Control

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and AMD Radeon RX 580 pairing in Control produces a heavily GPU-bound experience, with the data showing a 2633rd place finish out of 2888 tested combos. This places the system in the lower percentile of configurations for this title, indicating that the RX 580 is the primary constraint. The following analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions and settings, interpreting what the numbers reveal about this specific hardware combination.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a 2026 release from the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using a 4 nm process at TSMC. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The processor has a 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is a substantial pool for game data, and supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. Its 120 W TDP and unlocked multiplier indicate a high-end desktop part, and its benchmark scores are strong: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22807 and a single-core score of 2228, alongside a Passmark single-thread score of 4704.

In the context of Control, the CPU's role is largely secondary. The game's measured FPS at 1080p Low is 63, which is the highest average across the entire test matrix, and even at 4K Ultra the system manages 18 FPS. These numbers suggest that the CPU is not the bottleneck; the Ryzen 7 9850X3D's single-thread performance, evidenced by its 2228 score in Cinebench R23, is more than adequate for the game's logic and physics. The processor's 4.70 GHz base and 5.60 GHz boost clocks provide ample headroom for frame pacing, but the data shows that increasing graphical load from Low to Ultra yields drastic FPS reductions, which is a signature of GPU limitation rather than CPU constraint. The nearest rivals for the CPU include the Intel Core i9-14900 (0.5% higher avg score) and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (0.7% lower), but these differences are negligible in gaming, especially when the GPU is the limiting factor.

The 96 MB L3 cache is notable for gaming, as it can reduce memory latency, but the RX 580's 8 GB frame buffer and 256-bit bus are the real determinants of performance here. The CPU's Passmark data compression score of 474501 and integer math score of 123140 are high, but they do not translate into higher FPS in this title because the workload is dominated by pixel shading and memory bandwidth. The data indicates the CPU is ready for far more demanding GPUs, but paired with the RX 580, it is effectively underutilized in Control.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is an end-of-life product from 2017, based on the Polaris 20 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm process. It has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1257 MHz with a boost of 1340 MHz, and memory runs at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). It offers 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is 6.175 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 (12_0), Vulkan 1.3, and OpenGL 4.6. The GPU's TDP is 185 W, requiring a 450 W PSU, and it uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.

The benchmark data for the RX 580 shows a Passmark G3D score of 8813 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1005, with a percentile rank of 53 versus all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (0.4% higher avg score) and the AMD Radeon 740M (0.5% lower). In Control, the GPU is the clear bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system averages 63 FPS, but this drops to 40 FPS at High, 45 FPS at Medium, and 35 FPS at Ultra. The pattern is consistent across resolutions: at 1440p, Low yields 48 FPS, but Ultra falls to 26 FPS; at 4K, Low produces 32 FPS, but Ultra drops to 18 FPS. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p, but the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes strained at higher resolutions and settings, leading to the measured FPS collapses.

The RX 580's 32 ROPs are particularly limiting for Control, a game that relies heavily on pixel fill-rate and post-processing effects. The data shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases, which is typical of a GPU that is memory-bandwidth limited. The 6.175 TFLOPS compute is not the issue; rather, it is the 256-bit bus and 8 Gbps effective memory speed that fail to keep up with the game's demands at 1440p and 4K. The GPU's Vulkan score of 45173 is decent, but Control's engine seems to favor raw fill-rate, where the RX 580's 42.88 GPixel/s is insufficient for high settings at higher resolutions.

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

Examining the measured FPS data, the most playable experience is found at 1080p Low, which averages 63 FPS. This is the only preset across all resolutions that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the sole option for smooth gameplay on this hardware. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and maximum of 51 FPS, which is playable but not consistently smooth. The 1080p High preset averages 40 FPS, while 1080p Ultra averages 35 FPS, both of which are borderline for a fast-paced action game.

At 1440p, the best option is Low, which averages 48 FPS, but this is still below 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 34 FPS (min 29, max 39), which is stutter-prone. The 1440p High and Ultra presets average 30 FPS and 26 FPS, respectively, making them less desirable. At 4K, all presets are below 32 FPS, with Low at 32 FPS, Medium at 23 FPS (min 19, max 26), High at 20 FPS, and Ultra at 18 FPS; these are not recommended for gameplay.

The data suggests that the best experience is a trade-off: 1080p Low provides the highest FPS, but sacrifices visual fidelity. For users who prioritize frame rate, 1080p Low is the clear winner. If visual quality is more important, 1080p Medium offers a balanced compromise at 45 FPS, but the minimum of 38 FPS indicates potential dips. There is no preset at 1440p that provides a consistent 60 FPS, and 4K is effectively unplayable. The recommendation is to use 1080p Low for competitive play or 1080p Medium for a more visually rich experience, accepting that the frame rate will vary between 38 and 51 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D and RX 580 ranks 2633rd out of 2888 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the 9th percentile of all systems. This is a low ranking, driven entirely by the GPU's age and performance ceiling. The CPU is a top-tier part — its percentile vs all CPUs is 92, and its avg benchmark score is 58386 — but the GPU's percentile is only 53, with an avg score of 12928. The disparity between the CPU and GPU performance is stark: the CPU's nearest rivals (Intel Xeon w5-2545, Intel Core i9-14900) are within 0.5% of its score, while the GPU's rivals (GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, Radeon 740M) are within 0.6%. This indicates that the CPU is not the differentiator in this ranking.

The 2633rd rank out of 2888 combos means that over 90% of tested systems outperform this pairing in Control. This is expected, as the RX 580 was a mid-range GPU from 2017, and the game was released in 2019 with demanding graphics. The data shows that the combo's performance is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario: the CPU's high single-thread score (343 in Cinebench R15) does not rescue the system from the GPU's limitations. The rank reflects the GPU's inability to maintain playable frame rates at higher settings, as seen in the measured FPS breakdown. For context, the CPU's Passmark multi-thread score of 41318 is excellent, but it is irrelevant when the GPU is the bottleneck. This combo is a clear case of CPU overkill paired with an outdated GPU, and the rank in Control quantifies that mismatch.

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

The resolution scaling data shows a predictable decline in FPS as pixel count increases, but the magnitude of the drop reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 63 at 1080p to 48 at 1440p (a 24% reduction) and then to 32 at 4K (a 33% reduction from 1440p). This is a linear degradation that suggests the GPU is memory-bandwidth bound. At High settings, the FPS goes from 40 at 1080p to 30 at 1440p (a 25% drop) and then to 20 at 4K (a 33% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings indicates that the GPU's fill-rate and bandwidth are the limiting factors, not the CPU.

At Ultra settings, the FPS goes from 35 at 1080p to 26 at 1440p (a 26% drop) and then to 18 at 4K (a 31% drop from 1440p). The fact that the absolute FPS numbers are low even at 1080p Ultra (35 FPS) confirms that the RX 580 is struggling to process the game's effects. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to be similar across resolutions, but the data shows a consistent decline, which is the hallmark of a GPU-limited system. The 4K numbers are particularly telling: even at Low settings, the 32 FPS average is below playable thresholds, and the gap between 1080p Low (63 FPS) and 4K Low (32 FPS) is 31 FPS, a 49% reduction. This steep drop is due to the GPU's 256-bit memory bus being saturated at 4K, where the pixel load quadruples from 1080p. The data strongly indicates that the RX 580 is the sole limiting component, and any upgrade to a faster GPU would yield significant FPS gains across all resolutions.

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

Q: What is the best resolution and setting combination for this hardware in Control?

A: The measured data shows that 1080p Low is the only preset that averages above 60 FPS, at 63 FPS. For a balance of quality and performance, 1080p Medium averages 45 FPS, but with a minimum of 38 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9850X3D compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The CPU has an average benchmark score of 58386, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58323) and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i9-14900 (58115). It is 0.2% lower than the Intel Xeon w5-2545 (58504) and 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (58826).

Q: Is the RX 580 capable of running Control at 4K?

A: The data shows that 4K performance is poor across all settings, with the highest average being 32 FPS at Low. The Medium preset averages 23 FPS (min 19, max 26), while High and Ultra average 20 FPS and 18 FPS, respectively, making 4K effectively unplayable.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it affect performance?

A: The RX 580 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The bandwidth is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops from 1080p to 4K.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems in Control?

A: The combo ranks 2633rd out of 2888 tested combinations, placing it in the lower 9% of all systems. This low rank is due to the GPU's age, not the CPU, which ranks in the 92nd percentile versus all CPUs.

Q: What is the CPU's cache configuration that benefits gaming?

A: The Ryzen 7 9850X3D has 96 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 1 MB of L2 cache per core and 80 KB of L1 cache per core. This large L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, but in Control, the GPU is the bottleneck, so the cache's benefit is not realized in FPS gains.

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

The following is the complete measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and AMD Radeon RX 580 in Control:

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: average 32 FPS
• Medium: average 23 FPS, minimum 19 FPS, maximum 26 FPS
• High: average 20 FPS
• Ultra: average 18 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: average 48 FPS
• Medium: average 34 FPS, minimum 29 FPS, maximum 39 FPS
• High: average 30 FPS
• Ultra: average 26 FPS

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: average 63 FPS
• Medium: average 45 FPS, minimum 38 FPS, maximum 51 FPS
• High: average 40 FPS
• Ultra: average 35 FPS

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p Low is the only playable option for smooth frame rates, while 1440p and 4K are only suitable for Low settings if the user accepts sub-60 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p provides the best compromise with a 45 FPS average, but the minimum of 38 FPS indicates occasional stutters. The Ultra preset at any resolution is not recommended, as it never exceeds 35 FPS. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 256-bit bus are the primary constraints, as evidenced by the consistent FPS drops across all settings when moving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D's high single-thread performance (2228 in Cinebench R23) ensures that the CPU is never the bottleneck, but the RX 580's 6.175 TFLOPS and 42.88 GPixel/s are insufficient for higher settings. This pairing is best suited for 1080p gaming with reduced settings, and the data confirms that any attempt to push higher resolutions or quality presets results in a substantial performance penalty.