Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a wide spread of frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, ranging from a 55 FPS average at 4K Ultra to a 249 FPS average at 1080p Low. The measured data shows this combination is capable of high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p and 1080p, while 4K remains playable at most presets but demands settings adjustments to stay above the 60 FPS threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the RTX 3080 produces an average of 73 FPS on High settings, with the Medium preset averaging 84 FPS and showing a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS. Dropping to Low settings raises the average to 118 FPS, while the Ultra preset falls below the playable threshold at 55 FPS average. The data indicates a steep performance curve at 4K: moving from Ultra to High yields an 18 FPS improvement, and from High to Medium another 11 FPS, while the Low preset nearly doubles the Ultra score.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale more favorably. The Low preset averages 183 FPS, Medium averages 130 FPS with a 110-149 FPS range, and High averages 113 FPS. The Ultra preset still clears 60 FPS comfortably with an 85 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 98 FPS, showing that the GPU has substantial headroom even when pushed to maximum settings.

At 1920x1080, the combination becomes exceptionally fast. Low settings deliver a 249 FPS average, Medium hits 177 FPS with a range of 151-204 FPS, High averages 155 FPS, and Ultra maintains a 116 FPS average. The minimum recorded frame rate across all 1080p presets is 151 FPS, which means even the most demanding preset never drops below what would be considered a high refresh rate for most displays.

The medium preset is the only one with min/max data across all three resolutions, allowing direct comparison of frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the spread from min to max is 53 FPS; at 1440p Medium it is 39 FPS; at 4K Medium it is 25 FPS. This suggests the frame pacing tightens as resolution increases, likely because the GPU becomes the consistent bottleneck rather than CPU-driven frame spikes.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS average is High, which produces 73 FPS. The data shows Ultra falls short at 55 FPS, while Medium and Low exceed the threshold with 84 FPS and 118 FPS respectively. For 4K users, High is the recommended ceiling.

At 2560x1440, every preset clears 60 FPS, so the best settings are Ultra with an 85 FPS average. This leaves 25 FPS of headroom above the playable threshold, which is sufficient for most gaming scenarios. The jump from High to Ultra costs 28 FPS, but the result remains well within playable territory.

At 1920x1080, Ultra is again the best choice, delivering a 116 FPS average. This is nearly double the 60 FPS threshold, giving substantial room for frame drops without hitting unplayable levels. The data shows the GPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p, as even the heaviest preset leaves significant performance on the table.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals which component dominates in Lockdown Protocol. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 133 FPS (249 to 116), which is a 53% drop. At 1440p, the same preset difference is 98 FPS (183 to 85), a 54% drop. At 4K, the difference is 63 FPS (118 to 55), a 53% drop. The consistency of this percentage across resolutions suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck at all settings, since the relative cost of higher presets remains proportional regardless of pixel count.

However, the absolute frame rates tell a different story about CPU headroom. At 1080p Low, the 249 FPS average indicates the Ryzen 9 9900X3D can feed the RTX 3080 with enough data to reach near the GPU's maximum throughput. The 12-core, 24-thread processor with its 128 MB L3 cache shows a 3DMark max-thread score of 13795 and a single-thread score of 1269, which positions it well above the 91st percentile of all CPUs. The CPU's role becomes more apparent when comparing the 1080p Low result to the 4K Low result: 249 FPS versus 118 FPS. This 131 FPS gap is almost entirely attributable to GPU workload, since the CPU is equally capable in both scenarios.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the RTX 3080 is the limiting factor even at Low settings, since the CPU is capable of producing far more frames than the GPU can render. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU workload scales up, and the CPU's influence diminishes further. The 1440p Medium result of 130 FPS with a 110-149 FPS range shows that even when the GPU is moderately loaded, the CPU maintains stable frame delivery. No min/max data exists for Low and High presets, but the available Medium data shows no evidence of CPU-induced stuttering.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol with clear playability at all three tested resolutions, though the settings ceiling varies. According to the verdict data, at 3840x2160 the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best at 73 FPS average. Ultra at 4K is not playable, falling to 55 FPS.

At 2560x1440, all four settings are playable, and Ultra provides an 85 FPS average. This is the sweet spot for this combination: maximum visual quality with a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, with Ultra reaching 116 FPS average. The minimum recorded frame rate at 1080p Medium is 151 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin.

The verdict is straightforward: this hardware clears 60 FPS at every resolution except 4K Ultra. Gamers targeting 4K should stick to High settings, while 1440p and 1080p users can max out the game without concerns. The data shows no resolution where the combination fails to meet the playable threshold, provided the user selects an appropriate preset.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Ryzen 9 9900X3D provide context for CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF has an average benchmark score of 55093, which is 0.6% lower than the 9900X3D's 54762 average. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K scores 54053, 1.3% higher than the 9900X3D. The Intel Xeon 6505P scores 53701, 2% higher, and the Intel Core i7-14700F scores 53620, 2.1% higher. These deltas are small enough that in Lockdown Protocol, where the GPU dominates, they would likely produce nearly identical frame rates.

The RTX 3080's nearest rivals show a similar pattern. The NVIDIA P106-100 has an average score of 23249, just 0.3% below the RTX 3080's 23172. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 scores 23250, also 0.3% below, and the AMD Radeon RX 6600M scores 23273, 0.4% below. The AMD Radeon R9 M290X scores 23276, 0.4% below. These differences are within measurement noise for gaming workloads, so users with any of these GPUs should expect comparable performance in Lockdown Protocol at the same settings.

The data suggests that swapping the 9900X3D for any of its nearest rivals would not meaningfully change the measured FPS, since the game is GPU-limited in most scenarios. Similarly, replacing the RTX 3080 with one of its nearest rivals would yield nearly identical results, though the exact FPS would depend on the specific workload distribution.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, at High settings it averages 73 FPS. Medium averages 84 FPS, and Low averages 118 FPS. Ultra is not playable, averaging 55 FPS.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p?

A: Ultra settings deliver an 85 FPS average, which is the highest preset that stays above the 60 FPS threshold. All four presets are playable at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU compare to similar processors?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54762, which is 0.6% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF and 1.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K.

Q: Is the RTX 3080 the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1080p Low, the combination reaches 249 FPS average, which is near the GPU's rendering ceiling. The CPU can produce more frames, but the GPU cannot render them faster.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate at 1080p Medium?

A: The minimum recorded frame rate is 151 FPS, with an average of 177 FPS and a maximum of 204 FPS.

Q: Which settings are playable at 4K?

A: High, Low, and Medium are all playable, with High being the best at 73 FPS average. Ultra falls below 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 1031 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the upper 28% of all configurations tested, meaning it outperforms the majority of systems in this game. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737 and PassMark multi-thread score of 56154, and the GPU's solid but not class-leading benchmark results, with a PassMark G3D score of 25086.

The 100th percentile ranking is not achieved, but the 1031 position out of 3714 indicates this is a well-matched pair for Lockdown Protocol's requirements. The data shows the combination performs best at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU can fully utilize the CPU's frame generation capability, while 4K performance is adequate but requires settings management. The ranking suggests that for gamers prioritizing high frame rates at mainstream resolutions, this combo sits comfortably above average without being exceptional.