Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER pairing in Lockdown Protocol delivers a performance profile that is heavily dictated by resolution and preset, with the data revealing a system that is clearly more capable at 1080p than at higher resolutions. The measured frames per second (FPS) show a predictable scaling pattern, but the magnitude of the drops between resolutions tells a specific story about which component is acting as the primary bottleneck in this particular FPS title.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 and then to 3840x2160 produces a steep decline in average FPS across all settings, indicating that the GPU is the dominant limiting factor as pixel count increases. At the Low preset, the system manages 125.3 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 88.5 FPS at 1440p — a reduction of nearly 30% — and then falls further to 60.2 FPS at 4K. This pattern is consistent with a graphics card that is being saturated by the increased rendering load, rather than a CPU that is struggling to feed the frames.

The scaling behavior becomes even more telling when examining the High preset. At 1080p, the combo produces 74.6 FPS, but this number plummets to 56.6 FPS at 1440p and then to 33.9 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K represents a 40% loss in performance, which is a characteristic sign of the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory bus being overwhelmed by the sheer number of pixels. Interestingly, the Medium preset shows a similar trend, with 87.7 FPS at 1080p, 62.5 FPS at 1440p, and 41.4 FPS at 4K, confirming that the GPU's compute and memory resources are the constraining factors at higher resolutions regardless of the visual fidelity.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is still able to keep pace with the GPU, as the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings is substantial (125.3 vs 56.4 FPS), indicating that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting. However, at 4K, the gap between Low and Ultra narrows relatively — 60.2 vs 26.9 FPS — which further reinforces that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the CPU's role in frame generation diminishes when the GPU is spending more time on each frame.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 5 2600 and GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 1467 out of 1637 combos. This places it in the lower 10% of all tested systems, which is a noteworthy data point given that both components are not at the bottom of their respective performance curves. The combo rank of 1467 suggests that the pairing is not well-optimized for this particular game, or that the game itself is demanding enough to expose the limitations of this mid-range hardware.

The GPU's percentile ranking versus all GPUs is 55, meaning it outperforms just over half of all graphics cards in the database. In contrast, the CPU has a percentile ranking of 77 versus all CPUs, indicating it is a stronger relative performer. This discrepancy between the two components' relative standings helps explain the combo's low rank — the system is likely held back by the GPU, especially at higher resolutions, which is where the ranking data would be most sensitive to performance bottlenecks. The nearest rivals for the GPU, such as the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT, have average scores within 0.7% of the GTX 1660 SUPER, confirming that this is a competitive segment, but the game's performance data suggests that none of these cards are particularly well-suited for high-refresh-rate play at 1440p or above.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen+ architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. Its benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11186 and a single-core score of 1579, indicate a solid mid-range performer from its generation. The CPU's percentile ranking of 77 versus all CPUs suggests it has enough processing power to handle most gaming workloads, and the data for Lockdown Protocol at 1080p Low (125.3 FPS) supports this, as the CPU is able to feed the GPU well beyond the 60 FPS threshold.

However, the CPU's role appears to diminish as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the system only achieves 26.9 FPS, which is a stark contrast to the 1080p Low result. This indicates that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in this scenario; rather, the GPU is unable to render frames quickly enough to utilize the CPU's full potential. The CPU's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support are adequate for the task, but the data shows that the system's overall performance ceiling is set by the graphics card, not the processor. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-11600KF, have average benchmark scores within 0.6% of the Ryzen 5 2600, but this does not translate into a better gaming experience for Lockdown Protocol because the GPU remains the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the system's capabilities across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 125.3 FPS, which is the highest recorded in the entire dataset. The Medium preset drops to 87.7 FPS, High to 74.6 FPS, and Ultra to 56.4 FPS. This is a typical scaling curve for a mid-range GPU, where each step up in quality results in a measurable performance cost, but the system remains playable at all settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset still delivers a respectable 88.5 FPS, but the Medium preset falls to 62.5 FPS, High to 56.6 FPS, and Ultra to 40.1 FPS. The 1440p results show that the GTX 1660 SUPER is starting to struggle with higher quality settings, as the gap between Low and Ultra widens to more than 48 FPS. At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly: Low averages 60.2 FPS, Medium 41.4 FPS, High 33.9 FPS, and Ultra 26.9 FPS. The 4K data confirms that this combo is not suited for ultra-high-definition gaming, as even the Low preset barely maintains 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers a slideshow-like experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is a Turing-architecture card with 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 raster operation units. It features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1530 MHz with a boost clock of 1785 MHz, and it has a pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s. These specifications place it in the mid-range segment, and its benchmark scores, including a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1278 and a Passmark G3D score of 12699, reflect its performance class.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role is clearly the dominant factor in determining FPS, especially at higher resolutions. The VRAM capacity of 6 GB is likely a contributing factor to the steep performance drop at 4K, as the game's textures and rendering buffers may exceed this limit, causing the card to rely on slower memory paging. The GPU's percentile ranking of 55 indicates it is an average performer, and its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics, are within 0.2% of its average score, showing that this is a tightly contested performance tier. However, the measured FPS data shows that for a fast-paced FPS like Lockdown Protocol, the GTX 1660 SUPER is only truly comfortable at 1080p, where it can deliver high frame rates on lower presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 125.3, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system produces an average of 26.9 FPS, which is not smooth for gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at resolutions above 1080p, as FPS drops significantly with increased pixel count.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1467 out of 1637 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: Can the system achieve 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Yes, but only on the Low preset, which averages 88.5 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 62.5 FPS, and High falls to 56.6 FPS.

Q: What is the GPU's VRAM size and memory bandwidth?

A: The GPU has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with the Medium preset, which delivers an average of 87.7 FPS. This setting provides a balance between visual quality and smoothness, as it stays well above the 60 FPS threshold while offering better fidelity than the Low preset. The High preset at 1080p is also viable, with 74.6 FPS, but the Medium setting offers a higher margin for demanding gameplay moments.

For users with 1440p monitors, the Low preset is the only setting that consistently exceeds 60 FPS, with an average of 88.5 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p is borderline, at 62.5 FPS, but may dip below 60 FPS in intense scenes. At 4K, the Low preset is the only option that approaches playability, averaging 60.2 FPS, but this is likely a marginal experience. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it produces the lowest FPS values across the board, including a 26.9 FPS average at 4K. The data suggests that users should prioritize resolution over settings, as dropping to 1080p with Medium quality yields a significantly better experience than attempting 1440p with Ultra settings.