Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT pairing delivers a notably balanced Lockdown Protocol experience, with the GPU clearly leading performance at lower resolutions while the CPU holds the line at higher settings. This combination ranks 1072nd out of 1637 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, but the measured frame rates tell a more nuanced story across different resolution and quality presets.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only with the right settings. At 4K High, the average is 51 FPS, which falls short of 60. Dropping to 4K Medium raises the average to 57.4 FPS, still under 60. However, 4K Low achieves 79.3 FPS, comfortably exceeding the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for high refresh rate gaming?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo produces 165.7 FPS, which is ideal for high refresh rate displays. Even at 1080p High, it maintains 102.8 FPS. For 1440p, Low settings yield 121 FPS, while High settings drop to 74.9 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 19616, placing it within 0.7% of the Intel Core i7-10700F and 0.6% of the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U. It trails the Intel Core i5-1345U by 0.4% and leads the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U by 0.6%.

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck the CPU at any settings?

A: At 1080p Low, the GPU's 165.7 FPS suggests headroom for both components. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 38.2 FPS, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads appear sufficient across all tested configurations.

Q: What is the GPU's standing relative to other cards?

A: The RX 7600 XT's average benchmark score is 20146, which is 0.3% above the AMD Radeon RX 460 and 1.9% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER. It sits 0.6% below the RX 7600 and 1.9% below the RTX 3070 Mobile.

Q: Can this combo handle Ultra settings smoothly?

A: Ultra settings are only viable at 1080p, where the average is 74.9 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 57.6 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 38.2 FPS, which is below acceptable smoothness for an FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. The memory operates at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory capacity is substantial for Lockdown Protocol, allowing high-resolution textures without capacity concerns. The GPU's game clock is 2470 MHz, with a boost clock of 2755 MHz and a base clock of 1980 MHz.

The GPU's 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs contribute to its pixel rate of 176.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 352.6 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 22.57 TFLOPS indicates strong raw compute for an FPS title. In the database, the RX 7600 XT ranks in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20146.

The performance scaling with settings demonstrates the GPU's capabilities. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 90.8 FPS (165.7 vs 74.9). At 1440p, the gap narrows to 63.4 FPS (121 vs 57.6). At 4K, the gap is 41.1 FPS (79.3 vs 38.2). This pattern shows the GPU is strong enough to push high frame rates at lower settings but becomes the limiting factor at 4K Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p displays, High settings offer the best balance, delivering 102.8 FPS average. This provides a smooth experience above 100 FPS while maintaining visual quality. Ultra at 1080p is playable at 74.9 FPS, but the performance cost over High is substantial for marginal visual gains. Low settings at 1080p produce 165.7 FPS, which is useful for competitive play on high refresh rate monitors.

At 1440p, Medium settings are the sweet spot with 86.9 FPS average. High settings at 1440p yield 74.9 FPS, which is acceptable for most players, while Low achieves 121 FPS for those prioritizing frame rate. Ultra at 1440p drops to 57.6 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay.

For 4K, Low settings are the only viable option for consistent performance, with 79.3 FPS average. Medium at 4K provides 57.4 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced sections but is not ideal for an FPS. High at 4K falls to 51 FPS, and Ultra at 4K is not recommended at 38.2 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 1072nd out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 65th percentile of all tested configurations. This ranking reflects the mid-tier positioning of both components. The CPU's percentile rank among all CPUs is 77, while the GPU's percentile rank among all GPUs is 63, suggesting the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing.

The measured frame rates show that this combo outperforms its overall ranking at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 165.7 FPS average places it in contention with much higher-ranked combos. However, the ranking is likely weighted across all resolution and settings combinations, and the 4K Ultra result of 38.2 FPS pulls the overall position down.

Compared to the nearest rival combos, the CPU's performance relative to the Intel Core i5-11600KF (0.6% lower average score) and the GPU's position relative to the RTX 2060 SUPER (1.9% higher average score) suggest that this pairing is balanced but not exceptional. The combo's ranking indicates that many other combinations achieve higher frame rates in this game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 provides 6 cores and 12 threads from the Zen architecture, built on the 12 nm process node. The base clock is 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. The 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 512 KB L2 cache per core provide adequate data throughput for gaming workloads. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s over dual-channel DDR4 is modest by modern standards but sufficient for this game.

In CPU benchmarks, the Ryzen 5 2600 achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11186 and a single-core score of 1579. The Passmark multithread score of 13160 and single-thread score of 2239 indicate balanced performance. The CPU ranks in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19616.

The CPU's role in Lockdown Protocol becomes apparent when examining frame rates across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 165.7 FPS average suggests the CPU can feed the GPU effectively at high frame rates. However, the CPU's single-thread performance of 1579 in Cinebench R23 may limit maximum frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios. The 12 threads help maintain consistent frame pacing during complex scenes with multiple enemies or physics calculations.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals shows it is competitive for its generation. It trails the Intel Core i5-1345U by only 0.4% in average benchmark score and leads the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U by 0.6%. This indicates that the Ryzen 5 2600 remains relevant for gaming workloads despite being an older design.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the performance scales predictably with settings. Low settings produce 165.7 FPS average, Medium delivers 118.5 FPS, High achieves 102.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 74.9 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 54.8% reduction in frame rate, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High (15.7 FPS).

At 1440p, the results are lower but still playable. Low settings yield 121 FPS average, Medium produces 86.9 FPS, High achieves 74.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 57.6 FPS. The performance gap between 1080p and 1440p increases with higher settings: Low has a 44.7 FPS difference, while Ultra has a 17.3 FPS difference.

At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. Low settings deliver 79.3 FPS average, Medium produces 57.4 FPS, High drops to 51 FPS, and Ultra falls to 38.2 FPS. The 4K results show that this combo is not suited for maximum quality at this resolution, but Low settings provide a playable experience.

The scaling efficiency across resolutions shows diminishing returns at higher settings. At Low, going from 4K to 1080p increases performance by 109% (79.3 to 165.7 FPS). At Ultra, the same resolution change increases performance by 96% (38.2 to 74.9 FPS). This indicates that the CPU can maintain adequate frame delivery even when the GPU is heavily loaded, but the overall performance ceiling is limited by the GPU's compute capabilities.