Control

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile delivers a strong but inconsistent experience in Control, a 2019 action-adventure title that reacts predictably to both CPU and GPU scaling. This combo ranks 866th out of 3,720 tested in this game, placing it in the top quarter of all tested combinations. Data shows that the pairing is more than capable at high refresh rates at 1080p, yet the demanding 4K Ultra preset pushes the system to its limits.

How This Combo Ranks

Combo rank in Control sits at 866 out of 3,720 tested configurations, a percentile that places the pairing comfortably above median. This rank is driven by the combination of the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395's 16-core processor and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile GPU. The CPU, a Zen 5 "Strix Halo" part with a 5.10 GHz boost clock, marshals 32 threads, while the GPU brings 9,728 shading units and 112 ROPs to the table. Both components are top-tier mobile parts, and the benchmark results reflect that.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 77,740 places it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX (average score 76,513, 1.6% higher per delta), the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P (76,492, 1.6% higher), and the Intel Core i9-14900K (79,097, 1.7% lower per delta). The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX trails by 2% with an average score of 76,212. This is notably higher than the GPU's percentile rank of 84%, but the GPU's average score of 43,667 still puts it ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (43,301, 0.8% higher per delta) and the GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268, 0.9% higher). The RTX 4090 Mobile is effectively in line with the Quadro M6000 24 GB (43,262, 0.9% higher) and slightly behind the RTX A6000 (44,075, -0.9% per delta). This combination of a top-tier CPU and a high-tier GPU produces the 866th overall rank, which is solidly within the top 25% of all combos.

The data suggests this combo is a high-end pairing that should handle most games well, but the GPU's percentile rank (84%) is lower than the CPU's (95%), which hints that the GPU may be the more limiting factor in this pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the CPU's core count and architecture?

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 has 16 cores and 32 threads, built on the Zen 5 architecture with a 4 nm process. Its base clock is 3.00 GHz, boosting to 5.10 GHz, with a 64 MB shared L3 cache.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 Mobile's memory bandwidth compare to the CPU's?

The GPU has a 16 GB GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU uses LPDDR5X memory with a quad-channel interface, offering 256.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

*Q: What is the combo's rank in Control?*

The combo ranks 866th out of 3,720 tested combos in the game, putting it in the top quarter of all tested configurations.

Q: How does the CPU's average benchmark score compare to a high-end desktop CPU?

A: The Ryzen AI Max+ 395 has an average benchmark score of 77,740, which is 1.7% higher per AMD than the Intel Core i9-14900K (79,097 per AMD), a high-end desktop chip. It is also 1.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX (76,513) and 1.6% higher than the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P (76,492).

Q: What is the GPU's average benchmark score and percentile?

The RTX 4090 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 43,667, placing it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (43,301, 0.8% lower), the GeForce R-5050 Mobile (43,268, 0.9% lower), and the RTX A6000 (44,075, 0.9% higher per delta).

*Q: What resolutions and settings were measured for Control?*

Measured FPS was recorded at 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160, each with Low, Medium, High, and Ultra settings. The data shows a clear scaling trend.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data in Control reveals a consistent pattern of scaling based on resolution. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 122 at 1920x1080 to 93 at 2560x1440, and then to 62 at 3840x2160. That is a 24% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 33% drop from 1440p to 4K. The Low setting shows a similar trend: 194 FPS at 1080p, 147 at 1440p, and 99 at 4K. The Medium preset yields 138, 104, and 70, respectively, while Ultra goes from 106 at 1080p to 80 at 1440p and 54 at 4K.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K is steep, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU has a stronger influence, as the GPU is not saturated. For instance, at 1080p High, the system achieves 122 FPS, which is a high refresh rate for a CPU-bound scenario. At 4K, the GPU is pushed to its limits, with the 4K Ultra preset only reaching 54 FPS. This is a 56% drop from 1080p Ultra (106 FPS) to 4K Ultra (54 FPS). The trend confirms that the RTX 4090 Mobile is the limiting component for 4K, while the CPU has ample headroom.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Control is provided for three resolutions and four settings each.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 194 FPS. Medium averages 138 FPS with a minimum of 117 and maximum of 158. High averages 122 FPS. Ultra reaches 106 FPS. These figures show that at 1080p, the system is CPU-bound, as the drop from Low to Ultra is only 45% (from 194 to 106 FPS).

At 2560x1440, Low averages 147 FPS. Medium averages 104 FPS, with a minimum of 89 and maximum of 120. High averages 93 FPS. Ultra drops to 80 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is now 46% (from 147 to 80 FPS), similar to 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 99 FPS. Medium averages 70 FPS, with a minimum of 60 and maximum of 81. High averages 62 FPS. Ultra averages 54 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 45% (from 99 to 54 FPS), but the 4K Ultra preset is the only one that dips below 60 FPS.

Data indicates that the Medium preset at all resolutions provides a good balance. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 138 FPS, which is 28% higher than High (122 FPS) and 30% higher than Ultra (106 FPS). At 4K Medium, the average is 70 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold, while High (62 FPS) and Ultra (54 FPS) fall below. The minimum FPS for Medium at 4K is 60, which is exactly at the 60 FPS threshold.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed "Strix Halo". It features a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a 64 MB shared L3 cache. This is a 4 nm part from TSMC, with a TDP of 55 W. In Control, the CPU's role is significant at lower resolutions.

The benchmark results for this CPU are strong: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35,314, a single-core score of 2,044, and a Geekbench multi-core score of 20,992. These scores align with its 95th percentile ranking. The CPU's average benchmark score of 77,740 is 1.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX (76,513) and 1.6% higher than the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P (76,492). It is 1.7% lower than the Intel Core i9-14900K (79,097) and 2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX (76,212). The CPU's multi-threaded performance is exceptionally strong, which helps in games that can use multiple cores, though Control is not heavily multi-threaded.

At 1080p, the CPU is the primary determinant of FPS. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 194 FPS, which is a high frame rate that the CPU can sustain. At 1080p Ultra, it drops to 106 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold. The CPU's boost clock of 5.10 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance, which is crucial for this game's physics and AI. The 16 cores and 32 threads also provide headroom for background tasks and any additional load. The CPU's 64 MB L3 cache is also a benefit, as it reduces memory latency for game data. The data indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck in Control at any resolution, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 1440p and 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests a clear set of recommendations for Control. For the best balance of frame rate and visual quality, the Medium preset is the most effective. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 138 FPS average, with a minimum of 117 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. High and Ultra average 122 and 106 FPS, respectively, but the Medium preset is the most efficient. At 2560x1440, Medium averages 104 FPS with a 89 FPS minimum, still above 60 FPS. High drops to 93 FPS, and Ultra to 80 FPS, but Medium remains the best choice. At 3840x2160, Medium averages 70 FPS with a 60 FPS minimum, which is exactly at the 60 FPS threshold. High and Ultra average 62 and 54 FPS, respectively, the latter falling below 60 FPS.

Given the data, the Medium preset is the recommended setting for all resolutions. It offers an average FPS that is either above or at the 60 FPS mark at 4K, while providing a significant boost over High and Ultra. At 1080p and 1440p, Medium is the best choice for high refresh rate monitors, as it achieves 138 and 104 FPS, respectively. For users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, the High preset is a viable option at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, High only averages 62 FPS, which may be too low for some. The Ultra preset is not recommended at 4K, as it averages 54 FPS, below the 60 FPS target.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is the other key component in this combo. It is based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, using the AD103 chip on a 5 nm process, with 45,900 million transistors and a die size of 379 mm². The GPU has 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs. Its boost clock is 1,695 MHz, with a base clock of 1,335 MHz. The memory interface is a 256-bit bus with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, providing a bandwidth of 576.0 GB/s. The GPU's TDP is 120 W, and it uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface.

The GPU's benchmark scores are also strong: a Geekbench OpenCL score of 180,831, a Vulkan score of 170,774, and a Passmark G3D score of 27,212. These scores place it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. Its average score of 43,667 is close to the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (43,301, 0.8% lower), the GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268, 0.9% lower), and the Quadro M6000 24 GB (43,262, 0.9% lower). The RTX A6000 is 0.9% higher per delta (44,075). The GPU's performance is strong, but its average score is lower than the CPU's percentile, indicating it is a slightly less capable part.

In Control, the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates at the higher presets. The 4K Ultra preset averages 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. The High and Medium presets at 4K average 62 and 70 FPS, respectively, showing that the GPU is the bottleneck. At 1440p, the GPU is less stressed, with Ultra averaging 80 FPS, but the CPU is still not fully utilized. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is sufficient for Control at all settings and resolutions, with the game not exceeding the memory limit. The GPU's 112 ROPs ensure good pixel throughput, but the main limitation at 4K is the compute power. The benchmark scores indicate that the GPU is a high-end mobile part, but it is not the top performer. For Control, the GPU is the primary limitation at 4K, but the CPU is well-matched for lower resolutions. The data suggests that for the best experience, the Medium preset is the right choice, as it balances the GPU's capabilities.