Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol presents a demanding workload for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination. The recorded data shows that this system is only capable of delivering a playable experience at 1080p with the lowest settings. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the frame rates fall well below the 60 FPS threshold. The benchmark results indicate a clear hierarchy: the system is fully functional for 1080p Low gaming, but it cannot maintain playable performance at 1440p or 4K under any settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol reveals a steep performance curve across resolutions. At 3840x2160, the system struggles significantly. With Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 17 FPS, which is the lowest recorded performance in the entire dataset. Dropping to High settings at 4K improves the average to 22 FPS. Selecting Medium settings at 3840x2160 yields an average of 26 FPS, with recorded minimum and maximum values of 22 FPS and 30 FPS respectively. The best 4K result comes from Low settings, where the average reaches 36 FPS. Even this best-case 4K result remains far below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the performance improves but remains insufficient for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 1440p produces an average of 26 FPS. High settings at this resolution deliver an average of 35 FPS. Medium settings at 2560x1440 show an average of 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 FPS and a maximum of 46 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p achieves an average of 56 FPS. While this is the closest result to the 60 FPS target at 1440p, it still falls short by 4 FPS, making it unplayable according to the database's threshold.

The 1920x1080 results show the only playable configuration. At Ultra settings, the average is 36 FPS. High settings at 1080p improve the average to 47 FPS. Medium settings deliver an average of 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 63 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p produces an average of 77 FPS, which is the only recorded result that clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. This represents a significant jump of 23 FPS over the Medium preset at the same resolution.

The scaling between presets is consistent. At each resolution, moving from Low to Medium to High to Ultra results in progressively lower average frame rates. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial. At 1080p, the difference is 41 FPS (77 down to 36). At 1440p, the difference is 30 FPS (56 down to 26). At 4K, the difference is 19 FPS (36 down to 17). This scaling pattern shows that the performance cost of higher settings is more pronounced at lower resolutions, where the CPU and GPU have more headroom to work with.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, the database records no playable settings. The verdict data for this resolution lists an empty set of playable settings, meaning no preset achieves an average of 60 FPS or higher. The best average at 4K is 36 FPS, achieved with Low settings. This is 24 FPS below the required threshold. The data clearly indicates that this combination cannot run Lockdown Protocol at 4K.

For 2560x1440, the situation is identical in outcome. No settings are marked as playable. The best result at this resolution is 56 FPS on Low, which is 4 FPS short of the 60 FPS target. Even with all settings reduced to their minimum, the system cannot maintain the required frame rate. The verdict data confirms an empty set of playable settings for 1440p.

For 1920x1080, the database identifies Low as the best playable setting. The verdict marks Low as the best settings with an average FPS of 77. This is the only configuration across all tested resolutions and presets that achieves a playable result. The 77 FPS average provides a 17 FPS margin above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings at 1080p average 54 FPS, which misses the threshold by 6 FPS. The jump from Medium to Low at 1080p represents a 23 FPS improvement, which is enough to cross the playable line. Therefore, users of this hardware should select Low settings at 1080p for a playable experience.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows that the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the dominant factor in this game's performance, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU's architecture and memory configuration limit the system's ability to render Lockdown Protocol at demanding settings. Evidence for this comes from the resolution scaling. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 77 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 56 FPS, a reduction of 21 FPS or roughly 27 percent. At 4K Low, it falls to 36 FPS, another 20 FPS reduction. This consistent degradation as resolution increases points directly to GPU limitations, as the rendering load scales with pixel count.

The CPU, an AMD Ryzen 7 9700F with 8 cores and 16 threads, has ample processing power for this game. Its benchmark scores are strong, with a Passmark single-thread score of 4691 and a multithread score of 36470. The CPU's percentile rank of 94 among all tested CPUs indicates it is a high-performing processor. However, in Lockdown Protocol, the bottleneck is clearly the GPU. The RX 570's benchmark results, including a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 880, place it well below the CPU in relative capability.

At lower resolutions and settings, the CPU's role becomes relatively more important, but even then the GPU holds the system back. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 77 FPS, which suggests the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently at this level. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar frame rates across different resolutions. Instead, we see large drops when moving to 1440p and 4K. This indicates the GPU's rendering throughput is the ceiling. The preset scaling reinforces this: at 1080p, dropping from Ultra to Low yields a 41 FPS gain, which is a massive improvement that would not occur if the CPU was the bottleneck. Higher settings increase GPU workload, and the frame rate responds accordingly.

The RX 570's memory configuration, 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, is a likely contributor to the performance limitations. At higher resolutions and settings, the memory capacity and bandwidth may become insufficient for Lockdown Protocol's textures and buffers. The recorded FPS drops at 4K, even on Low, support this interpretation. The combination of a modern, high-end CPU with an older, entry-level GPU results in a system where the GPU dictates all playable outcomes.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, the CPU's performance is closely matched by several other processors. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX has an average score of 69875, which is 0.2 percent lower than the 9700F's average benchmark score of 69996. The Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70163, putting it 0.2 percent higher. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515, which is 0.7 percent lower. The Intel Core i7-14700K scores 69355, 0.9 percent lower. These four processors would behave nearly identically to the 9700F in Lockdown Protocol, as their compute performance is within a single percentage point. Users with any of these CPUs should expect the same frame rate outcomes when paired with the same GPU.

For the AMD Radeon RX 570, the nearest rivals show a similar story. The AMD Radeon RX 6800M has an average score of 28874, which is 0.4 percent lower than the RX 570's average benchmark score of 28766. The AMD Radeon R9 M295X scores 28580, 0.7 percent higher than the RX 570. The AMD Radeon RX 470 scores 28996, 0.8 percent lower. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 scores 28421, 1.2 percent higher. These deltas are all within 1.2 percent, meaning any of these GPUs would produce essentially the same frame rates in Lockdown Protocol. The RX 470, in particular, shares the same architecture family and would be a direct equivalent. The RX 6800M and Quadro RTX 8000 are different products but their aggregate benchmark scores place them in the same performance tier for this workload.

Combining these alternatives, a system with a Ryzen 9 7940HX or Core i7-14700K paired with an RX 470 or RX 6800M would deliver nearly identical results to the tested configuration. The playable threshold would still only be reached at 1080p Low settings. The 1440p and 4K results would remain unplayable. This highlights that the GPU tier, not the specific CPU model, determines the playable settings for this game.

The Verdict

The question of whether this PC can run Lockdown Protocol has a conditional answer. The verdict data for 3840x2160 shows no playable settings. The system cannot run the game at 4K. The highest average FPS at this resolution is 36 on Low, which is far below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict for 2560x1440 also lists no playable settings. The best effort at 1440p is 56 FPS on Low, missing the threshold by 4 FPS. Therefore, at 1440p, the game is not playable.

At 1920x1080, the verdict confirms a playable configuration. Low settings achieve an average of 77 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with a 17 FPS margin. This is the only setting that works. Medium settings at 1080p fall short at 54 FPS. High and Ultra are also below 60 FPS. The final assessment is that this PC can run Lockdown Protocol only at 1080p with Low settings. The experience will be smooth at that configuration, but users seeking higher visual quality or higher resolutions would need more powerful hardware, specifically a stronger GPU. The CPU is not the limiting factor, but the RX 570's performance ceiling prevents any meaningful increase in settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations, this pairing ranks 3544 out of 3714 total combos. This places it in the lower 5 percent of all tested systems. The rank reflects the GPU's age and performance level. The Ryzen 7 9700F is a top-tier CPU, ranking in the 94th percentile among all CPUs. However, the RX 570 is a much weaker component, ranking in the 74th percentile among GPUs. The combination of a very strong CPU with a modest GPU creates an imbalanced system, and the overall rank of 3544 reflects the GPU's dominance in determining game performance.

The rank of 3544 out of 3714 means that only 170 tested combos perform worse. This is a clear indicator that the system is near the bottom of the database's performance hierarchy. For Lockdown Protocol, this low rank aligns perfectly with the measured FPS data. The system can barely manage 60 FPS at 1080p Low. Most other tested combinations, 3543 of them, achieve better overall performance in the database's metrics. The conclusion is straightforward: this is a low-performing combo for this game, suitable only for the most basic playable settings, and it ranks near the bottom of all tested systems.