Control

Control pairs a 12-core Zen 5 processor with a Turing-based GPU that sits near the middle of the current GPU percentile rankings. The benchmark data shows a combination that is heavily limited by the graphics card at every resolution, with the CPU’s substantial multi-threaded headroom providing little benefit to frame rates in this Action Adventure title. The measured results indicate that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the definitive bottleneck, as the gap between Low and Ultra settings remains consistent regardless of whether the CPU is running at 1080p or 4K. The data suggests that owners of this combo should focus their tuning efforts on the GPU’s settings rather than any processor-side tweaks, as the Ryzen 9 9900X is never the constraining factor in the tested rows.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combo points clearly toward the Low preset as the only tier that delivers a consistently playable experience at common resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces an average of 91.3 FPS, which is the only setting that breaks the 90 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at the same resolution drops to 63.2 FPS, which is still smooth for most players, but the High and Ultra presets fall to 56.7 and 52.4 FPS respectively. Given that the GPU is an end-of-life product with a 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs, the data suggests that sacrificing visual fidelity for frame rate stability is the practical choice.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields 67.9 FPS, which remains acceptable for fast-paced action, but the Medium preset drops to 49.2 FPS, and High falls to 43.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the worst offender, producing only 38.9 FPS. For 4K gaming, the situation is dire: even the Low preset only manages 44.1 FPS, while High and Ultra fall to 26.7 and 27.1 FPS respectively. The data indicates that users targeting 4K should avoid this combo entirely, or be prepared to run at Low settings with frame rates that are borderline at best.

The best experience per the measured rows is clearly the Low preset at 1920x1080. This configuration yields a 44% higher average frame rate than the Medium preset at the same resolution, and it is the only setting that keeps the average above 90 FPS. While the Medium preset at 1080p offers a reasonable balance, the performance delta between Low and Medium is significant enough that most builders would prioritize the smoother experience.

FAQ

Q: Is this CPU-GPU combo capable of running Control at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: No. The data shows that at 3840x2160, even the Low preset only produces an average of 44.1 FPS. The High preset drops to 26.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 27.1 FPS. None of the 4K rows reach the 60 FPS threshold, making this resolution impractical for this combination.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 9900X’s multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The 9900X has an average benchmark score of 54450, which places it 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700F. It is also 1.5% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and 1.8% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this setup?

A: The measured data indicates that 1920x1080 with Low settings provides the highest average frame rate at 91.3 FPS. If you prefer higher visual quality, the Medium preset at 1080p offers 63.2 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS mark.

Q: Does the CPU’s 12-core count help in Control?

A: The benchmark results suggest that the CPU’s core count is irrelevant for this game’s performance with this GPU. The GTX 1660 SUPER is the limiting factor at all tested resolutions, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate drops when moving from Low to Ultra settings.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER rank against other GPUs?

A: The GPU holds a 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 14286 is 0.2% below the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 and 0.5% below the AMD Radeon Vega 11. It is also 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Only with the Low preset, which produces 67.9 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p drops to 49.2 FPS, and High falls to 43.3 FPS. The Ultra preset is significantly below the target at 38.9 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank for this CPU-GPU pairing in Control is 1456 out of 1636 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 11% of all tested combos, which is a poor result for a system built around a flagship 12-core processor. The ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU’s limited capabilities, as the GTX 1660 SUPER’s 55th percentile ranking drags the overall combo performance down despite the CPU’s 94th percentile ranking.

The data shows that the GPU’s average benchmark score of 14286 is nearly four times lower than the CPU’s average score of 54450. This massive disparity means the system’s performance in Control is almost entirely dictated by the graphics card. The combo rank of 1456 reflects this imbalance, as other combinations with more balanced hardware would naturally score higher. The Ryzen 9 9900X is clearly overqualified for this GPU pairing in this specific game, and the benchmark results confirm that the processor’s strengths cannot be utilized when the graphics card is the bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 91.3 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all resolutions and settings. The Medium preset drops to 63.2 FPS, a 30.8% reduction from Low. High settings produce 56.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 52.4 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 38.9 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s performance scales significantly with settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset yields 67.9 FPS, which is a 25.6% drop from the same settings at 1080p. Medium settings at 1440p produce 49.2 FPS, High falls to 43.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 38.9 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 29.0 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p, suggesting that resolution scaling is compressing the settings-based performance differences.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset manages 44.1 FPS, which is a 51.7% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium settings drop to 35.3 FPS, and High falls to 26.7 FPS. Ultra settings produce 27.1 FPS, which is actually slightly higher than High, indicating that the GPU is so constrained at 4K that the differences between High and Ultra become negligible. The total spread at 4K between Low and Ultra is only 17.0 FPS, further confirming that resolution is the dominant factor at this level.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a clear pattern of frame rate degradation as resolution increases. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings reduces the average FPS from 91.3 to 67.9, a 25.6% drop. Moving from 1440p to 4K at the same settings reduces the average further to 44.1 FPS, which is another 35.1% reduction. The cumulative effect from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is a 51.7% loss in performance.

This scaling behavior strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. The Ryzen 9 9900X has a boost clock of 5.60 GHz and 24 threads, which is more than sufficient for any modern game at any resolution. The fact that frame rates plummet as resolution increases points directly to the GTX 1660 SUPER’s memory bandwidth and compute capabilities being overwhelmed. The GPU has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is simply not enough for 4K rendering in a demanding title like Control.

The measured data shows that the CPU’s performance headroom is never utilized. At 1080p Low, the system produces 91.3 FPS, but this is still far below what the CPU could theoretically support. The GPU’s 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the hard ceiling, and the resolution scaling patterns confirm that the graphics card is responsible for the frame rate drops rather than any processor-side limitation.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It has 64 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth. These specifications place it in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54450.

In the context of Control, this CPU’s raw processing power is vastly underutilized. The game’s measured frame rates are consistently limited by the GTX 1660 SUPER, and the CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities have no observable impact on the results. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Intel Core i7-14700F, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, but this has no bearing on the game’s performance because the GPU is always the bottleneck.

The data indicates that the CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads are irrelevant for this specific game when paired with this GPU. Control is an Action Adventure title that does not appear to scale with the processor’s thread count, and the GPU’s 55th percentile ranking ensures that the system’s performance is capped well below what the CPU could deliver. For builders considering this combo, the CPU is not the limiting factor, but its potential is entirely wasted in this configuration.