Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combination delivers a thoroughly playable experience in Control, with the data showing that the game’s demands scale predictably with resolution and settings. At 1080p, this setup pushes well past high-refresh territory, while 4K Ultra remains the only configuration that dips below the 60 FPS line. The benchmark results indicate a system that is evenly balanced for this title, with neither the CPU nor GPU acting as a clear bottleneck until the most demanding presets are applied.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS values show a linear and expected drop as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop tells the real story about where the performance ceiling lies. At Low settings, the frame rate falls from 194.8 FPS at 1920x1080 to 146.7 FPS at 2560x1440, a 24.7% reduction, and then to 101.1 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 31.1% reduction from the 1440p figure. This pattern is classic GPU-bound scaling — the CPU has ample headroom, and the render load is what dictates the final frame rate.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at Ultra settings. The 1080p result of 104.6 FPS drops to 80.4 FPS at 1440p (a 23.1% decrease), and then plummets to 53.9 FPS at 4K (a 33% decrease from 1440p). The fact that the 4K Ultra score is less than half of the 1080p Low score (53.9 vs. 194.8) reinforces that the RX 9070 XT is doing the heavy lifting here. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high that the CPU’s single-thread performance becomes relevant, but the data shows the GPU is still the primary limiter across all tested configurations.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 9070 XT, built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 48 chip, is the dominant contributor to these results. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Control’s texture-heavy environments at all tested resolutions. The boost clock of 2970 MHz, with a game clock of 2400 MHz, allows the card to sustain high throughput, and the 4096 shading units scale well with the game’s DirectX 12 workload.

The GPU’s benchmark scores corroborate its in-game performance. The PassMark G3D score of 26795 places it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 39647 is statistically tied with its nearest rivals. The data shows that the RX 9070 XT is slightly ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (0.2% delta) and slightly behind the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (-0.1% delta), but these differences are negligible in real-world terms. In Control, the card’s 48.66 TFLOPS of FP32 compute translates directly into the high frame rates observed, particularly at 1440p where the 95 FPS High preset result shows a comfortable margin over the 60 FPS target.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra in Control?*

A: No. The measured average at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 53.9 FPS. To hit 60 FPS at 4K, you would need to drop to High settings, which yields 60.5 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for high-refresh-rate gaming with this setup?

A: At 2560x1440 with Low settings, the average FPS is 146.7. For a 144 Hz monitor, this is the highest measured result that stays above 144 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p (102.3 FPS) is also viable for 100 Hz displays.

Q: How much performance is lost between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The difference is 90.2 FPS. Low settings produce 194.8 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 104.6 FPS, representing a 46.3% reduction in frame rate for the highest visual quality.

*Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM sufficient for Control at 4K?*

A: Yes. The 16 GB GDDR6 memory with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth is not a limiting factor in any of the measured configurations. The 4K Ultra result of 53.9 FPS is constrained by compute throughput, not memory capacity.

Q: How does this combo rank against other systems in this game?

A: The combination ranks 397th out of 1636 tested combos, placing it in the top 24.3% of all configurations for Control.

Q: Should I use VSync at 1440p High settings?

A: The 95 FPS average at 2560x1440 High is below a 144 Hz refresh rate but above 60 Hz. A 100 Hz or 120 Hz display would be a better match, as the system cannot consistently saturate a 144 Hz panel at this preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for this CPU/GPU pairing in Control is as follows.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all presets. Low settings average 194.8 FPS, Medium averages 139 FPS, High averages 123.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 104.6 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at this resolution is a 90.2 FPS drop, which is the largest absolute difference of any resolution tested.

At 2560x1440, the results remain strong but show the GPU working harder. Low settings average 146.7 FPS, Medium averages 102.3 FPS, High averages 95 FPS, and Ultra averages 80.4 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each preset is consistent, ranging from a 24.7% reduction at Low to a 23.1% reduction at Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to struggle with the highest presets. Low settings still manage 101.1 FPS, and Medium drops to 68 FPS. High settings average 60.5 FPS, which is right at the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra falls to 53.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 47.2 FPS, showing that the 4K resolution amplifies the cost of each settings tier.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, provides more than enough processing power for Control. The CPU’s 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a notable advantage for game workloads, as it reduces memory latency and improves frame pacing. The base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.20 GHz on the Zen 5 architecture ensure that the CPU never becomes a bottleneck in the measured scenarios, even at 1080p Low where the GPU is producing nearly 200 FPS.

The synthetic benchmarks support this assessment. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 34004 and single-core score of 4800 indicate strong all-around performance. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1212 shows that the CPU can handle the game’s physics and AI logic without constraining the GPU. The CPU’s 90th percentile ranking against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37780, places it in the same tier as the Intel Xeon 6353P (-0.1% delta) and Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (-0.1% delta). In Control, the data shows that the CPU is effectively a non-factor, allowing the RX 9070 XT to express its full potential.

Settings Recommendations

For a 60 Hz 4K display, the High preset at 3840x2160 is the maximum playable configuration, with an average of 60.5 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K (53.9 FPS) is not recommended for consistent frame pacing, as it falls below the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 4K (68 FPS) offers a slight headroom over High, but the visual fidelity loss is not justified when High is already playable.

For 1440p, the High preset (95 FPS) is the sweet spot for visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset (80.4 FPS) is also viable and provides the best image quality for those willing to sacrifice some frame rate. The Medium preset (102.3 FPS) is a good choice for 100 Hz displays, while Low (146.7 FPS) is reserved for competitive play where maximum frame rate is prioritized.

For 1080p, the system has enough headroom to use Ultra settings (104.6 FPS) without issue. The High preset (123.6 FPS) is ideal for 120 Hz monitors, and even Ultra remains well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset (194.8 FPS) is overkill for most displays, but it demonstrates that the CPU/GPU pairing is not limiting at this resolution. The data suggests that users with 1080p panels should default to High or Ultra settings, as the performance cost of higher presets is minimal relative to the visual gains.