Control

The data for Control with the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and AMD Radeon RX 570 shows a system where the graphics card is the primary constraint across all tested configurations. The measured results provide a clear picture of how this pairing behaves, with the CPU’s substantial processing power remaining largely underutilized while the GPU dictates performance ceilings that vary significantly with resolution and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, confirming that the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the limiting component in this system. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 38.6 FPS at 1920x1080 to 24.6 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 36.3%. Moving further to 3840x2160, the average drops to 18.5 FPS, which is 52.1% lower than the 1080p result.

The Low preset shows a similar scaling pattern, though with higher absolute numbers. At 1920x1080, the average is 55.7 FPS. This falls to 42.8 FPS at 2560x1440 and then to 30.9 FPS at 3840x2160. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K is 44.5%, indicating that even when graphical load is reduced, the GPU cannot maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions.

The Medium and Ultra presets tell the same story. Medium starts at 38.4 FPS at 1080p, drops to 30.7 FPS at 1440p, and reaches 21.5 FPS at 4K. Ultra is the most demanding, beginning at 31.2 FPS at 1080p, falling to 26.1 FPS at 1440p, and bottoming out at 17 FPS at 4K. The scaling between 1440p and 4K is particularly harsh across all presets, with reductions ranging from 24.7% at Low to 34.9% at Ultra.

These results indicate that the GPU’s rendering pipeline is saturated long before the CPU can become a bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 7900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, has ample headroom for this title, but the RX 570’s 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth struggle to feed the frame buffer at higher pixel counts.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, running on the AMD Socket AM5 platform. Its base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz provide substantial single-thread performance, which is reflected in its benchmark results. In Cinebench R23, the processor scores 6168 points in single-core and 43695 points in multi-core tests, placing it in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs.

For Control, the CPU’s role in the measured frame rates appears minimal. The game’s performance profiles across resolutions are consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the RX 570’s rendering capability is the ceiling. The processor’s 3DMark scores, including 1093 in single-thread and 12536 in max-thread tests, show it can handle substantial workloads, but the frame rates here do not scale with CPU capability.

The nearest rivals to the 7900X in average benchmark score include the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 with a delta of -0.1%, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT at -0.4%, and the Intel Core i7-13850HX at -0.5%. These small deltas indicate that the 7900X performs competitively with its peers, but this advantage does not translate into higher frame rates in Control because the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the 55.7 FPS average is the highest measured result, yet it still does not approach the refresh rates that this CPU could support in less GPU-intensive scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate achieved with this CPU and GPU combination in Control?

A: The highest measured average is 55.7 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the performance at 1440p compare to 1080p at High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 High, the average frame rate is 24.6 FPS, which is 14.0 FPS lower than the 38.6 FPS recorded at 1920x1080 High.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the frame rates seen in Control?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary constraint, as frame rates drop significantly with resolution increases while the CPU’s benchmark scores remain high, suggesting it has spare capacity.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the Low and Ultra presets at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 30.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 17 FPS, a difference of 13.9 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 7900X compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The closest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235, has an average score that is 0.1% higher than the 7900X, while the AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT is 0.4% higher.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded for this combination?

A: The lowest average is 17 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra settings preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured results provide a comprehensive view of the system’s performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 55.7 FPS. The High preset averages 38.6 FPS, while the Medium preset is nearly identical at 38.4 FPS. The Ultra preset produces the lowest result at this resolution, with an average of 31.2 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the order remains the same but with lower values. Low averages 42.8 FPS, High drops to 24.6 FPS, and Medium falls to 30.7 FPS. Ultra averages 26.1 FPS, which is higher than the High preset result at this resolution, a notable inversion from the 1080p results.

At 3840x2160, all presets produce averages below 31 FPS. Low leads with 30.9 FPS, followed by Medium at 21.5 FPS, High at 18.5 FPS, and Ultra at 17 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 13.9 FPS, which is the largest absolute gap between these two presets across all resolutions.

The data shows that the Medium preset at 1440p (30.7 FPS) outperforms the High preset at 1440p (24.6 FPS), suggesting that the preset naming does not strictly correlate with performance in all cases. Similarly, at 1080p, the Medium preset at 38.4 FPS is nearly identical to High at 38.6 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570, based on the Polaris 20 chip and GCN 4.0 architecture, is a 14 nm part with 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. Its base clock is 1168 MHz with a boost clock of 1244 MHz, and it has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s FP32 performance is 5.095 TFLOPS.

In Control, the GPU’s memory capacity and bandwidth appear to be significant factors. The 4 GB frame buffer is likely a constraint at 4K, where the Ultra preset averages only 17 FPS. The GPU’s benchmark scores, including 880 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 42752 in Geekbench Vulkan, place it in the 74th percentile among all GPUs.

The nearest rivals to the RX 570 in average benchmark score include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 with a delta of 0.2% higher, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT also at 0.2% higher, and the NVIDIA Tesla M60 at 0.6% higher. These close deltas suggest that the RX 570 performs on par with these GPUs in synthetic benchmarks, but in Control, the measured frame rates show it struggling to maintain smooth gameplay at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s 150 W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with its performance class, but the data shows that for Control, the RX 570 is best suited to 1080p gaming, where it can achieve playable frame rates on lower presets.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset provides the best experience with an average of 55.7 FPS, which is the highest measured result for this combination. The Medium and High presets both average around 38.5 FPS, offering a significant visual improvement over Low with only a 30% reduction in performance. The Ultra preset at 31.2 FPS is the least favorable at this resolution, as the moderate visual gains do not justify the frame rate drop from Medium.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset remains the most playable option with an average of 42.8 FPS. The Medium preset at 30.7 FPS is the next best choice, providing a balance between visual quality and performance. The High preset at 24.6 FPS and Ultra at 26.1 FPS are both below the 30 FPS threshold, making them less suitable for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets achieve a playable average frame rate. The Low preset at 30.9 FPS is the only one that approaches playability, while Medium at 21.5 FPS, High at 18.5 FPS, and Ultra at 17 FPS all fall well below acceptable levels.

For the best overall experience, the data supports using the Low preset at 1920x1080 for maximum smoothness, or the Medium preset at 1920x1080 for a better visual experience with a still-playable frame rate. At higher resolutions, the Low preset is the only viable option, and even then, 4K gameplay is not recommended given the measured results.