020. The benchmark data reveals how this combination behaves across resolutions and settings, offering a clear picture of where the bottleneck resides and how the hardware responds to the game's demands. The results show a system that can deliver high frame rates at 1080p, but which progressively loses performance as resolution climbs, a classic sign of GPU limitation.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It operates on the AMD Socket AM5 platform and is manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC, with a transistor count of 8,315 million on a 70.6 mm² die. The chip has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. Its memory support is DDR5, dual-channel, with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, and it offers PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes from the CPU. The processor includes Radeon Graphics as integrated graphics, though this plays no role in the discrete GPU benchmark results. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 9700X posts strong numbers. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 20485, while the single-core score is 2211. Geekbench results show a multi-core score of 17906 and a single-core score of 3023. The 3DMark tests reveal scaling behavior: the 2-thread score is 2525, 4-thread is 4869, 8-thread is 8184, 16-thread is 9824, and max-thread is 9771. This near-flat scaling from 16 to max threads indicates that the 16 threads are sufficient to saturate the chip's capabilities in that workload. The PassMark multi-thread score is 37161, with a single-thread score of 4654. The CPU's overall percentile versus all CPUs is 86, meaning it outperforms the vast majority of processors in the database.

The relevance of these CPU metrics to Control's results is indirect but important. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 145 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at high frame rates. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1280 and the PassMark single-thread score of 4654 indicate strong per-core performance, which is critical for game logic and draw call processing. However, the measured FPS data in Control shows a pattern that is more indicative of GPU limitation than CPU limitation. The fact that average FPS drops from 145 at 1080p Low to 74 at 4K Low—a 49% reduction—while the CPU's computational load would not change dramatically across resolutions, points to the GPU as the primary constraint. The 9700X is likely not the limiting factor in this combo; its headroom is evident from the benchmark scores, but the data suggests that the RTX 3060 Ti is the component that determines the final frame rates.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

*Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings in Control?*

A: The measured average FPS is 92 at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is 13 FPS lower than the Medium preset at the same resolution, which averages 103 FPS, and 12 FPS higher than the Ultra preset, which averages 80 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti's performance compare to its nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 16129, placing it in the 59th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9060, scores 16014, which is 0.7% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M scores 16351, which is 1.4% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT scores 16361, also 1.4% higher. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15862, which is 1.7% lower.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS recorded is 66, with a maximum of 90 and an average of 78. This represents a tighter frame time variance than the 1080p Medium result, which has a minimum of 88 and a maximum of 119.

*Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested CPU-GPU combinations in Control?*

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combination is ranked 1848 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places it in the upper half of all tested systems, but not among the top performers.

Q: What is the boost clock of the Ryzen 7 9700X, and how does it relate to its base clock?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X has a boost clock of 5.50 GHz and a base clock of 3.80 GHz, representing a 1.70 GHz potential uplift under load. This boost capability is reflected in the CPU's strong single-thread benchmark scores, such as the 3DMark single-thread score of 1280.

Q: What is the RTX 3060 Ti's memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective. This bandwidth is a key factor in the GPU's ability to handle texture-rich scenes in Control.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data in Control tells a clear story about the system's bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 145 at 1920x1080 to 110 at 2560x1440, a 24.1% reduction, and then to 74 at 3840x2160, a 32.7% reduction from 1440p and a 49.0% reduction from 1080p. At High settings, the averages are 92 at 1080p, 69 at 1440p, and 47 at 4K, representing a 25.0% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 31.9% drop from 1440p to 4K. The Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 103 at 1080p, 78 at 1440p, and 53 at 4K, with drops of 24.3% and 32.1% respectively. Ultra settings yield 80 at 1080p, 60 at 1440p, and 41 at 4K, with drops of 25.0% and 31.7%.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings is telling. A GPU-bound scenario would show larger FPS reductions as resolution increases, because the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor. The fact that the FPS reduction from 1080p to 1440p is consistently around 24-25%, and from 1440p to 4K is consistently around 32%, indicates that the RTX 3060 Ti is the primary constraint. The CPU's workload does not scale with resolution in the same way; it processes the same game logic and draw calls regardless of pixel count. The Ryzen 7 9700X's high single-thread and multi-thread scores suggest it has ample headroom to feed the GPU at 1080p, but the GPU cannot maintain those frame rates at higher resolutions. The data implies that if the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, which is not the case here. Instead, the FPS scales inversely with pixel count, confirming the GPU as the limiting component.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 145, Medium 103, High 92, and Ultra 80. The Medium preset also records a minimum of 88 and a maximum of 119 FPS, providing a range of 31 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 42 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 11 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 12 FPS. This suggests diminishing returns as settings increase, with the largest performance cost coming from the Low to Medium transition.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 110, Medium 78, High 69, and Ultra 60. The Medium preset has a minimum of 66 and a maximum of 90 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 32 FPS, between Medium and High is 9 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 9 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 24% for Low, 24% for Medium, 25% for High, and 25% for Ultra, showing a uniform scaling penalty.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 74, Medium 53, High 47, and Ultra 41. The Medium preset has a minimum of 45 and a maximum of 61 FPS. The Low to Medium drop is 21 FPS, Medium to High is 6 FPS, and High to Ultra is 6 FPS. The 4K results show that only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS, while Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below 60 FPS. The 4K Medium result of 53 FPS is the only 4K preset with min/max data, showing a range of 16 FPS, which is tighter than the 1080p Medium range of 31 FPS, indicating more consistent frame pacing at higher resolutions where the GPU is more uniformly loaded.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is ranked 1848 out of 3720 tested CPU-GPU combinations in Control. This places the combo at the 49.7th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it performs better than roughly half of the configurations in the database. The rank reflects the overall FPS performance across the tested resolutions and settings.

The CPU's individual percentile of 86 among all CPUs indicates that the processor is a high-performing component relative to its peers. However, the GPU's percentile of 59 among all GPUs is more modest. The combo's rank of 1848 out of 3720 suggests that the GPU's lower relative standing pulls the overall system performance down. The data implies that the Ryzen 7 9700X is capable of supporting a more powerful GPU, and that the RTX 3060 Ti is the component that limits the combo's rank. If the CPU were paired with a higher-performing GPU, the combo rank would likely improve significantly, given the CPU's strong benchmark scores and high percentile placement.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and the desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 92 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and offers better visual fidelity than Medium at 103 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 80 FPS, which is still playable but offers diminishing visual returns for the 12 FPS cost. For a balance of visual quality and performance at 1080p, High is the recommended preset, as it stays well above 60 FPS while providing a significant visual upgrade over Low.

At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 69 FPS, which is above 60 FPS and represents the best visual-to-performance ratio. The Medium preset at 78 FPS is also viable, but the 9 FPS gain may not justify the visual downgrade. The Ultra preset at 60 FPS is borderline, sitting exactly at the 60 FPS mark, which may result in occasional drops below that threshold. For 1440p, High is the recommended preset, as it maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS except for Low, which averages 74 FPS. The Medium preset at 53 FPS is below 60 FPS but may be acceptable for players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate. The High preset at 47 FPS and Ultra at 41 FPS are likely too low for smooth gameplay. For 4K, the Low preset is the only option that provides a consistently smooth experience, while Medium is a compromise for those who can tolerate sub-60 FPS. The data suggests that 1440p High is the sweet spot for this combo, offering 69 FPS with good visual fidelity, while 1080p High is the best choice for higher frame rates.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is based on the Ampere architecture, with the GA104 chip manufactured on an 8 nm process by Samsung. It has 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, with a transistor density of 44.4 million per mm². The GPU features 4864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, 80 ROPs, 38 ray tracing cores, and 152 tensor cores. Its base clock is 1410 MHz, with a boost clock of 1665 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s and a memory clock of 1750 MHz, or 14 Gbps effective.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial for its class. It delivers 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 16.20 TFLOPS of FP16 performance at a 1:1 ratio. The pixel rate is 133.2 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 253.1 GTexel/s. The GPU's power draw is 200 W, with a suggested PSU of 550 W, and it requires a single 12-pin power connector. The card is dual-slot and measures 242 mm in length and 112 mm in height. It supports PCIe 4.0 x16 and offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

In the context of Control's results, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely sufficient for the game's texture loads, as the FPS scaling does not show a sharp cliff that would indicate VRAM exhaustion. The GPU's percentile of 59 and average benchmark score of 16129 place it in the mid-range of the database, which aligns with the measured FPS results. The GPU's FP32 performance of 16.20 TFLOPS is a key factor in rendering Control's physics-heavy action sequences, and the 38 ray tracing cores suggest the card can handle the game's optional ray-traced effects, though the FPS data does not specify whether ray tracing is enabled in the tested presets. The GPU's boost clock of 1665 MHz, while lower than the CPU's boost, is typical for a mid-range card, and the measured FPS results indicate that this clock speed is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.