Lockdown Protocol

# Can AMD Ryzen 5 8400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 run Lockdown Protocol?

Lockdown Protocol, the FPS released in March 2024, presents an interesting test for this pairing of AMD's budget-oriented 8000-series CPU with NVIDIA's flagship GeForce 50-series GPU. The benchmark data shows this combination ranks 100th out of 3714 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top percentile of systems. The Ryzen 5 8400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads based on Zen 4 architecture, sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 5090, built on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, ranks at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs. This is a system where the GPU clearly outclasses the CPU in relative standing, yet the measured frame rates suggest the pairing works exceptionally well in practice.

How This Combo Ranks

The 100th position out of 3714 combos places this configuration in the top 2.7% of all tested systems for Lockdown Protocol. This ranking reflects the RTX 5090's massive computational advantage, as the GPU's average benchmark score of 79842 dwarfs the CPU's average of 25005. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18355 and PassMark G3D score of 39650 indicate exceptional rasterization performance, while the CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20851 shows solid but not class-leading processing power.

What makes this ranking particularly notable is the imbalance between components. The RTX 5090 ranks among the top GPUs with a 92nd percentile standing, while the Ryzen 5 8400F sits at a more modest 77th percentile. Despite this gap, the combo achieves near-top-tier results in Lockdown Protocol. The data suggests the game is heavily GPU-bound at most settings, allowing the RTX 5090 to dominate while the CPU handles the workload without becoming a limiting factor. The CPU's single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 951 and PassMark single-thread score of 3685, proves adequate for maintaining high frame rates.

The combo's ranking becomes more impressive when considering the CPU's nearest rivals. The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F scores nearly identically with a delta of 0.2%, and the Intel Core i7-11850H and i7-13620H are within 0.4% of the 8400F's average score. The AMD EPYC 9474F, a server-class processor, trails by only 0.4%. This clustering indicates that the 8400F's performance is well-matched to its peers, and the top-100 ranking stems primarily from GPU prowess rather than CPU excellence.

FAQ

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 8400F bottleneck the RTX 5090 in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The benchmark data shows no significant bottlenecking. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 176.7 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it maintains 86.6 FPS. The CPU's PassMark multithread score of 24389 and 3DMark max-threads score of 6165 provide sufficient processing power to keep the GPU fed across all tested settings.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: All three tested resolutions—1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160—achieve playable frame rates at every preset. The most demanding configuration (4K Ultra) still delivers 86.6 FPS, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. The 1440p Ultra setting offers the best balance with 131.2 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5090's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 79842 places it slightly ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (0.3% delta) and P100 PCIe 12 GB (0.6% delta), while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT trails by 1.1%. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 1.4% higher, but these are all professional or mobile parts rather than direct desktop competitors.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 8400F's 16 MB of shared L3 cache sufficient for gaming?

A: The measured results indicate yes. The CPU's cache configuration, combined with its 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth on DDR5, delivers frame rates that never drop below 86.6 FPS at any resolution and preset combination tested. The 3DMark 8-thread score of 5275 suggests the cache handles gaming workloads effectively.

Q: Can this system handle future game updates or more demanding content?

A: The combination's 100th rank out of 3714 combos and the GPU's 92nd percentile standing suggest substantial headroom. At 4K Ultra, the 86.6 FPS average provides a 44% margin above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating capacity for more demanding scenarios. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking may become a limiting factor in CPU-intensive situations, but current data shows no such constraints.

Q: How does the CPU's overclocking capability affect performance?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F has an unlocked multiplier, allowing for manual overclocking beyond its 4.70 GHz boost clock. The base clock of 4.20 GHz and 65W TDP leave thermal headroom for enthusiasts. However, the measured data reflects stock performance, and any overclocking gains would only improve upon the already playable frame rates.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p, the frame rates range from 176.7 FPS at Ultra to 290.8 FPS at Low, showing the GPU's raw throughput capabilities. Moving to 1440p, the same settings produce 131.2 FPS at Ultra and 263.5 FPS at Low. At 4K, the Ultra preset drops to 86.6 FPS while Low maintains 180.4 FPS. The consistent pattern—where each resolution step reduces frame rates by roughly 25-30%—indicates the GPU is the primary performance driver.

The CPU's role becomes visible in the scaling between presets. At 1080p, the difference between Low (290.8 FPS) and Ultra (176.7 FPS) is 114.1 FPS, a 64.6% reduction. This gap narrows at 4K, where Low (180.4 FPS) and Ultra (86.6 FPS) differ by 93.8 FPS, a 52.1% reduction. This suggests that at lower resolutions, where the GPU has more headroom, the CPU's processing capabilities begin to influence frame rates. The CPU's 3DMark 2-thread score of 1874 and 4-thread score of 3563 indicate moderate multi-threading efficiency, which becomes more relevant as frame rates climb.

The RTX 5090's massive memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s and 32 GB of GDDR7 memory ensure that texture streaming and geometry processing never starve the render pipeline. The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance provides ample compute capacity for the game's FPS mechanics. Meanwhile, the CPU's 25,000 million transistors on a 4nm process node deliver efficient instruction execution, though its 16 MB L3 cache is modest compared to the GPU's resources. The data indicates that at 4K, the GPU is almost entirely responsible for frame pacing, while at 1080p, the CPU's contribution becomes measurable but not limiting.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Lockdown Protocol, and it does so with remarkable headroom. The verdict by resolution confirms that every tested setting at every resolution clears the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K, the highest resolution tested, the system achieves playable settings across High (114.1 FPS), Low (180.4 FPS), Medium (126.4 FPS), and Ultra (86.6 FPS). The 1440p results are even stronger, with all settings exceeding 131 FPS. At 1080p, the lowest tested frame rate is 176.7 FPS at Ultra settings.

The best settings per resolution are all at Ultra quality, demonstrating that this combo never needs to compromise visual fidelity for playability. The 4K Ultra result of 86.6 FPS represents a 44.3% margin above the 60 FPS playable threshold, while 1440p Ultra delivers 131.2 FPS (118.7% margin) and 1080p Ultra achieves 176.7 FPS (194.5% margin). For players seeking maximum visual quality, the Ultra preset is viable at all resolutions, and for competitive play, the Low presets at 1080p (290.8 FPS) or 1440p (263.5 FPS) offer exceptional responsiveness on high-refresh displays.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 resolution, the system demonstrates its 4K capability. The High preset averages 114.1 FPS, while Medium produces 126.4 FPS. Low settings jump to 180.4 FPS, and Ultra remains playable at 86.6 FPS. The progression shows that even the most demanding preset maintains nearly 87 FPS, with lower presets providing substantial performance increases.

The 2560x1440 results show a significant performance uplift. High settings deliver 173.8 FPS, Medium reaches 201.3 FPS, and Low hits 263.5 FPS. The Ultra preset at 131.2 FPS demonstrates that even maximum quality settings exceed 130 FPS, making this resolution well-suited for high-refresh gaming.

At 1920x1080, the system pushes extreme frame rates. Low settings achieve 290.8 FPS, Medium delivers 255.8 FPS, and High produces 234.4 FPS. Ultra settings still manage 176.7 FPS, which exceeds the 1440p Ultra result by 34.7%. The 1080p results show the RTX 5090's capability to drive frame rates toward the limits of most displays, with the CPU maintaining pace at these high throughput levels.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, the Ultra preset is the best choice, delivering 86.6 FPS. This provides a 26.6 FPS cushion above the 60 FPS playable threshold while offering the highest visual quality. The next step down, High, provides 114.1 FPS for players who prefer higher frame rates at 4K, but Ultra's margin is sufficient for a smooth experience.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings again prove optimal, achieving 131.2 FPS. This represents a 71.2 FPS margin above the threshold, allowing for both excellent visuals and high refresh rates. The 1440p Ultra result is 51.5% higher than the 4K Ultra figure, showing the resolution's sweet spot for this configuration.

For 1920x1080, Ultra settings deliver 176.7 FPS, the highest quality preset at the fastest tested resolution. This provides a 116.7 FPS margin above the playable threshold, enabling maximum visual fidelity on 144Hz or 165Hz displays without dipping below the refresh rate. The 1080p Ultra performance is 34.7% higher than 1440p Ultra and 104% higher than 4K Ultra.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Ryzen 5 8400F's nearest rivals demonstrate that CPU choice has minimal impact on this combo's gaming performance. The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, with a delta of 0.2%, would produce nearly identical frame rates. The Intel Core i7-11850H and i7-13620H, both within 0.4% of the 8400F's average score, would also behave similarly. The AMD EPYC 9474F, despite being a server processor, scores 0.4% higher and would not meaningfully change gaming results.

For the GPU side, the nearest rivals are less conventional comparisons. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (0.3% delta) and PCIe 12 GB (0.6% delta) are professional compute cards that would theoretically provide similar compute performance but lack gaming-specific optimizations. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (1.1% delta) is a mobile GPU that would not be a practical desktop alternative. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X (1.4% delta) is another professional card. In practice, these rivals represent benchmark score proximity rather than viable gaming alternatives, reinforcing the RTX 5090's unique position in the consumer market. The combination of the 8400F with any of these GPU alternatives would likely produce similar frame rates in lightly-threaded gaming workloads, but the RTX 5090's gaming-specific features and driver support make it the superior choice for Lockdown Protocol.