Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Lockdown Protocol, clearing the 60 FPS threshold at every tested resolution and preset combination. This combination ranks 685th out of 3,714 tested combos, placing it in the top 18.5% of all systems benchmarked for this title. The data reveals a system with substantial headroom, where even the most demanding Ultra preset at 4K maintains an average of 62 FPS, suggesting that the primary bottleneck shifts between CPU and GPU depending on resolution and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 685 out of 3,714 tested systems indicates strong overall performance, though not elite-tier. This position reflects a balance where the RX 7900 XT's raw rasterization power (51.48 TFLOPS FP32) and the Ryzen 7 7700's 8-core, 16-thread Zen 4 architecture work in concert. The CPU's 3DMark max-thread score of 8,479 and single-thread score of 1,049 suggest it can feed frames efficiently, while the GPU's 20 GB GDDR6 memory with 800.0 GB/s bandwidth prevents capacity or bandwidth stalls at high resolutions.

What is notable is the gap between this combo's rank and what the individual components' percentile scores might predict. The CPU sits at the 87th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU is at the 55th percentile among all GPUs. The combo rank of 685/3714 (roughly the 82nd percentile) suggests Lockdown Protocol is more sensitive to GPU performance than CPU, as the lower-GPU-percentile component seems to drag the combo down slightly from the CPU's lofty position. This makes sense for an FPS title where frame pacing and raw throughput matter more than multi-threaded productivity workloads.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals a clear division of labor. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings drops average FPS from 280 to 206, a 26.4% reduction. From 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at Low, the drop is from 206 to 133, a 35.4% reduction. This accelerating decline as resolution increases points to the GPU becoming progressively more dominant as the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the CPU is heavily involved, allowing the GPU to push 280 FPS, but by 4K Low, the GPU's pixel throughput limits the system to 133 FPS.

The Ultra preset tells a similar story with different magnitudes. At 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 130 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it drops to 96 FPS (26.2% lower); at 4K Ultra, it falls to 62 FPS (35.4% lower than 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across Low and Ultra suggest that resolution scaling is uniform regardless of settings, reinforcing that the GPU is the primary constraint as pixel count increases. However, the fact that 1080p Low (280 FPS) is more than double 1080p Ultra (130 FPS) indicates that settings also heavily tax the GPU, with the CPU capable of much higher frame rates when the graphics load is light.

At 1080p, the CPU's role is more pronounced. The jump from Low (280 FPS) to Medium (199 FPS) to High (174 FPS) to Ultra (130 FPS) shows a 53.6% reduction from Low to Ultra, which is less severe than the resolution-based drops. This suggests that while the CPU can push well beyond 200 FPS at low settings, the GPU's shading and rasterization work at higher presets becomes the limiting factor. The measured min/max figures at Medium settings (169-229 FPS at 1080p, 124-168 at 1440p, 80-108 at 4K) show tighter frame times at lower resolutions, indicating less variance when the GPU isn't saturated.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all presets. Low settings average 280 FPS, making this a high-refresh-rate dream for competitive play. Medium settings average 199 FPS with a minimum of 169 and maximum of 229, providing smooth gameplay with modest visual improvements. High settings average 174 FPS, still far above any display's refresh rate. Ultra settings average 130 FPS, which remains well above the 60 FPS playability threshold and offers the full visual experience.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU's workload. Low settings average 206 FPS, still excellent for high-refresh monitors. Medium settings average 146 FPS with a range of 124-168 FPS, showing slightly wider variance than 1080p. High settings average 127 FPS, maintaining smooth gameplay. Ultra settings average 96 FPS, which is 26.2% lower than 1080p Ultra but still comfortably above 60 FPS with room for frame drops.

At 3840x2160, the combo finally encounters meaningful limits. Low settings average 133 FPS, which is still very playable and represents a 52.5% drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 94 FPS with a minimum of 80 FPS, showing the first sub-100 FPS average at 4K. High settings average 82 FPS, still above 60 FPS but with less headroom. Ultra settings average 62 FPS, which barely clears the 60 FPS threshold — the minimum at this setting is not recorded, but given the 80 FPS minimum at Medium, players could see occasional dips below 60 FPS at Ultra 4K during intense scenes.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but barely. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 62 FPS, which just clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. The minimum FPS is not recorded for this preset, so occasional dips below 60 are possible, but the average is playable.

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080 Low settings, the system achieves 280 FPS average, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate competitive monitors. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 130 FPS average exceeds most 120Hz or 144Hz displays.

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

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 has an average benchmark score of 40,081, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (40,048), 0.2% lower than the Intel Core 5 221E (40,144), 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 270 (40,246), and 0.6% lower than the Intel Core i9-13905H (40,313). These are all within 0.6% of each other, indicating near-identical synthetic performance.

Q: Is the GPU's performance consistent with its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 7900 XT's average benchmark score of 13,745 is 1.5% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13,543), 0.5% higher than the AMD Radeon 660M (13,812), 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (13,821), and 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 570X (13,871). The deltas are small, but the RX 9070 XT is the closest competitor at 1.5% faster.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 146 FPS with a minimum of 124 FPS and maximum of 168 FPS at 2560x1440 Medium settings. This provides smooth gameplay with good visual quality and significant headroom above 60 FPS.

Q: Does the system maintain 60 FPS at all resolutions and presets?

A: Yes. According to the verdict data, all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at all three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160). The lowest average is 62 FPS at 4K Ultra, which still clears the 60 FPS threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 130 FPS. This provides the full visual experience while maintaining a frame rate that exceeds most monitors' refresh rates. The data shows no reason to compromise on settings at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings also remain the best choice, averaging 96 FPS. This is 26.2% lower than 1080p Ultra but still offers a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, allowing for occasional frame drops without hitting the playability threshold.

At 3840x2160, Ultra settings average 62 FPS, which technically clears the 60 FPS requirement but leaves minimal headroom. For players who prefer a safety margin, High settings at 82 FPS average would be a more stable choice, but Ultra remains playable based on the measured data.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol at all tested resolutions and presets, clearing the 60 FPS threshold in every configuration. The verdict data confirms that all four settings — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable at 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160. The strongest performance is at 1080p, where even Ultra settings deliver 130 FPS average, making this an excellent choice for high-refresh-rate gaming. At 1440p, Ultra settings at 96 FPS provide a great balance between visual quality and smoothness. At 4K, Ultra settings at 62 FPS are playable but with only a 2 FPS margin above the threshold; players seeking more stability should consider High settings at 82 FPS. Overall, this combo offers versatile performance that adapts well to different display capabilities, with the caveat that 4K Ultra is the only configuration that approaches the playability limit.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the AMD Ryzen 7 7700, the nearest CPU rivals in synthetic benchmark scores are all within 0.6% of its 40,081 average score. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (40,048, +0.1%) and Intel Core 5 221E (40,144, -0.2%) would behave nearly identically in CPU-bound scenarios within Lockdown Protocol. The AMD Ryzen 9 270 (40,246, -0.4%) and Intel Core i9-13905H (40,313, -0.6%) are also effectively equivalent for gaming purposes, given the small deltas. Since this game appears GPU-limited at higher resolutions, swapping the CPU for any of these rivals would likely produce no measurable difference in frame rates.

For the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, the nearest GPU rivals show slightly larger performance gaps. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13,543, +1.5%) is the closest competitor and would deliver marginally higher frame rates in GPU-bound scenarios, potentially pushing 4K Ultra from 62 FPS to around 63 FPS. The AMD Radeon 660M (13,812, -0.5%) and NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (13,821, -0.5%) are essentially tied with the RX 7900 XT, while the AMD Radeon RX 570X (13,871, -0.9%) is slightly slower. In practice, the 0.5-1.5% differences would translate to 1-2 FPS changes at 4K Ultra, meaning any of these GPUs would deliver a nearly identical experience in Lockdown Protocol.