Control

Control, Remedy’s 2019 action-adventure, presents an intriguing stress test for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D pairing. The benchmark data shows a system that utterly dominates the field, securing the top rank among 2,888 tested combinations. This is a configuration built to obliterate frame rate targets, and the measured FPS across resolutions confirms that the primary challenge is not performance, but rather how to best harness this immense power for a smooth, consistent experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data for this combo reveals a clear hierarchy of performance across the four tested presets. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 163 FPS, which is undeniably high. However, the data shows that the Medium preset achieves 211 FPS, and Low reaches 298 FPS. The question becomes what the user is optimizing for. The jump from Ultra to Medium at 1080p is a significant 48 FPS, a 29% increase that many players with high-refresh-rate monitors would find crucial for competitive play or simply for maximizing the fluidity of the game's physics-driven combat.

The story is similar at 2560x1440. The Ultra preset averages 124 FPS, which is perfectly playable on a standard 144Hz monitor. Yet, the Medium preset pushes that to 160 FPS, a 36 FPS improvement that provides more headroom to prevent drops below the refresh rate ceiling. Given that the game is an action-adventure title with fast-paced combat and destructible environments, maintaining a consistent frame rate is paramount. The data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming, as it offers a substantial performance buffer over the High and Ultra settings.

At 3840x2160, the calculus changes. The Ultra preset averages 83 FPS, which is still very good for 4K, but the Medium preset at 108 FPS is a considerably more comfortable experience for a 120Hz or 144Hz 4K display. The data shows that the High preset at 96 FPS sits between the two. For 4K, the Medium preset appears to be the best recommendation, as it is the highest settings tier that still decisively clears the 100 FPS mark, providing a smooth experience that leverages the high refresh rate capabilities of modern displays without compromising visual fidelity too much. The Low preset, while incredibly fast at 152 FPS, is likely a step too far down in visual quality for a game with such a distinctive atmosphere.

The data supports a "Medium or High" recommendation as the default, depending on the user's resolution and refresh rate. At 1080p and 1440p, Medium offers the best balance of visual quality and raw speed for maximum frame rates. At 4K, Medium is the most reasonable choice for a high-refresh experience, while High remains a solid option for those prioritizing image quality over a few extra frames per second. The Ultra preset is for those who want the absolute best visuals and have a display that can handle its output, but the measured numbers suggest it leaves performance on the table that this hardware can easily provide.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the undisputed powerhouse in this pairing, and its specifications in the data paint a picture of immense capability. It comes equipped with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. In a game like Control, which features complex textures and real-time ray tracing effects, this memory capacity and bandwidth are more than sufficient to prevent any form of memory-related bottleneck at any resolution. The data shows no frame rate collapses at 4K, which is often a sign of a GPU running out of memory or bandwidth, indicating that the 5090 D's memory subsystem is handling the load with ease.

The GPU's clock speeds are also a significant factor. With a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, the 5090 D is running at very high frequencies. This high clock speed, combined with its 21,760 shading units, contributes to the raw compute power necessary to drive the high frame rates seen in the data. The benchmark results for the GPU, such as a Passmark G3D score of 44,065 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915, are reflected in its real-world gaming performance. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms its position at the top of the performance hierarchy.

The data suggests that the GPU is the dominant factor in this system's gaming performance. This is especially evident when looking at the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K. While the CPU plays a role, the sheer magnitude of the FPS numbers across all settings points to a GPU that is not being held back. The RTX 5090 D's 575W TDP is a clear indicator of its performance class, and the data shows that this power is being translated directly into exceptional frame rates in Control. It is a GPU that is not just capable of running the game at maximum settings but is so powerful that it forces a reconsideration of how to allocate its performance headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The data explicitly ranks this combination as rank 1 out of 2,888 tested combos in Control. This is a definitive statement of its dominance. It is the single fastest configuration that has been measured in this game, outperforming every other CPU and GPU pairing in the database. This top-tier status confirms the synergy between the Ryzen 9 9900X and the RTX 5090 D, with neither component acting as a significant bottleneck for the other in this title.

The individual component rankings support this overall conclusion. The CPU holds a 92nd percentile ranking against all CPUs, and its nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks are other high-end server and desktop processors like the Intel Core i9-14900, which it trails by a mere 1.1% in average benchmark score. The GPU also holds a 92nd percentile ranking, with its nearest rivals being mobile and data center parts like the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which it leads by 1.6%. This shows that both components are operating in the top 8% of all hardware, and when combined, they create the absolute best-performing system for this specific game.

This top rank is not just a marginal victory; it represents a clear performance ceiling. Being rank 1 means there is no other configuration in the database that can match its frame rates in Control. For a user with this hardware, there is no higher-performing option to upgrade to. The data implies that the system is overkill for even the most demanding scenarios the game can present, which is a unique position to be in. It shifts the focus from "can it run it?" to "how do we best utilize this surplus of performance?".

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the system's capabilities across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast. The Low preset produces an average of 298 FPS, which is a staggering number. The Medium preset averages 211 FPS, with a minimum of 180 FPS and a maximum of 243 FPS. The High preset averages 188 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 163 FPS. This shows that even at the highest settings, the system is capable of pushing well beyond the refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains extremely high. The Low preset averages 225 FPS, Medium averages 160 FPS (with a min of 136 and max of 184), High averages 142 FPS, and Ultra averages 124 FPS. This resolution is likely the sweet spot for this hardware, as it provides a perfect balance between visual fidelity and frame rate. The Ultra preset's average of 124 FPS is still well within the range of a high-refresh-rate 1440p monitor, and the Medium preset's 160 FPS is ideal for a 165Hz or 240Hz display.

At 3840x2160, the data shows the system's true power. The Low preset averages 152 FPS, which is incredibly high for 4K. The Medium preset averages 108 FPS (with a min of 92 and max of 124), the High preset averages 96 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 83 FPS. This demonstrates that even at 4K, the system is not struggling. The Medium preset's 108 FPS average is a particularly impressive result, showing that the RTX 5090 D can handle 4K gaming with headroom to spare. The data consistently shows that the system is capable of delivering a premium experience at every resolution, with the Medium preset offering the most balanced performance across the board.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about the system's bottleneck characteristics. At the High settings, the average FPS drops from 188 at 1080p to 142 at 1440p and finally to 96 at 4K. This represents a 24% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 32% drop from 1440p to 4K. This significant scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary performance driver, as the workload increases dramatically with resolution, and the frame rate drops accordingly.

This pattern is consistent across all presets. For example, at Medium settings, the FPS drops from 211 at 1080p to 160 at 1440p (a 24% drop) and then to 108 at 4K (a 33% drop). The fact that the percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is consistently larger than the drop from 1080p to 1440p suggests a classic GPU-bound scenario. The pixel count doubles from 1080p to 1440p, but more than doubles from 1440p to 4K, putting a proportionally larger load on the GPU's rendering pipeline.

This scaling behavior implies that the Ryzen 9 9900X is not a limiting factor in this game at these resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see the frame rates plateau or drop less dramatically as the resolution increases, because the CPU's workload (e.g., physics, AI, draw calls) remains relatively constant. Instead, the data shows a clear, almost linear relationship between resolution and frame rate, which is a hallmark of a GPU-bound system. The CPU is providing enough headroom to feed the GPU at all times, allowing it to operate at its full potential.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, plays a crucial supporting role in this configuration. While the GPU is the star of the show for raw frame rate, the CPU must be powerful enough to keep up. The data from the synthetic benchmarks shows that this is not an issue. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32,172 and its Geekbench multicore score of 22,174 are strong indicators of its ability to handle complex, multi-threaded workloads. In a game like Control, which has detailed physics simulations and AI, this processing power ensures that the game logic is never the bottleneck.

The CPU's clock speeds are also important. With a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, the 9900X can deliver high single-thread performance when needed. This is reflected in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,253 and its 3DMark single-thread score of 1,286. Many game engines, including the one powering Control, rely heavily on a few primary threads for tasks like rendering the main game loop. The 9900X's high boost clock ensures that these threads are processed as quickly as possible, facilitating the high frame rates seen in the data.

The CPU's role is further clarified by the resolution scaling analysis. The fact that performance scales so consistently with resolution confirms that the CPU is not holding the system back. It is providing enough throughput to allow the RTX 5090 D to reach its full potential. The CPU's 92nd percentile ranking and its close benchmark scores to rivals like the Intel Core i9-14900 (which it trails by only 1.1%) show that it is a top-tier processor. In this pairing, it acts as a flawless foundation, ensuring that the GPU is never starved of data and can consistently deliver its outstanding frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best overall performance ranking for this CPU and GPU combination in Control?

A: The data shows that this pairing achieves the rank of 1 out of 2,888 tested combos, making it the highest-performing configuration in the database for this game.

Q: At 4K resolution, which settings preset provides the smoothest experience with a high refresh rate?

A: The measured data shows the Medium preset at 3840x2160 averages 108 FPS, which is the highest settings tier to decisively clear the 100 FPS mark. The High preset averages 96 FPS, and Ultra averages 83 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance gain does the Low preset offer over the Ultra preset at 1080p?

A: The data shows the Low preset at 1920x1080 averages 298 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 163 FPS. This represents an 135 FPS difference, or an 83% increase in average frame rate.

Q: Does the CPU or the GPU appear to be the limiting factor based on the resolution scaling?

A: The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K shows significant drops, with a larger percentage drop from 1440p to 4K, which is a classic indicator of a GPU-bound system. The Ryzen 9 9900X is not acting as a bottleneck.

Q: What is the average FPS for the Medium preset at 2560x1440, and what are the recorded minimum and maximum?

A: The average FPS for the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is 160 FPS, with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 184 FPS.

Q: How does the performance of the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77,712, which is 1.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT's average score of 78,940, meaning the 5090 D is faster.