Control

# Control with AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D + Intel Arc B570

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a peculiar performance profile in Control, one that shifts dramatically depending on resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo pushes 101 FPS average, but at 4K Ultra, it collapses to 28 FPS — a 73-frame swing that reveals a system caught between a very capable CPU and a mid-range GPU. The data suggests this pairing is best understood as a 1080p and light 1440p solution for Control, with 4K demanding significant settings compromises to remain playable.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep across all settings, and the pattern tells a clear story about which component is doing the heavy lifting. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 101 FPS at 1920x1080 to 76 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 51 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 49.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low, a scaling curve that points directly at the GPU as the limiting factor. The Intel Arc B570's 10 GB of VRAM and 160-bit memory bus are being taxed heavily as pixel count rises, and the data shows no sign of CPU bottlenecking at these resolutions.

At High settings, the drop is even more pronounced: 63 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K at High is 16 FPS, a 33.3% loss that suggests the GPU is running out of headroom. The Medium preset tells a similar tale, with averages of 71 FPS at 1080p, 54 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K. Notably, the Medium preset is the only one that includes min/max FPS data, showing a 4K range of 31 to 42 FPS — a narrow band that indicates consistent, if modest, performance without severe frame-time spikes.

Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 55 FPS at 1080p, 42 FPS at 1440p, and just 28 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered the minimum for playable action games, and the data suggests this combo is not suited for maxed-out 4K in Control. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra is a 13 FPS drop, while 1440p to 4K is a 14 FPS drop — a nearly linear decline that reinforces the GPU-bound nature of this workload. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than adequate for Control's demands, so the bottleneck is squarely on the Arc B570's rendering throughput.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows offer a clear hierarchy for players seeking the best experience. At 1920x1080, Low yields 101 FPS average, Medium delivers 71 FPS, High drops to 63 FPS, and Ultra falls to 55 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs 30 FPS, a significant hit for visual gains, while the step from Medium to High costs only 8 FPS. For high-refresh displays, Low is the obvious choice, but Medium offers a better balance — it maintains 71 FPS while providing more visual fidelity than Low. The min FPS at 1080p Medium is 61, which means the worst-case frame rate stays above 60, making this the safest preset for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. Low averages 76 FPS, Medium 54 FPS, High 48 FPS, and Ultra 42 FPS. The Medium preset's min FPS of 46 is still respectable, but High and Ultra dip lower, with no min/max data to confirm stability. For 1440p, Low is the only preset that consistently exceeds 60 FPS, while Medium hovers in the mid-50s. Players prioritizing frame rate over visuals should stick to Low, but those willing to accept 50-ish FPS can use Medium without major issues. The 1440p Medium min of 46 FPS suggests occasional dips, but nothing catastrophic.

At 3840x2160, the options are limited. Low averages 51 FPS, Medium 36 FPS, High 32 FPS, and Ultra 28 FPS. Low is the only playable preset, and even then, 51 FPS is borderline for fast-paced action. Medium's 36 FPS average with a 31 FPS minimum is marginal, and High and Ultra are effectively unplayable for most users. The data indicates that 4K requires Low settings to keep Control running at acceptable frame rates, and even then, the experience is not ideal. The 4K Medium min/max range of 31 to 42 FPS shows the GPU working hard, with no headroom for demanding scenes.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 51. Medium drops to 36 FPS average with a minimum of 31 FPS, while High and Ultra fall to 32 FPS and 28 FPS respectively, making them largely unplayable.

Q: What is the best preset for 1080p gaming with this hardware?

A: Medium provides 71 FPS average with a 61 FPS minimum, offering a good balance between visual quality and smoothness. Low reaches 101 FPS but sacrifices detail, while High and Ultra score 63 FPS and 55 FPS, respectively.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's CPU performance compare to its rivals?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score is 39768, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS (39603) and 0.7% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 (39485). It trails the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (40048) by 0.7% and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 (40081) by 0.8%.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B570's GPU performance competitive with similar cards?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 20556, placing it 0.1% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and 0.4% above the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480). It sits 0.1% below the Intel Arc A750 (20582) and 0.5% below the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662).

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: The average FPS is 48, with no min or max data recorded. This is below the 60 FPS threshold, so expect some judder in fast-paced scenes. Low settings at 1440p deliver 76 FPS for a smoother experience.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Control?

A: It ranks 2307 out of 2888 tested combos, placing it in the lower 20% of configurations. This suggests the pairing is below average for Control, likely due to the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a full range of settings performance. Low settings produce an average of 101 FPS, the highest of any configuration in this test. Medium settings average 71 FPS, with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS, indicating stable performance within a 21 FPS band. High settings average 63 FPS, while Ultra drops to 55 FPS. The 1080p results demonstrate that the Intel Arc B570 can handle Control at this resolution across all presets, though Ultra's 55 FPS average may not satisfy players seeking 60+ FPS consistency.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 76 FPS, a 25 FPS drop from 1080p. Medium averages 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 FPS and maximum of 62 FPS. High settings average 48 FPS, and Ultra averages 42 FPS. The Medium preset's min FPS of 46 is the only min/max data available at this resolution, suggesting that other presets may have wider variance. The 1440p results indicate that Low is the only preset reliably above 60 FPS, while Medium hovers in the 50s and High/Ultra fall below 50.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly stretched. Low settings average 51 FPS, the only preset above 50. Medium averages 36 FPS, with a minimum of 31 FPS and maximum of 42 FPS. High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS. The 4K Medium range of 31-42 FPS is tight, showing that the GPU maintains consistency even when struggling. The 4K results confirm that this combo is not suited for high-fidelity 4K gaming in Control, with only Low settings approaching playability.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame data places this pairing at 2307 out of 2888 tested combinations, which puts it in the 20th percentile of all configurations tested in Control. This is a below-average ranking, and the measured FPS data explains why. At 4K Ultra, the combo achieves only 28 FPS, which is below the playable threshold and drags the overall ranking down. However, the ranking does not tell the whole story — at 1080p Low, this combo hits 101 FPS, which would be competitive with higher-ranked systems at that specific setting. The rank is an aggregate measure, and the resolution-specific data shows that this combo's weakness is concentrated at 4K and Ultra settings, not across the board.

The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 87, meaning the Ryzen 7 9800X3D outperforms 87% of all CPUs in general benchmarks. The GPU's percentile vs all GPUs is 65, placing the Arc B570 above 65% of all GPUs. The disparity between these two percentiles — 87 for CPU versus 65 for GPU — highlights the imbalance in this pairing. The CPU is a top-tier performer, while the GPU is solidly mid-range. In Control, this imbalance manifests as GPU-bound performance at higher resolutions, where the CPU's strength cannot compensate for the GPU's limitations. The combo rank of 2307 reflects this mismatch, as the system is held back by its weakest component in demanding scenarios.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a desktop processor from the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. The CPU's L3 cache is 96 MB shared, which is substantial for gaming workloads. Its TDP is 120 W, and it uses the AMD Socket AM5 platform with DDR5 memory support. The CPU's benchmarks show strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 23230, while single-core scores 2080. Geekbench results are 18696 multicore and 2964 single-core. These numbers place the CPU in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 39768.

In Control, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with frame data, and the 9800X3D's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for this task. The game is not heavily multi-threaded, so the CPU's high single-core performance is the key attribute. The boost clock of 5.20 GHz ensures fast instruction processing, which helps maintain consistent frame pacing. However, the data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this system — at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 101 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's limit, but at higher resolutions, the GPU takes over as the limiting factor. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS (avg score 39603, 0.4% lower) and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 (avg score 39485, 0.7% lower), while it slightly trails the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (40048, 0.7% higher) and AMD Ryzen 7 7700 (40081, 0.8% higher). These small deltas indicate the 9800X3D is competitive with other high-end CPUs, though not the absolute fastest.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is a Battlemage-generation GPU from Intel, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with the BMG-G21 chip. It has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with 18 ray tracing cores. The GPU's base and boost clocks are both 2500 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). It features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's FP32 performance is 11.52 TFLOPS, and its TDP is 150 W. It connects via PCIe 4.0 x8 and requires a 450 W PSU. The GPU's benchmarks include a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 96844, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 20556.

In Control, the Arc B570's 10 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the memory capacity and bandwidth become limiting factors. The 160-bit bus and 380 GB/s bandwidth are modest for 4K workloads, and the data reflects this: 4K performance drops sharply across all settings. The GPU's pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s are mid-range figures, and they show in the frame rates. At 1080p, the GPU can push 101 FPS on Low, but this drops to 55 FPS on Ultra, indicating that the GPU's shading units are the bottleneck at higher settings. The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (avg score 20534, 0.1% lower) and the Intel Arc A750 (avg score 20582, 0.1% higher), showing the B570 is closely matched with these cards. However, in Control specifically, the GPU's 4K performance is weak, and the data suggests that players should stick to 1080p or 1440p for the best experience.