Control

Control is an action-adventure title from 2019 that stresses both the GPU and CPU depending on the settings and resolution chosen. The measured data for the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination shows a wide performance envelope, from a highly playable 58 FPS at 4K Ultra to a fluid 206 FPS at 1080p Low. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS rows to explain how the hardware behaves, where the bottlenecks lie, and which settings offer the best experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and reveals the expected shift in workload from the CPU to the GPU. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 130 FPS at 1920x1080 to 98 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 66 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 49% reduction in average FPS when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings. The scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the RTX 5070's rendering throughput becomes the limiting factor.

At Low settings, the scaling pattern is even more pronounced. The average FPS goes from 206 at 1080p down to 156 at 1440p and then to 105 at 4K. The 1080p Low result of 206 FPS is the highest measured score in the entire dataset, indicating that at this resolution and settings level, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU well beyond the 144Hz refresh rate territory. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 50 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 51 FPS, showing a nearly linear scaling that suggests both components are still working in tandem without a hard ceiling.

The Medium settings data provides the only complete min/max FPS measurements in the pack. At 4K Medium, the average is 75 FPS with a minimum of 63 and maximum of 86. At 1440p Medium, the average rises to 111 FPS with a minimum of 94 and maximum of 127. At 1080p Medium, the average is 146 FPS with a minimum of 124 and maximum of 168. The delta between minimum and maximum FPS is 23 FPS at both 4K and 1440p, but widens to 44 FPS at 1080p. This widening frame-time variance at lower resolutions indicates that the CPU is beginning to introduce more variable frame pacing as the GPU workload lightens.

The Ultra settings show the most constrained performance. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 58, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the baseline for smooth gameplay. At 1440p Ultra, the average is 85 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it is 113 FPS. The jump from Ultra to High settings provides a 12% improvement at 4K (from 58 to 66 FPS), a 15% improvement at 1440p (from 85 to 98 FPS), and a 15% improvement at 1080p (from 113 to 130 FPS). This consistent ~12-15% uplift suggests that Ultra settings carry a heavy rendering cost that does not scale linearly with the visual fidelity gained.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global database of tested CPU and GPU combinations for Control, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 holds the rank of 545 out of 2888 tested combos. This places the configuration in the 81st percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly four out of every five combinations in the database. The rank is a composite measure that accounts for performance across all settings and resolutions tested, giving a holistic view of the combo's capability in this specific game.

The CPU's standalone benchmark percentile is 92, placing it in the top 8% of all tested processors. The GPU's standalone percentile is 82, placing it in the top 18% of all tested graphics cards. The combination rank of 545 out of 2888 falls between these two percentiles, which is expected since the game's performance is a blend of both CPU and GPU capabilities. The fact that the combo rank is closer to the GPU percentile than the CPU percentile suggests that Control's performance is more heavily influenced by the graphics card in the tested configurations.

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D has an average benchmark score of 58386, which is virtually identical to the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M at 58323 (a 0.1% delta) and the Intel Xeon w5-2545 at 58504 (a -0.2% delta). The Intel Core i9-14900 trails by 0.5% with a score of 58115, while the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 leads by 0.7% with a score of 58826. These sub-1% differences indicate that the CPU is not a distinguishing factor in this combo's ranking; the GPU's performance is the primary differentiator.

For the GPU, the RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 40377. Its nearest rivals are all AMD Radeon Pro workstation cards, with the Radeon Pro 580 at 40318 (0.1% delta), the Radeon Pro WX 7100 at 40063 (0.8% delta), and the Radeon Pro 5300 at 40870 (-1.2% delta). The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile trails by 2% with a score of 39568. These are all professional-grade cards, which suggests that the RTX 5070's gaming performance in Control is competitive with a range of workstation GPUs, though the gaming-focused architecture of the RTX 5070 likely contributes to its strong showing in the game-specific rank.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy of settings presets, and the choice of which to use depends heavily on the target resolution and the player's preference for frame rate versus visual fidelity. At 4K, the Ultra preset averages 58 FPS, which is technically playable but sits below the 60 FPS threshold. Dropping to High settings yields 66 FPS, which comfortably exceeds that threshold and provides a 12% performance uplift. This makes High settings the recommended choice for 4K gameplay, as it offers a meaningful frame rate improvement without the need to drop to Medium, which delivers 75 FPS but with potentially noticeable visual downgrades.

At 1440p, the situation is more flexible. Ultra settings average 85 FPS, which is already smooth for most players. High settings push this to 98 FPS, and Medium reaches 111 FPS. For players with high refresh rate 1440p monitors, the Medium preset offers the best balance, as it delivers over 110 FPS while maintaining the minimum above 94 FPS. The Low preset at 156 FPS is available for competitive play, but the visual compromise is substantial for a game like Control that emphasizes atmosphere and environmental detail.

At 1080p, all settings presets exceed 100 FPS on average, with Low reaching 206 FPS, Medium at 146 FPS, High at 130 FPS, and Ultra at 113 FPS. The Medium preset offers the most complete data with a minimum of 124 FPS, ensuring consistent frame delivery. For 1080p displays with 144Hz refresh rates, Ultra settings at 113 FPS are viable, but the jump to High at 130 FPS provides additional headroom. The recommendation is to use High settings at 1080p for a balanced experience that keeps the average FPS well above 120 while preserving most of the visual features that make Control's environments compelling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for this combo spans three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 206 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 146 FPS with a minimum of 124 and maximum of 168. High settings average 130 FPS, and Ultra settings average 113 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 45% reduction in average FPS (206 to 113), which indicates a substantial rendering cost for the highest quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 156 FPS, which is still remarkably high and suitable for high refresh rate gaming. Medium settings average 111 FPS with a minimum of 94 and maximum of 127. High settings average 98 FPS, and Ultra settings average 85 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 71 FPS, a 45% reduction that mirrors the 1080p scaling. The Medium preset at 1440p delivers the most balanced frame delivery, with the minimum staying above 90 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 105 FPS, which is the only 4K preset to break the 100 FPS barrier. Medium settings average 75 FPS with a minimum of 63 and maximum of 86. High settings average 66 FPS, and Ultra settings average 58 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 47 FPS, a 45% reduction consistent with the other resolutions. This consistency across resolutions suggests that the relative cost of each settings tier is uniform, and the absolute performance is determined by the resolution's pixel count.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process node, with a die size of 263 mm² containing 31,100 million transistors. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz for an effective 28 Gbps. The 12 GB of GDDR7 memory is accessed via a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. The GPU has 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units, along with 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores.

In Control, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases. The measured FPS data shows that at 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 47 FPS (105 to 58), while at 1080p, the same settings difference is 93 FPS (206 to 113). This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, and the settings presets have a compressed impact on frame rate. At 1080p, the GPU has more headroom, and the settings presets have a larger absolute impact on frame rate.

The GPU's 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient for Control at all tested resolutions and settings, as evidenced by the playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra. The 672.0 GB/s memory bandwidth provides ample throughput for the game's texture streaming and rendering demands. The pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s are both high enough to handle the 4K resolution without causing a complete collapse in frame rate, though the 58 FPS at 4K Ultra shows that the GPU is working near its limits with the highest quality settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS measured for this combo in Control?

A: The highest average FPS measured is 206, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No, the measured average FPS at 4K Ultra is 58, which falls just below the 60 FPS threshold. Dropping to High settings at 4K yields 66 FPS, which exceeds it.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested CPU and GPU combinations for Control?

A: The combo ranks 545 out of 2888 tested combinations, placing it in the 81st percentile of all tested systems.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium is 94, with an average of 111 and a maximum of 127.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D has an average benchmark score of 58386, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M at 58323 and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i9-14900 at 58115.

Q: What is the GPU's boost clock speed?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 has a boost clock of 2512 MHz, with a base clock of 2325 MHz.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread processor from the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename. It operates on the AMD Socket AM5 platform with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The CPU has a 96 MB shared L3 cache, along with 80 KB of L1 cache per core and 1 MB of L2 cache per core. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. The CPU has a TDP of 120 watts and is manufactured on TSMC's 4 nm process node with 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die.

In Control, the CPU's influence is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not the primary bottleneck. The 1080p Low result of 206 FPS demonstrates the CPU's ability to drive high frame rates without becoming a limiting factor. The 8 cores and 16 threads are sufficient for Control's threading model, which does not appear to scale beyond a handful of cores. The high boost clock of 5.60 GHz contributes to the strong single-threaded performance, which is reflected in the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2228.

The CPU's benchmark scores show a well-rounded performer. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 22807, and the single-core score is 2228. The PassMark multi-thread score is 41318, with a single-thread score of 4704. The CPU's percentile rank of 92 places it in the top 8% of all tested processors. The nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are all within 0.7% of the 9850X3D, indicating that the CPU's performance is competitive with a range of high-end server and desktop processors. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting component in Control for this combo, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings changes that primarily affect the GPU workload.