Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 produces an unusual performance profile in Lockdown Protocol, where the GPU’s immense power is consistently tempered by the CPU’s mid-range capabilities. Measured data shows this combination delivers playable frame rates across every resolution and preset tested, with the most demanding settings still clearing the 60 FPS threshold by a comfortable margin. The following analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, component scaling, and practical recommendations for this specific pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the data shows a clear hierarchy across the four presets. Low settings produce an average of 181.2 FPS, which is the highest result at this resolution. Medium settings drop to 130.2 FPS, while High settings average 109.5 FPS. The most demanding Ultra preset still maintains an average of 82.6 FPS, which remains well above the playable threshold of 60 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 98.6 FPS, indicating that the GPU has substantial headroom even under maximum load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance envelope expands noticeably. Low settings average 214.6 FPS, Medium reaches 189.3 FPS, and High delivers 172.9 FPS. Ultra settings at this resolution average exactly 130 FPS, which is 47.4 FPS higher than the Ultra result at 4K. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 84.6 FPS, slightly narrower than at 4K, suggesting that resolution scaling is beginning to diminish the GPU’s advantage.

At 1920x1080, the results approach the upper limits of what the display pipeline can likely deliver. Low settings average 237.3 FPS, Medium hits 209.5 FPS, and High reaches 200.5 FPS. Ultra at 1080p averages 175.8 FPS, which is 93.2 FPS higher than the Ultra result at 4K. Notably, the difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is only 61.5 FPS, the smallest spread across all three resolutions, indicating that the CPU is becoming the limiting factor as resolution decreases.

The data reveals an interesting pattern: the percentage drop from Low to Ultra is 54.4% at 4K, 39.4% at 1440p, and 25.9% at 1080p. This diminishing gap suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU bottleneck prevents the GPU from fully expressing its capability differences between presets.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS scaling across resolutions provides clear evidence of component roles in Lockdown Protocol. At 3840x2160, the GPU is the primary driver of performance. Moving from Low to Ultra at 4K reduces FPS by 98.6, a substantial penalty that reflects the GPU’s workload at high pixel counts. The RTX 5090’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 512-bit bus width are well-suited to this resolution, as evidenced by the 82.6 FPS Ultra result.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts. The FPS difference between Low and Ultra narrows to 84.6, but more tellingly, the absolute FPS values suggest the CPU is starting to constrain peak performance. Low settings at 1440p (214.6 FPS) are only 14.6% lower than Low settings at 1080p (237.3 FPS), despite a 78% increase in pixel count. This disproportionately small drop indicates the CPU is limiting the upper bound.

At 1920x1080, the CPU’s role becomes dominant. The Ryzen 5 5500, with its 6 cores and 12 threads based on Zen 3 architecture, delivers a maximum measured average of 237.3 FPS at Low settings. The fact that Ultra at 1080p (175.8 FPS) is only 61.5 FPS lower than Low suggests the GPU has ample headroom, but the CPU cannot feed it enough frames to differentiate presets further. The 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.20 GHz boost clock appear to be the constraining factors here.

The scaling between resolutions provides additional insight. At Ultra settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p costs 45.8 FPS (from 175.8 to 130), while moving from 1440p to 4K costs 47.4 FPS (from 130 to 82.6). This near-linear scaling at Ultra suggests the GPU is still the limiting factor at the highest quality settings, even at lower resolutions. However, at Low settings, the cost of moving from 1080p to 1440p is only 22.7 FPS (from 237.3 to 214.6), while moving from 1440p to 4K costs 33.4 FPS (from 214.6 to 181.2). This compressed scaling at Low settings points to the CPU bottleneck.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 82.6 FPS. This is the highest quality option available and leaves a 22.6 FPS margin above the playable threshold. The data shows that all four presets at this resolution are playable, with High averaging 109.5 FPS, Medium at 130.2 FPS, and Low at 181.2 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is again the best choice, averaging 130 FPS. This provides a 70 FPS margin above the 60 FPS threshold, making it a comfortable option for high-refresh-rate displays. The other presets are all playable as well: High at 172.9 FPS, Medium at 189.3 FPS, and Low at 214.6 FPS.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings average 175.8 FPS, which is the recommended configuration. This represents a 115.8 FPS margin over the playable threshold, offering substantial headroom for demanding scenes or future patches. The remaining presets are also playable, with High at 200.5 FPS, Medium at 209.5 FPS, and Low at 237.3 FPS.

The data indicates that at every resolution, the Ultra preset is both playable and the best choice for visual quality. The RTX 5090’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth ensure that even the most demanding settings remain well above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Ryzen 5 5500’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores provide context for its performance ceiling. The AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 scores 19617 on average, which is 0.1% lower than the Ryzen 5 5500’s 19593 average. The Intel Core i5-12500 scores 19668, 0.4% lower, while the Intel Core i7-10700F scores 19499, 0.5% higher. The Intel Core i5-11600KF scores 19723, 0.7% lower. These deltas are all within 1% of each other, indicating that swapping the Ryzen 5 5500 for any of these alternatives would produce nearly identical frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios.

For the GPU, the RTX 5090’s nearest rivals are quite different in nature. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79605 on average, 0.3% lower than the RTX 5090’s 79842 average. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79396, 0.6% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940, 1.1% lower, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80959, 1.4% higher. These are all workstation or mobile parts, suggesting that no consumer desktop GPU sits within 1.4% of the RTX 5090’s benchmark average in this database.

The practical implication is that the CPU alternatives would behave nearly identically in Lockdown Protocol, since their benchmark deltas are all under 1%. The GPU alternatives, however, are not direct substitutes for gaming, as they are designed for compute or mobile workloads. The RTX 5090’s 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with the Ryzen 5 5500’s 73rd percentile among all CPUs, highlights the imbalance in this pairing.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol at every resolution and preset tested. The verdictByResolution data confirms that all four settings at each of the three resolutions are playable, with the best settings being Ultra at every resolution. At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 82.6 FPS, providing a 22.6 FPS margin above the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 130 FPS, a 70 FPS margin. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 175.8 FPS, a 115.8 FPS margin.

The combination is clearly GPU-heavy, with the RTX 5090 providing far more graphical horsepower than the Ryzen 5 5500 can fully utilize at lower resolutions. However, this imbalance does not prevent the system from delivering excellent results. Players targeting 4K Ultra will enjoy smooth performance, while those on 1080p or 1440p displays will see exceptionally high frame rates that can take advantage of high-refresh-rate monitors.

The data shows no configuration where the system drops below 60 FPS, even at the most demanding 4K Ultra setting. This makes the pairing viable for all tested scenarios, though the CPU bottleneck at 1080p means that frame rates above 237.3 FPS are not achievable regardless of settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combination achieves in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest measured average is 237.3 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 82.6 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 175.8 at 1920x1080 to 82.6 at 3840x2160, a difference of 93.2 FPS.

Q: Which component is the limiting factor at 1080p resolution?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at 1920x1080, as the FPS spread between Low and Ultra is only 61.5 FPS, indicating the GPU has significant unused headroom.

Q: Is the RTX 5090’s benchmark score close to any other GPU in the database?

A: The nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X, which scores 80959 on average, 1.4% higher than the RTX 5090’s 79842 average.

Q: What is the frame rate at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 189.3 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested combinations in the database for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing ranks 260th out of 3714 combinations. This places it in the top 7% of all tested systems, which is notable given the CPU’s mid-range positioning. The ranking reflects the GPU’s dominant contribution to overall performance, as the RTX 5090’s 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs far exceeds the Ryzen 5 5500’s 73rd percentile among all CPUs.

The rank of 260 out of 3714 indicates that while many combinations outperform this pairing, the vast majority of systems tested fall below it. The data shows that the RTX 5090 is capable of carrying the Ryzen 5 5500 to high frame rates across all resolutions, even though the CPU limits peak performance at lower resolutions. For players considering this combination, the ranking confirms that it is a strong performer in Lockdown Protocol, with the primary caveat being that the CPU will prevent the GPU from reaching its full potential in less demanding scenarios.