Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers a robust performance profile in Control, with benchmark data indicating a strong emphasis on resolution scaling and settings headroom. The measured frame rates show a system that is highly capable at 1440p and 1080p, while still providing a playable experience at 4K, with the Ultra preset being the only configuration to dip below the 60 FPS threshold at the highest resolution.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 provides the best balance, with all presets achieving over 78 FPS. The High preset at this resolution nets 93.3 FPS, which is significantly smoother than the 64.3 FPS seen at 3840x2160 on the same settings.

Q: How does the 1920x1080 Ultra experience compare to 3840x2160 Ultra?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 105.8 FPS, nearly double the 56 FPS observed at 4K Ultra. This represents a performance gap of 49.8 FPS, showing the substantial cost of rendering at 4K with maximum settings.

*Q: Is the RX 9070 XT sufficient for 4K gaming in Control?*

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 98.9 FPS, and the High preset reaches 64.3 FPS, both playable. However, the Ultra preset dips to 56 FPS, suggesting that for 4K, selecting High or Medium settings is advisable for a smoother experience.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 2560x1440?

A: The Low preset achieves 146.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 78.5 FPS. This is a 68.1 FPS difference, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a significant load on the GPU, but the resulting frame rate is still fluid for most displays.

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

A: The combo ranks 421st out of 1636 tested combos for Control. This places it in the top percentile of systems, indicating strong performance relative to the broader database.

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark percentile compared to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 5950X has a percentile of 93 versus all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 49062 is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i5-14600K and 0.6% lower than the Intel Core i5-14600KF, but 0.7% higher than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results suggest that the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution. For 3840x2160, the High preset is the recommended starting point, yielding 64.3 FPS. This provides a significant visual upgrade over the Medium preset’s 70.5 FPS with only a 6.2 FPS penalty, while avoiding the 56 FPS drop of the Ultra preset. The Low preset at 98.9 FPS is available for those seeking maximum fluidity, but the visual compromise is steep.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is the clear choice for visual fidelity, as it still maintains a strong 78.5 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra costs 14.8 FPS (from 93.3 to 78.5), but the increased detail is worthwhile given the high baseline. For players with high refresh rate monitors, the Medium preset at 103.4 FPS offers a balanced middle ground, while the Low preset at 146.6 FPS is best for competitive play.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the definitive recommendation, as the 105.8 FPS average is more than sufficient for a smooth experience. The High preset at 122.8 FPS and the Medium preset at 135.4 FPS offer diminishing returns for the extra performance, as the Ultra preset is already well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 190.5 FPS is unnecessary for this resolution, as the GPU has ample headroom to run higher settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, provides a 644.6 GB/s memory bandwidth. This is a critical factor in Control, a game known for its heavy use of physics and particle effects, which can be memory-intensive. The data shows a clear scaling pattern: at 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 98.9 on Low to 56 on Ultra, a 43% reduction in performance. This indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution, as the higher settings increase the demand on the RDNA 4.0 architecture’s 4096 shading units.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2970 MHz and game clock of 2400 MHz allow it to handle the computational load. The 48.66 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is substantial, but the benchmark results show that the Ultra preset at 4K still pushes the card to its limits. The data suggests that the RX 9070 XT is well-matched for 1440p gaming, where it can maintain high frame rates across all presets. Its 82nd percentile ranking versus all GPUs confirms its position as a high-end part, though the measured frame rates in Control indicate that 4K Ultra is a stretch without adjustments.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are: Low 98.9 FPS, Medium 70.5 FPS, High 64.3 FPS, and Ultra 56 FPS. The progression shows a steep decline from Low to Medium (28.4 FPS drop), followed by a more gradual decline to Ultra. The gap between High and Ultra is only 8.3 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns on the highest preset.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 146.6 FPS, Medium 103.4 FPS, High 93.3 FPS, and Ultra 78.5 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is significant (43.2 FPS), but the subsequent steps are smaller, with the difference between High and Ultra being 14.8 FPS. This resolution shows a more linear scaling pattern, indicating a better balance between CPU and GPU load.

At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 190.5 FPS, Medium 135.4 FPS, High 122.8 FPS, and Ultra 105.8 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is the largest (55.1 FPS), while the difference between High and Ultra is 17 FPS. All settings at 1080p exceed 100 FPS, demonstrating that the combo is never CPU-bound at this resolution, and the GPU has significant headroom to spare.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo holds a rank of 421 out of 1636 tested configurations, placing it in the top 26% of all systems. This is a strong position, reflecting the synergy between the 16-core CPU and the high-end GPU. The ranking is likely driven by the GPU’s performance, given that the CPU’s percentile (93) is higher than the GPU’s (82). The data indicates that this combo is better suited for high-refresh 1440p gaming than for maxed-out 4K, as the 4K Ultra result of 56 FPS is the only measured point below 60 FPS.

The CPU’s nearest rivals show a tight grouping: the Intel Core i5-14600K is 0.2% faster in average score, and the Intel Core i5-14600KF is 0.6% faster. This suggests that the Ryzen 9 5950X is not a bottleneck in this setup, as its performance is on par with modern mid-range rivals. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, are significantly slower (0.6% slower average score), which underscores the RX 9070 XT’s superior position in the current market.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X features 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer), with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its 64 MB of L3 cache is substantial, and the 3DMark max threads score of 11597 indicates strong multi-threaded performance. However, in Control, the CPU’s role appears secondary to the GPU. The single-thread score of 944 in 3DMark is modest, but the game’s engine appears to scale well with the available cores.

The benchmark data shows that at 1920x1080, the frame rates are consistently high, with the Low preset hitting 190.5 FPS. This suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently, even at lower resolutions where CPU overhead is more pronounced. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 38607 confirms the CPU’s capability, but the measured FPS in Control does not show any signs of CPU limitation, as even the Ultra preset at 1080p maintains 105.8 FPS. The CPU’s percentile of 93 versus all CPUs, combined with its 16 cores, ensures that it is not a limiting factor in this game, allowing the RX 9070 XT to perform to its full potential.