Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT combination delivers a revealing performance profile in Control, a 2019 Action Adventure title. The data shows a system where the GPU is clearly the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s substantial headroom allows for significant frame rate gains when graphical settings are lowered. This pairing ranks 1056th out of 1636 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, yet its behavior across settings offers specific insights for users targeting different display resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable but steep penalty as resolution increases, pointing directly at the RX 6650 XT as the limiting component. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 76.7 FPS, which drops to 61.3 FPS at 1440p and further to 38.5 FPS at 4K. This represents a 20% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 50% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The pattern is consistent across all settings, with the Ultra preset suffering the most: 69.3 FPS at 1080p collapses to 35.4 FPS at 4K, a 49% loss.

The scaling behavior suggests that the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is not the bottleneck at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 121.9 FPS, a figure that only drops to 93.3 FPS at 1440p and 61.5 FPS at 4K. If the CPU were limiting performance, we would expect the FPS to plateau or show diminishing returns when lowering resolution, but the continuous climb from 4K to 1080p indicates the GPU is the sole constraint. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is 52.6 FPS (121.9 vs 69.3), while at 4K that gap narrows to 26.1 FPS (61.5 vs 35.4), further confirming that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the wall.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60 FPS?

A: At 1440p High settings, the system achieves 61.3 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1080p, all settings except Ultra (69.3 FPS) exceed 60 FPS, with Low reaching 121.9 FPS. At 4K, only Low settings (61.5 FPS) manage to stay above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at the same resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra yields 69.3 FPS versus High’s 76.7 FPS, a 7.4 FPS difference. At 1440p, the gap widens slightly to 9.7 FPS (51.6 vs 61.3). At 4K, the difference shrinks to 3.1 FPS (35.4 vs 38.5), indicating that the GPU is so saturated that the additional Ultra settings have less impact.

Q: Is the CPU holding back performance in this game?

A: No. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D’s scores include a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 34004 and a single-core score of 4800, while its PassMark single-thread score is 4430. The FPS scaling from 4K to 1080p is consistent and large, indicating the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU’s 3DMark single-thread score of 1212 supports its ability to feed frames.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 67.3 FPS. This is notably higher than the 61.3 FPS at High settings, suggesting Medium is a strong choice for 1440p gaming on this hardware.

Q: How much faster is Low versus Ultra at 1080p?

A: Low settings produce 121.9 FPS, which is 52.6 FPS faster than Ultra’s 69.3 FPS. This represents a 76% improvement, highlighting the GPU’s sensitivity to the game’s graphical load.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM buffer cause issues at 4K?

A: The data does not show a catastrophic frame drop at 4K Ultra (35.4 FPS), but the performance is poor. The RX 6650 XT’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus and 280.3 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient to render frames, but the average FPS figures suggest the GPU’s compute limits are the primary factor, not memory overflow.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a high-end desktop processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using a 4 nm process. Its base clock is 4.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.20 GHz, and it features a large 96 MB shared L3 cache. In Control, this CPU provides enormous headroom, as evidenced by the fact that the system’s FPS scales almost linearly with resolution changes when the GPU is not saturated.

The processor’s benchmark scores are strong: a Geekbench multi-core score of 18413, a PassMark multi-thread score of 40009, and a 3DMark max-threads score of 10067. Its single-thread performance is equally impressive, with a PassMark single-thread score of 4430 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 1212. These figures indicate the CPU can handle the game’s physics and AI logic without becoming a limiting factor, which is confirmed by the fact that frame rates are entirely dependent on GPU load.

The CPU’s percentile ranking among all CPUs is 90, placing it well above the average. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6353P, scores 37811 in average benchmarks, just 0.1% higher, while the Intel Core i9-13900HK is 0.6% lower. This context shows that the 9800X3D is a top-tier part, and in Control, its role is to ensure the GPU is the only variable that matters.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 121.9 FPS, Medium drops to 87.5 FPS, High yields 76.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 69.3 FPS. The progression shows a 34.4 FPS difference between Low and Medium, and a further 10.8 FPS drop from Medium to High. The game is clearly playable at all settings, with even Ultra exceeding 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to feel the pressure. Low settings maintain 93.3 FPS, which is still excellent, but Medium falls to 67.3 FPS and High to 61.3 FPS. Ultra drops to 51.6 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 41.7 FPS, showing that the GPU’s fill rate is now the governing factor.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes marginal. Low settings achieve 61.5 FPS, just barely above 60, while Medium drops to 44.3 FPS, High to 38.5 FPS, and Ultra to 35.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is a substantial 17.2 FPS, indicating that even modest settings increases at 4K have a large impact. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming is only viable at the lowest preset.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is a mid-range GPU based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture (Navi 23 chip) with 2048 shading units and 32 ray tracing cores. Its boost clock is 2635 MHz, with a game clock of 2410 MHz, and it has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s compute capability is rated at 10.79 TFLOPS FP32.

In Control, the RX 6650 XT is the definitive bottleneck at resolutions above 1080p. Its performance percentile among all GPUs is 72, and its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, has an identical average score (29011 vs 29024, 0% delta). The GPU’s PassMark G3D score is 17166, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1859. These numbers correlate with the observed FPS: at 1440p Ultra, the 51.6 FPS result shows the GPU struggling with the game’s effects, while at 4K Ultra, the 35.4 FPS indicates severe compute saturation.

The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for this title, as there are no anomalies in the FPS data that would suggest memory swapping or texture thrashing. The 128-bit bus, however, limits memory bandwidth, which may contribute to the steep performance drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p, a resolution where the GPU’s pixel fill rate becomes the primary constraint.

Settings Recommendations

For users targeting 1080p, the High preset (76.7 FPS) offers a good balance between visual quality and smoothness, but Ultra (69.3 FPS) is also viable for those seeking maximum fidelity. At 1440p, the Medium preset (67.3 FPS) is the clear recommendation, as it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while High (61.3 FPS) is playable but close to the threshold. At 4K, the Low preset (61.5 FPS) is the only option for a consistent 60 FPS experience; any higher settings will result in sub-60 frame rates.

The data suggests that the optimal experience is at 1440p Medium, where the system delivers 67.3 FPS, or 1080p High at 76.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p (69.3 FPS) is a reasonable choice for users who prioritize image quality over frame rate headroom, but the difference in FPS between High and Ultra is only 7.4 FPS, making High the smarter choice for most scenarios. At 1440p, the gap between Medium and High is 6.0 FPS, so Medium is recommended to ensure stability.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RX 6650 XT ranks 1056th out of 1636 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 35th percentile of all tested systems. This rank reflects the GPU’s mid-range positioning, as the CPU is a top-tier part (90th percentile) while the GPU sits at the 72nd percentile. The pairing’s rank is lower than the CPU’s individual standing, confirming that the RX 6650 XT is the performance limiter in this game.

The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates at moderate settings. At 4K, it falls short of the 60 FPS mark except at the lowest settings, which aligns with its overall rank. The CPU’s massive headroom means that upgrading the GPU in the future would yield substantial FPS gains, as the 9800X3D’s scores (e.g., Cinebench R23 multi-core 34004) indicate it can drive much more powerful graphics cards. For now, the measured results show a system that is GPU-bound in all scenarios, with the CPU’s performance never becoming a limiting factor.