Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination produces a highly capable 1080p and 1440p gaming system for Lockdown Protocol, with 4K requiring settings compromises. This analysis breaks down the measured performance data, contextualizes the hardware against its nearest rivals, and provides clear guidance on what settings to use at each resolution.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Ryzen 5 5500 sits in a competitive mid-range CPU segment, with benchmark data showing it performs nearly identically to several popular alternatives. Its average benchmark score of 19593 places it within 0.7% of the Intel Core i5-11600KF (19723, -0.7% delta), within 0.4% of the Intel Core i5-12500 (19668, -0.4% delta), and within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19617, -0.1% delta). The only rival in its immediate grouping that edges it out is the Intel Core i7-10700F, which scores 19499 (0.5% delta higher). Practically speaking, these deltas are within measurement noise; swapping the Ryzen 5 5500 for any of these chips would yield no perceptible difference in Lockdown Protocol frame rates. The CPU's percentile ranking versus all tested CPUs is 73, meaning it outperforms roughly three-quarters of the database's CPU pool.

On the GPU side, the RX 6700 XT's average benchmark score of 27425 places it in a tight cluster with some surprising company. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile matches it exactly (27435, 0% delta), while the desktop NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores marginally higher at 27565 (-0.5% delta from the 6700 XT's perspective). The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell trails slightly with 27135 (1.1% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 leads the group at 27839 (-1.5% delta). A builder choosing between these GPUs for Lockdown Protocol should expect essentially identical performance, with the caveat that the RTX 3090's higher absolute score does not translate into a meaningful advantage in this title. The RX 6700 XT's percentile versus all GPUs is 72, indicating it sits comfortably above the median GPU in the database.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured frame rates across resolutions reveal how the balance shifts between CPU and GPU demands in Lockdown Protocol. At 1920x1080, the game is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings: average FPS drops from 190.3 on Low to 86.9 on Ultra, a 54% reduction driven by GPU rendering load. The CPU has ample headroom at this resolution, as even the Low preset's 190.3 FPS average demonstrates the Ryzen 5 5500 can feed frames well beyond typical display refresh rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. Average FPS at Low settings falls to 140.2, and at Ultra it drops to 65.5. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at the same preset shows a consistent GPU-bound pattern: High settings drop from 118.8 to 88.4 FPS, Medium from 135.7 to 102.4, and Low from 190.3 to 140.2. These reductions of roughly 25-30% align with the pixel count increase, confirming that the RX 6700 XT's rendering throughput is the limiting factor rather than CPU thread utilization.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmingly the bottleneck. The gap between Low (92.6 FPS) and Ultra (41.7 FPS) settings widens to a 55% spread, and even Medium settings can only sustain 63.1 FPS. The CPU's role in this title is largely relegated to maintaining minimum frame pacing; the Ryzen 5 5500's 6-core/12-thread configuration and Zen 3 architecture provide sufficient processing power to avoid becoming the constraint at any tested resolution. For players targeting 60 FPS, the data indicates that at 1080p and 1440p the GPU determines playable settings, while at 4K the GPU's limits are exposed clearly.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all 3714 tested CPU-GPU combinations in the database for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing ranks 1934th. This places it in the 52nd percentile of all combos, meaning roughly half of the tested systems deliver higher frame rates and half deliver lower ones. The rank reflects a balanced pairing: the Ryzen 5 5500's 73rd percentile CPU standing and the RX 6700 XT's 72nd percentile GPU standing combine to produce a system that is neither CPU-limited nor GPU-limited in a way that would drag its overall ranking down.

The rank also contextualizes the performance ceiling. While the combo clears the 60 FPS threshold at 1440p Ultra and 1080p Ultra, the 1934th position indicates that many higher-end combinations achieve significantly higher frame rates, particularly at 4K where this system's 41.7 FPS at Ultra settings is a clear weakness. However, the ranking also shows that this combo outperforms a substantial portion of the database, and the components' individual percentiles suggest the system is well-matched without an obvious bottleneck dragging down the other component.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol at playable frame rates across all tested resolutions, but the settings ceiling varies sharply. At 1920x1080, every preset from Low to Ultra clears the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra averaging 86.9 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four presets also remain playable, with Ultra delivering 65.5 FPS and High reaching 88.4 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low and Medium presets maintain playable averages, with Medium at 63.1 FPS being the best playable option; High (57.1 FPS) and Ultra (41.7 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

The practical recommendation is clear: for 1080p gaming, run Ultra settings for the best visual quality with a comfortable frame rate cushion. For 1440p, Ultra is still viable, but the 65.5 FPS average leaves less headroom, so players sensitive to frame dips might prefer High at 88.4 FPS. At 4K, Medium settings at 63.1 FPS is the maximum playable preset, and players wanting higher visual fidelity will need to accept sub-60 FPS performance or lower the resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all resolution and settings combinations. At 3840x2160, the RX 6700 XT delivers an average of 57.1 FPS on High settings, 92.6 FPS on Low, 63.1 FPS on Medium, and 41.7 FPS on Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is substantial, with Ultra producing less than half the frame rate of Low.

At 2560x1440, the results show a more favorable situation: High settings average 88.4 FPS, Low averages 140.2 FPS, Medium averages 102.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 65.5 FPS. The step from High to Ultra is the steepest single-preset drop (88.4 to 65.5 FPS, a 26% reduction), which suggests the Ultra preset includes rendering features that disproportionately tax the GPU.

At 1920x1080, the system shows its strongest performance: High averages 118.8 FPS, Low averages 190.3 FPS, Medium averages 135.7 FPS, and Ultra averages 86.9 FPS. Even at Ultra, the frame rate is well above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a comfortable margin for high-refresh-rate displays in the 75-144 Hz range.

All data points are measured averages with no minimum or maximum frame data provided, so the analysis focuses on sustained average performance rather than frame pacing consistency.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS on a 1440p monitor?

A: Yes. At 2560x1440, all four settings presets clear the 60 FPS threshold: Low averages 140.2 FPS, Medium 102.4 FPS, High 88.4 FPS, and Ultra 65.5 FPS. Ultra is playable but leaves only 5.5 FPS of headroom above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gaming with this hardware?

A: At 3840x2160, Medium settings provide the best playable experience, averaging 63.1 FPS. Low averages 92.6 FPS but sacrifices visual quality, while High (57.1 FPS) and Ultra (41.7 FPS) both fall below the 60 FPS threshold and are not considered playable by the database's standard.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5500 compare to its nearest CPU rivals in benchmark performance?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500's average benchmark score is 19593, which is within 0.7% of the Intel Core i5-11600KF (19723), within 0.4% of the Intel Core i5-12500 (19668), and within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19617). The Intel Core i7-10700F scores 19499, a 0.5% delta higher. These differences are negligible for gaming performance.

Q: How does the RX 6700 XT stack up against its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 6700 XT's average benchmark score of 27425 is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile (27435, 0% delta). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores 27565 (-0.5% delta), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell scores 27135 (1.1% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 scores 27839 (-1.5% delta). All four rivals perform within 1.5% of each other.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the system averages 86.9 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS playability threshold and provides enough headroom for smooth gameplay even during demanding scenes, though no minimum frame rate data is available to assess worst-case drops.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500 or the RX 6700 XT the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck at 3840x2160. The RX 6700 XT's rendering throughput determines the frame rate, as evidenced by the steep decline from Low (92.6 FPS) to Ultra (41.7 FPS) settings. The Ryzen 5 5500's 6-core/12-thread configuration provides sufficient processing power to avoid becoming the constraint at this resolution.