Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX delivers a peculiar performance profile in Lockdown Protocol, one that oscillates between GPU-bound at high resolutions and CPU-limited at lower settings. The data set shows a combination ranking 478th out of 1,637 tested combos, placing it in the 71st percentile overall. This pairing of a 2018-era six-core processor with a flagship RDNA 3 graphics card produces results that are consistently playable, yet the scaling patterns reveal where each component’s influence begins and ends.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested configurations in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The combination ranks 478th out of 1,637 tested combos, which places it in the upper 29% of all pairings. This is a strong showing given the CPU’s age, though it sits well below the top-tier configurations.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded across all tested settings and resolutions?

A: The highest measured average is 177.5 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest average among the tested rows is 69.9 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600 has a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1,579. Its average benchmark score of 19,616 sits within 0.7% of the Intel Core i7-10700F (19,485) and 0.6% of the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (19,508), indicating near-parity with those processors.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration and how does it factor into performance?

A: The RX 7900 XTX features 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This large memory pool and high bandwidth provide ample headroom for high-resolution textures and data throughput in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the performance gap between Low (177.5 FPS) and Ultra (134.5 FPS) is only 43 FPS, a 24% difference. This relatively narrow spread, combined with the fact that even Low settings cannot push past 177.5 FPS, suggests the CPU begins to constrain frame rates at this resolution.

Q: What is the GPU’s average benchmark score and how does it rank among all GPUs?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has an average benchmark score of 44,019, placing it in the 85th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 580, scores 44,195, which is a delta of -0.4%.

How This Combo Ranks

The 478th position out of 1,637 combos places this pairing in a respectable tier, but the ranking tells only part of the story. The Ryzen 5 2600’s average benchmark score of 19,616 puts it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, while the RX 7900 XTX’s 44,019 average score lands in the 85th percentile of all GPUs. This discrepancy in percentile rankings — an 8-point gap favoring the GPU — is reflected in the measured FPS data.

At 1080p, the combo’s performance ceiling appears capped by the processor. The jump from Low to Ultra settings at 1920x1080 yields only a 43 FPS difference (177.5 down to 134.5), which is a modest drop for a settings change that typically stresses the GPU more heavily. Meanwhile, at 4K, the same settings change produces a 68.5 FPS swing (138.4 down to 69.9), indicating that the GPU becomes the dominant constraint at higher resolutions. The rank of 478 suggests that while this combo outperforms many older or lower-end pairings, it does not crack the top quartile, largely because the CPU’s Zen architecture and 16 MB of shared L3 cache limit the GPU’s full potential at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear transition in the bottleneck. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 149.3 at 1920x1080 to 130.6 at 2560x1440, then falls further to 87.4 at 3840x2160. This represents a 41% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is substantial but not catastrophic. The Low settings preset shows a different pattern: 177.5 FPS at 1080p, 157.1 at 1440p, and 138.4 at 4K — a 22% drop from 1080p to 4K. This smaller percentage decline at Low settings suggests that the CPU is already nearing its limit at 1080p Low, preventing the GPU from fully stretching its legs.

The Medium preset behaves similarly to High, with 155.6 FPS at 1080p, 140.4 at 1440p, and 105.1 at 4K — a 32% reduction. Ultra settings show the steepest scaling curve: 134.5 FPS at 1080p, 101.4 at 1440p, and 69.9 at 4K, a 48% drop. The pattern is clear: as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the frame rate scales more aggressively downward. The 4K Ultra result of 69.9 FPS is the only measurement below 70 FPS in the entire data set, indicating that this combo can handle 4K only at reduced settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a tight grouping across presets. Low settings deliver 177.5 FPS, Medium drops to 155.6 FPS, High sits at 149.3 FPS, and Ultra rounds out at 134.5 FPS. The spread of 43 FPS between Low and Ultra at this resolution is the smallest of any resolution tested, reinforcing the CPU-bound hypothesis. The Ryzen 5 2600’s boost clock of 3.90 GHz and 12 threads appear sufficient to keep frame rates above 130 FPS even at Ultra, but the processor’s single-thread score of 1,579 in Cinebench R23 suggests it cannot push much beyond 177.5 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but start to diverge more noticeably. Low settings produce 157.1 FPS, Medium 140.4 FPS, High 130.6 FPS, and Ultra 101.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra widens to 55.7 FPS, indicating that the GPU is beginning to shoulder more of the workload. At this resolution, all presets stay above 100 FPS, which is a solid result for a 1440p monitor.

At 3840x2160, the GPU takes over as the primary constraint. Low settings achieve 138.4 FPS, Medium 105.1 FPS, High 87.4 FPS, and Ultra 69.9 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 68.5 FPS, the largest of any resolution. Every preset at 4K remains playable, but only Low settings approach the 138.4 FPS mark; Ultra dips below 70 FPS, which may feel sluggish in a fast-paced FPS title.

GPU Role

The RX 7900 XTX’s specifications are substantial: 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. The GPU’s boost clock is listed at 2498 MHz, with a game clock of 2365 MHz and a base clock of 1929 MHz. These figures, combined with 6,144 shading units and 192 ROPs, give the card a theoretical FP32 performance of 61.39 TFLOPS. In Lockdown Protocol, this translates to strong 4K performance at Low settings (138.4 FPS) but a steep decline at Ultra (69.9 FPS), suggesting that the game’s Ultra preset introduces effects that heavily tax the GPU despite its raw power.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 44,019 places it in the 85th percentile, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, scores 44,900 — a 2% delta favoring the RTX card. This close margin in synthetic benchmarks does not fully capture the RX 7900 XTX’s behavior in this game, where the 24 GB memory buffer likely prevents any texture-related stuttering at 4K. The memory clock of 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective) provides the 960.0 GB/s bandwidth needed to feed the 192 ROPs at high resolutions, which is evident in the 4K Low result of 138.4 FPS — a figure that exceeds the 1080p Ultra result of 134.5 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

For 1920x1080 displays, the data suggests that Ultra settings are viable, with 134.5 FPS remaining smooth for competitive play. However, the jump from High (149.3 FPS) to Ultra (134.5 FPS) costs nearly 10% performance, and given that the CPU is already limiting at this resolution, Medium (155.6 FPS) or High may offer a better balance for players seeking maximum frame rates. The 1080p Low result of 177.5 FPS is the peak of the entire data set, but the visual compromise may not be worth the additional 22 FPS over Medium.

At 2560x1440, High settings (130.6 FPS) provide a strong experience, while Ultra (101.4 FPS) remains playable. The 29.2 FPS gap between these two presets suggests that High is the sweet spot, as it retains visual fidelity while staying comfortably above 120 FPS. Medium (140.4 FPS) is a solid alternative for those prioritizing refresh rate over detail.

For 3840x2160, the recommendation is unambiguous: Low settings at 138.4 FPS offer the best playable experience, as Medium (105.1 FPS) and High (87.4 FPS) are still smooth but require significant visual compromises. Ultra at 69.9 FPS is borderline for an FPS title, and the data indicates that the GPU’s performance overhead is best utilized at lower presets. Across all resolutions, the combination of the Ryzen 5 2600’s 77th percentile CPU ranking and the RX 7900 XTX’s 85th percentile GPU ranking means that players should prioritize GPU-heavy settings at 4K while keeping CPU-intensive options low at 1080p.