Lockdown Protocol

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that remains at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers an average of 73 FPS. This leaves a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS playability threshold, and the frame rate is high enough that even transient drops are unlikely to cause visible stutter. The High preset runs at 98 FPS average, Medium at 112 FPS, and Low at 157 FPS, but the Ultra preset is the clear choice for maximum visual fidelity given the headroom available.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset again qualifies as the best setting, producing an average of 113 FPS. This is nearly double the 60 FPS threshold, meaning the system has substantial performance reserves. The High preset reaches 151 FPS, Medium hits 173 FPS, and Low tops out at 244 FPS, but none of these lower presets are necessary given how well Ultra performs at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 155 FPS, making it the optimal choice. The frame rate is more than 2.5 times the playability threshold. High runs at 206 FPS, Medium at 236 FPS, and Low reaches 333 FPS. Because every preset clears 60 FPS with ease, the recommendation is simply to use Ultra at all three resolutions, as the data shows no reason to sacrifice quality for performance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling pattern across resolutions reveals how the workload shifts between the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 333 FPS, while at 3840x2160 the same preset drops to 157 FPS. This 2.1x reduction in frame rate when pixel count increases roughly 4x indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames.

The Medium preset shows a similar trend: 236 FPS at 1080p, 173 FPS at 1440p, and 112 FPS at 4K. The proportional drops between resolutions are consistent with GPU-bound scaling. However, the delta between Low and Medium presets at a given resolution is instructive. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium reduces average FPS from 333 to 236, a 29% decrease. At 4K, the same preset change drops from 157 to 112, a 29% decrease as well. This consistency suggests the CPU is not limiting performance even at lower resolutions, since the GPU workload scaling remains uniform.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. At 1080p, Ultra averages 155 FPS, while at 1440p it averages 113 FPS, and at 4K it drops to 73 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is 42 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 40 FPS. This near-linear scaling with resolution indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor across the entire range. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, clearly provides enough throughput to keep the RTX 4080 saturated, as frame rates scale predictably with GPU load rather than plateauing due to CPU limitations.

Benchmark data supports this interpretation. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23230 and single-core score of 2080 put it in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU's Passmark G3D score of 34457 places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Both components are high performers, but the frame rate scaling shows the GPU is the constraining factor in this FPS title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

3840x2160 (4K): The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data, showing an average of 112 FPS, a minimum of 95 FPS, and a maximum of 129 FPS. The 17 FPS spread between minimum and average indicates reasonably stable performance. The High preset averages 98 FPS, the Low preset averages 157 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 73 FPS. The Ultra frame rate is 35% lower than High, reflecting the heavy cost of the highest quality settings at 4K.

2560x1440 (1440p): The Medium preset again provides full min/max data: 173 FPS average, 147 FPS minimum, and 199 FPS maximum. The 26 FPS difference between minimum and average is wider than at 4K, suggesting slightly more frame time variance at this resolution. The High preset averages 151 FPS, Low averages 244 FPS, and Ultra averages 113 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is 71 FPS, while the jump from Medium to Ultra is 60 FPS, showing that each quality tier costs roughly the same amount of performance.

1920x1080 (1080p): The Medium preset shows a 236 FPS average, with a minimum of 201 FPS and a maximum of 272 FPS. The 71 FPS spread from minimum to maximum is the largest of any resolution, which is expected given the very high frame rates. The High preset averages 206 FPS, Low averages 333 FPS, and Ultra averages 155 FPS. Notably, Ultra at 1080p (155 FPS) is faster than High at 1440p (151 FPS), indicating that resolution has a slightly larger impact than preset quality for this combination.

Across all resolutions, the minimum FPS values are only available for the Medium preset, which limits direct comparison. However, the data that exists shows minimums stay well above 60 FPS, with 95 FPS at 4K Medium being the lowest recorded minimum. This suggests the system maintains playable performance even during demanding scenes.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 73 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold. The verdict data lists all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) as playable at 4K.

Q: What is the best preset to use at 1440p for the highest visual quality?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 113 FPS, making it the best choice since it delivers the highest quality while maintaining a frame rate nearly double the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from Low to Ultra at 1080p?

A: The Low preset averages 333 FPS, while Ultra averages 155 FPS. This represents a 54% reduction in average frame rate, but the resulting 155 FPS is still far above the playability threshold.

Q: Is the frame rate stable enough for competitive play?

A: The available minimum FPS data shows 95 FPS at 4K Medium, 147 FPS at 1440p Medium, and 201 FPS at 1080p Medium. All minimums exceed 60 FPS by a wide margin, indicating stable performance.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in this game?

A: The frame rate scaling between resolutions indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Ultra the average is 155 FPS, dropping to 113 FPS at 1440p and 73 FPS at 4K, showing consistent GPU-bound scaling rather than CPU limitations.

Q: How does this system compare to other tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 205th out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 6% of all tested systems. The CPU ranks in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU ranks in the 86th percentile of all GPUs.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol exceptionally well at all tested resolutions. At 3840x2160, the verdict marks all four presets as playable, with Ultra achieving 73 FPS average. At 2560x1440, all presets are playable, with Ultra at 113 FPS. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, with Ultra at 155 FPS.

The lowest recorded average across any preset and resolution is 73 FPS (4K Ultra), which still comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold. The lowest recorded minimum FPS is 95 FPS (4K Medium), meaning even the worst measured frame times stay well above the threshold. This system does not merely run the game — it runs every tested configuration at playable frame rates, with the weakest result being Ultra at 4K.

For users with 4K displays, the Ultra preset is viable, though those seeking higher refresh rates might prefer High (98 FPS) or Medium (112 FPS). At 1440p and 1080p, the Ultra preset is the clear recommendation, as frame rates remain high enough for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors. The data shows no configuration in this test falls below the playability threshold, making this a definitive "yes" for running Lockdown Protocol.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database for Lockdown Protocol, this combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 205th out of 3714 tested combinations. This places the system in the top 5.5% of all tested configs, which aligns with the individual component rankings: the CPU sits in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs.

The rank is consistent with the measured frame rates. A system ranking 205th out of 3714 would be expected to deliver high frame rates across demanding settings, and the data confirms this — every preset at every resolution clears 60 FPS. The combination of a top-tier CPU and a high-end GPU produces a system that is better suited to this game than approximately 94% of tested configurations.

While the rank is strong, it is not at the very top, which suggests there are faster combinations available. However, the gap between this system and the top performers appears manageable based on the frame rate headroom — at 1080p Ultra, the 155 FPS average leaves room for higher-refresh-rate displays without requiring a hardware upgrade.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearest rivals for each component, several alternatives would perform similarly to this combination.

For the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS has an average benchmark score of 39603, which is 0.4% lower than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's 39768. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 scores 40048, which is 0.7% higher. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 scores 39485, 0.7% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 scores 40081, 0.8% higher. All four CPUs are within 1% of the 9800X3D's average score, meaning swapping in any of these would produce nearly identical CPU-bound performance. The Ryzen 7 7700 is the closest match in terms of raw score, while the Ryzen AI 9 365 edges slightly ahead.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER has an average score of 54209, just 0.1% below the RTX 4080's 54247. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, 1.1% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, 2.6% higher, and the AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757, 2.7% higher. Interestingly, the RTX 4080 SUPER is essentially a drop-in equivalent, while the AMD cards score slightly higher on average.

A system pairing the Ryzen 7 9800X3D with the RTX 4080 SUPER would be nearly indistinguishable from the tested combination, given the 0.1% GPU score difference. Alternatively, pairing the Ryzen 7 7700 with the RTX 4080 would maintain similar CPU performance while keeping the same GPU. Users considering a similar build could expect comparable frame rates in Lockdown Protocol from any of these combinations, as the component differences are within measurement noise for most scenarios.