Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 is a highly lopsided combination for Lockdown Protocol, one where the modern 12-core CPU is completely held back by an aging graphics card. The recorded data shows this combo ranks near the bottom of the database, at 3,514 out of 3,714 tested configurations. The result is a system that can only achieve a playable 60 FPS at 1080p with the Low preset, while every other resolution and settings combination falls short of that threshold. In essence, this PC can run the game, but only under the most minimal graphical settings and at the most common resolution.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS?*

A: Yes, but only at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset, where it achieves an average of 80 FPS. At 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, no settings preset reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best playable settings preset at 1080p?

A: The Low preset is the only playable option at 1080p, delivering an average of 80 FPS. The next step up, Medium, falls just short at 58 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How does this combo perform at 1440p?

A: The system is not playable at 2560x1440. The highest average FPS recorded at this resolution is 56.3 on the Low preset, which is still below the 60 FPS target. The High preset drops to 32.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 27 FPS.

Q: What is the performance at 4K?

A: Performance at 3840x2160 is severely limited. The best average FPS is 35.8 on the Low preset, but this drops to 22.4 on High and 19.7 on Ultra. None of these are close to the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The AMD Radeon RX 570, with its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and GCN 4.0 architecture, struggles to maintain high frame rates as resolution increases. The Ryzen 9 7900X, which scores in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, is not the constraint in this pairing.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 3,514th out of 3,714 tested combos in the database for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the bottom 5% of all tested configurations, indicating that the GPU severely hampers the overall gaming performance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data for Lockdown Protocol clearly illustrates that the graphics card is the dominant factor in this system's performance, with the CPU's considerable power being largely irrelevant. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a high-end processor, scoring in the 91st percentile of all CPUs and delivering a strong Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29,300. However, when paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570, the system's gaming performance is dictated entirely by the GPU's capabilities.

The evidence for this lies in the scaling of average FPS across resolutions. At 1920x1080 with the Low preset, the system achieves 80 FPS. When the resolution is increased to 2560x1440, the average drops to 56.3 FPS, a reduction of roughly 30%. Moving to 3840x2160, the average falls further to 35.8 FPS. This steep decline with increasing pixel count is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. A CPU bottleneck would show more consistent frame rates across resolutions, as the processor's workload would not change as dramatically with pixel count.

The same trend is visible when examining settings within a single resolution. At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 80 on Low to 51 on High and further to 35.4 on Ultra. This scaling with graphical fidelity, which increases the load on the shading units, texture mapping units, and raster output processors of the RX 570, confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor. The Ryzen 9 7900X has more than enough processing headroom to handle the game's physics and logic, but it is forced to wait on the GPU to render each frame.

The GPU's age and specifications support this conclusion. The RX 570, based on the Polaris 20 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, offers 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 224.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. While this was capable hardware at its launch in 2017, it is far outpaced by modern requirements. The data shows that the GPU's average benchmark score of 28,766 places it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, but this relative standing does not translate to playable performance in a contemporary title like Lockdown Protocol at higher settings. The CPU's role, while essential for providing a stable platform, is essentially a non-factor in determining the playable settings for this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. The system's performance is consistently below the 60 FPS playable threshold except for one configuration.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. The Low preset yields an average of 35.8 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 25.2 FPS. High settings produce 22.4 FPS, and the Ultra preset manages only 19.7 FPS. None of these figures approach a playable level, indicating that 4K gaming is entirely out of reach for this combination.

At 2560x1440, performance improves but remains below the playable threshold. The Low preset achieves an average of 56.3 FPS, the closest to 60 FPS at this resolution. The Medium preset delivers 38 FPS, High drops to 32.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 27 FPS. While the Low preset is nearly playable, it still misses the mark.

At 1920x1080, the system finds its only playable configuration. The Low preset delivers an average of 80 FPS, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset falls just short at 58 FPS, which is below the playable target. The High preset yields 51 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces 35.4 FPS. This data shows a clear cliff edge: Low is playable, but any increase in graphical fidelity results in a sub-60 FPS experience.

The progression across resolutions for the Low preset is telling: 80 FPS at 1080p, 56.3 FPS at 1440p, and 35.8 FPS at 4K. This consistent decline highlights the GPU's inability to handle higher pixel counts, reinforcing that the RX 570 is the primary bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 3,514th out of 3,714 tested configurations in the database for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the bottom 5% of all systems tested, a stark contrast to the individual hardware components' standings.

The CPU, for its part, is a top-tier performer. Its average benchmark score of 53,288 places it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7313P, which scores 53,206 (a 0.2% difference), and the Intel Core i7-14700F, which scores 53,620 (a -0.6% difference). This demonstrates that the Ryzen 9 7900X is a highly capable processor. However, this strength is entirely negated by the GPU pairing.

The GPU, while not a low-end part, is clearly dated. Its average benchmark score of 28,766 places it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, which scores 28,874 (a -0.4% difference), and the AMD Radeon RX 470, which scores 28,996 (a -0.8% difference). This indicates the RX 570 is in the mid-to-upper range of older hardware, but it is not competitive with the demands of modern gaming.

The massive discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile ranking and the combo's low ranking in the game database underscores the severity of the bottleneck. The system's overall performance is not a reflection of the CPU's capability but rather the GPU's limitation. The 3,514th rank out of 3,714 is a direct consequence of the RX 570's inability to push frame rates high enough to leverage the Ryzen 9 7900X's processing power.

The Verdict

Based on the recorded data, this PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but with significant and specific limitations. The verdict by resolution is clear: the system is only playable at 1920x1080 with the Low preset, where it achieves an average of 80 FPS. This is the sole configuration that meets or exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the system is not playable. The best possible average FPS is 56.3 on the Low preset, which is below the 60 FPS target. All other settings at this resolution produce lower frame rates, from 38 FPS on Medium to 27 FPS on Ultra. Users targeting 1440p will need to consider a more capable graphics card.

At 3840x2160, the system is not playable under any settings. The highest average FPS is 35.8 on the Low preset, with Ultra dipping to 19.7 FPS. 4K gaming is entirely out of the question for this hardware combination.

In summary, the verdict is that this PC is a 1080p, Low-settings machine for Lockdown Protocol. It cannot handle higher resolutions or more demanding graphics presets while maintaining a playable frame rate. The performance is entirely bottlenecked by the RX 570, and the powerful Ryzen 9 7900X provides no benefit in this context.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the most demanding preset that stays at or above the 60 FPS playable threshold is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the best playable settings are Low, which achieves an average of 80 FPS. This is the only preset at this resolution that clears the 60 FPS bar. The Medium preset comes close at 58 FPS but falls short, and the High and Ultra presets are significantly lower at 51 FPS and 35.4 FPS respectively.

At 2560x1440, there is no playable settings preset. The Low preset achieves the highest average at 56.3 FPS, but this is still below the 60 FPS threshold. Therefore, no recommendation can be made for a playable configuration at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, there is also no playable settings preset. The Low preset achieves the highest average at 35.8 FPS, which is far below the 60 FPS threshold. No settings configuration at this resolution is recommended for playable performance.

The data leads to a straightforward conclusion: for a stable 60 FPS experience, users must play at 1080p with the Low preset. Any attempt to increase graphical quality or resolution will result in a sub-60 FPS experience. This configuration is a clear example of a GPU-bound system, and the path to better performance lies in upgrading the graphics card, not the processor.