Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a strong 1080p and 1440p experience in Lockdown Protocol, but stumbles at 4K Ultra. The combo ranks in the 46th percentile of tested configurations, with measured data showing a clear performance ceiling tied to resolution scaling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo is firmly in high-refresh territory. Low settings produce an average of 200 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure for this pairing. Medium settings drop to 142 FPS average, with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 163 FPS. High settings average 124 FPS, while Ultra settings still hold at 93 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 107 FPS, indicating that the CPU and GPU have ample headroom even when image quality is pushed.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain playable but show a predictable decline. Low settings average 147 FPS. Medium settings deliver 104 FPS average, with a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS. High settings average 91 FPS, and Ultra settings average 68 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 79 FPS, smaller than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is beginning to take on more load.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low settings average 95 FPS, which is still smooth. Medium settings average 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS. High settings fall to 59 FPS average, slipping just below the 60 FPS playability threshold. Ultra settings average 44 FPS, which is not playable by the benchmark's standard. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 51 FPS, the smallest of the three resolutions, confirming that 4K Ultra is beyond this hardware's comfort zone.

Only the Medium preset at 4K has recorded min/max data, with the 57 FPS minimum dipping below the playable threshold. At 1440p and 1080p, the Medium presets show healthy minimums of 88 FPS and 121 FPS respectively, indicating stable frame pacing.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions reveals a classic shift in bottleneck behavior. At 1080p, the CPU has more influence, as evidenced by the 200 FPS Low result. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D's 8-core, 16-thread configuration and 96 MB of shared L3 cache provide enough compute to push frame rates far beyond what the GPU can maintain at higher settings.

At 1440p, the GPU begins to assert itself. The drop from 147 FPS at Low to 68 FPS at Ultra is a 54% reduction, while the same settings change at 1080p only reduces performance by 53.5%. This subtle shift indicates the RX 7700's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus are being utilized more fully, but the CPU still keeps pace.

At 4K, the GPU dominates. The 95 FPS Low result versus the 44 FPS Ultra result shows a 53.7% performance penalty, but the absolute numbers are much lower than at lower resolutions. The RX 7700's 25.18 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the limiting factor here. The CPU's role diminishes because the pixel fill rate and texture rate — 236.1 GPixel/s and 393.4 GTexel/s respectively — become the primary constraints.

The data suggests that for 1080p and 1440p gaming, this combo is well balanced, with the CPU able to feed the GPU effectively. At 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, and the CPU's performance headroom cannot compensate for the GPU's workload.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1709 out of 3714 tested combinations, placing it in the 46th percentile. This is a mid-pack result, reflecting a capable but not top-tier pairing. The CPU's 80th percentile ranking among all CPUs is significantly higher than the GPU's 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs, which explains why the combo does not rank higher overall.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 15852 is notably lower than the CPU's average of 27896. This asymmetry means the GPU is the weaker link in the pairing. The combo's rank is dragged down by the GPU's position, despite the CPU's strong showing. In games where the CPU is the primary driver, this combo would likely rank higher, but in Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's load at higher resolutions limits the overall score.

The 46th percentile placement indicates that roughly 46% of tested combos perform worse, and 54% perform better. For a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end last-generation CPU, this is a reasonable outcome. The rank also reflects the game's release date of March 2024, meaning the hardware is tested against a modern workload.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals show that the Ryzen 7 5800X3D sits in a tight performance cluster. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800U scores 27887, a 0% delta. The Intel Core i9-10900K scores 27872, a 0.1% delta. The AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 scores 27932, a -0.1% delta. The Intel Core i5-12600KF scores 27799, a 0.3% delta. These differences are negligible, meaning any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are more varied. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15862, a -0.1% delta. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 16014, a -1% delta. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15679, a 1.1% delta. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, a -1.7% delta. The RX 7700 sits between these cards, with the RTX 3060 Ti being the fastest of the group by a small margin.

If a user were to swap the CPU for any of the four rivals, the performance difference would be imperceptible. Swapping the GPU for the RTX 3060 Ti would provide a slight boost, while the R9 370X would be essentially identical. The RX 9060 is also close, though slightly faster. These alternatives would produce similar FPS numbers in Lockdown Protocol, within a few percent of the measured results.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Medium, which produces an average of 67 FPS. The minimum of 57 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold, but the average remains above it. Low settings average 95 FPS and are also playable, but Medium offers higher visual quality while staying above 60 FPS on average. High and Ultra are not playable at 4K, with averages of 59 FPS and 44 FPS respectively.

At 2560x1440, all four settings are playable. The best setting is Ultra, which averages 68 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold, and the higher visual quality comes at a minimal cost compared to High's 91 FPS average. Medium averages 104 FPS, and Low averages 147 FPS, but Ultra provides the best visual experience while maintaining playability.

At 1920x1080, the best setting is also Ultra, averaging 93 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, and the 93 FPS average leaves headroom for demanding scenes. High averages 124 FPS, Medium averages 142 FPS, and Low averages 200 FPS, but Ultra is the clear choice for visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 4K?*

A: Partially. At 4K, only Low and Medium settings are playable, with Medium averaging 67 FPS. High averages 59 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold, and Ultra averages 44 FPS, which is not playable.

Q: What is the best 1440p setting for this combo?

A: Ultra is the best playable setting at 2560x1440, averaging 68 FPS. All four settings — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are above the 60 FPS playable threshold at this resolution.

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

A: The Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896 on average. Its nearest rivals — the Ryzen 7 6800U, Core i9-10900K, Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340, and Core i5-12600KF — all score within a 0.3% delta, so performance differences are negligible.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 7700 scores 15852 on average. The RTX 3060 Ti is 1.7% faster, the RX 9060 is 1% faster, the R9 370X is 0.1% slower, and the Radeon Pro W5500 is 1.1% slower. These differences translate to a few FPS in practice.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the CPU has more influence, as shown by the 200 FPS Low result. The GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution increases, with 4K Ultra limited to 44 FPS due to GPU workload.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1709 out of 3714 tested combinations, placing it in the 46th percentile. The GPU's 58th percentile ranking is lower than the CPU's 80th percentile, indicating the GPU holds back the overall result.