Control

Control, the 2019 action-adventure title, responds predictably to the hardware combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, with the benchmark data showing a clear progression of frame rates that shift from CPU-bound at lower resolutions to GPU-bound at higher ones. The measured FPS values across the three resolutions and four settings presets provide a complete picture of how this system handles the game, with the RTX 3080 Ti’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and the Ryzen 9 9900X’s 12-core, 24-thread configuration interacting in ways that favor high-refresh 1440p gaming over 4K. The data indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at 4K, while the CPU’s strong single-thread performance keeps frame rates high at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 at the same settings reveals where the bottleneck sits. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 119.8 at 1080p to 92.6 at 1440p and then to 59.9 at 4K. That represents a 22.7% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 35.3% reduction from 1440p to 4K. This steep decline at 4K, where the frame rate nearly halves from the 1080p figure, points directly at the RTX 3080 Ti as the limiting component; the GPU’s 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 912.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth, while substantial, are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 3840x2160 in this title.

The scaling pattern is consistent across other settings. At Low, the 1080p average of 193.8 FPS drops to 143.8 at 1440p and then to 98.2 at 4K. The relative drop from 1440p to 4K is 31.7%, nearly identical to the 31.5% drop seen at High settings. This consistency suggests that the GPU’s pixel throughput, rated at 186.5 GPixel/s, is the ceiling at 4K regardless of the visual complexity being rendered. At 1080p and 1440p, however, the frame rates are high enough that the Ryzen 9 9900X’s role becomes more significant; the CPU’s 5.60 GHz boost clock and 12 cores ensure that even at Low settings, where the GPU has less work, the system does not become CPU-bound until well above 140 FPS.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic resolution scaling, with 105.7 FPS at 1080p dropping to 79.7 at 1440p and then to 56.1 at 4K. The 1440p-to-4K reduction of 29.6% is the smallest among all settings, indicating that at Ultra, the GPU is so heavily loaded that the additional pixel count at 4K has proportionally less impact than at lower settings where other factors come into play. The data suggests that for 4K gaming, the RTX 3080 Ti is the decisive factor, while at 1080p, the Ryzen 9 9900X’s strong single-thread performance keeps the system from bottlenecking.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows that the High preset at 2560x1440 offers the most balanced experience, with an average of 92.6 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and only 13.3 FPS behind the Medium preset’s 106.9 FPS, while providing the visual uplift that High settings entail. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 119.8 FPS, which is a better experience than the Ultra preset’s 105.7 FPS while being only 20 FPS behind Medium’s 139.8 FPS. The data indicates that High is the sweet spot for this combination.

For 4K gaming, the situation is different. The High preset at 3840x2160 averages 59.9 FPS, which is just shy of a smooth 60 FPS experience. The Medium preset at 4K provides 68.3 FPS, a 14% improvement over High, but the visual quality reduction may not justify the gain for all users. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 56.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and shows that maxing out settings at this resolution is not viable with this GPU. The Low preset at 4K reaches 98.2 FPS, but this is a significant visual downgrade that most players would avoid.

The 1440p Medium setting, at 106.9 FPS, is the best choice for players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity. For those who want maximum quality without dipping below 60 FPS, the 1440p High setting at 92.6 FPS is the recommended choice. The Ultra preset is only advisable at 1080p, where it maintains 105.7 FPS, but the marginal visual improvement over High does not justify the 11.8% frame rate penalty.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, running at a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54450. The chip’s single-thread performance, as measured by the 3DMark single-thread test at 1286 and Cinebench R23 single-core at 6555, is what drives the high frame rates at 1080p. At that resolution, the Low preset reaches 193.8 FPS, a figure that requires the CPU to feed the GPU quickly without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities, shown by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 46438 and a Geekbench multicore score of 19827, are more than sufficient for Control’s demands. The game does not appear to be heavily multi-threaded, as evidenced by the relatively small frame rate differences between Low and Medium settings at 1080p (193.8 vs. 139.8 FPS), which suggest that the GPU is still doing the bulk of the work even at lower settings. The Ryzen 9 9900X’s 64 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for feeding the RTX 3080 Ti.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 9 9900X sits just 0.4% below the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D in average benchmark score and 0.7% above the Intel Core i7-14700F. This indicates that the CPU is well-matched to the RTX 3080 Ti in this game, with neither component being a clear weak link. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 12552 and max-thread score of 13929 show that the chip scales well with load, but Control’s frame rates at 1440p and 4K are more dependent on the GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this CPU-GPU combination at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS is 193.8 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Medium preset achieves 139.8 FPS, High achieves 119.8 FPS, and Ultra achieves 105.7 FPS.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with High settings?

A: No, the average FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings is 59.9, which is just below the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 4K achieves 68.3 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 98.2 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to its nearest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41224, which is 0.5% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090’s score of 41441. It is also 0.9% below the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 and 1.1% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Ultra and Low settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 79.7 FPS, while the Low preset averages 143.8 FPS. This represents a 44.6% difference in average frame rate.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X a bottleneck at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck at 1080p Low, as the system achieves 193.8 FPS. The CPU’s single-thread score of 1286 in 3DMark and 6555 in Cinebench R23 suggest it can handle high frame rates without limiting the GPU.

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K with Medium settings compared to High?

A: At 3840x2160, Medium settings achieve 68.3 FPS, which is 8.4 FPS higher than the High preset’s 59.9 FPS. The Ultra preset is lower at 56.1 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with the GA102 chip, featuring 10240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for Control’s high-resolution textures. The GPU’s benchmark performance places it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41224. Its nearest rival, the RTX 3090, scores 41441, a delta of -0.5%, indicating that the 3080 Ti is nearly as fast as the flagship 3090 in general benchmarks.

In Control, the GPU’s role is most evident at 4K, where the frame rates drop below 60 FPS at High and Ultra settings. The 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 186.5 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 3840x2160 with the game’s demanding visual effects. At 1440p, the RTX 3080 Ti performs well, with High settings achieving 92.6 FPS and Ultra reaching 79.7 FPS. At 1080p, the GPU is rarely the limiting factor, as the CPU can feed it frames quickly enough to reach 193.8 FPS at Low settings.

The 12 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for Control at all settings, as the game was released in 2019 and does not have the extreme VRAM requirements of more modern titles. The GPU’s memory clock of 19 Gbps effective and 384-bit bus provide ample bandwidth for the game’s asset streaming. The RTX 3080 Ti’s end-of-life production status and launch MSRP of 1,199 USD indicate it is a previous-generation part, but its performance in this title remains competitive, trailing the RTX 3090 by only 0.5% in average benchmark score.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 193.8, followed by Medium at 139.8, High at 119.8, and Ultra at 105.7. The spread of 88.1 FPS between Low and Ultra shows that settings have a significant impact at this resolution, but even the lowest setting remains well above 100 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 143.8 for Low, 106.9 for Medium, 92.6 for High, and 79.7 for Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 64.1 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a factor as pixel count increases. The High setting at 92.6 FPS is the most notable result here, as it balances quality and performance.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 98.2 for Low, 68.3 for Medium, 59.9 for High, and 56.1 for Ultra. The difference between High and Ultra is only 3.8 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is heavily saturated at this resolution and that the additional visual features in Ultra provide diminishing returns. The Low preset at 4K, at 98.2 FPS, is the only setting that provides a smooth experience at this resolution, but it comes at a significant visual cost. The data shows that this system is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates across all settings, and that 4K gaming is only viable at lower presets.