Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a highly unusual combination for Lockdown Protocol, a fast-paced FPS. The database shows a system where the CPU is a top-tier desktop processor, while the GPU is an integrated-class solution with a benchmark percentile of just 9, meaning it outperforms only 9% of all tested GPUs. This massive imbalance defines every result in the measured data, and the performance figures confirm that this combo is severely constrained by the graphics side of the equation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for this combo shows a wide spread of frame rates that depends heavily on both resolution and graphical preset. At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable performance under any setting. The High preset delivers an average of 26 FPS, while the Medium preset produces a 30 FPS average with a minimum of 25 FPS and a maximum of 34 FPS. Dropping to Low at 4K raises the average to 42 FPS, but even that is well below the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at this resolution is the worst result in the entire dataset, with an average of just 19 FPS.

Moving down to 2560x1440, performance improves noticeably but still remains inconsistent. The High preset at this resolution produces an average of 40 FPS. Medium averages 46 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 39 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. The Low preset is the only setting at 1440p that crosses the 60 FPS threshold, averaging 65 FPS. Ultra at 1440p averages 30 FPS, which matches the Medium result at 4K, an interesting plateau that shows the GPU is the limiting factor.

At 1920x1080, the combo finally reaches playable territory on two presets. Low settings at 1080p average 88 FPS, the highest score in the entire measurement set. Medium settings average 63 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 72 FPS, so it clears the 60 FPS average but dips below it in the minimum frame time. High at 1080p averages 55 FPS, just missing the target, while Ultra averages 41 FPS. The data indicates that the gap between Low and Medium at 1080p is 25 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is only 8 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns as settings rise.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 4K resolution?

A: No. The verdict data shows no playable settings at 3840x2160. The best result is the Low preset at 42 FPS average, which is still 18 FPS below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best playable preset at 2560x1440?

A: Low is the only setting that clears 60 FPS at 1440p, with an average of 65 FPS. Medium averages 46 FPS, High averages 40 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS, all below the threshold.

Q: What is the best playable preset at 1920x1080?

A: Medium is the best setting that stays at or above 60 FPS on average, hitting 63 FPS. Low reaches 88 FPS, but Medium delivers a higher visual quality while still clearing the threshold, despite a minimum FPS of 53.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: In the database, the Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482. It sits 1.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% above the GeForce 800M, 2.5% above the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% above the GeForce GT 710, making it only marginally faster than these older entry-level parts.

Q: How does the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X rank among all CPUs?

A: The CPU holds a percentile rank of 92, meaning it performs better than 92% of all tested CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 57498, placing it within 1.1% of the Intel Core i9-14900 and 0.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7313.

Q: Why does the Ultra preset perform so poorly across all resolutions?

A: The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 41 FPS, at 1440p averages 30 FPS, and at 4K averages 19 FPS. These results indicate the integrated GPU cannot handle the increased shading and texture demands of the Ultra preset, and the frame rate scales downward as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

The database places this specific combination at rank 3302 out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. That puts the combo in the bottom 11% of all tested systems, which aligns with the GPU's low benchmark percentile of 9. The CPU, by contrast, ranks in the 92nd percentile among all CPUs, so the pairing of a top-tier processor with a bottom-tier GPU creates a system that underperforms in gaming despite its strong compute potential.

The nearest GPU rivals in the database are all older, low-end NVIDIA parts. The Arc B390 scores 1482 in the recorded 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which is 1.3% higher than the GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the GT 710. These deltas are tiny, meaning the Arc B390 is effectively in the same performance class as those legacy GPUs. The measured FPS data confirms this, as the combo cannot sustain 60 FPS at any preset above Medium at 1080p.

The rank also reflects how other combos in the database handle this game. With 3714 total tested combinations, a rank of 3302 means over 88% of tested systems outperform this setup. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i9-14900 and AMD EPYC 9015, all have average benchmark scores in the 57000 to 58000 range, but none of that compute headroom translates into gaming performance here because the GPU is the bottleneck in every single measurement.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol? The answer depends entirely on resolution and settings. At 3840x2160, the verdict is clear: no playable settings exist. Every preset at 4K falls below the 60 FPS threshold, with the best option being Low at 42 FPS average, which is not smooth enough for a competitive FPS. At 2560x1440, the system can run the game, but only on Low settings, where it averages 65 FPS. At 1920x1080, the system has two playable options: Low at 88 FPS and Medium at 63 FPS. The High preset at 1080p averages 55 FPS, which is close but still below the 60 FPS target, and Ultra at any resolution is not viable.

For a player who wants a stable 60 FPS experience, the practical choice is 1080p with Medium settings, which delivers a 63 FPS average. The minimum FPS at that setting is 53, so there will be occasional dips below 60 during intense scenes, but the average clears the threshold. At 1440p, Low is the only option, and while it averages 65 FPS, the visual quality is significantly reduced. At 4K, the system simply cannot deliver playable performance, so players with a 4K display would need to drop the resolution to 1440p or 1080p to get acceptable frame rates.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a severe imbalance in this combo. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread Zen 5 processor with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32172. Its benchmark percentile of 92 puts it far above the GPU's percentile of 9. Yet in Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's strength is irrelevant because the Intel Arc B390, with its 1536 shading units and 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, cannot push enough frames at higher resolutions.

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 88 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 65 FPS, a 26% decrease. At 4K Low, it falls to 42 FPS, another 35% decrease. This pattern shows that the GPU is fully saturated at every resolution, because frame rate drops proportionally as pixel count increases. A CPU-bound system would show less dramatic scaling across resolutions, but here the GPU is the limiting factor at all settings.

The preset scaling reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 25 FPS, from Medium to High costs 8 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 14 FPS. At 1440p, the same progression costs 19 FPS, 6 FPS, and 10 FPS. At 4K, it costs 12 FPS, 4 FPS, and 7 FPS. The fact that higher resolutions show smaller absolute FPS drops between presets indicates the GPU is already near its ceiling, so additional graphical load has less absolute impact. The CPU's role is to feed frames fast enough at low settings and low resolutions, which it does easily, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's lack of raw throughput.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the database shows no playable settings. The best average FPS at 4K is 42 on Low, but that is below the 60 FPS threshold, so there is no recommended setting for this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the only playable preset is Low, with an average of 65 FPS. This is the most demanding setting that stays at or above 60 FPS at this resolution, and it is the clear choice for 1440p gaming with this combo.

At 1920x1080, the best playable preset is Medium, which averages 63 FPS. While Low achieves a higher average of 88 FPS, Medium offers better visual fidelity while still clearing the 60 FPS average, making it the optimal balance. The High preset at 1080p averages 55 FPS, just short of the threshold, so it is not recommended despite being close.

The takeaway is straightforward: this combo is a 1080p Medium system at best, with a fallback to 1440p Low for users who prioritize resolution over detail. At 4K, the system is not viable for Lockdown Protocol, and the data suggests that any attempt to push beyond Medium at 1080p will result in frame rates below the playable threshold. The CPU has ample headroom for multitasking and background tasks, but for this game, the GPU dictates every performance outcome.