Lockdown Protocol

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 produces a narrow spread of results across the four presets. The High preset averages 25 FPS, while Low reaches 40 FPS. Medium sits between them at 29 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 19 FPS, the lowest average recorded for this combination at any resolution. None of these 4K results approach the 60 FPS playability threshold, and the gap between Low and Ultra is 21 FPS, indicating a heavy performance penalty for higher visual fidelity at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with stronger overall numbers. The Low preset averages 62 FPS, which is the only setting at this resolution to clear the 60 FPS line. High averages 39 FPS, Medium averages 44 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. The jump from 4K to 1440p at Low settings yields a 22 FPS improvement, from 40 to 62 FPS. At Medium, the improvement is 15 FPS, from 29 to 44 FPS. The Ultra preset improves by 10 FPS, from 19 to 29 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the results become more promising. The Low preset averages 85 FPS, a clear margin above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages exactly 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. High drops to 53 FPS, while Ultra averages 40 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 45 FPS, the largest spread across any resolution tested. The minimum FPS at Medium (51 FPS) falls below the 60 FPS average, suggesting occasional dips during demanding scenes, but the overall average holds at the threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear pattern: the Radeon RX 580 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the Ryzen 9 9900X provides ample headroom that only becomes relevant at lower settings and resolutions. The scaling from 4K to 1440p at Low settings shows a 55% improvement in average FPS (40 to 62), which is substantial and points to GPU-bound behavior at 4K. The additional pixel load at 3840x2160 overwhelms the RX 580, as evidenced by the steep drop from 62 FPS at 1440p Low to 40 FPS at 4K Low.

The CPU's influence becomes more apparent when examining the preset scaling at each resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Medium is 25 FPS (85 to 60), and between Medium and High is another 7 FPS (60 to 53). The Ryzen 9 9900X's 12 cores and 24 threads can feed frames quickly enough that the GPU becomes the bottleneck even at 1080p, but the CPU still manages to push the Low preset to 85 FPS. At 1440p, the preset scaling is more compressed: Low to Medium drops 18 FPS (62 to 44), and Medium to High drops another 5 FPS (44 to 39). This compression at higher resolutions indicates the GPU's rendering capacity, not CPU throughput, is what limits performance.

The measured data suggests that at 4K, even the Low preset (40 FPS) cannot achieve playable frame rates, confirming that the RX 580's 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is insufficient for this game at that resolution. At 1440p, only Low clears 60 FPS, while Medium and above fall short. At 1080p, both Low and Medium meet the threshold, with High and Ultra failing. The CPU's single-thread performance, as shown by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2253, is more than adequate for this game, but the GPU's Polaris 20 chip with 2304 shading units cannot keep pace at higher settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The database places this combination at rank 3384 out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the bottom 9% of all tested configurations, a low position that reflects the GPU's age and limited capability relative to the CPU. The Ryzen 9 9900X itself ranks in the 92nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 57498. The RX 580, however, sits in the 53rd percentile among GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12928. The massive disparity between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's mid-tier percentile explains why this combo ranks so low: the processor is far more capable than the graphics card, and the GPU becomes the bottleneck in nearly every scenario.

The combo's rank of 3384 out of 3714 means that 330 other tested combinations performed worse. While the Ryzen 9 9900X can handle the game's CPU demands with ease, the RX 580's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus width provide 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is modest by modern standards. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 8813 and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1005 illustrate its limited DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant for a modern FPS title. The combination's overall ranking suggests that users seeking higher frame rates would need to consider a more balanced pairing.

The Verdict

Based on the recorded measurements, this PC can run Lockdown Protocol at 1080p and 1440p, but only with specific settings. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset averages 60 FPS, which meets the playable threshold, and the Low preset averages 85 FPS, providing a comfortable margin. The High preset at 1080p averages 53 FPS, which falls short of 60 FPS, and Ultra averages 40 FPS, which is not playable by the database's standard.

At 2560x1440, the only playable setting is Low, which averages 62 FPS. The Medium preset averages 44 FPS, High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS, all below the threshold. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The best result at 4K is the Low preset at 40 FPS, followed by Medium at 29 FPS, High at 25 FPS, and Ultra at 19 FPS. For users with a 4K display, this combination is not viable for Lockdown Protocol at any settings, as the minimum FPS at Medium (24 FPS) indicates stutter-prone gameplay.

The verdict by resolution is clear: 1080p is playable at Low and Medium, 1440p is playable only at Low, and 4K is not playable at any preset. The best playable experience is at 1080p Medium, which delivers an average of 60 FPS, though the 51 FPS minimum suggests occasional dips below the threshold during intense scenes.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Ryzen 9 9900X's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD EPYC 9015, which scores 57555 on average, a mere 0.1% below the 9900X. The AMD EPYC 7313 scores 57399, which is 0.2% above the 9900X. The Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115, placing it 1.1% above, and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M scores 58323, which is 1.4% above. These processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol, meaning the GPU would remain the limiting factor in all cases.

For the RX 580, the nearest GPU rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, which scores 12940 on average, 0.1% above the RX 580. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER scores 12986, 0.4% above. The AMD Radeon 740M scores 12870, 0.5% below, and the AMD FirePro W5100 scores 12847, 0.6% below. These GPUs would produce frame rates within 1% of the RX 580's results in this game, so users with any of these cards should expect similar performance profiles: playable at 1080p Medium and 1440p Low, but not at higher settings.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset meets the 60 FPS threshold, so there is no recommended setting. The best average FPS achieved at 4K is 40 FPS on Low, which is still 20 FPS below the playable line. At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only option that stays at or above 60 FPS, with an average of 62 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that remains playable at this resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset averages 60 FPS, making it the best playable setting, though users may prefer Low for a more comfortable 85 FPS average. The High preset at 1080p averages 53 FPS, which is below the threshold, and Ultra averages 40 FPS, which is not recommended.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this PC in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The best playable experience is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which averages 60 FPS. For a larger safety margin, 1080p Low averages 85 FPS.

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

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 40 on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The Ultra preset averages only 19 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 9900X compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The CPU's nearest rivals, including the AMD EPYC 9015 and EPYC 7313, score within 0.2% of the 9900X. The Intel Core i9-14900 scores 1.1% higher, but all would produce similar results since the RX 580 is the bottleneck.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1080p Medium?

A: The recorded minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 51 FPS, with a maximum of 69 FPS and an average of 60 FPS. This means occasional dips below the 60 FPS threshold can occur.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to the GTX 1660 SUPER in this game?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER scores 0.4% higher than the RX 580 in average benchmark scores, so frame rates in Lockdown Protocol would be nearly identical. Both would follow the same playable settings pattern.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank for Lockdown Protocol?

A: This combination ranks 3384 out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 9% of all configurations. The GPU's limited performance is the primary reason for this low ranking.