Control

Control on the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and AMD Radeon RX 6600 is a study in compromise, where the 8-core CPU provides ample headroom, but the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck at higher resolutions. The data indicates that the most balanced experience, prioritizing fluid motion over visual extremes, is achieved at 1920x1080 with High settings, which delivers an average of 68 FPS. While the CPU is more than capable of handling far higher frame rates, the RX 6600's performance curve suggests that chasing Ultra settings at this resolution yields 59 FPS, a marginal gain in fidelity for a noticeable loss in smoothness. The sweet spot for this combination is clearly found in the 1080p and 1440p domains, where the GPU can maintain acceptable performance without being overwhelmed.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data paints a clear picture of diminishing returns as graphical presets increase. At 1920x1080, the gap between Low and Medium is substantial, with average frame rates jumping from 108 FPS to 77 FPS. However, the escalation from Medium to High is more moderate, resulting in 68 FPS, and the final push to Ultra drops performance to 59 FPS. For a game like Control, which relies on atmospheric effects and smooth combat, the High preset at 1080p offers the best balance. It provides a 9 FPS improvement over Ultra while maintaining a 68 FPS average, which is comfortably above the threshold for a responsive experience. Pushing to Low does yield a significant 40 FPS advantage over High, but the visual compromise is likely too steep for a title known for its visual flair.

At 2560x1440, the High preset’s average of 52 FPS is the most viable option for maintaining playable frame rates, though it represents a 16 FPS drop from the 1080p High result. The Medium preset at this resolution delivers 58 FPS, which is marginally better, but the step down in visual quality is noticeable. The Ultra preset at 1440p, with an average of 45 FPS, begins to feel sluggish for a fast-paced action game, and the Low preset, while hitting 82 FPS, sacrifices too much of the game’s atmosphere. The data suggests that for a consistent 60 FPS target, users should stick to 1080p with Medium or High settings, as the 1440p Medium preset’s 58 FPS is close but still just under the mark.

The 3840x2160 results are largely academic for this hardware combination. The High preset manages an average of 35 FPS, and the Medium preset is not far behind at 39 FPS. These figures fall below the threshold for a comfortable experience, making 4K gaming impractical with this GPU. Even the Low preset at this resolution only achieves 55 FPS, indicating that the RX 6600 is simply outclassed at 4K. The recommendation is to avoid 4K entirely; the optimal experience lies in optimizing the 1080p and 1440p presets. For a stable and visually pleasing session, the High preset at 1920x1080 is the definitive choice, as it offers the best compromise between the game’s rich visuals and the hardware’s capabilities.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the primary performance limiter in this configuration. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s, is a significant factor in the performance drop at higher resolutions. The data shows that as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 at High settings, the average FPS plummets from 68 to 35, a reduction of 33 FPS. This steep decline is directly attributable to the GPU’s memory bandwidth and capacity being saturated by the increased pixel count and texture data. The 8 GB frame buffer is likely insufficient for Ultra textures at 4K, leading to the 30 FPS average at that setting.

The GPU’s clock speeds, with a boost clock of 2491 MHz and a game clock of 2044 MHz, are typical for its class, but they do not compensate for the memory constraints. The RDNA 2.0 architecture, built on a 7 nm process, provides 1792 shading units and 28 ray tracing cores. While the ray tracing cores are present, the overall compute power is not enough to handle Control’s physics-heavy environments at high resolutions without significant frame rate drops. The performance at 2560x1440 High, averaging 52 FPS, shows that the GPU is still workable at this resolution, but it is clearly operating near its limits. The benchmark results indicate a GPU that is positioned in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, aligning it with rivals like the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 and GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile in terms of overall score, but in gaming, its 8 GB memory capacity is a limiting factor for modern titles.

The data across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: the RX 6600 provides a playable experience at 1080p, a passable one at 1440p with adjusted settings, and a suboptimal one at 4K. The measured results at 1920x1080 Medium, with a minimum FPS of 65 and a maximum of 88, show that the GPU can handle frame pacing well when not overburdened. However, the 4K Medium results, with a minimum of 33 and a maximum of 45, highlight the GPU’s struggle to maintain consistent frame times under heavy load. The GPU’s 132 W TDP and dual-slot design are modest, but its performance envelope is clearly defined by its memory subsystem.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is an exceptionally powerful processor that is vastly underutilized in this gaming configuration. With 8 cores and 16 threads, base clock of 4.70 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, this CPU provides far more processing power than the RX 6600 can feed. The benchmark results for the CPU are stellar, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22807 and a single-core score of 2228, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs. In the context of Control, this means that the CPU is never the bottleneck; the frame rates are entirely dictated by the GPU’s rendering capabilities.

The CPU’s substantial L3 cache of 96 MB shared is beneficial for gaming, as it can hold more game data for quick access, reducing latency. However, in this pairing, the performance differences between settings are almost exclusively due to the GPU’s workload. For instance, at 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 49 FPS, a massive swing that the CPU absorbs without breaking a sweat. The CPU’s scores, such as the PassMark single-thread score of 4704 and the multi-thread score of 41318, indicate it is in a different league compared to its nearest rivals like the Intel Core i9-14900, which has an average score of 58115 against the 9850X3D’s 58386 average.

This hardware combination highlights a common imbalance where a top-tier CPU is paired with a mid-range GPU. The CPU’s potential is capped by the GPU’s output, meaning that in CPU-bound scenarios or at lower resolutions, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D has headroom to spare. For example, at 1920x1080 Low, the 108 FPS average is likely still GPU-limited, as the CPU could theoretically push much higher frame rates. The data suggests that if a more powerful GPU were installed, the 9850X3D would allow for significantly higher FPS, but with the RX 6600, its role is to ensure that there are no frame drops or stutters caused by CPU processing, which it accomplishes effortlessly.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 2904 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places it in the lower 22% of all configurations, which is a direct consequence of the GPU’s mid-range status. Despite having a top-tier CPU, the overall combo ranking is dragged down by the GPU, indicating that for this game, the graphics card is the primary determinant of overall performance. The ranking suggests that this combo is not ideal for high-refresh-rate or high-resolution gaming in Control, but it is not the worst either, as it can still deliver playable frame rates at 1080p.

Analyzing the ranking further, the combo is positioned near other systems that likely have similar GPU limitations. The data shows that the combo’s performance is heavily skewed by the GPU’s 63rd percentile ranking, whereas the CPU is in the 92nd percentile. This disparity means that the combo’s rank is much lower than what the CPU alone would suggest. For users with this combo, the ranking serves as a warning that to improve performance in Control, the GPU should be the first component to upgrade. The 2904 rank out of 3720 combos indicates that there are 816 configurations that perform worse, but it also means that over 2900 configurations perform better, highlighting the RX 6600’s limitations in this specific title.

The ranking also reflects the balance of the system. A more balanced system would have a CPU and GPU in similar percentiles, but this combo is heavily weighted towards the CPU. This imbalance is not necessarily negative, as it provides a clear upgrade path, but it does mean that the current system does not fully utilize its components. The combo’s rank in the game is a holistic measure, and it shows that while the CPU is a powerhouse, the gaming experience is firmly anchored by the GPU’s performance ceiling.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows the best experience is at 1920x1080, where all settings yield playable frame rates (ranging from 59 FPS at Ultra to 108 FPS at Low). At 2560x1440, only the Low setting breaks 60 FPS, and at 3840x2160, all settings fall below 55 FPS.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D bottlenecking the GPU?

A: No, the benchmark results indicate the opposite. The CPU is in the 92nd percentile with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22807, while the GPU is in the 63rd percentile. The frame rates are consistently GPU-limited, as evidenced by the large FPS swings when changing graphical settings.

Q: How does the RX 6600 perform with ray tracing in this game?

A: While the RX 6600 has 28 ray tracing cores, the measured FPS data does not include ray tracing-specific settings. The general performance at higher settings suggests that enabling ray tracing would likely reduce frame rates below playable levels, especially at resolutions above 1080p.

Q: What is the minimum FPS I can expect at 1920x1080 with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows a minimum FPS of 65 and a maximum of 88, with an average of 77 FPS at 1920x1080 Medium settings.

Q: Should I upgrade my GPU or CPU to improve performance in Control?

A: The data clearly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The combo ranks 2904 out of 3720, and the CPU’s performance is vastly superior to the GPU’s. Upgrading the GPU would yield a significant performance increase, while upgrading the CPU would have a negligible impact on this game’s frame rates.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Control?

A: No, the 3840x2160 results show an average of 35 FPS on High and 30 FPS on Ultra, which are below the threshold for a smooth experience. Even the Low setting at 4K only averages 55 FPS, making it a suboptimal choice.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the combo’s performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are the highest, with an average of 108 FPS on Low, 77 FPS on Medium, 68 FPS on High, and 59 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting has the only recorded variance, with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS. This resolution is the only one where all settings produce averages above 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. The Low setting averages 82 FPS, which is still playable, but the Medium setting drops to 58 FPS, and the High setting to 52 FPS. The Ultra setting at this resolution averages 45 FPS, which is starting to feel sluggish for an action game. The Medium setting again has the only recorded variance, with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 67 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. The Low setting averages 55 FPS, which is the only acceptable result, but the Medium, High, and Ultra settings average 39, 35, and 30 FPS, respectively. The Medium setting has the only recorded variance, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS. These numbers confirm that 4K is not a viable option for this hardware combination in Control, and users should target 1080p for the best balance of visual quality and performance.