Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers a playable but not flawless experience in Control, a 2019 Action Adventure title. The data shows a system that can handle 1080p and 1440p with high refresh rates, but 4K Ultra remains out of reach. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, interprets the CPU and GPU roles, and provides clear guidance based strictly on the recorded benchmark results.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS rows, 1920x1080 provides the most comfortable experience, with averages ranging from 71 FPS at Ultra to 130 FPS at Low. 2560x1440 is also viable, with averages between 54 FPS (Ultra) and 98 FPS (Low). 3840x2160 is only borderline playable at Low (66 FPS) and drops below 60 FPS at every other setting.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest rivals in overall GPU benchmarks?

A: The RX 9060’s average benchmark score is 16014. It sits 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129), 1% above the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862), 1% above the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15852), and 2.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15679). The GPU ranks in the 59th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 7900X a bottleneck for the RX 9060 in this game?

A: The CPU’s benchmark results suggest it is not a limiting factor. The Ryzen 9 7900X scores 29300 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2016.5 in single-core, with a 91st percentile rank among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7313P, scores 53206 (0.2% higher), while the Intel Core i7-14700F scores 53620 (0.6% higher). These scores indicate ample headroom for the GPU.

Q: What preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 62 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium runs at 70 FPS average with a minimum of 59 FPS. Low runs at 98 FPS. For a smooth experience without dropping to Low, High is the recommended preset for 1440p.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM on the RX 9060 limit performance at 4K?

A: The data indicates that 4K performance is poor across all settings (36 to 66 FPS). While the 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is a factor, the primary issue is the GPU’s raw compute power. Even at Low settings, the 4K average is only 66 FPS, suggesting the GPU is the limiting component rather than memory capacity alone.

*Q: How does the system perform in 3DMark tests relative to its FPS in Control?*

A: The GPU scores 3322 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The CPU scores 10972 in 3DMark 16-thread, 7798 in 8-thread, and 1093 in single-thread. These synthetic scores align with the measured FPS data, showing a balanced system where the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at lower resolutions, but the GPU’s ceiling is reached at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060, based on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 44 chip, is the primary driver of frame rates in Control. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s base clock is 1700 MHz, with a game clock of 2400 MHz and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. These specifications translate into a measured PassMark G3D score of 17631 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3322. The GPU's average benchmark score of 16014 places it in the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, scoring 16129 (0.7% higher).

The GPU’s performance in Control is heavily influenced by the settings preset. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 59 FPS (130 FPS vs. 71 FPS). At 1440p, the difference narrows to 44 FPS (98 FPS vs. 54 FPS). At 4K, the difference is 30 FPS (66 FPS vs. 36 FPS). This scaling indicates that the GPU’s compute units (1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, 64 ROPs) and its FP32 throughput of 21.43 TFLOPS are the main constraints. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, as evidenced by the playable averages, but at 4K, the combination of memory bandwidth and compute throughput falls short of maintaining 60 FPS at any preset except Low.

The GPU’s RT cores (28) do not appear to provide a measurable benefit in the standard FPS data, as no ray tracing settings were recorded. The 4 nm process node and 29,700 million transistors on a 199 mm² die give the RX 9060 a solid foundation, but the benchmark results show it is a mid-range performer. Its PassMark DirectX 12 score of 44 and DirectX 11 score of 182 indicate that modern APIs are handled adequately, but the game’s engine, which relies on DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support, still sees a significant drop in FPS as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 82 FPS average, which is smooth for most displays. Medium runs at 92 FPS, and Low at 130 FPS. Ultra drops to 71 FPS, which is still playable but offers diminishing returns over High. For a balanced experience, High is recommended, as it stays well above 60 FPS while providing better visual fidelity than Medium.

At 2560x1440, the High preset yields 62 FPS average, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium runs at 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, making it the safer choice for maintaining consistent frame pacing. Low runs at 98 FPS, but this sacrifices too much visual quality. Ultra falls to 54 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for fast-paced action. For 1440p, Medium is the recommended preset, as it offers the best compromise between visual quality and smoothness, with a minimum FPS of 59.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves an average above 60 FPS (66 FPS). Medium runs at 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS, High at 42 FPS, and Ultra at 36 FPS. None of these are ideal for a game that requires quick reactions. If 4K is the target, Low is the only viable option, but even then, the 66 FPS average leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The data suggests that 4K is not a recommended resolution for this combo, given the significant FPS drops across all presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RX 9060 delivers its strongest performance. Low settings produce an average of 130 FPS, which is exceptionally high. Medium settings drop to 92 FPS, with a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. High settings average 82 FPS, and Ultra settings average 71 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 38 FPS drop, while the step from Medium to High is 10 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 11 FPS. This indicates that the GPU has substantial headroom at 1080p, and even Ultra maintains a playable frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 98 FPS, Medium averages 70 FPS (with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS), High averages 62 FPS, and Ultra averages 54 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 28 FPS, from Medium to High is 8 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 8 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium (59) is close to the average, suggesting consistent frame pacing, while the maximum of 80 FPS shows some variability.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings average 66 FPS, Medium averages 47 FPS (with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS), High averages 42 FPS, and Ultra averages 36 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 19 FPS, from Medium to High is 5 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 6 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium (40) is significantly lower than the average, indicating potential stutter in demanding scenes. None of the 4K presets except Low achieve the 60 FPS target, and even Low is barely above it.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU’s scaling characteristics. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 130 at 1080p to 98 at 1440p (a 24.6% drop) and then to 66 at 4K (a 32.7% drop from 1440p). At Medium settings, the averages are 92 at 1080p, 70 at 1440p (a 23.9% drop), and 47 at 4K (a 32.9% drop from 1440p). At High settings, the averages are 82 at 1080p, 62 at 1440p (a 24.4% drop), and 42 at 4K (a 32.3% drop). At Ultra settings, the averages are 71 at 1080p, 54 at 1440p (a 23.9% drop), and 36 at 4K (a 33.3% drop).

The consistent pattern of roughly 24% FPS loss from 1080p to 1440p and another 33% loss from 1440p to 4K indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The pixel count increases by 1.78x from 1080p to 1440p and by 2.25x from 1440p to 4K, but the FPS losses are smaller than the pixel increases, suggesting that the GPU’s memory bandwidth (288.0 GB/s) and compute units are not perfectly scaling with resolution. The 8 GB VRAM also plays a role at 4K, where texture data exceeds the memory capacity, leading to the sharp drop in FPS at Ultra (36 FPS).

The CPU’s role in this scaling is minimal. The Ryzen 9 7900X’s high single-thread score (2016.5 in Cinebench R23) and multi-thread score (29300) ensure that it can feed the GPU at all resolutions. The FPS drops are consistent across settings, indicating that the GPU is the limiting component, not the CPU. At 1080p Low, the 130 FPS average shows that the CPU can support high frame rates, but the GPU’s ceiling is reached at 4K, where even Low settings produce only 66 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture (Raphael). It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with 64 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU’s benchmark results are strong: it scores 29300 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2016.5 in single-core, with a PassMark multithread score of 51406 and a single-thread score of 4238. Its average benchmark score of 53288 places it in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, just 0.2% above the AMD EPYC 7313P (53206) and 0.6% above the Intel Xeon 634 (52974). The Intel Core i7-14700F scores 53620, which is 0.6% higher.

In Control, the CPU’s role is to maintain frame pacing and handle game logic, physics, and AI. The measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution or setting. At 1080p Low, the 130 FPS average indicates that the CPU can process frames quickly enough to feed the GPU. At 4K Ultra, the 36 FPS average is clearly a GPU limitation, as the CPU’s single-thread performance (1093 in 3DMark single-thread) is more than sufficient for a game released in 2019.

The CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks and streaming, but Control does not appear to scale heavily with multi-threading. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10972 and 8-thread score of 7798 show strong multi-threaded performance, but the game’s FPS is more dependent on the GPU. The CPU’s memory support for DDR5 with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth and dual-channel configuration ensures that data can be fed to the GPU without delays. The launch MSRP of the Ryzen 9 7900X is $549, but its performance in this game is secondary to the GPU’s capabilities.

The CPU’s 91st percentile rank among all CPUs means it outperforms the vast majority of processors in synthetic benchmarks. However, in Control, the FPS differences between settings are driven by the GPU’s pixel throughput and memory bandwidth. The CPU’s high boost clock of 5.60 GHz and low-latency L3 cache (64 MB) ensure that frame times remain consistent, as evidenced by the minimum FPS values at 1440p Medium (59 FPS) and 1080p Medium (78 FPS). The CPU is not the limiting factor; the RX 9060’s 21.43 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are what determine the final frame rates.