Control

Control, the 2019 action-adventure title, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with resolution and graphical presets. The pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 produces a dataset that clearly illustrates the shift in system bottlenecks, moving from a balanced load at 1080p to a GPU-bound scenario at 4K. The measured frames per second (FPS) show a consistent pattern where the CPU's high core count and clock speeds are sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU's 8 GB of VRAM and compute capabilities become the limiting factor as pixel count and settings increase.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is substantial, indicating that the RX 7600 is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 74.4 at 1080p to 57.5 at 1440p, a reduction of 22.7%, and then further to 35.8 at 4K, which is a 51.9% drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of shading power and memory bandwidth as the pixel count quadruples.

The scaling pattern is even more pronounced at Ultra settings, where the 4K average of 32.6 FPS is less than half of the 67.4 FPS achieved at 1080p. In contrast, the jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p only reduces performance from 118.5 FPS to 67.4 FPS, a 43.1% penalty. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the Ryzen 9 5950X has enough headroom to maintain high frame rates, but the GPU's compute units are still the bottleneck even at 1080p Ultra, as the gap between the two presets shows.

The data reveals a clear point of diminishing returns for this combo. While 1080p Low yields 118.5 FPS, moving to 1440p Low drops the average to 91.2 FPS, and 4K Low only manages 62.4 FPS. The trend indicates that for a smooth 60 FPS experience, users must stick to Low settings at 4K, Medium at 1440p, or High at 1080p. The 4K Ultra result of 32.6 FPS is the least playable data point, showing that this resolution and preset combination is beyond the card's comfortable performance envelope.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, running on the AMD Socket AM4 platform. With a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, this CPU provides substantial computational throughput. Its 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s help ensure that data can be fed to the cores without excessive delays, which is critical for maintaining consistent frame pacing in a game like Control.

Given the benchmark results, the CPU appears to be well ahead of the GPU's demands in this title. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 118.5 FPS, which is the highest average recorded in the dataset. This high frame rate suggests that the Ryzen 9 5950X's single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3dmark_single_thread score of 944 and its passmark_single_thread score of 3470, is more than capable of handling Control's game logic and physics at lower settings. The CPU's high multi-threaded capabilities, shown by its cinebench_r23_multicore score of 38607, do not appear to be a limiting factor here, as the game's frame rates are more closely tied to GPU load.

The processor's performance relative to its peers reinforces its strong standing. Its avgBenchmarkScore of 49062 places it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, and it trades blows with the Intel Core i5-14600K, which has an avgScore of 49166 and a deltaPct of -0.2. This indicates that the Ryzen 9 5950X is not holding back the RX 7600 in this configuration; the data points to the GPU being the primary determinant of final FPS at higher resolutions and settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, is the decisive component in this combo's gaming performance. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The GPU's boost clock of 2655 MHz and its 2048 shading units provide the raw compute power, rated at 21.75 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. However, the 8 GB VRAM capacity is a potential constraint at 4K Ultra, where texture data can exceed this limit, leading to the observed low average FPS.

The GPU's benchmark scores further illustrate its position. Its avgBenchmarkScore of 20258 places it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT with a deltaPct of 0.6 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile with a deltaPct of -1.3. This suggests that the RX 7600 is a mid-range performer, which aligns with the measured FPS dropping below 60 at 1440p High and 4K Medium. The card's 32 RT cores and 64 ROPs are present, but the workload at higher presets overwhelms its memory subsystem, as shown by the 4K Ultra score of 32.6 FPS.

The data indicates that the GPU's role shifts from being adequate at 1080p to being the sole bottleneck at 4K. At 1080p Low, the system is likely CPU-bound or balanced, but as settings increase to Ultra, the GPU's compute load rises, and the FPS drops to 67.4. At 4K, even Low settings only produce 62.4 FPS, confirming that the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth of the RX 7600 are insufficient for high-resolution gaming in Control.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Control, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 holds a rank of 1123 out of 1636 combos. This places it in the lower third of all tested configurations, indicating that while it can run the game, it does so at performance levels that are below the median of other systems in the database. The rank is likely dragged down by the GPU's mid-range standing, as the CPU is a high-end part with a 93rd percentile ranking.

The combo's position suggests that the CPU is overqualified for the GPU, leading to a bottleneck that prevents the system from achieving higher frame rates. For context, the CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-14600K, have similar avgScores, but when paired with a more powerful GPU, they would likely rank higher. The data implies that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates, but it struggles to maintain playable performance at 1440p and above with high presets.

The rank of 1123 out of 1636 also highlights that Control is a demanding title that favors GPUs with more VRAM and compute throughput. The RX 7600's 8 GB of memory is a limiting factor in this game, as the 4K Ultra result of 32.6 FPS demonstrates. The combo's overall performance is consistent with a mid-range GPU paired with a top-tier CPU, yielding results that are acceptable for entry-level 4K or high-refresh 1080p, but not for high-fidelity 4K gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo shows its strongest performance. Low settings produce an average of 118.5 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 83.5 FPS, High settings give 74.4 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 67.4 FPS. This demonstrates that at 1080p, the system can handle all presets above 60 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the impact of resolution becomes apparent. Low settings average 91.2 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium drops to 64.7 FPS, and High falls to 57.5 FPS. Ultra settings at 1440p produce an average of only 48.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. This indicates that users should stick to Medium settings or lower for a fluid experience at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed. Low settings yield an average of 62.4 FPS, which is barely playable, but Medium drops to 46.1 FPS, High to 35.8 FPS, and Ultra to a low 32.6 FPS. The data shows a consistent pattern where each increase in settings at 4K leads to a significant FPS loss, confirming that the RX 7600 is not designed for high-fidelity 4K gaming in Control. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 29.8 FPS, highlighting the GPU's compute limitations.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Control?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 118.5, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 2560x1440?

A: At 1440p, the system achieves 91.2 FPS on Low and 64.7 FPS on Medium, both above 60 FPS. However, High settings drop to 57.5 FPS, and Ultra falls to 48.3 FPS, so 60 FPS is only guaranteed on Medium or lower.

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

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X has an avgBenchmarkScore of 49062, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i5-14600K's score of 49166.

Q: What is the performance difference between the RX 7600 and the RX 7600 XT?

A: The Radeon RX 7600 has an avgBenchmarkScore of 20258, which is 0.6% lower than the RX 7600 XT's score of 20146.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 32.6, which is very low. Given the CPU's high 93rd percentile ranking and the GPU's 63rd percentile ranking, the data indicates that the RX 7600's 8 GB VRAM and compute capabilities are the primary bottleneck at this resolution.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested systems for Control?

A: This combo ranks 1123 out of 1636 tested combinations, placing it in the lower third of all systems in the database.