Control

Control is an action-adventure title that stresses both the CPU and GPU heavily, and the data for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D combined with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER shows a system that is well-balanced across all resolution tiers. The measured frames per second (FPS) reveal a clear hierarchy of performance that favors higher refresh rate displays at 1440p, while still delivering a smooth experience at 4K. This analysis walks through the optimal settings, the division of labor between the components, and how this specific pairing ranks against the broader database of tested combos.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results indicate that the High preset provides the most balanced experience for this combination, especially when considering the trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate. At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers an average of 117 FPS, which is only 15 FPS lower than the Medium preset’s 132 FPS, but offers a significant visual upgrade. At 3840x2160, High produces 79 FPS, which is a playable frame rate for most users, while the jump to Ultra drops the average to 69 FPS, a marginal difference that may not justify the additional graphical load.

For users with high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, the Low preset might be tempting, as it achieves 245 FPS. However, the data shows that the High preset still delivers 155 FPS at 1920x1080, which is well above the threshold for most 144Hz displays and maintains better image quality. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 134 FPS, which is still smooth, but the performance cost of 21 FPS over High suggests that High is the more efficient choice for competitive play.

The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS data, showing a range of 76 to 102 at 4K, 112 to 152 at 1440p, and 148 to 200 at 1080p. This data indicates that the frame pacing is consistent, but the average FPS of 89 at 4K and 132 at 1440p are only marginally better than High. Given the minimal performance gap, High is the recommended preset for this CPU-GPU combo across all resolutions, as it offers the best visual quality per frame without sacrificing the fluidity of the experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary driver of frame rates in this title, and its specifications align with the measured performance. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s, which is sufficient for the texture-heavy environments of Control. The boost clock of 2550 MHz, paired with 10240 shading units, allows the card to handle the game’s physics-based destruction and particle effects without bottlenecking.

The GPU’s 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are relevant to Control’s implementation of real-time ray tracing and DLSS, though the measured FPS data does not specify whether these features were enabled. The raw compute power, listed as 52.22 TFLOPS for FP32, is reflected in the high frame rates observed at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the GPU achieves 245 FPS, demonstrating that the card is not the limiting factor at this resolution; it has ample headroom to spare.

The RTX 4080 SUPER’s performance relative to its peers is close, with its average benchmark score of 54209 being nearly identical to the RTX 4080’s 54247, a delta of -0.1%. This suggests that the SUPER variant offers only a marginal improvement in raw compute, but the measured FPS in Control shows that it is more than capable of driving high refresh rates. The GPU’s 86th percentile ranking among all tested GPUs further solidifies its position as a high-end part, and the data confirms that it is the component that scales the frame rate as resolution increases.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is significant, indicating a shift in bottleneck from the CPU to the GPU as resolution increases. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 155 at 1920x1080 to 117 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 38 FPS, and then to 79 at 3840x2160, a further reduction of 38 FPS. This linear decline suggests that the GPU is being progressively taxed by the increasing pixel count, while the CPU maintains its ability to feed the frames.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. For Low, the FPS drops from 245 at 1080p to 185 at 1440p and then to 125 at 4K, showing a 60 FPS drop between each resolution step. For Medium, the drop is from 174 to 132 to 89, and for Ultra, it is from 134 to 102 to 69. The relative percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is roughly 49% for High, 49% for Low, 49% for Medium, and 49% for Ultra, which indicates that the frame rate is halved at 4K regardless of the settings preset.

This halving of performance points to the GPU being the primary limiting component at higher resolutions, as the CPU’s workload does not increase with pixel count. At 1080p, the high frame rates of 245 FPS on Low suggest that the CPU is still able to keep up with the GPU, but the diminishing returns at 4K highlight the RTX 4080 SUPER’s limits. The fact that the drop from 1440p to 4K is similar in magnitude to the drop from 1080p to 1440p confirms that the GPU is scaling consistently with resolution, a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 245 FPS, the highest recorded in the dataset. The Medium preset follows with 174 FPS, and High with 155 FPS. The Ultra preset yields 134 FPS, which is still high but shows a noticeable cost for the highest settings. The Medium preset at this resolution has a minimum of 148 FPS and a maximum of 200 FPS, indicating a stable frame delivery with no major dips.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset drops to 185 FPS, which is still an excellent result for a 1440p panel. Medium produces 132 FPS, High 117 FPS, and Ultra 102 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 112 FPS and maximum of 152 FPS show that even at 1440p, the frame rate remains above the 100 FPS mark, which is crucial for smooth gameplay on high-refresh monitors.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset produces 125 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K and indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck even at this resolution. Medium yields 89 FPS, High 79 FPS, and Ultra 69 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 76 FPS and maximum of 102 FPS demonstrate that the frame rate can dip below 60 FPS in heavy scenes, but the average remains playable. The data shows a clear trend: the RTX 4080 SUPER can handle 4K at lower settings, but for the best visual experience at Ultra, users will need to accept a frame rate in the high 60s.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Control with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 provides the best balance, with High settings delivering 117 FPS. At 4K, the frame rate drops to 79 FPS on High, which is still playable, but 1440p offers a smoother experience.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to the regular RTX 4080 in this game?

A: The average benchmark scores are nearly identical, with the RTX 4080 SUPER scoring 54209 and the RTX 4080 scoring 54247, a delta of -0.1%. The measured FPS in Control suggests the SUPER variant does not offer a significant advantage.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 245 FPS, which is a very high frame rate. The CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, appear sufficient to feed the GPU at this resolution.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: The difference is 56 FPS. Low settings achieve 125 FPS, while Ultra settings achieve 69 FPS. This shows that the Ultra preset has a significant performance cost.

Q: Does the Medium preset provide a stable frame rate?

A: Yes, the Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS. At 1080p, it ranges from 148 to 200 FPS, at 1440p from 112 to 152 FPS, and at 4K from 76 to 102 FPS, indicating a consistent frame delivery.

Q: How does this hardware rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 203rd out of 2888 tested combinations in Control, placing it in the top 7% of all systems tested. This is a strong result for a high-end pairing.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D plays a supporting role in this game, providing the necessary compute to keep the GPU fed. The CPU features 12 cores and 24 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture with a process node of 4 nm. Its boost clock of 5.50 GHz, combined with a large 128 MB L3 cache, is designed to handle gaming workloads efficiently. The benchmark scores show strong single-threaded performance, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 1269 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6739, which are crucial for game logic and physics.

The multi-threaded performance is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737, but Control does not appear to be heavily multi-threaded based on the FPS scaling. The CPU’s role is to maintain a high minimum frame rate, and the data shows that it does so effectively, as the FPS drops are consistent with GPU load rather than CPU stutters. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 54762 places it at the 91st percentile among all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, scores 55093, a delta of -0.6%, showing that the 9900X3D is competitive with other high-end parts.

The CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz, provide ample headroom for background tasks, but the game’s performance is primarily dictated by the GPU. At 1080p with Low settings, the system hits 245 FPS, which suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor even at high frame rates. The data indicates that the CPU’s architecture and cache are well-suited for this title, as the frame rates remain high across all resolutions, with the GPU taking over as the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 203rd out of 2888 combos in Control. This places it in the top 7% of all systems, which is a strong showing for a high-end setup. The rank reflects the combined capability of the CPU and GPU to deliver high frame rates at demanding settings, and the data suggests that this combo is well-optimized for the game.

The rank is particularly impressive given that the CPU is not the highest-performing in its class, as its average benchmark score of 54762 is slightly lower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF’s 55093. However, the GPU’s high percentile ranking of 86th among all GPUs helps to push this combo up the list. The fact that the combo outperforms 2685 other tested combinations shows that the balance between the 12-core CPU and the 16 GB GPU is effective for this specific title.

The ranking also implies that there is room for improvement, as combos ranked higher likely feature more powerful GPUs or CPUs that are better suited to the game’s engine. However, for most users, a rank of 203rd out of 2888 is more than sufficient to enjoy Control at high settings and resolutions. The data confirms that this is a capable pairing that offers a high level of performance, and the measured FPS values across all presets and resolutions support this conclusion.