Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is a well-known mid-range combination from a few generations ago. In Lockdown Protocol, the recorded data shows this pairing delivers a wide range of performance depending on the resolution and quality preset selected. The benchmark results provide a clear picture of what to expect, from playable frame rates at lower settings to more demanding scenarios that push the hardware to its limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination performs admirably across all tested presets. With Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 132.2 FPS, providing a very smooth experience. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 92.4 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings yield an average of 80.4 FPS, and even the most demanding Ultra preset maintains an average of 62.1 FPS. This indicates that at 1080p, the system has sufficient headroom to handle the game's highest visual quality without falling below playable levels.

Stepping up to 2560x1440 reveals more significant performance scaling. The Low preset delivers an average of 98.4 FPS, which is excellent for a higher resolution. Medium settings remain comfortable at 67.4 FPS on average. However, High settings drop to 59.9 FPS, just below the 60 FPS playable threshold, and Ultra falls further to 43.2 FPS. The data shows a clear point of diminishing returns at this resolution, where the jump from Medium to High costs a substantial chunk of performance.

At 3840x2160, the system is under considerable strain. Only the Low preset manages to stay above the playable threshold, with an average of 62.6 FPS. Medium settings drop to 44.6 FPS, High falls to 40.9 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 30.6 FPS. The measurements indicate that 4K gaming is only viable with the lowest quality settings, and even then, the margin above 60 FPS is thin.

The recorded data does not include minimum or maximum frame rate values, so the analysis relies solely on average FPS. This means the consistency of frame delivery is not fully captured, but the averages provide a solid baseline for understanding overall performance tiers.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 62.1, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best preset at 2560x1440 to stay above 60 FPS?

A: Medium settings are the most demanding preset that remains playable, with an average of 67.4 FPS. High settings fall just short at 59.9 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this hardware?

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves a playable average of 62.6 FPS. All other presets, Medium, High, and Ultra, fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 has an average benchmark score of 17035. It is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-1260P, which scores 17007, and the Intel Core i5-11400, which scores 17067. The differences are within 0.2%.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all tested GPUs?

A: The GTX 1070 sits at the 47th percentile, indicating it is roughly in the middle of the database's GPU performance distribution.

Q: Which GPU rival has a nearly identical average benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro W5000 has an average score of 9803, while the GTX 1070 scores 9780, a difference of only 0.2%.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the most demanding option that still maintains an average of 62.1 FPS. Since this is above the 60 FPS threshold, players can max out the visual quality without sacrificing playability.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the highest quality setting that stays playable, delivering an average of 67.4 FPS. The High preset at 59.9 FPS is too close to the threshold and technically falls short.

For 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only viable option, with an average of 62.6 FPS. Any higher preset pushes the average below the playable threshold.

The Verdict

The recorded data shows that this PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the experience depends heavily on resolution. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold at every preset, including Ultra. This makes 1080p the ideal resolution for this combination, offering full visual fidelity with a playable frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the system remains capable, but only up to Medium settings. The High preset falls just short at 59.9 FPS, meaning users must choose between a slightly lower frame rate or a lower quality setting.

At 3840x2160, the system is limited to Low settings to stay above 60 FPS. The average of 62.6 FPS is playable, but the visual compromise is significant. The verdict by resolution confirms this: 1080p allows all four presets, 1440p allows Low and Medium, and 4K allows only Low.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 performs almost identically to the Intel Core i7-1260P and the Intel Core i5-11400. The i7-1260P has an average score of 17007, a 0.2% difference from the Ryzen's 17035. The i5-11400 scores 17067, also within 0.2%. The AMD EPYC 7573X and AMD EPYC 7742 are also close, with scores of 17070 and 16998 respectively, but these are server-class parts unlikely to appear in a gaming desktop.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 9780. The closest rival is the AMD FirePro W5000 at 9803, which is 0.2% faster. The NVIDIA Quadro M2000M scores 9832, 0.5% faster, while the NVIDIA Tesla M10 and Tesla C2070 are slightly slower at 9724 and 9716 respectively. These alternatives are from professional or mobile lines, so their gaming performance may vary, but their synthetic scores are nearly identical.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 5 3600 and GTX 1070 ranks 3053 out of 3714 tested combos. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, around the 82nd percentile from the bottom. Given the mid-range nature of both components, this ranking makes sense. The combination is not a high-end performer, but it is not at the very bottom either. The ranking reflects that many other hardware pairings can achieve higher frame rates, but this system still offers playable performance at the right settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals how the workload shifts between the CPU and GPU as resolution changes. At 1920x1080, the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The frame rates are high, ranging from 62.1 FPS at Ultra to 132.2 FPS at Low. The CPU, with a strong multicore score of 15045 in Cinebench R23, has enough headroom to feed the GPU at these lower resolutions.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the GPU load grows. The frame rates drop across all presets, with the Ultra preset falling to 43.2 FPS. This indicates the GTX 1070 is struggling to maintain throughput at higher pixel counts. The CPU's role becomes less critical as the GPU takes longer to render each frame.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The frame rates plummet, with Ultra at 30.6 FPS and High at 40.9 FPS. The CPU is likely waiting on the GPU for most of the frame time. The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent drop in performance that aligns with the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth limitations. The GTX 1070's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256.3 GB/s bandwidth are simply not enough for high-resolution textures and effects at high settings.

The CPU's performance is more consistent across resolutions, as its synthetic scores are not affected by display output. The GPU's percentile rank of 47 versus the CPU's percentile rank of 71 further highlights that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing. For this game, the GPU dictates the playable settings at each resolution, while the CPU provides sufficient support without becoming a major constraint.