Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a consistently strong experience in Lockdown Protocol, with benchmark results showing that every tested resolution offers at least one preset that exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data indicates that this pairing is particularly well-suited for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p and 1080p, while still maintaining solid performance at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gaming with this hardware?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset is the best playable option, delivering an average frame rate of 76 FPS. The Ultra preset falls below the playable threshold at 57 FPS, while Low and Medium achieve 123 FPS and 87 FPS respectively.

*Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 1440p with maximum settings?*

A: Yes. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves an average of 89 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data shows that all four settings presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54762, which places it just 0.6% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (55093) and 1.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (54053). It also leads the Intel Xeon 6505P (53701) by 2% and the Intel Core i7-14700F (53620) by 2.1%.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded across all tested configurations?

A: The highest average frame rate is 260 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset. This is more than four times the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Are there any settings presets that fail to reach 60 FPS?

A: Only one configuration falls below the threshold: 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, which averages 57 FPS. Every other combination of resolution and settings in the measured data achieves at least 76 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark score compare to its closest competitors?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37648, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628, 0.1% difference). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135) by 1.3% but outperforms both the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507) by 0.4% and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (37157) by 1.3%.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions and presets reveals how the CPU and GPU share the workload in Lockdown Protocol. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces 260 FPS, which drops to 161 FPS at High and 121 FPS at Ultra—a 53% reduction from Low to Ultra. This wide spread indicates that at lower resolutions, the GPU is not the limiting factor; instead, the CPU's single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 1269) and multi-thread capabilities (cinebench_r23_multicore score of 47737) are sufficient to drive very high frame rates, and the graphics card's workload scales dramatically with preset complexity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates compress slightly: Low yields 191 FPS, High 118 FPS, and Ultra 89 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 53%, compared to 53% at 1080p, but the absolute values remain high. The RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth handle the increased pixel count effectively, while the CPU continues to feed frames without bottlenecking, as evidenced by the 135 FPS Medium result with a minimum of 115 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. The Low preset drops to 123 FPS, while High falls to 76 FPS and Ultra to 57 FPS—a 54% reduction from Low to Ultra, similar in percentage to lower resolutions but with a much lower ceiling. The 4K results show that the RTX 4070's 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate are adequate for High settings (76 FPS) but insufficient for Ultra (57 FPS). The CPU's role diminishes at 4K, as the 12-core, 24-thread Ryzen 9 9900X3D has ample headroom—its passmark_multithread score of 56154 and geekbench_multicore score of 22884 suggest it is not the bottleneck at any resolution tested.

The pattern across all three resolutions is consistent: the CPU provides a robust foundation that never limits frame rates, while the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution and preset. At 1080p, the system is clearly GPU-bound at higher presets, but the CPU's strength enables exceptionally high frame rates at Low settings. At 4K, the GPU's capabilities define the playable envelope, with the CPU contributing only marginally to the performance ceiling.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in benchmark scores offer similar computational headroom. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF sits just 0.6% above the Ryzen 9 9900X3D in average score, making it a near-identical match for Lockdown Protocol CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K trails by 1.3% and would deliver virtually indistinguishable frame rates in this game, particularly at 1080p where CPU performance matters most. The Intel Xeon 6505P and Intel Core i7-14700F, at 2% and 2.1% behind respectively, would also produce comparable results—the differences are small enough that in-game FPS variance would likely exceed the benchmark score gaps.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA Tesla P4 is the closest match with a delta of just 0.1%, meaning it should deliver nearly identical performance in Lockdown Protocol across all resolutions and presets. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, at 0.4% behind, would also track closely with the RTX 4070's frame rates. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, despite being a laptop part, scores 1.3% higher and would provide a slight edge in the most demanding 4K Ultra scenario, potentially pushing that 57 FPS result closer to the 60 FPS threshold. The AMD Radeon PRO W6400, at 1.3% behind, would likely fall just short of the 4070's 4K High result.

These alternatives indicate that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's performance class is well-populated with CPUs that would not change the playable settings at any resolution. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals would not alter the verdict—they sit within a narrow band of 1.3% either side, which translates to roughly one to two frames per second in the measured results.

The Verdict

The data confirms that this PC can run Lockdown Protocol with playable performance at all three tested resolutions, provided the right settings preset is selected. At 3840x2160, the High preset clears the 60 FPS threshold with an average of 76 FPS, and both Low (123 FPS) and Medium (87 FPS) are also playable. The Ultra preset at 4K falls short at 57 FPS, so it should be avoided for 4K gaming.

At 2560x1440, every preset is playable. The Ultra setting delivers 89 FPS on average, which is the best option for visual quality while still maintaining a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. Lower presets offer progressively higher frame rates: High at 118 FPS, Medium at 135 FPS, and Low at 191 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the system excels. The Ultra preset averages 121 FPS, making it the recommended choice for maximum visual fidelity, while High (161 FPS), Medium (185 FPS), and Low (260 FPS) all provide exceptional performance. The 1080p results suggest this combination is well-suited for high-refresh-rate monitors, as even the most demanding preset exceeds 120 FPS.

The overall verdict is positive across the board. Only the 4K Ultra preset fails to meet the playable standard, and even that configuration is close, missing the threshold by just 3 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 3714 tested CPU-GPU combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing ranks 874th, placing it in the top 23.5% of all configurations. This percentile positioning is consistent with the hardware's individual standings: the CPU ranks in the 91st percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 81st percentile against all GPUs.

The rank of 874 suggests that while this is a strong combination, there are many other pairings that deliver higher frame rates, particularly those with more powerful GPUs. The RTX 4070's 81st percentile GPU ranking indicates that a substantial number of tested graphics cards outperform it, which would push those combinations higher in the overall ranking. However, the high CPU percentile ensures that this combo is not held back by processor limitations, making it a balanced choice for Lockdown Protocol.

The gap between the CPU's 91st percentile and the GPU's 81st percentile suggests that upgrading the graphics card would yield larger performance gains than upgrading the processor. The CPU is already performing near the top of its class, while the GPU has more headroom for improvement within the broader hardware landscape.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is High, with an average frame rate of 76 FPS. This represents the optimal balance at 4K, as the Ultra preset falls to 57 FPS and is not viable.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is the best choice, delivering 89 FPS on average. This is the highest quality setting available and comfortably exceeds the playable threshold, making it the clear recommendation for 1440p gaming.

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is also the best option, achieving 121 FPS on average. This provides the full visual experience while maintaining frame rates that are more than double the 60 FPS threshold, suitable for smooth gameplay on standard and high-refresh-rate displays alike.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured results show a clear progression across presets. The Low setting averages 123 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded. Medium averages 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS, indicating stable performance with only modest variance. High averages 76 FPS, also without min/max data. Ultra drops to 57 FPS, which is the only below-threshold result in the entire dataset.

At 2560x1440, performance scales upward. Low achieves 191 FPS, High reaches 118 FPS, and Ultra produces 89 FPS. The Medium preset records 135 FPS on average, with a minimum of 115 FPS and a maximum of 156 FPS—the tightest variance of any Medium setting across resolutions, suggesting consistent frame pacing.

At 1920x1080, the results are the highest of any resolution. Low averages 260 FPS, High hits 161 FPS, and Ultra delivers 121 FPS. Medium averages 185 FPS, with a minimum of 157 FPS and a maximum of 213 FPS, showing a broader range than at higher resolutions but still maintaining a minimum well above the playable threshold. The 1080p data demonstrates that this combination is capable of extremely high frame rates, particularly at lower presets, which would benefit competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays.