Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Control, but the data clearly shows that 4K Ultra is a stretch too far for this combination. The measured results indicate a system that is well-balanced at lower resolutions, with the GPU becoming the definitive bottleneck as resolution and settings increase.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets, revealing a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 141 FPS at 1920x1080 to 107 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 34 FPS, and then further down to 72 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 49% drop in performance from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is even more pronounced at High settings, where the average FPS goes from 89 at 1080p to 67 at 1440p, and finally to 46 at 4K, a total loss of 43 FPS or roughly 48% of the 1080p performance.

This pattern suggests that the RX 6700 XT's 12 GB of VRAM and 384.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth are sufficient to feed the frame buffer at 1080p and 1440p, but the sheer pixel count at 4K overwhelms the GPU's compute throughput. The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases, further confirming that the GPU is the limiting component. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 64 FPS (141 vs 77). At 4K, that difference shrinks to 32 FPS (72 vs 40), indicating that at 4K, even lowering settings cannot fully compensate for the raw pixel workload, as the GPU is already saturated.

Benchmark results indicate that the system is not CPU-limited in this title until frame rates reach very high levels. The 141 FPS average at 1080p Low suggests that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's 12 cores and 24 threads are more than capable of keeping up with the GPU's output at that resolution. However, as the resolution increases, the GPU's rendering time per frame increases, masking any potential CPU limitations and making the frame rate dependent almost entirely on the graphics card's capabilities.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this hardware for a high refresh rate experience?*

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system can consistently exceed 100 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 100, while at 1080p Low it reaches 141 FPS. For a 144Hz monitor, 1080p Low or Medium would be the target settings.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Control?*

A: While technically playable, the performance at 4K is marginal. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 72 on Low settings, but this drops to 46 FPS on High and 40 FPS on Ultra. These frame rates are playable but not ideal for fast-paced action, and they indicate the GPU is heavily taxed.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves an average of 67 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 59 FPS. The 8 FPS difference may not justify the extra graphical fidelity for some users, but the data shows Ultra is still playable at this resolution.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X3D a bottleneck for the RX 6700 XT in this game?

A: The benchmark results suggest it is not a bottleneck in most scenarios. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3dmark_single_thread score of 1269, ensures high frame rates are achievable. The system reaches 141 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU effectively.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured data for 2560x1440 Medium shows a minimum FPS of 65 and a maximum of 87, with an average of 76. This indicates a variance of 22 FPS, which is a fairly wide spread and could lead to some noticeable frame pacing fluctuations during intense scenes.

Q: Should I use the High or Medium preset at 4K?

A: The data shows that High settings at 4K yield an average of 46 FPS, while Medium settings yield an average of 51 FPS. Given the small 5 FPS improvement, the choice depends on preference. However, the Low preset at 72 FPS offers a significantly more responsive experience if smoothness is the priority.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the defining component in this system's Control performance. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s, which is a key factor in handling the game's textures at various resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 2581 MHz and game clock of 2424 MHz allow for significant compute throughput, but the data shows that this is not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K with maximum settings.

The GPU's performance percentile of 72 indicates it sits above the median of all GPUs, and its nearestRivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, which it trails by only 0.5% in average benchmark score. However, in this specific game, the measured FPS tells the story. At 4K Ultra, the card produces just 40 FPS, which is below the threshold for a smooth experience. The 13.21 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is clearly being saturated by the pixel shader workload at that resolution.

The scaling from Low to Ultra settings shows how the GPU's resources are allocated. At 1080p, the jump from Low to Ultra costs 64 FPS, but at 4K, it only costs 32 FPS. This is because at 4K, the GPU is already working near its maximum capacity, and additional graphical features enabled by the Ultra preset have a diminishing absolute impact on the frame rate, even though they still significantly reduce it. The RDNA 2.0 architecture's 40 ray tracing cores are present, but the benchmark data does not specify ray tracing performance, so their impact on this title cannot be quantified here.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 141 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium settings still provide a very smooth 100 FPS average, with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS. High settings bring the average down to 89 FPS, which remains fluid. The Ultra preset produces an average of 77 FPS, which is still playable but begins to show the GPU's workload increasing.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are noticeable. Low settings yield an average of 107 FPS, still excellent for competitive play. Medium settings produce an average of 76 FPS, with a spread from 65 to 87 FPS, indicating some frame time variance. High settings average 67 FPS, which is on the edge of what is considered ideal for a smooth single-player experience. Ultra settings drop to 59 FPS, which is playable but not consistently smooth.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings are the only option that provides a consistently playable experience, with an average of 72 FPS. Medium settings drop to 51 FPS, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS, which can feel sluggish. High settings average 46 FPS, and Ultra settings average just 40 FPS. These results show that 4K is only viable for this hardware if the player is willing to compromise significantly on visual quality.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D provides a formidable foundation for this gaming system. With 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, its multi-threaded capabilities are strong, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737. However, in gaming, single-thread performance is often more critical, and this CPU excels there too, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6739 and a 3dmark_single_thread score of 1269.

The 128 MB of L3 cache is a significant asset, potentially reducing memory latency and improving game performance in scenarios that are sensitive to cache hierarchy. The high boost clock of 5.50 GHz ensures that the CPU can respond quickly to game engine demands. In the measured Control results, the CPU's role is to ensure that the GPU is never starved of data. At 1080p Low, the 141 FPS average reflects the CPU's ability to process game logic and draw calls at a very high rate.

The CPU's percentile rank of 91 places it well above most other processors, and its nearestRivals include the Intel Core i7-14700F, which it outperforms by 2.1%. This headroom means that in Control, the CPU is not the limiting factor at any of the tested settings. The performance drops observed when increasing resolution or settings are almost entirely attributable to the GPU's rendering limits, not the CPU's processing power. The data suggests that this processor has significant headroom for future GPU upgrades without becoming a bottleneck in this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal settings for this hardware in Control depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For players with a 1080p 144Hz monitor, the Medium preset is the best choice. It delivers an average of 100 FPS, which is high enough to take advantage of a 144Hz display, while the minimum of 85 FPS ensures that the experience remains smooth during heavy action. The Low preset offers a higher average of 141 FPS, but the visual fidelity trade-off is significant for only a 41 FPS gain.

For 1440p gaming, the High preset is the recommended balance. It provides an average of 67 FPS, which is a solid frame rate for a story-driven action game. While the Medium preset is slightly faster at 76 FPS, the jump to High settings typically includes substantial visual improvements in lighting and shadow quality that enhance the game's atmospheric tone. The Ultra preset at 59 FPS is playable, but the 8 FPS drop from High may not be worth the additional GPU load.

For 4K resolution, the data suggests that players must make a compromise. The Low preset is the only one that achieves a consistently smooth frame rate, with an average of 72 FPS. The Medium preset, which averages 51 FPS, is on the borderline of playability but may feel inconsistent. Given the significant drop in visual quality from Medium to Low, players with a 4K display should consider whether the smoother performance of Low settings outweighs the graphical downgrade. The Ultra and High presets at this resolution, averaging 40 and 46 FPS respectively, are not recommended for a satisfying experience.