Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 pairing in Control presents a study in GPU-limited scaling. The measured frames per second (FPS) reveal that the RTX 4060 is the primary bottleneck across all tested resolutions, with the 12-core Ryzen processor providing ample headroom. This combination ranks 902nd out of 1636 tested configurations for this title, placing it in the middle of the pack, while the individual components sit at the 94th percentile among CPUs and 66th percentile among GPUs.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear and predictable drop in performance as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop is revealing. At 1080p with High settings, the system produces 86.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 69.5 FPS, a reduction of 16.8 FPS. The jump to 4K (3840x2160) further reduces the average to 43.4 FPS, another 26.1 FPS loss. This steep decline is the signature of a GPU that is fully saturated; the workload per frame increases with pixel count, and the RTX 4060's resources are consumed accordingly.

The trend is even more pronounced at the highest preset. With Ultra settings, the system manages 77.2 FPS at 1080p, 60.4 FPS at 1440p, and 40.8 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K here is 36.4 FPS, a 47% reduction from the baseline. This indicates that the visual complexity of Ultra settings compounds the resolution burden, placing an even heavier load on the GPU's shading units and memory subsystem. The CPU, with its high multi-threaded throughput (a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 46438), is not the limiting factor at any of these settings.

Interestingly, the scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows where the GPU headroom runs out. At 1080p, the spread between Low (141.8 FPS) and Ultra (77.2 FPS) is 64.6 FPS, a massive range. At 1440p, that spread narrows to 48.6 FPS (109.0 to 60.4). At 4K, it tightens further to 32.0 FPS (72.8 to 40.8). This compression demonstrates that at 4K, even lowering settings to Low cannot double the frame rate, because the GPU is already working near its maximum capacity just to fill those pixels. The limiting component is unequivocally the graphics card.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. In Control, a game known for its physics-heavy environments and particle effects, this memory configuration is a critical factor. The benchmark results indicate that the 8 GB frame buffer is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at most settings, but the 4K results suggest the card is struggling with both memory capacity and raw compute throughput.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2460 MHz and its 3072 shading units are responsible for the raw pixel-pushing power. At 4K Ultra, the card must process 8.3 million pixels per frame, and the 40.8 FPS average reflects the limits of its 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The card’s 24 RT cores are also relevant, as Control features ray-traced reflections and indirect lighting, though the measured data here does not isolate ray tracing enabled or disabled.

The RTX 4060’s performance relative to its direct competitors is telling. Its average benchmark score is 23181, which is 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321) and 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23338). It is 0.7% ahead of the Intel Arc B580 (23021) and 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon 760M (22999). These are extremely tight margins, indicating that in synthetic tests, the RTX 4060 is essentially on par with these rivals. However, the in-game data shows its real-world behavior under sustained load is defined by its 8 GB memory capacity and 128-bit bus, which can limit performance in titles that demand more bandwidth, such as Control at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Why does performance drop so much when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: The data shows a steep decline because the RTX 4060 is the limiting component. At 1080p High, the system hits 86.3 FPS, but at 4K High, it falls to 43.4 FPS. This 42.9 FPS drop is due to the GPU having to render four times as many pixels, which saturates its 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X holding back the RTX 4060 in this game?

A: No. The CPU’s benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 46438 and a 94th percentile ranking, are far above what is needed. The FPS scaling pattern across resolutions is consistent with a GPU bottleneck, not a CPU one.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 23181. This is 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6600M and 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti. It is 0.7% ahead of the Intel Arc B580 and 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon 760M. These deltas are minimal, showing near-parity in compute performance.

Q: What is the best resolution to play at for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: The measured data shows that 1440p is the sweet spot. At 1440p with High settings, the average FPS is 69.5, which is above 60. At 4K, even Medium settings only achieve 51.8 FPS, falling short of a 60 FPS target.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a playable experience at any resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra averages 77.2 FPS, which is playable. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 60.4 FPS, which is borderline. At 4K, Ultra averages 40.8 FPS, which is not a smooth experience for an action-adventure title.

Q: How large is the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings?

A: The gap is significant but shrinks with resolution. At 1080p, the difference is 64.6 FPS (141.8 vs 77.2). At 1440p, it is 48.6 FPS (109.0 vs 60.4). At 4K, the gap compresses to 32.0 FPS (72.8 vs 40.8), confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear guideline for optimal settings. For a 60 FPS target, the 1440p High preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 69.5 FPS. This offers a significant visual upgrade over Low settings while maintaining a playable frame rate. Pushing to Ultra at 1440p yields 60.4 FPS, which is technically playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

At 1080p, users have more flexibility. The High preset at 86.3 FPS is a solid choice for high refresh rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 77.2 FPS also remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and provides the maximum visual fidelity the game can offer. The Low preset at 141.8 FPS is only suitable for competitive play or if the user prioritizes maximum frame rates above all else.

At 4K, the data suggests that the RTX 4060 is out of its depth. The High preset averages 43.4 FPS, while Medium achieves 51.8 FPS. Even the Low preset, at 72.8 FPS, requires significant visual compromises. For a playable experience, Medium settings at 4K are the highest that can be recommended, and even then, the frame rate is below the 60 FPS standard. The GPU’s 8 GB memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors here.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table presents the exact average FPS values measured for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination in Control.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | :---------- |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 141.8 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 100.2 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 86.3 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 77.2 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 109.0 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 75.8 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 69.5 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 60.4 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 72.8 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 51.8 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 43.4 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 40.8 |

The data confirms that the RTX 4060 is the decisive component. The jump from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 20% to 25% performance across all settings. The jump from 1440p to 4K is far more punishing, costing an additional 35% to 40% performance. The CPU’s role is minimal; its 3DMark 16-thread score of 12552 and high multi-core performance ensure it is not a bottleneck. This system is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it can deliver a high-quality experience without exceeding the GPU’s capabilities.