Control

Control on this mobile flagship pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and Radeon RX 7900M shows a clear pattern: the game is demanding, but the hardware has enough headroom to offer a flexible experience across resolutions. The measured FPS data reveals a system that scales predictably with settings and resolution, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck at higher presets. The results place this combo in the 1192nd rank out of 2888 tested combinations, a solidly above-average position that aligns with the individual component percentiles—the CPU sits in the 95th percentile and the GPU in the 94th.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and tells a story of a GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 100 FPS at 1920x1080 to 76 FPS at 2560x1440, a 24% reduction, and then further down to 51 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 49% total drop from 1080p. This steep decline indicates that the RX 7900M’s rendering pipeline is the limiting factor as pixel count increases, which is typical for a game like Control with its heavy use of particle effects and physics-based destruction.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 158 at 1080p to 120 at 1440p (a 24% drop) and then to 81 at 4K (a 49% drop from 1080p). The relative percentage drops are nearly identical between Low and High, which suggests that the resolution scaling is independent of the graphics preset. This is a hallmark of a system where the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints, rather than any CPU-side limitation that might manifest differently at lower graphical loads.

At Medium settings, the only preset with full min/max FPS data, the frame time consistency also degrades with resolution. The minimum FPS at 1080p is 96, dropping to 72 at 1440p and 49 at 4K. The spread between average and minimum FPS widens from 16 FPS at 1080p to 13 FPS at 1440p and 8 FPS at 4K, showing that while the average drops, the frame pacing remains relatively stable even under load. The data indicates that 4K gaming is playable but requires accepting lower settings, while 1440p offers a better balance of visual fidelity and smoothness.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900M is the dominant component in this equation, and its specifications explain the observed scaling. With 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth, the card has ample memory capacity and throughput for Control’s high-resolution textures. The 4608 shading units and 192 ROPs provide substantial raw compute power, reflected in the 38.52 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 401.3 GPixel/s pixel rate. These specs support the frame rates seen at 1080p, where the card is clearly not struggling, but they also explain why 4K Ultra is a stretch.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2090 MHz, up from a base of 1825 MHz, is typical for the RDNA 3.0 architecture and helps maintain performance under sustained load. The card’s 180 W TDP is a reasonable figure for a mobile part, and the benchmark scores corroborate its placement. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 4201, and in Geekbench Vulkan it reaches 158760. These synthetic results place the GPU in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, making it a high-end mobile part that sits close to workstation-class cards.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the RX 7900M’s average benchmark score of 97487 is 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro VII and 5.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60. It trails the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 by 4.3% and the NVIDIA RTX A4500 by 6.3%. This performance tier is consistent with the measured FPS in Control, where the card delivers 87 FPS at 1080p Ultra—a strong result that places it firmly in high-refresh territory for this game at that resolution. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Control, as the game’s memory requirements are well within that capacity even at 4K Ultra, meaning the observed FPS drops are due to compute limits rather than memory exhaustion.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Dragon Range. With a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, it offers substantial compute capacity that far exceeds what Control requires. The CPU’s benchmark results are impressive: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 42713 and single-core scores 6030, while Passmark multithread reaches 51405. These numbers place the CPU in the 95th percentile of all processors, and its average benchmark score of 76212 is nearly identical to its closest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, which scores 76155 with a delta of just 0.1%.

In Control, the CPU’s role is secondary, as the game is primarily GPU-bound at the settings tested. The evidence for this is the consistent FPS scaling across resolutions—if the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see diminishing returns when lowering resolution, but the FPS scales linearly with pixel count. At 1080p Low, the CPU can feed the GPU enough frames to reach 158 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra it still manages 87 FPS, indicating that even at high settings, the 8945HX is not the limiting factor.

The 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide the memory subsystem needed to keep 32 threads fed, but Control is not a multi-threaded monster. The CPU’s Passmark physics score of 2168 is moderate, but this does not translate into a gameplay bottleneck here. The 16 cores and 32 threads are overkill for this title, but they ensure that any background tasks or streaming overhead do not interfere with frame delivery. The CPU’s performance relative to its rivals—being 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 0.4% behind the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P—confirms that this is a top-tier mobile processor that will not hold back the RX 7900M in this game.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on the best settings presets for each resolution. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, but the jump from High to Ultra costs 13 FPS (from 100 to 87), which is a noticeable drop for a visual improvement that is often subtle in fast-paced action. Given that the Medium preset delivers 112 FPS with a minimum of 96, it offers the best frame time consistency for high-refresh displays. For competitive play, Low at 158 FPS is the clear choice, but for a single-player experience like Control, Medium provides a smooth 112 FPS average that is well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts. High settings deliver 76 FPS, which is still smooth, but the Medium preset at 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 offers a better safety margin for demanding scenes. Ultra drops to 66 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for the game’s more chaotic combat sequences. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot at 1440p, as it provides a 9 FPS advantage over High while maintaining a minimum FPS that is above 60. Low at 120 FPS is available for those prioritizing frame rate, but the visual compromise is significant for this atmospheric title.

At 3840x2160, the options are more constrained. High settings yield 51 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target, while Medium produces 57 FPS with a minimum of 49. Ultra drops to 44 FPS, which is not recommended for a game that requires precise timing. Low at 81 FPS is the only preset that provides a consistently smooth experience at 4K, but it sacrifices much of the game’s visual identity. The data indicates that Medium is the best compromise at 4K, offering 57 FPS average with a minimum of 49, which is acceptable for a slower-paced exploration but may struggle in combat. For a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, users would need to rely on upscaling technologies, but based purely on the measured rows, Low is the only preset that clears that bar comfortably.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX + RX 7900M combo capable of 4K gaming in Control?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Medium, the combo averages 57 FPS with a minimum of 49, while High averages 51 FPS and Ultra averages 44 FPS. For a consistently smooth experience above 60 FPS, Low settings at 81 FPS are required.

Q: How does the CPU performance compare to its direct competitor?

A: The Ryzen 9 8945HX has an average benchmark score of 76212, which is essentially tied with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX at 76155, a delta of only 0.1%. It also sits 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144Hz display?

A: At 1080p, Medium settings deliver 112 FPS and Low delivers 158 FPS, both of which are suitable for high-refresh displays. At 1440p, Low at 120 FPS is the only preset that reaches the 144 FPS threshold, while Medium at 85 FPS is better for visual quality.

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck the CPU in this game?

A: Yes. The FPS scales consistently with resolution at all settings presets, dropping by roughly 24% from 1080p to 1440p and 49% from 1080p to 4K. This linear scaling indicates the RX 7900M is the limiting component, not the 16-core CPU.

Q: Is 16 GB of VRAM sufficient for Control at maximum settings?

A: The data suggests yes, as the game runs at 4K Ultra with 44 FPS average, showing no signs of memory-related stuttering or crashes. The bottleneck at Ultra is compute performance, not memory capacity.

Q: How does the GPU benchmark against professional workstation cards?

A: The RX 7900M’s average benchmark score of 97487 is 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro VII and 5.4% higher than the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60, but it trails the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 by 4.3%.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 158 FPS average
• Medium: 112 FPS average, 96 FPS minimum, 129 FPS maximum
• High: 100 FPS average
• Ultra: 87 FPS average

At 1080p, the system delivers high frame rates across the board. Low settings push past 150 FPS for esports-level responsiveness, while Ultra remains above 85 FPS, making this resolution entirely GPU-limited with CPU headroom to spare.

2560x1440:

• Low: 120 FPS average
• Medium: 85 FPS average, 72 FPS minimum, 98 FPS maximum
• High: 76 FPS average
• Ultra: 66 FPS average

1440p shows a tighter grouping, with Ultra still comfortably above 60 FPS. The Medium preset offers the best balance, with a 72 FPS minimum that prevents noticeable frame drops during combat-heavy sequences.

3840x2160:

• Low: 81 FPS average
• Medium: 57 FPS average, 49 FPS minimum, 66 FPS maximum
• High: 51 FPS average
• Ultra: 44 FPS average

At 4K, the GPU’s limitations become apparent. Only Low settings achieve a 60+ FPS average, while Medium and High hover around the playable threshold. Ultra dips to 44 FPS, which is below the standard for a smooth action game experience. The Medium preset’s minimum of 49 FPS indicates occasional stutters in demanding scenes, but the 66 FPS maximum shows the hardware can burst to higher rates when the load is lighter.