Lockdown Protocol

Measured FPS Breakdown

Lockdown Protocol is a demanding FPS title, and the recorded data for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F with Intel Arc B370 shows a wide performance spread depending on resolution and quality preset. At 3840x2160, the system struggles across all settings. The High preset delivers an average of 23 FPS, while Medium improves slightly to 27 FPS with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 31 FPS. Dropping to Low raises the average to 38 FPS, but the Ultra preset falls to just 18 FPS. None of these figures approach the 60 FPS playability threshold, and the gap between Low and Ultra is substantial, roughly doubling the frame rate when moving from the highest to the lowest quality tier.

At 2560x1440, performance improves but remains below the playable mark in every preset. High averages 36 FPS, Medium reaches 42 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS, and Low climbs to 58 FPS. Ultra sits at 27 FPS. The jump from 3840x2160 to 2560x1440 is significant, with Low improving from 38 to 58 FPS, a gain of over 50%. Medium sees a similar proportional uplift, moving from 27 to 42 FPS. Even at this lower resolution, the best recorded average is 58 FPS, just shy of the 60 FPS target.

At 1920x1080, the system finally approaches playable territory. Low preset delivers a solid 80 FPS average, comfortably above the threshold. Medium averages 57 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS, meaning it dips below 60 in demanding scenes. High averages 49 FPS, and Ultra drops to 37 FPS. The scaling from 2560x1440 to 1920x1080 is notable: Low improves from 58 to 80 FPS, while Medium moves from 42 to 57 FPS. High gains from 36 to 49 FPS, and Ultra from 27 to 37 FPS.

The data shows clear diminishing returns at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, even the lowest preset cannot keep the frame rate above 40 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low comes close to the target but still falls short. Only at 1920x1080 with Low settings does the combination of this CPU and GPU deliver a reliable 60 FPS experience. Medium at 1080p is borderline, with the average below the threshold and the minimum well under it. The min/max figures recorded only for Medium presets indicate variance: at 1080p Medium, the spread from 48 to 65 FPS shows that gameplay can swing by 17 FPS, which may be noticeable in a fast-paced FPS. At 1440p Medium, the spread is 13 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 8 FPS, suggesting that frame pacing becomes more consistent as resolution increases, albeit at much lower overall performance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the Intel Arc B370 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration. The GPU, with its low compute throughput of 6.144 TFLOPS and a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184, sits in the 5th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, ATI Radeon HD 5770, AMD Radeon HD 7650M, and AMD FirePro M2000, all of which are older or lower-tier parts. The Arc B370's performance class is far below what modern FPS titles require at higher resolutions.

The CPU, by contrast, is a strong desktop processor. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, built on Zen 5 architecture with 8 cores and 16 threads, posts a multithread score of 36470 and a single-thread score of 4691. It sits in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 69996. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, Intel Core i7-14700KF, AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, and Intel Core i7-14700K, all of which are high-end parts with scores within 1% of the 9700F. This processor is not limiting the frame rate in Lockdown Protocol.

The scaling between resolutions confirms this. When moving from 3840x2160 to 2560x1440, the frame rate increases by roughly 50% at Low settings, from 38 to 58 FPS. This is a large jump that indicates the GPU is being relieved of pixel workload. From 2560x1440 to 1920x1080, the gain is smaller in relative terms, from 58 to 80 FPS, but still substantial. If the CPU were the constraint, the frame rate would remain similar across resolutions, since the CPU workload does not change significantly with resolution. Instead, the data shows that lowering resolution consistently improves FPS, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance.

Preset scaling also points to the GPU as the limiting factor. At 1920x1080, moving from Low to Medium reduces the average from 80 to 57 FPS, a drop of 29%. From Medium to High, it falls to 49 FPS, and from High to Ultra, to 37 FPS. These are large penalties for each quality tier, driven by increased shading, texture, and post-processing demands that load the GPU. The CPU has ample headroom, as evidenced by its high benchmark scores and percentile ranking. In a GPU-bound scenario, the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them, which is exactly what the data shows.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is severely overburdened. Even Low settings yield only 38 FPS, and Ultra drops to 18 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 20 FPS, while at 1080p it is 43 FPS. This suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU's fixed compute resources are saturated regardless of settings, and quality changes have less relative impact. The system's memory bandwidth is system-dependent, and the GPU uses shared system memory, which further limits performance at high resolutions where bandwidth demands increase.

In summary, the CPU is more than capable for Lockdown Protocol, while the GPU is the decisive weak point. The Ryzen 7 9700F's nearest rivals all deliver similar CPU performance, so swapping in a different high-end processor would not meaningfully change these results. The Intel Arc B370, however, is in a performance class that cannot sustain 60 FPS at any resolution above 1080p, and even at 1080p only the lowest preset clears the threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

The verdict by resolution is clear. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves the 60 FPS playability threshold. The best recorded average is 38 FPS on Low settings, which is far below the target. There is no "best settings" recommendation for 4K because none are playable. The same applies to 2560x1440, where the highest average is 58 FPS on Low, still under the 60 FPS line. The data indicates that this resolution is not viable for smooth gameplay with this hardware.

At 1920x1080, the only preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 80 FPS. This is the recommended configuration for playable performance. Medium preset falls short at 57 FPS average, with a minimum of 48 FPS that would cause noticeable stutter in action sequences. High and Ultra are worse, at 49 and 37 FPS respectively. Therefore, the best settings for 1080p are Low, delivering 80 FPS average. This leaves no headroom for higher quality, but it does provide a smooth experience above the threshold.

For users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, Medium at 1080p offers 57 FPS average, which is close to the target but not consistently above it. The min/max data shows that this preset can dip to 48 FPS, which is below what most FPS players would consider acceptable. Low settings, by contrast, have no recorded minimum, but the average of 80 FPS suggests a comfortable margin. The database does not record min/max for Low, so it is possible that dips occur, but the average is high enough to absorb most variance.

At 1440p, even Low settings are not playable by this metric. The 58 FPS average is tantalizingly close to 60, but the lack of a recorded minimum means we cannot rule out dips below the threshold. Given that the average itself is below 60, the verdict is that no settings at 1440p are playable. The same logic applies to 4K, where the gap is much larger.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS on a 4K monitor?

A: No. The highest recorded average at 3840x2160 is 38 FPS on Low settings. Medium averages 27 FPS, High 23 FPS, and Ultra 18 FPS. None of these reach the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this hardware?

A: There is no playable preset at 2560x1440. Low settings come closest with 58 FPS average, but this is below the 60 FPS target. Medium averages 42 FPS, High 36 FPS, and Ultra 27 FPS.

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 9700F bottleneck the Intel Arc B370 in this game?

A: No. The CPU is in the 94th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 69996, while the GPU is in the 5th percentile with a score of 1184. The frame rate scaling across resolutions and presets confirms the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The recorded average is 37 FPS. This is well below the 60 FPS threshold and would result in a sluggish experience for a fast-paced FPS.

Q: Is Medium settings at 1080p playable?

A: The average is 57 FPS, just under the threshold, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. The dips below 60 FPS make it a borderline choice, but the database does not classify it as playable.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190, the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192, and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168. All are within 1.4% of the Arc B370, meaning they would perform nearly identically in this game.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F has several near-identical rivals. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69875, which is 0.2% higher than the 9700F's average of 69996. The Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70163, 0.2% lower. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515, 0.7% higher, and the Intel Core i7-14700K scores 69355, 0.9% higher. These deltas are negligible, meaning any of these CPUs would produce nearly the same frame rates in Lockdown Protocol when paired with the same GPU. None of them would change the GPU-bound nature of the system.

For the GPU, the Intel Arc B370 is closely matched with several older or lower-end parts. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186, which is 0.2% below the Arc B370's 1184. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190, 0.5% below. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192, 0.7% below. The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, 1.4% above. These differences are within a couple of points in the benchmark, so in practical terms, all of these GPUs would deliver essentially identical performance in Lockdown Protocol. A user with any of these GPUs would see the same resolution and preset limitations: no 4K playability, no 1440p playability, and only 1080p Low at 80 FPS.

It is important to note that these rival GPUs are from older generations, and their driver support and feature sets may differ, but the raw benchmark scores indicate that the Arc B370 is in a performance tier that is not suited for modern FPS games at higher settings. The CPU alternatives, by contrast, are all current or recent high-end parts, so the system's weakness is entirely on the graphics side.

The Verdict

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the Intel Arc B370 cannot run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS at 3840x2160 or 2560x1440. The verdict by resolution is explicit: no settings are playable at either 4K or 1440p. At 4K, the best average is 38 FPS on Low, and at 1440p, it is 58 FPS on Low. Both fall short of the 60 FPS playability threshold. The database ranks this combination at 3427 out of 3714 tested combos for this game, placing it in the bottom 8% of systems.

At 1920x1080, the system is playable only on Low settings, with an average of 80 FPS. This is the sole configuration that clears the 60 FPS line. Medium settings average 57 FPS, which is below the threshold, and the minimum of 48 FPS confirms that gameplay will stutter during demanding scenes. High and Ultra are not viable, with averages of 49 and 37 FPS respectively.

The data indicates that this is a GPU-limited system. The Arc B370's 5th percentile ranking and low compute throughput make it unsuitable for anything beyond 1080p Low in this title. The CPU, with its 94th percentile ranking and high benchmark scores, has plenty of headroom and is not the cause of the low frame rates. Users seeking to play Lockdown Protocol at higher resolutions or quality settings would need a significantly more powerful GPU. For 1080p gaming at Low settings, this system delivers a smooth 80 FPS experience, but it cannot go beyond that without sacrificing the 60 FPS target.