Control

FAQ

Q: What is the overall position of this CPU + GPU combo in Control's benchmark rankings?

A: The combo ranks 3,176 out of 3,720 tested combinations. That places it in the lower portion of the database — roughly the 15th percentile — meaning a large majority of tested systems deliver higher frame rates in this title.

Q: How does the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic CPU benchmarks?

A: The CPU sits 0.1% above the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D, 0.3% above the AMD EPYC 8224P, and 0.4% above the Intel Core Ultra 9 285 based on average benchmark scores. These are extremely tight margins — all four processors perform within a 0.4% band of each other.

Q: What is the best 1080p result measured for this combo?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 91 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 64 FPS average (with a 55 FPS minimum and 74 FPS maximum), High reaches 57 FPS, and Ultra drops to 50 FPS.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K Ultra settings in Control?

A: Barely playable at best. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 25 FPS. High settings at the same resolution produce 29 FPS, while Medium reaches 33 FPS with a 28 FPS minimum. Only Low settings cross the 30 FPS threshold, hitting 46 FPS.

Q: What are the GPU's key memory specifications?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock is 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective).

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score places it 0.4% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and the AMD Radeon RX 580, 0.9% above the AMD Radeon 740M, and 0.7% below the NVIDIA Tesla M2090. The 53rd percentile ranking indicates it sits near the midpoint of all GPUs in the database.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge codename), built on TSMC's 4nm process with 16,630 million transistors across a dual-chiplet design. It operates with a base clock of 4.30 GHz and a boost clock of 5.70 GHz, drawing 170W TDP. The CPU's 128 MB of L3 cache and 1 MB L2 per core provide substantial on-die storage for game data.

In synthetic benchmarks, this processor demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 42,018, while Geekbench multicore reaches 26,736. Single-thread results are also solid — Cinebench R23 single-core hits 2,259, and Geekbench single-core scores 3,064. The 3DMark tests show scaling from 1,292 (single-thread) to 17,184 (max threads), with 16-thread performance at 16,374.

For Control specifically, the CPU's role is somewhat secondary given the GPU-bound nature of the title at higher settings. The 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs means this processor is far more capable than what the GTX 1660 SUPER can utilize. The benchmark results show that even at Low settings across all resolutions, frame rates scale primarily with resolution rather than CPU capability — suggesting the CPU is not the limiting factor in any measured configuration.

The processor's nearest rivals — the Ryzen 7 PRO 9755, Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D, EPYC 8224P, and Core Ultra 9 285 — all score within 0.4% of the 9950X3D's average. This indicates that CPU choice among these top-tier options has negligible impact on Control's frame rates. The 3DMark 8-thread score of 9,259 and 4-thread score of 4,963 suggest that even moderate thread counts deliver ample headroom for this game's engine.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 3,176 out of 3,720 tested combos in Control. This places the system in the bottom 15% of all tested configurations — a position driven almost entirely by the GPU's limitations rather than CPU performance.

The CPU alone sits in the 95th percentile of all processors, while the GPU sits in the 53rd percentile. This massive gap — 42 percentile points — highlights a significant bottleneck imbalance. The data shows that in every measured scenario, the GTX 1660 SUPER is the constraining component. The CPU's synthetic scores (Cinebench R23 multicore 42,018, PassMark multithread 70,255) are far beyond what any current game requires, while the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 12,699 places it in the middle of the GPU pack.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing is notable for its asymmetry: a top-tier 2025 processor paired with a 2019-era GPU. The measured FPS results confirm this dynamic — at 1080p Low, the system hits 91 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it falls to 25 FPS. A more balanced pairing would show less dramatic scaling across resolutions, as both components would have comparable headroom.

The rank of 3,176 also indicates that most tested systems — even those with mid-range CPUs — outperform this combo in Control, purely because they pair those CPUs with stronger GPUs. The CPU's 0.1% to 0.4% advantage over its nearest rivals in synthetic tests does not translate into any measurable FPS advantage in this game, since the GPU saturates well before CPU differences matter.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all presets. Low settings average 91 FPS, providing a smooth experience for fast-paced combat. Medium settings drop to 64 FPS average (55 FPS minimum, 74 FPS maximum), which remains comfortably playable. High settings average 57 FPS, while Ultra drops to 50 FPS — all three of these presets stay above the 30 FPS baseline, with Medium and High offering the best balance of quality and responsiveness.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance degrades noticeably. Low settings average 69 FPS, which is still smooth. Medium averages 49 FPS (41 FPS minimum, 56 FPS maximum), dipping below 60 FPS but remaining playable. High settings average 43 FPS, and Ultra falls to 38 FPS. None of the 1440p results drop below 30 FPS, but the gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 31 FPS, indicating the GPU is becoming the primary constraint.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles. Low settings average 46 FPS — the only 4K preset that clears 30 FPS. Medium averages 33 FPS (28 FPS minimum, 38 FPS maximum), which sits right at the edge of playability. High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra averages 25 FPS. These results show that 4K gaming with this GPU requires significant settings compromises, and even then, frame pacing is inconsistent at Medium.

The frame rate scaling across resolutions follows a consistent pattern: from 1080p Low (91 FPS) to 1440p Low (69 FPS) to 4K Low (46 FPS), each resolution step reduces performance by roughly 24-33%. At Ultra settings, the progression is 50 FPS (1080p) to 38 FPS (1440p) to 25 FPS (4K), showing that the GPU's 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly inadequate as pixel count rises.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture (TU116 chip) using TSMC's 12nm process with 6,600 million transistors. It operates with a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz. The GPU features 1,408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs, delivering 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The 6 GB GDDR6 memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus, yielding 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's benchmark results show moderate capability: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 scores 1,278, Geekbench OpenCL reaches 52,490, and Geekbench Vulkan hits 57,102. PassMark tests show DirectX 11 as the strongest API (104), followed by DirectX 9 (189 — the higher score indicates better optimization for older APIs), DirectX 12 (50), and DirectX 10 (65). The PassMark G3D score of 12,699 places it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs.

For Control, the GPU's 6 GB VRAM is a significant factor at higher resolutions. The measured FPS drop from 1080p to 4K suggests memory bandwidth and capacity constraints become acute at 3840x2160. The GPU's nearest rivals — RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (0.4% higher), RX 580 (0.4% higher), and Radeon 740M (0.9% higher) — all show similar performance envelopes, confirming this is a mid-range GPU by modern standards.

The pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s indicate the GPU can handle 1080p gaming well but struggles with 4K fill-rate demands. The 125W TDP and dual-slot design make it a modest power draw, but the data shows it is clearly the bottleneck in this combo. At 1080p Low, the 91 FPS result suggests the CPU could push much higher frame rates if paired with a stronger GPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends heavily on resolution. At 1920x1080, Medium settings offer the best combination of visual quality and performance: 64 FPS average with a 55 FPS minimum ensures consistent gameplay. High settings at 57 FPS are also viable if visual fidelity is prioritized, but the 7 FPS difference between Medium and High does not justify the graphical upgrade for most players. Ultra at 50 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, Low settings provide the smoothest experience at 69 FPS, but Medium at 49 FPS remains acceptable for most players. The 41 FPS minimum indicates occasional dips, but these are unlikely to be disruptive in Control's slower-paced exploration segments. High at 43 FPS and Ultra at 38 FPS are borderline — they work for players who prioritize visuals over frame smoothness, but the data suggests Medium is the sweet spot for 1440p.

At 3840x2160, Low settings at 46 FPS are the only truly playable option. Medium at 33 FPS (28 FPS minimum) sits at the threshold of playability, and High at 29 FPS or Ultra at 25 FPS are not recommended for action sequences. For 4K gaming, the data clearly shows that Low settings are required, and even then, players should expect some frame drops in intense combat scenarios.

The most balanced overall recommendation is 1080p Medium, which delivers 64 FPS average with a 55 FPS floor. This configuration uses the GPU's resources efficiently without exceeding its capabilities. For players with 1440p monitors, Medium at 49 FPS is the pragmatic choice, accepting a lower frame rate for higher resolution. The 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth dictate that 4K gaming requires the lowest preset to maintain playable frame rates, making 1080p Medium or 1440p Low the recommended configurations for this hardware pairing.