Lockdown Protocol

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 123 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure for this pairing across all tested configurations. Medium settings hold at 87 FPS average, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS. High settings drop to 76 FPS average, while Ultra settings fall to 57 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 66 FPS, indicating that the preset choice heavily influences the frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the measured averages show a clear step down. Low settings achieve 90 FPS average, Medium settings reach 64 FPS average with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS, High settings produce 56 FPS average, and Ultra settings yield 42 FPS average. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 27% of the frame rate at Low settings, while at High settings the drop is about 26%. This suggests that resolution scaling has a consistent impact across the lower and mid presets.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes marginal. Low settings average 58 FPS, Medium settings average 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS, High settings average 36 FPS, and Ultra settings average 27 FPS. The 4K data shows that only the Low preset approaches the playable threshold, and even then it falls short by 2 FPS on average. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum FPS of 35, which is well below smooth gameplay standards. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is severe: at Medium settings, the average drops from 64 FPS to 41 FPS, a reduction of 36%. At High settings, the average drops from 56 FPS to 36 FPS, a 36% reduction as well.

The recorded data includes min and max values only for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the spread between minimum and maximum is 26 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the spread is 19 FPS. At 4K Medium, the spread narrows to 12 FPS. This tightening of the frame time variance at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU becomes the limiting factor more consistently as pixel count rises.

How This Combo Ranks

This CPU and GPU pairing ranks 3166 out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. That places it in the lower 15% of all tested systems, meaning the vast majority of configurations deliver better average performance in this game. The percentile data for the individual components supports this overall ranking: the Ryzen 7 9700F sits at the 94th percentile among all CPUs, while the GTX 1660 SUPER sits at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs. The large discrepancy between these two percentiles indicates that the graphics card is the bottleneck for this pairing in Lockdown Protocol.

The combo rank of 3166 out of 3714 reflects the reality that the GTX 1660 SUPER, despite being a competent 1080p card, holds back the Ryzen 7 9700F in this FPS title. The CPU is capable of far higher frame rates, but the GPU's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus width limit how many frames can be pushed at higher resolutions and presets. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combination reaches 123 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra it falls to 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. This pattern is consistent with a GPU-limited scenario where the CPU has headroom to spare.

Relative to all tested combinations, this pairing performs best at 1080p with lower presets. The rank does not improve at higher resolutions because the GPU cannot maintain playable frame rates at 4K under any preset. The recorded data shows that no 4K setting clears the 60 FPS threshold, and only Low and Medium at 1440p, plus Low, Medium, and High at 1080p, achieve playable averages.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database are all high-end desktop and mobile processors. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 0.2% higher on average, the Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 0.2% lower, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 0.7% higher, and the Intel Core i7-14700K scores 0.9% higher. These differences are negligible in real-world gaming, so any of these CPUs paired with the GTX 1660 SUPER would produce nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol. The Ryzen 7 9700F's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for this game, and the bottleneck will remain the GPU regardless of which of these rival CPUs is installed.

On the GPU side, the nearest rivals to the GTX 1660 SUPER are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (0.4% higher score), the AMD Radeon RX 580 (0.4% higher), the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 (0.7% lower), and the AMD Radeon 740M (0.9% higher). The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and RX 580 are the most relevant comparisons for gaming, as the Tesla M2090 is a compute-oriented card and the Radeon 740M is an integrated solution. Swapping the GTX 1660 SUPER for an RX 580 would produce nearly identical performance in Lockdown Protocol, with the RX 580's slightly higher average score translating to at most a 1 FPS difference at any given setting. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, despite being a mobile part, would behave similarly due to its comparable average score.

For users considering an upgrade path, the data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor. Even the closest CPU rival, the Ryzen 9 7950X, would not meaningfully change frame rates because the GTX 1660 SUPER is already at its performance ceiling. The GPU alternatives listed above would all perform within 1% of each other, making the choice between them a matter of platform or power considerations rather than gaming performance in this title.

The Verdict

The measured data provides a clear answer: this combination can run Lockdown Protocol at playable frame rates, but only at specific resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the playable settings are Low, Medium, and High, with High being the best preset that maintains an average of 76 FPS, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra at 1080p averages 57 FPS, which falls short of the playable threshold by 3 FPS. At 2560x1440, the playable settings are Low and Medium, with Medium averaging 64 FPS, just barely clearing the threshold. High at 1440p averages 56 FPS, which is not playable. At 3840x2160, no settings are playable; the closest is Low at 58 FPS average, which misses the threshold by 2 FPS.

The verdict by resolution is therefore: 1080p is playable at up to High settings, 1440p is playable at up to Medium settings, and 4K is not playable at any setting. For users who prioritize smooth gameplay, the recommended configuration is 1080p High settings, which offers a balance of visual quality and frame rate. For those who need higher resolution, 1440p Medium is the only option that clears 60 FPS, and it does so with a narrow margin, as the minimum recorded FPS of 54 indicates occasional dips below the threshold.

The data also shows that the 60 FPS threshold is a hard boundary for this pairing. Every playable configuration exceeds it by at least 4 FPS, while every non-playable configuration falls short by at least 3 FPS. There is no ambiguous middle ground, which makes the recommendation clear: stick to 1080p or 1440p with lower presets for a consistent experience.

FAQ

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

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS recorded is 58 at Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium averages 41 FPS, High averages 36 FPS, and Ultra averages 27 FPS. No 4K preset achieves playable performance.

Q: What is the best setting for 1920x1080?

A: High settings, which average 76 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at 1080p. Ultra averages 57 FPS and is not playable.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the performance in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The Ryzen 7 9700F ranks in the 94th percentile among CPUs, while the GTX 1660 SUPER ranks in the 53rd percentile among GPUs. The frame rates drop sharply as resolution increases, which is typical of GPU-bound scenarios.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 3166 out of 3714 tested combinations. This places it in the lower 15% of all systems tested in Lockdown Protocol, meaning most other configurations deliver higher average frame rates.

Q: What GPU would perform similarly to the GTX 1660 SUPER?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 scores 0.4% higher on average, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile also scores 0.4% higher. Both would produce nearly identical frame rates in this game.

Q: Can this system handle 1440p gaming?

A: Yes, but only at Low or Medium settings. Medium averages 64 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS, while Low averages 90 FPS. High and Ultra at 1440p are not playable, with averages of 56 FPS and 42 FPS respectively.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best playable preset is High, which delivers an average of 76 FPS. This is the most demanding setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS. Low averages 123 FPS and Medium averages 87 FPS, both of which are also playable, but High offers the best visual fidelity among the playable options. Ultra is not playable, averaging 57 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the best playable preset is Medium, which averages 64 FPS. This barely clears the 60 FPS threshold, and the minimum recorded FPS of 54 suggests some scenes will dip below it. Low averages 90 FPS and is also playable, but Medium provides better visual quality. High and Ultra are not playable.

At 3840x2160, there is no playable preset. The closest is Low at 58 FPS average, which misses the threshold by 2 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall well below 60 FPS, with averages of 41, 36, and 27 FPS respectively. Users with 4K displays should reduce the resolution to 1440p or lower to achieve playable frame rates.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded data shows a clear pattern of GPU dominance in Lockdown Protocol. At 1080p Low, the combination averages 123 FPS, which is well above the CPU's threshold for bottlenecking. As the resolution increases to 1440p, the same preset drops to 90 FPS, a 27% reduction. At 4K Low, it drops to 58 FPS, a further 36% reduction from 1440p. This consistent scaling with resolution indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the primary constraint.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and presets. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 123 FPS, which suggests the Ryzen 7 9700F can feed frames quickly enough to keep the GPU busy. However, even at this optimal configuration, the GPU still limits the final output. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates across different resolutions, but the data shows a steep decline as pixel count rises.

The preset scaling also points to GPU limitation. At 1080p, going from Low to Ultra reduces the average from 123 FPS to 57 FPS, a 54% drop. At 1440p, the same preset change reduces the average from 90 FPS to 42 FPS, a 53% drop. At 4K, the drop from Low to Ultra is from 58 FPS to 27 FPS, a 53% reduction. The consistency of this percentage across resolutions indicates that the GPU's shader and memory throughput are the limiting factors, not the CPU's processing power.

The Ryzen 7 9700F's high percentile ranking (94th) compared to the GTX 1660 SUPER's mid-range ranking (53rd) further confirms this analysis. In a CPU-bound scenario, the frame rates would remain relatively stable across resolutions, but the data shows significant degradation. This combination is firmly GPU-limited in Lockdown Protocol, meaning that upgrading the graphics card would yield the largest performance gains, while upgrading the CPU would have minimal impact on frame rates at any resolution or preset.