Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination secures the 722nd position out of 1,636 tested configurations in Control, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. This rank reflects a pairing where the CPU’s substantial compute headroom is frequently left underutilized by the GPU’s more modest throughput, particularly at higher resolutions. The data indicates a system that is consistently capable of delivering smooth frame rates across most settings, yet it is far from the top percentile, suggesting that the RTX 3070 is the primary arbiter of performance in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 722 out of 1,636 indicates that it outperforms a majority of tested systems but trails a significant portion of the field, especially those equipped with more powerful graphics cards. This mid-pack standing is logical given the hardware pairing. The Ryzen 9 9900X is a high-end processor that scores in the 94th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,450. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54,681, -0.4%) and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (55,304, -1.5%), show that the 9900X is essentially at parity with the best consumer chips available. However, the RTX 3070 only sits in the 72nd percentile among GPUs, with an average score of 28,238, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (27,985, 0.9%) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (27,956, 1.0%). This creates a clear imbalance; the processor is a top-tier component, while the graphics card is a solidly mid-range performer. Consequently, the overall gaming rank is dragged down by the GPU’s limitations. In practical terms for Control, this means the CPU is rarely the bottleneck, and the FPS ceiling is largely defined by the RTX 3070’s capabilities.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1725 MHz, and it features 5,888 shading units. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor in Control, a game known for its demanding visual effects and high-resolution textures. At 4K, the memory capacity and bandwidth are stressed, which aligns with the observed FPS figures. The GPU’s 72nd percentile ranking and its proximity to older cards like the GTX 980 Ti (deltaPct of 1.0) in synthetic benchmarks underscore that while it is competent, it is not a high-end part by current standards. Its 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but at 4K, the combination of memory capacity and the sheer pixel throughput required for Ultra settings becomes a limiting factor. The benchmark results show that the GPU’s performance ceiling is reached at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 46.2, suggesting that the card is working at its limits and running out of headroom for higher detail settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience balances visual fidelity with fluid motion. At 1080p, the Low preset yields an average of 161.6 FPS, which is exceptionally high, but the Medium preset at 111.7 FPS still provides a very smooth experience while offering better image quality. The High preset at 100.4 FPS is also viable, but the Ultra preset at 88.4 FPS begins to show diminishing returns. For 1440p, the Low preset delivers 120.9 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. However, the Medium preset at 84.6 FPS is likely the sweet spot, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over Low while maintaining frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 78.9 FPS is a good alternative if visual quality is prioritized over maximum frame rate. At 4K, the data reveals a more constrained situation. The Low preset at 82.4 FPS is the only setting that provides a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset at 56 FPS is playable but may not be ideal for fast-paced action, while the High preset at 53.2 FPS is borderline. The Ultra preset at 46.2 FPS is below the preferred threshold for smooth gameplay. Therefore, the data suggests that for the best overall experience, players should use the Medium preset at 1440p, which offers a robust balance of visual quality and performance. For 4K, the Low preset is the only reliable option for maintaining high frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how the combo scales across resolutions and settings. Starting at 1080p, the performance is strong across the board: Low averages 161.6 FPS, Medium 111.7 FPS, High 100.4 FPS, and Ultra 88.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is substantial (49.9 FPS), while the jump from Medium to High (11.3 FPS) and High to Ultra (12 FPS) is more moderate. This suggests that the Low preset is heavily CPU-bound, allowing the GPU to run at its maximum potential, while higher presets introduce more GPU load. Moving to 1440p, the frame rates drop as expected: Low averages 120.9 FPS, Medium 84.6 FPS, High 78.9 FPS, and Ultra 66.3 FPS. The relative performance is similar to 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower due to the increased pixel count. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p on the Low preset shows a reduction of 40.7 FPS, which is a significant 25.2% drop. For the Medium preset, the drop is 27.1 FPS (24.3%), and for High, it is 21.5 FPS (21.4%). The Ultra preset sees a smaller drop of 22.1 FPS (25%), indicating that the GPU is becoming the more limiting factor. At 4K, the performance falls further. The Low preset is the only one to remain above 60 FPS, averaging 82.4 FPS. Medium drops to 56 FPS, High to 53.2 FPS, and Ultra to 46.2 FPS. This pattern clearly shows that the RTX 3070 is the limiting component at this resolution, as the CPU’s performance headroom is not enough to compensate for the GPU’s inability to render the higher pixel count at high detail settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is a clear indicator of the system’s bottleneck. For the Low preset, the average FPS decreases from 161.6 at 1080p to 82.4 at 4K, a reduction of 49%. This is a substantial drop, but the frame rate remains highly playable. For the Medium preset, the drop is from 111.7 to 56, a 49.9% reduction. The High preset drops from 100.4 to 53.2, a 47% reduction, and the Ultra preset from 88.4 to 46.2, a 47.7% reduction. The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings suggests that the scaling is primarily due to the GPU’s raw pixel throughput. The RTX 3070’s memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is likely a key constraint at 4K, as the increased resolution demands more data to be processed per frame. The data indicates that the system is not CPU-limited at any resolution, as the Ryzen 9 9900X has ample performance to feed the GPU. Instead, the scaling pattern shows a classic GPU-limited scenario, where the frame rate is directly proportional to the number of pixels rendered. The fact that the Low preset at 4K (82.4 FPS) is still lower than the High preset at 1080p (100.4 FPS) further confirms that the GPU is the constraining factor. The CPU’s high single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1,286 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6,555, is more than sufficient for Control’s physics and game logic, but it cannot alleviate the GPU’s workload at higher resolutions.