Control

Control, the 2019 action-adventure from Remedy Entertainment, is a demanding title that scales significantly with hardware. This analysis examines the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700. The data shows a configuration that is firmly capable of delivering smooth gameplay at high resolutions, though it faces clear limitations at the most demanding settings. The following sections break down the benchmark results into resolution scaling, settings recommendations, CPU and GPU roles, and a final FAQ.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario for this combination. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 148 FPS. This high frame rate indicates that the CPU and GPU are both capable of handling the workload at this resolution, with the overhead suggesting the GPU is nearing its limit but still has headroom. Moving up to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset, the average FPS drops to 112, a 24% decrease. This is a significant drop, but the frame rate remains highly playable. The scaling continues to 3840x2160, where the average FPS falls to 76, another 32% decrease from the 1440p result. This pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases points directly to the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck.

The impact of settings is even more pronounced at 4K. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from a low of 41 on Ultra to a high of 76 on Low. This is a 46% performance swing solely from changing the graphics preset. The data suggests that at 4K, the RX 7700 is the limiting factor, as the frame rate is heavily dependent on the pixel workload. For instance, the difference between Medium and High at 4K is only 6 FPS (54 to 48), while the jump from High to Ultra is a steeper 7 FPS (48 to 41). This non-linear scaling indicates that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are particularly taxing on the GPU's resources. The 1080p to 4K scaling on Ultra settings shows the most dramatic drop, from 81 FPS to 41 FPS, a 50% reduction, further confirming that the GPU is saturated at the higher resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal balance of visual fidelity and performance for this combo is found at the High preset. At 2560x1440, High settings produce an average of 71 FPS, which is 10 FPS below the Medium preset's 80 FPS but offers a substantial visual upgrade. This resolution and preset combination appears to be the sweet spot for this hardware, providing a smooth experience without pushing the GPU to its breaking point. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 93 FPS, which is well within the range of high-refresh-rate gaming. This suggests that High settings are the most versatile choice, offering a strong experience across both 1080p and 1440p.

For users with 4K displays, the data suggests that Medium settings are the practical ceiling. The Medium preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 62 FPS. While not a locked 60 FPS, this is playable for most single-player action titles. Dropping to Low at 4K raises the average to 76 FPS, but this comes with a significant reduction in visual quality. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as the 41 FPS average falls below the threshold for smooth, consistent gameplay. The measured data shows that the jump from Medium to High at 4K costs 6 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs another 7 FPS, making High and Ultra less desirable at this resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture. Its base clock is 4.40 GHz and it boosts up to 5.60 GHz. This high core count and boost clock are more than sufficient for Control, a game that does not typically scale beyond a handful of cores. The benchmark data for the CPU shows strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32172 and a single-core score of 2253. This indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this configuration, even at lower resolutions where frame rates are high.

The 3DMark scores further emphasize the CPU's capability. The 16-thread score of 12552 and the max-thread score of 13929 show that the processor has ample headroom for gaming workloads. In this specific game, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data, and the high frame rates at 1080p Low (148 FPS) suggest that it does so without issue. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, confirming that the Ryzen 9 9900X is not the limiting factor in this pairing. The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (89.6 GB/s bandwidth) further contribute to its ability to handle the game's data streaming without causing hitches.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1294 out of 2888 tested combos for Control. This places it in the 55th percentile, which is a solid mid-pack result. This ranking is not a reflection of a weak component, but rather the result of pairing a very high-end CPU with a mid-range GPU. The CPU's performance percentile is 92, meaning it outperforms 92% of all tested CPUs. In contrast, the GPU's percentile is 58, meaning it is a more mainstream part. The combo's overall rank is therefore dragged down by the GPU, which is the limiting factor in this game.

The nearest rivals for the CPU, based on average benchmark scores, are the AMD EPYC 9015 (-0.1% delta), the AMD EPYC 7313 (+0.2% delta), and the Intel Core i9-14900 (-1.1% delta). This shows that the Ryzen 9 9900X is in the same performance tier as these enterprise and high-end desktop parts. For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R9 370X (-0.1% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (-1% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (-1.7% delta). This places the RX 7700 in a similar performance class to the RTX 3060 Ti. The combo's rank is thus a direct consequence of the GPU's mid-range standing within the broader spectrum of tested hardware.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the primary driver of the frame rates seen in these tests. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This is a generous amount of memory for a game like Control. The GPU's architecture is RDNA 3.0, built on a 5 nm process. Its base clock is 1900 MHz, with a boost clock of 2459 MHz and a game clock of 2041 MHz. These clocks, combined with 2560 shading units, allow for a respectable FP32 performance of 25.18 TFLOPS.

The data shows that the GPU is the clear performance bottleneck at higher resolutions. The 4K Low preset (76 FPS) is significantly faster than the 4K High preset (48 FPS), which is a direct result of the GPU's limited compute and memory resources being saturated by the higher-quality effects. The GPU's benchmark scores support this analysis. Its Passmark G3D score is 20974, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2865. These scores are indicative of a mid-range graphics card. The GPU's memory is also a factor, but at 16 GB, capacity is not an issue for Control at these settings. The bottleneck is raw rendering performance, not memory capacity or bandwidth. The RTX 3060 Ti, a rival with a -1.7% delta in average benchmark score, would likely perform similarly in this title, confirming that the RX 7700 is positioned in the upper-mid-range tier.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data is directly from the benchmark results for this combo.

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows:

• Low: 148 FPS
• Medium: 105 FPS (min 89, max 121)
• High: 93 FPS
• Ultra: 81 FPS

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are:

• Low: 112 FPS
• Medium: 80 FPS (min 68, max 92)
• High: 71 FPS
• Ultra: 61 FPS

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are:

• Low: 76 FPS
• Medium: 54 FPS (min 46, max 62)
• High: 48 FPS
• Ultra: 41 FPS

The minimum and maximum FPS data is only available for the Medium preset at each resolution. The 1080p Medium preset shows a range of 89 to 121 FPS, indicating some frame time variance. The 1440p Medium preset shows a range of 68 to 92 FPS. The 4K Medium preset shows a range of 46 to 62 FPS. This data suggests that the Medium preset at 4K will have noticeable frame drops in intense scenes, but the overall experience remains playable. The lack of min/max data for other presets means we can only comment on the average performance for those settings.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 on High settings provides the best balance, with an average of 71 FPS. This offers a significant visual improvement over 1080p while maintaining a smooth frame rate.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Control?

A: Yes, but with compromises. The data shows that 4K on Medium settings is playable, with an average of 54 FPS. Lowering to Low settings at 4K yields a more comfortable 76 FPS average, but at a cost to visual fidelity.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The benchmark results clearly indicate the GPU is the limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops significantly from 1080p to 4K, while the CPU's high benchmark scores (e.g., 32172 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) suggest it is not a bottleneck.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested configurations?

A: This combination ranks 1294 out of 2888 tested combos. This is a mid-pack ranking, primarily due to the GPU's performance class, which is in the 58th percentile of all tested GPUs.

Q: What are the performance differences between the settings presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 112 on Low to 80 on Medium, then to 71 on High, and finally to 61 on Ultra. This shows a clear performance cost for each step up in visual quality.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever recommended for this combo?

A: The data suggests it is only recommended at 1080p, where it achieves an average of 81 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 61 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 41 FPS, which is not ideal for smooth gameplay.