Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a fast-paced FPS that rewards high and stable frame rates, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X + AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination delivers a strong showing across most common gaming resolutions. This pairing leverages a high-end 12-core Zen 4 processor with a mid-range RDNA 3.0 graphics card, and the measured data indicates that the GPU is the primary driver of performance scaling as resolution increases. The benchmark results show that this system can comfortably exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold at 1080p and 1440p with maximum settings, while 4K requires a reduction in graphical fidelity to maintain smooth gameplay.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 1920x1080 for this CPU and GPU combo?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is fully playable, with an average frame rate of 93 FPS. This is the most demanding setting tested and it remains well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 7900X compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700F?

A: The Ryzen 9 7900X has an average benchmark score of 53288, which is 0.6% lower than the Intel Core i7-14700F's score of 53620. This places the two processors in a very similar performance tier, with the Intel chip holding a marginal lead.

Q: Is the RX 7700's performance closer to the RX 9060 or the RTX 3060 Ti?

A: The RX 7700's average benchmark score is 15852. It is 1% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (score 16014) and 1.7% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (score 16129). Relative to these rivals, the RX 7700 sits just behind both.

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K resolution with the High preset?

A: No, the High preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 59 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold. However, the Medium preset achieves 67 FPS on average, making it the highest playable setting at this resolution.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 147 FPS on average, while the Ultra preset delivers 68 FPS on average. This represents a significant 54% drop in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The combo ranks 1709 out of 3714 tested combinations. This places it in the upper half of all tested systems, indicating a capable configuration for this specific game.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data for Lockdown Protocol reveals a clear division of labor between the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and the AMD Radeon RX 7700. At 1920x1080, the system achieves an average of 200 FPS on the Low preset, which suggests that the CPU is more than capable of feeding the GPU with data. However, as resolution increases to 2560x1440, the Low preset average drops to 147 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it falls further to 95 FPS. This scaling pattern demonstrates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises, since the CPU workload remains relatively constant while the GPU's rendering burden increases.

The performance delta between presets further illustrates the GPU's dominant role. At 3840x2160, moving from Low to Medium reduces the average frame rate from 95 FPS to 67 FPS, a 29% decrease. The jump from Medium to High brings the average down to 59 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops it to 44 FPS. This steep decline across quality settings at 4K is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the RX 7700's shading units, texture units, and memory bandwidth are fully utilized. The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, are likely only partially engaged during these tests.

At 1920x1080, the CPU's influence becomes more apparent. The Ultra preset achieves 93 FPS, which is a 53% reduction from the Low preset's 200 FPS. While the GPU is still the primary bottleneck at this resolution, the high frame rates indicate that the Ryzen 9 7900X's single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 1093) is sufficient to avoid holding back the graphics card. The CPU's percentile ranking of 91 versus all CPUs confirms its strength, but the combination's overall performance is ultimately capped by the RX 7700's capabilities, which ranks in the 58th percentile among all GPUs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080: The data shows consistently high performance at this resolution. The Low preset delivers an average of 200 FPS. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 142 FPS, with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 163 FPS. The High preset averages 124 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 93 FPS. All presets at this resolution maintain an average well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

2560x1440: Performance remains strong at this resolution. The Low preset averages 147 FPS. The Medium preset averages 104 FPS, with a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS. The High preset averages 91 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 68 FPS. All four presets clear the 60 FPS threshold, with the Ultra preset being the closest at 68 FPS.

3840x2160: This resolution presents a significant challenge for the hardware. The Low preset averages 95 FPS, which is playable. The Medium preset averages 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS, also staying above the threshold on average. The High preset averages 59 FPS, which falls just short of the playable threshold. The Ultra preset averages 44 FPS, which is not playable.

The Verdict

This system can run Lockdown Protocol, but the playable settings vary by resolution. At 1920x1080, all tested presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—achieve average frame rates above 60 FPS, with the Ultra preset delivering 93 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same is true, with the Ultra preset averaging 68 FPS. At 3840x2160, the verdict is more nuanced: the Low and Medium presets are playable, with averages of 95 FPS and 67 FPS respectively, but the High preset at 59 FPS and the Ultra preset at 44 FPS do not meet the playable threshold. The verdict by resolution confirms that the best playable setting at 4K is Medium, while at 1440p and 1080p, the Ultra preset is the best option.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 3714 tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this CPU and GPU pairing ranks 1709th. This places it in the 46th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms a slight majority of configurations. The ranking reflects a balanced setup where the Ryzen 9 7900X's strong multi-threaded performance (cinebench_r23_multicore score of 29300) and the RX 7700's solid 1080p and 1440p capabilities combine to deliver a competent gaming experience. However, the GPU's average benchmark score of 15852, which is 1.7% below the RTX 3060 Ti, limits the system's ability to dominate at higher resolutions. The combo's rank confirms the CPU's strength, as the GPU alone would likely place the system lower if paired with a weaker processor.

Best Settings per Resolution

1920x1080: The Ultra preset is the most demanding setting that stays at or above 60 FPS, achieving an average of 93 FPS. This is the recommended setting for users who prioritize visual quality at this resolution.

2560x1440: The Ultra preset also qualifies here, with an average of 68 FPS. This setting provides the best visual fidelity while maintaining a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

3840x2160: The Medium preset is the highest playable setting, averaging 67 FPS. While the Low preset offers a higher average of 95 FPS, the Medium preset provides a better balance of visual quality and performance, with a minimum observed frame rate of 57 FPS that occasionally dips below the threshold but remains acceptable on average.