Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti delivers a highly playable experience in Lockdown Protocol across all tested resolutions, though the margin of safety varies significantly depending on the settings and pixel count. The data shows a clear pattern: at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, this combination provides substantial headroom above the 60 FPS playability threshold, while at 3840x2160, the system becomes more constrained, requiring a reduction in graphical fidelity to maintain smooth gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination performs exceptionally well. With Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 196 FPS, which is more than three times the playability threshold. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 139 FPS, with a minimum of 118 FPS and a maximum of 160 FPS. High settings produce an average of 121 FPS, and even the demanding Ultra preset maintains an average of 91 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the RTX 3060 Ti is never the limiting factor, and the Ryzen 9 9900X3D provides ample processing power to feed the GPU.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably but remains comfortable. Low settings yield an average of 144 FPS, which is exactly double the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 102 FPS, with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. High settings produce 89 FPS on average. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding configuration, still manages an average of 67 FPS, clearing the playability bar by a modest margin. The frame time consistency at Medium settings, with a minimum of 87 FPS, suggests that even during intense scenes, the system avoids severe hitches.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes considerably. The Ultra preset averages only 43 FPS, which falls well below the 60 FPS threshold and would result in noticeably stuttery gameplay. High settings improve the average to 57 FPS, which is still just short of playable. Medium settings raise the average to 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS, making it the first preset at this resolution to clear the threshold. Low settings jump to 93 FPS on average, providing a comfortable margin. The data shows that 4K gaming with this hardware requires careful settings management, as the jump from Medium to High costs 9 FPS on average, and the jump from High to Ultra costs another 14 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU benchmarks, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D sits at the 91st percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 54762. Its nearest rival is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, which scores 55093, a delta of -0.6%, meaning the Intel part is essentially tied. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K scores 54053, which is 1.3% lower, and the Intel Xeon 6505P scores 53701, 2% lower. The Intel Core i7-14700F rounds out the group with a score of 53620, 2.1% lower. In practical terms, any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, as the game's performance at the tested settings appears to be more dependent on the GPU, particularly at higher resolutions.

For the GPU, the RTX 3060 Ti achieves the 59th percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 16129. Its closest competitor is the AMD Radeon RX 9060, which scores 16014, a delta of 0.7% in favor of the NVIDIA card. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M scores 16351, 1.4% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT scores 16361, also 1.4% higher. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15862, 1.7% lower. The deltaPct values here are all within a narrow band of about 3%, indicating that these four GPUs would produce nearly indistinguishable frame rates in this game. A user with an RX 5700 XT would see almost identical performance to the RTX 3060 Ti, with perhaps a 1-2 FPS difference at most settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear division of labor between the CPU and GPU across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as evidenced by the scaling from Low to Ultra. The frame rate drops from 196 FPS at Low to 91 FPS at Ultra, a reduction of 105 FPS, or about 54%. This large drop indicates that the GPU is being pushed harder as settings increase, while the CPU, with its strong single-thread performance, easily keeps up.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with slightly reduced absolute numbers. The gap between Low (144 FPS) and Ultra (67 FPS) is 77 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the 1080p results. The CPU's role becomes more pronounced at lower settings, where the frame rate ceiling is higher. At 1080p Low, the 196 FPS average suggests the CPU is capable of driving very high frame rates, but the GPU limits the maximum output.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's dominance becomes absolute. The difference between Low (93 FPS) and Ultra (43 FPS) is 50 FPS, but the absolute values are much lower. The CPU's influence diminishes because the GPU is fully occupied with pixel shading and memory bandwidth. The RTX 3060 Ti's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become critical factors at 4K, where texture and geometry demands are highest. The data shows that moving from 1440p to 4K at the same preset incurs a substantial FPS penalty: at Medium settings, the drop is from 102 FPS to 66 FPS, a 36% reduction, which is consistent with the 2.25x increase in pixel count.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS on Ultra settings at 1920x1080?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 Ultra is 91, which is 31 FPS above the 60 FPS playability threshold. This is the highest preset tested at this resolution and it clears the bar comfortably.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 2560x1440 that maintains at least 60 FPS?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 67 FPS, which is the most demanding configuration that stays above 60 FPS. High (89 FPS), Medium (102 FPS), and Low (144 FPS) also clear the threshold with increasing margins.

Q: Is 3840x2160 playable with this hardware?

A: Yes, but only at Medium or Low settings. Medium averages 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS, while Low averages 93 FPS. High (57 FPS) and Ultra (43 FPS) both fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT in this game?

A: The benchmark scores are nearly identical. The RX 5700 XT scores 16361 compared to the RTX 3060 Ti's 16129, a delta of -1.4% in favor of the AMD card. In practice, frame rates would be within a few percent of each other across all settings and resolutions.

Q: Which component is more important for performance at 1920x1080 with this combo?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rate drops from 196 FPS at Low to 91 FPS at Ultra, a 54% reduction, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU, with its high single-thread score of 1269 in 3dmark, is not the constraint.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 2560x1440 with High settings?

A: The measured average is 89 FPS, with no minimum or maximum reported in the data. This is 29 FPS above the playability threshold, providing a comfortable margin for typical gameplay scenarios.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 91 FPS. This provides the best visual quality while still maintaining a 31 FPS buffer above the threshold. Users seeking higher refresh rates could drop to High (121 FPS) or Medium (139 FPS), but Ultra is the recommended ceiling.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset also clears the threshold, averaging 67 FPS. The margin is thinner at 7 FPS, so users who prefer more headroom might opt for High (89 FPS) or Medium (102 FPS). The data shows that Ultra at 1440p is viable, but the minimum frame rate data is unavailable, so there is some uncertainty about worst-case scenarios.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding playable preset is Medium, with an average of 66 FPS. The minimum of 56 FPS indicates that some scenes will dip below 60 FPS, so users sensitive to frame drops may prefer Low (93 FPS) for a more consistent experience. High and Ultra are not playable at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1854 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it roughly in the middle of the database, at approximately the 50th percentile of all combinations tested. The ranking reflects the balance between a high-end CPU and a mid-range GPU. The CPU's 91st percentile standing is offset by the GPU's 59th percentile, resulting in a combo that performs well at lower resolutions but struggles at 4K Ultra. The rank of 1854 suggests that there are many combinations with more powerful GPUs that would outperform this setup at higher resolutions, but also many with weaker CPUs that would bottleneck the GPU at lower resolutions. The data indicates that this combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the GPU is sufficient, but is not optimized for 4K gaming.

The Verdict

Based on the measured FPS data and the verdict by resolution, this PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the experience quality varies by resolution. At 1920x1080, all four tested presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — clear the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra averaging 91 FPS. This is the ideal resolution for this combo, offering maximum visual fidelity without compromising smoothness. At 2560x1440, all presets also clear the threshold, with Ultra averaging 67 FPS. This resolution is fully playable, though the margin at Ultra is smaller. At 3840x2160, only Low and Medium are playable, with Medium averaging 66 FPS and Low averaging 93 FPS. High (57 FPS) and Ultra (43 FPS) are not recommended. The data shows that the RTX 3060 Ti is the limiting factor at 4K, while the Ryzen 9 9900X3D provides ample CPU headroom across all resolutions. For users targeting 1080p or 1440p, this combo is a strong performer. For 4K, it requires settings compromises but remains functional at Medium quality. The overall verdict is that this system is playable at all three resolutions, with the caveat that 4K users must sacrifice visual quality to maintain smooth frame rates.