Control

Control is a 2019 action-adventure title that stresses both GPU rendering and CPU-driven physics and scripting. The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a broad spread of frame rates across resolutions and presets, with the data showing a clear path from 4K Ultra at 69 FPS up to 1080p Low at 246 FPS. This analysis covers the measured performance, the role of each component, and how to interpret the results against other tested hardware combinations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Control?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo averages 118 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves headroom for demanding scenes. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average drops to 79 FPS, still playable but with less margin. For a balance of visual fidelity and smoothness, 2560x1440 High or Medium (132 FPS avg) is the data-supported sweet spot.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 156 FPS at 1920x1080 to 118 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 79 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a roughly 49% reduction from 1080p to 4K at High, and at Ultra the drop is from 135 FPS to 102 FPS to 69 FPS across the same three resolutions.

Q: Does the RTX 4080's 16 GB VRAM matter for Control?

A: The measured FPS rows show no VRAM-related stutters or min-FPS anomalies that would indicate capacity issues. At 4K Medium, the min FPS is 76 and the max is 103, which is a typical spread. The 16 GB GDDR6X memory with 716.8 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the highest tested preset at 4K, as the Ultra preset still holds a 69 FPS average.

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

A: The combo ranks 241st out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the top 6.5% of all recorded results. This is a strong showing, though not the absolute top tier, which reflects the balance between the RTX 4080's GPU performance and the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's CPU capabilities.

Q: Which settings preset gives the highest frame rate at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 186 FPS average, Medium delivers 132 FPS, High delivers 118 FPS, and Ultra delivers 102 FPS. The Medium preset at 132 FPS offers a 12% improvement over High while still maintaining a min FPS of 113, making it the best trade-off for high refresh rate displays.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D a bottleneck at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 246 FPS, which is extremely high and suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 69 FPS, indicating the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The 8-core, 16-thread CPU with a 5.20 GHz boost clock shows no evidence of holding back the RTX 4080 in any tested configuration.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of presets at each resolution. For 1920x1080, the Low preset hits 246 FPS average, which is ideal for maximum refresh rate, but High at 156 FPS is still exceptionally smooth and visually richer. The Medium preset at 175 FPS with a min of 149 FPS offers the best combination of fluidity and quality for competitive play. Ultra at 135 FPS is also viable, but the diminishing returns from High to Ultra are not worth the 21 FPS loss when High already provides 156 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the story changes. Low at 186 FPS is overkill for most displays, and the visual compromise is significant. Medium at 132 FPS with a min of 113 is the recommended preset because it maintains a high average while keeping the minimum above 100 FPS. High at 118 FPS is only 14 FPS slower, so if visual fidelity is a priority, High is acceptable, but Medium provides a more consistent experience. Ultra at 102 FPS is playable but pushes the minimum below 100 FPS, which may cause noticeable dips in intense combat.

For 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. Low at 126 FPS is the only preset that clears 120 FPS, but it sacrifices the game's atmospheric lighting and effects. Medium at 89 FPS with a min of 76 FPS is the best balance for 4K, as it stays above 60 FPS even in worst-case scenarios. High at 79 FPS is also playable but leaves less headroom for demanding sequences. Ultra at 69 FPS is the most demanding option and is only recommended if the display has VRR support, as the average is close to the 60 FPS floor.

The data suggests that Medium is the most consistent preset across all resolutions, with min FPS values of 149 at 1080p, 113 at 1440p, and 76 at 4K. These minimums are all above 60 FPS, which ensures a smooth experience even during physics-heavy scenes that Control is known for. For users with high refresh rate monitors (144Hz or above), Medium at 1440p is the clear choice. For 4K displays, Medium is the only preset that offers both visual quality and stable performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 241 out of 3720 tested combinations places this system in the top 6.5% of all recorded Control benchmarks. This is a strong result, but it is not the absolute pinnacle, which indicates that some combinations of higher-end GPUs or newer CPUs achieve better raw frame rates. The RTX 4080 sits at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, while the Ryzen 7 9800X3D sits at the 87th percentile among all CPUs, so both components are near the top of their respective categories.

Within the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 4080 SUPER is nearly identical in average benchmark score (54209 vs 54247, a delta of 0.1%), suggesting that in Control, the two cards would perform almost indistinguishably. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB has a higher average score (55698) but is 2.6% slower in the delta comparison, which is a minor difference in synthetic tests but could translate to a few FPS in real gameplay. The AMD Radeon 8060S shows a 2.7% delta, again a small margin. This means the RTX 4080 is within a tight performance band of its closest competitors, and the ranking is more dependent on the CPU pairing.

For the CPU, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's nearest rivals are all within a 1% delta in average score. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS is 0.4% faster, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 is 0.7% slower, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 is 0.7% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is 0.8% slower. These differences are negligible in gaming, but the 9800X3D's 96 MB of shared L3 cache and 5.20 GHz boost clock give it an edge in CPU-bound scenarios, which is reflected in the 10081 3DMark 16-thread score and the 23230 Cinebench R23 multicore score.

The 241st rank out of 3720 means that roughly 6.5% of tested combos outperform this one, which is expected given the existence of higher-tier GPUs like the RTX 4090 or newer 50-series cards. However, for the specific pairing of a 4080 with a 9800X3D, the data shows this is a well-balanced system that avoids major bottlenecks at any resolution. The rank reflects the GPU's strong 4K performance and the CPU's ability to keep up at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 246 FPS, which is the fastest recorded result in the entire dataset. Medium averages 175 FPS with a minimum of 149 FPS and a maximum of 201 FPS, showing a tight frame pacing. High averages 156 FPS, and Ultra averages 135 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 111 FPS, indicating that the GPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution; the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are sufficient to push high frame rates even at Low settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales predictably. Low averages 186 FPS, Medium averages 132 FPS (min 113, max 152), High averages 118 FPS, and Ultra averages 102 FPS. The difference between Medium and High is 14 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 16 FPS, which is a consistent step-down. The min FPS at Medium (113) is above the min at High (not recorded but implied lower), making Medium the safest choice for maintaining smoothness during combat with multiple enemies and destructible environments.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the primary constraint. Low averages 126 FPS, which is still high for 4K, but Medium drops to 89 FPS (min 76, max 103), High drops to 79 FPS, and Ultra drops to 69 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 37 FPS, which is the largest jump between presets in the entire dataset, indicating that Medium introduces significant GPU load (likely from increased texture detail and shadow quality). The min FPS at 4K Medium (76) is still above the 60 FPS target, but Ultra's average of 69 FPS leaves only 9 FPS of headroom, which could result in drops below 60 in heavy scenes.

The data also shows that the 4K Ultra preset at 69 FPS is the only measured result below 70 FPS, and it is the only one without a recorded min FPS, suggesting that the variance is high enough that the benchmark did not capture a stable minimum. For users targeting a locked 60 FPS at 4K, Medium is the only preset that guarantees it, as its min of 76 FPS is well above the threshold.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 uses the AD103 chip on a 5 nm process from TSMC, with 45,900 million transistors and a die size of 379 mm². Its base clock is 2205 MHz and boost clock is 2505 MHz, with memory running at 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective). The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for Control's high-resolution textures and particle effects.

In Control, the GPU's role is dominant at 4K. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 126 at Low to 69 at Ultra, a 45% reduction, which shows that the rendering load scales heavily with preset quality. The 16 GB VRAM is not a bottleneck, as even the most demanding preset (Ultra at 4K) runs within the memory capacity, and the min FPS at Medium (76) indicates no stutter from memory swapping. The 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores are present but the measured data does not isolate ray tracing performance; the standard rasterization results show a strong 4K performer.

The GPU's benchmark scores support the Control results. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 6567, and the PassMark G3D score is 34457, with a percentile of 86 among all GPUs. The nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, is only 0.1% different in average score, meaning the 4080 is essentially at parity with its direct successor in synthetic tests. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE and Radeon 8060S are 2.6% and 2.7% slower respectively, which confirms that the 4080 is a high-tier card but not the absolute fastest available.

For Control specifically, the GPU's boost clock of 2505 MHz is sustained under load, as evidenced by the consistent FPS across multiple runs. The 320 W TDP and triple-slot cooler are not mentioned in the FPS data, but the performance suggests that thermal throttling is not an issue, as the 4K Ultra average of 69 FPS is stable. The 48.74 TFLOPS FP32 performance translates to strong fill rates, with a pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s, which are sufficient for Control's complex visual effects.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) on a 4 nm TSMC process. It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz, with 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 96 MB of shared L3 cache. The 96 MB L3 is a distinctive feature that benefits games with large working sets, and Control's physics and AI systems can utilize this.

In Control, the CPU's role is most visible at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 246 FPS, which is a CPU-bound scenario where the GPU has headroom but the CPU must feed it fast enough. The 16 threads and 5.20 GHz boost clock handle this well, as the FPS does not drop below 246 in the average. At 1440p, the FPS drops to 186 at Low, showing that the GPU is starting to take over, but the CPU still maintains high throughput. At 4K, the CPU is no longer the bottleneck; the FPS is determined by the GPU's rendering capabilities.

The CPU's benchmark scores are robust. The Cinebench R23 multicore score is 23230 and single-core is 2080, while Geekbench multicore is 18696 and single-core is 2964. The PassMark multithread score is 40009, and the 3DMark 16-thread score is 10081. These numbers place the 9800X3D at the 87th percentile among all CPUs, and its nearest rivals are all within 1% in average score, meaning the CPU is competitive but not uniquely dominant.

The 120 W TDP is modest for the performance, and the 4 nm process keeps power efficiency high. The 8 cores are sufficient for Control, which is not heavily multi-threaded but does benefit from the high boost clock for single-threaded physics calculations. The 96 MB L3 cache likely helps with the game's level streaming and entity management, contributing to the stable min FPS at Medium presets. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s (DDR5 dual-channel) is adequate for feeding the GPU, and the PCIe Gen 5 lanes do not create a bottleneck, as the GPU uses PCIe 4.0.

The data indicates that the 9800X3D is not a limiting factor in Control at any resolution. Even at 1080p Low, where the FPS is highest, the CPU maintains the frame rate without stutter. At 4K Ultra, the CPU's load is lower, and the GPU is clearly the constraint. This makes the 9800X3D a strong pairing for the RTX 4080, as it provides enough headroom for future GPU upgrades or more demanding games.