Control

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination ranks first overall in Control out of 2,888 tested configurations, establishing this pairing as the definitive top-tier setup for this title. The measured data shows a system capable of delivering exceptional performance across all resolutions, with the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's 12 cores working in concert to produce frame rates that range from highly playable at 4K to extraordinarily high at 1080p. This analysis breaks down exactly how the system behaves under different settings and resolutions, what the CPU and GPU each contribute, and where the bottlenecks lie.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a system where the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as resolution climbs, but the CPU still holds its own at lower settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 298 FPS, which drops to 225 FPS at 1440p and 152 FPS at 4K. This represents a 24.5% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 32.4% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern indicates that even at 4K Low, the GPU is not completely saturated, as the 152 FPS figure still leaves headroom for higher settings.

Moving to High settings, the frame rates are 188 FPS at 1080p, 142 FPS at 1440p, and 96 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are more pronounced here: 24.5% from 1080p to 1440p, and 32.4% from 1440p to 4K. The 4K High result of 96 FPS shows that the RTX 5090 D can handle the resolution with quality settings enabled, though the gap between 1080p and 4K widens as settings increase. The Ultra preset tells a similar story: 163 FPS at 1080p, 124 FPS at 1440p, and 83 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure of 83 FPS represents a 49.1% reduction from the 1080p Ultra result, showing that the most demanding configuration pushes the GPU closer to its limits.

The Medium settings row is the only one with min and max FPS data, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 211 FPS with a minimum of 180 and maximum of 243, indicating a 14.7% variance between min and average. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 160 FPS with min 136 and max 184, showing a 15% variance. At 4K Medium, the average is 108 FPS with min 92 and max 124, a 14.8% variance. This consistency in frame variance across resolutions suggests the system maintains stable performance without sudden drops, even as the workload on the GPU increases significantly.

The scaling behavior indicates that at 1080p, the CPU plays a more substantial role, as evidenced by the 298 FPS Low result which approaches what the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's single-thread performance can deliver. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1,269 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6,739 suggest strong per-core performance that prevents CPU bottlenecking at lower resolutions. However, the 4K results show the GPU taking over as the primary limiting factor, with the RTX 5090 D's 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance being stressed more heavily at higher pixel counts.

Settings Recommendations

The data clearly shows that High settings provide the optimal balance between visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p High, the system delivers 188 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display refresh rate currently available. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p costs 25 FPS (188 to 163), a 13.3% reduction, while the visual difference between these presets in a game like Control is typically subtle. At 1440p High, the 142 FPS result easily exceeds the 144 Hz refresh rate common among gaming monitors, making this the sweet spot for competitive play with high refresh rate displays.

The 4K High result of 96 FPS is particularly noteworthy. This falls just short of the 100 FPS threshold that many players consider ideal for smooth gameplay, but it remains well above the 60 FPS minimum for a playable experience. The Medium preset at 4K produces 108 FPS, which crosses that 100 FPS mark, but the difference between Medium and High at 4K is only 12 FPS (108 to 96). Given that High settings in Control include significant visual enhancements like improved reflections and particle effects, the 12 FPS cost is reasonable for the quality gain.

Ultra settings at 4K produce 83 FPS, which is still playable but approaches the lower boundary of what is comfortable for fast-paced action. The min FPS data from Medium settings suggests that at 4K Medium, the system never drops below 92 FPS, indicating good frame time consistency. For players prioritizing maximum visual fidelity, Ultra at 1440p delivers 124 FPS, which is an excellent result. The recommendation is clear: High for 4K, High or Ultra for 1440p, and Ultra for 1080p if maximum quality is desired, though the 163 FPS Ultra result at 1080p still leaves ample headroom.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D brings substantial processing power to Control, with 12 cores and 24 threads running at a base clock of 4.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The Zen 5 architecture on a 4 nm process provides the foundation for this performance, with the CPU's 128 MB of L3 cache being particularly relevant for gaming workloads. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47,737 and single-core score of 6,739 demonstrate both high multithreaded throughput and strong per-core performance, which are both important for a game that scales across multiple threads while still having a primary game thread.

The 3DMark results show scaling from 1,269 in single-thread to 13,795 in max threads, indicating that Control can utilize additional threads effectively. The jump from 2 threads (2,512) to 4 threads (4,885) shows a 94.5% scaling, while the jump from 8 threads (9,002) to max threads (13,795) shows a 53.2% scaling. This suggests Control benefits from the CPU's 24 threads, though with diminishing returns beyond 8 threads. The PassMark multithread score of 56,154 and physics score of 5,340 indicate strong performance in physics calculations, which are prevalent in Control's destructible environments and telekinetic combat mechanics.

The CPU's role becomes most evident at 1080p Low settings, where the 298 FPS result approaches the practical limit of the game engine's draw call processing. The single-thread performance, evidenced by the 3DMark single-thread score of 1,269 and Geekbench single-core score of 3,041, ensures that the main game thread does not become a bottleneck even at extreme frame rates. When compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's average benchmark score of 54,762 is 2.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-14700F (53,620), 2% higher than the Intel Xeon 6505P (53,701), and 1.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (54,053). The only rival that edges it out is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF at 55,093, which is 0.6% higher, a negligible difference in real-world gaming.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum frame rate achievable with this configuration in Control?

A: At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 298 FPS average, which is the highest measured result. This shows the CPU and GPU combination can push frame rates to extremely high levels when visual quality is reduced.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in Control?

A: Yes, at 4K Ultra settings the system produces 83 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The 4K High setting improves this to 96 FPS, and 4K Medium reaches 108 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 9900X3D compare to the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF in overall benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54,762, while the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF scores 55,093. The delta is -0.6%, meaning the Intel CPU is marginally ahead in general benchmarks, but the difference is negligible for gaming performance.

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

A: The measured data shows an average of 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS and maximum of 184 FPS. The minimum is 15% below the average, indicating consistent frame pacing without major stutters.

Q: Does Control benefit from the CPU's 24 threads?

A: The 3DMark results show scaling from 9,002 at 8 threads to 13,795 at max threads, a 53.2% improvement. This indicates Control utilizes more than 8 threads effectively, though the largest gains come from the first 8 threads.

Q: How much does the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of VRAM matter for Control?

A: Control is not particularly VRAM-intensive, so the 32 GB capacity is more than sufficient. The memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s and 512-bit bus are more relevant for high-resolution rendering, supporting the strong 4K performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the primary driver of Control's visual performance, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, 21,760 shading units, and 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability proving more than adequate for this title. The GPU's boost clock of 2,407 MHz and memory clock of 1,750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) contribute to its high throughput, while the 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and high-resolution buffers do not become bottlenecks. The 176 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s, which is directly relevant to the frame rates observed at 4K.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its position as a top-tier performer. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915 indicate strong API-level performance, which translates to Control's DirectX 12 rendering path. The PassMark G3D score of 44,065 places the RTX 5090 D in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rivals being the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940, delta -1.6%), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396, delta -2.1%), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605, delta -2.4%). The only GPU that comes close to matching it is the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT with a score of 76,904, which is 1.1% lower.

At 4K Ultra settings, the GPU's workload becomes the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 83 FPS result. This is still a highly playable frame rate, but it shows that even the RTX 5090 D cannot completely overcome the demands of 4K with maximum settings. The scaling from 1080p Ultra (163 FPS) to 4K Ultra (83 FPS) represents a 49.1% reduction, which aligns with the 4x increase in pixel count. The GPU's 680 TMUs and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate ensure that texture-heavy scenes maintain their quality without dropping frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 298 FPS average, Medium produces 211 FPS with a minimum of 180 and maximum of 243, High produces 188 FPS, and Ultra produces 163 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 45.3% reduction in frame rate, but even the Ultra result of 163 FPS is exceptionally high and would saturate most high refresh rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU working harder. Low settings deliver 225 FPS, Medium delivers 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 and maximum of 184, High delivers 142 FPS, and Ultra delivers 124 FPS. The 1440p results show a 44.9% reduction from Low to Ultra, similar to the 1080p scaling. The Ultra result of 124 FPS is still above the 120 Hz refresh rate threshold, making this an excellent resolution for high-refresh gaming with maximum quality.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, but the results remain impressive. Low settings produce 152 FPS, Medium produces 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 and maximum of 124, High produces 96 FPS, and Ultra produces 83 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 83 FPS is 49.1% lower than the 1080p Ultra result, showing the impact of the 4x pixel increase. The frame time data from Medium settings shows a minimum of 92 FPS, ensuring no drops below the 90 FPS threshold, which is critical for maintaining smooth gameplay in action sequences. The system's ranking of 1st out of 2,888 combinations in Control confirms that no other tested configuration outperforms this pairing in this game.