Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti delivers a performance profile in Lockdown Protocol that is defined by high average frame rates across most settings, with the primary limitation emerging only at 4K Ultra. The data places this combination at rank 1324 out of 3714 tested combos, which is within the top 36% of all systems tested. The CPU and GPU individually sit in strong percentiles—94th for the processor and 75th for the graphics card—but the measured results show that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides ample headroom at 1080p.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Ryzen 7 9700F shows benchmark scores that place it in a tight cluster with several high-end processors. Its average benchmark score of 69996 is within 0.9% of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515, deltaPct 0.7) and within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875, deltaPct 0.2). The Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70163, which is 0.2% higher than the 9700F, while the Intel Core i7-14700K is 0.9% lower at 69355. This means for Lockdown Protocol, systems using any of these four CPUs would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance; the differences are within measurement noise.

On the GPU side, the RTX 3070 Ti’s average benchmark score of 29945 is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (29928, deltaPct 0.1). The AMD Radeon RX 6800 scores 30095, which is 0.5% higher, while the RTX 2080 Ti scores 29783, a 0.5% deficit. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 is the outlier at 30433, showing 1.6% higher performance. For Lockdown Protocol specifically, swapping the GPU for any of these near-equal alternatives would result in frame rate differences of only one or two FPS in most scenarios. Users upgrading from an RTX 2080 Ti or migrating from an RX 6800 should expect near-identical experience with the RTX 3070 Ti.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU scaling across resolutions. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves 139 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 High reduces the average to 102 FPS, a 26.6% drop. At 3840x2160 High, the average falls to 66 FPS, which is a further 35.3% reduction from 1440p. This consistent degradation as resolution increases indicates that the RTX 3070 Ti is the primary performance limiter; the CPU is not holding back the system.

The role of the CPU becomes more evident when comparing preset scaling at a fixed resolution. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 120 FPS (225 vs 105 FPS), which is a 53% performance penalty for the Ultra preset. At 3840x2160, the same Low-to-Ultra comparison shows a drop from 106 to 49 FPS, a 54% reduction. The fact that the percentage penalty for Ultra settings is similar across all three resolutions indicates that the render workload scales proportionally with pixel count and settings, but the GPU is the component that handles this load. The CPU maintains its output consistently, as evidenced by the 165 FPS at 1440p Low versus 225 FPS at 1080p Low; the gap is due to pixel count, not CPU limits.

At 4K Ultra, the combo falls below the 60 FPS threshold with 49 FPS, demonstrating that the 3070 Ti’s 8 GB of GDDR6X memory and 608.3 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the most demanding preset at that resolution. Conversely, at 1080p, even the Ultra preset stays well above 60 FPS at 105 FPS, indicating the GPU has enough headroom that the CPU can feed it adequately.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide specific data points for each resolution and preset combination. At 3840x2160 (4K), the Low preset achieves an average of 106 FPS. Medium averages 76 FPS with a minimum of 64 and maximum of 87. High averages 66 FPS, and Ultra drops to 49 FPS. The 4K Medium data includes the only recorded frame-time variance in the dataset, with a spread of 23 FPS between minimum and maximum.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the Low preset averages 165 FPS. Medium hits 117 FPS with a range of 99 to 135 FPS. High delivers 102 FPS, while Ultra stays at 77 FPS. The 1440p Medium minimum of 99 FPS indicates that even during demanding scenes, the system stays well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the fastest results appear: Low averages 225 FPS, Medium averages 160 FPS with a 136 to 184 FPS range, High averages 139 FPS, and Ultra averages 105 FPS. The 1080p Medium range shows a 48 FPS spread, which is the largest variance in the dataset, suggesting that the CPU is occasionally limiting during intense action sequences, but the absolute minimum is still more than double the playable threshold.

The progression from 4K to 1440p to 1080p shows consistent scaling: the 1080p High average of 139 FPS is 1.36 times the 1440p High average of 102 FPS, and the 1440p High is 1.55 times the 4K High of 66 FPS. This scaling factor is typical of a GPU-bound scenario where doubling resolution roughly quarters the pixel throughput.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1324 out of 3714 tested combinations places it in the 64th percentile of all tested systems for Lockdown Protocol. This is a solid mid-to-high ranking, but not near the top. The CPU’s individual percentile of 94 vs all CPUs indicates that the processor is far more capable than the median; the GPU’s percentile of 75 vs all GPUs is lower, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing.

Compared to the nearest rival GPU, the RTX 5070 Mobile (deltaPct 0.1), the desktop RTX 3070 Ti performs essentially the same in synthetic benchmarks. However, in Lockdown Protocol, the desktop card’s 8 GB memory capacity and the GPU’s TDP of 290 W suggest it can maintain sustained performance for the entire session. The combo rank reflects the measured FPS data: at 4K Ultra it fails (49 FPS), but at every other preset and resolution it exceeds 60 FPS.

The rank of 1324 means there are 2390 combos that perform better, likely featuring higher-tier GPUs or more powerful CPUs. However, the ranking is still within the top third of all systems, which is notable given the GPU is now end-of-life.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is clear. At 3840x2160, the 9700F + RTX 3070 Ti can run Lockdown Protocol at playable settings, but only up to High preset. The High preset averages 66 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with 6 FPS to spare. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 49 FPS, which is not playable. The Medium preset averages 76 FPS, and the Low preset averages 106 FPS, both well above the threshold.

At 2560x1440, the combo can run every preset at playable frame rates. The Ultra preset averages 77 FPS, which is 28% above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset delivers 102 FPS, Medium 117 FPS, and Low 165 FPS. Any user at 1440p can select Ultra with confidence.

At 1920x1080, the system is thoroughly capable. The Ultra preset averages 105 FPS, which is 75% above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset averages 139 FPS, Medium averages 160 FPS, and Low averages 225 FPS. This resolution is the sweet spot for this combination, offering the most graphical headroom.

The only configuration that fails to reach 60 FPS is 4K Ultra at 49 FPS. All other tested combinations are playable.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 66 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that both clears the threshold and provides the highest visual quality among the playable options. Users who want more smoothness can drop to Medium at 76 FPS, but High is the best balance.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves 77 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target. This is the highest quality preset available, and the data shows no reason to lower settings. The minimum recorded at 1440p Medium is 99 FPS, indicating the system holds frame rates well even in complex scenes.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 105 FPS, which is the best performance relative to the 60 FPS threshold. This is the recommended setting for users with 1080p displays, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining 75% headroom above the playable threshold.

FAQ

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

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 49, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The system requires dropping to High at 4K to achieve 66 FPS.

Q: What is the highest resolution at which this combo can run Ultra settings?

A: The highest resolution with playable Ultra settings is 2560x1440, where the average FPS is 77. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 105 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 Ti compare to the RTX 2080 Ti in this game?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 29945, which is 0.5% higher than the RTX 2080 Ti’s 29783. In Lockdown Protocol, the performance difference would be negligible, likely 1-2 FPS.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9700F a bottleneck for the RTX 3070 Ti at 1080p?

A: The CPU scores 421988 in data compression and 4691 in single-thread tests, which are high. The 1080p Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 136, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold, so the CPU is not a practical bottleneck in this game.

Q: Which presets are playable at 4K according to the data?

A: At 4K, the playable presets are High (66 FPS), Low (106 FPS), and Medium (76 FPS). Ultra is not playable at 49 FPS.

Q: What is the overall rank of this combo for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The combo ranks 1324 out of 3714 tested combinations, placing it in the top 36% of all systems tested for this game.