Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title, presents an interesting stress test for pairing AMD’s older Ryzen 5 2600 with NVIDIA’s current flagship, the GeForce RTX 5090. The benchmark data reveals a configuration that is heavily skewed by the processor’s generational limits, yet still delivers highly playable frame rates across all tested resolutions. The measured FPS indicates a system where the GPU’s immense power is often left waiting on the CPU, a classic bottleneck scenario that becomes more apparent as resolution drops.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about where the performance ceiling lies in this combination. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 176 FPS. Moving up to 1440p Low, the average dips to 158 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls further to 137 FPS. This represents a 22% drop in performance from 1080p to 4K at the lowest settings, which is a relatively modest decline for such a massive increase in pixel count. The data suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU is the primary limiter; the RTX 5090 is not being fully utilized because the Ryzen 5 2600 cannot feed it instructions fast enough.

The scaling pattern shifts when we look at higher settings. With Ultra settings, the 1080p average is 133 FPS, 1440p is 120 FPS, and 4K is 83 FPS. Here, the drop from 1080p to 4K is 37.6%, which is a more significant reduction. This indicates that as the graphical load increases, the GPU begins to take on a more dominant role, and its performance characteristics become more apparent. The gap between Low and Ultra settings also widens with resolution: at 1080p, Ultra is 43 FPS slower than Low, but at 4K, that gap expands to 54 FPS. This implies that at 4K, the RTX 5090’s architecture is being pushed harder, making the frame rate more sensitive to the quality preset.

The medium preset provides the only complete min/max data points. At 4K Medium, the average is 121 FPS with a minimum of 102 and a maximum of 139. At 1440p Medium, the average is 139 FPS, with min/max of 119/160. The 1080p Medium result shows an average of 155 FPS, with a floor of 131 and a ceiling of 178. The consistency of the frame times, as indicated by the decent min FPS values, suggests that while the CPU is a bottleneck, it is not causing severe stuttering. The data implies that the limiting component shifts from the CPU at 1080p to a more balanced but still CPU-constrained state at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested configurations, this pairing holds a specific position. The combo ranks 820th out of 3714 tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 78th percentile of all systems. This is a strong ranking, indicating that it outperforms the vast majority of setups. However, the rank also reveals an inherent imbalance. The RTX 5090 is one of the most powerful GPUs available, ranking in the 92nd percentile against all other GPUs. The Ryzen 5 2600, conversely, sits in the 75th percentile against all CPUs. This discrepancy suggests that the system’s overall rank is being dragged down by the processor.

The CPU’s average benchmark score is 21484, which is remarkably close to its nearest rivals. The Intel Core Ultra 5 228V scores 21440, a mere 0.2% difference, while the Intel Core i9-11900H is 0.5% slower. The AMD EPYC 9454 is 1.2% faster, and the Intel Xeon D-1746TER is 0.7% slower. This clustering shows that the Ryzen 5 2600 is performing exactly as expected for its class, but its class is generations behind the GPU. The GPU’s average score of 79842 puts it close to the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, which is 0.3% slower, and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which is 1.1% slower. The data indicates a pairing of a top-tier GPU with a mid-range, older CPU, which inherently limits the system’s potential in a CPU-sensitive title like a competitive FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 brings a massive amount of hardware to the table, which is reflected in its benchmark results. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. The GPU is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and packs 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. Its boost clock is rated at 2407 MHz, with a base clock of 2017 MHz. These specifications contribute to a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s, along with a FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS. The raw compute power is undeniable.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU’s role becomes evident when examining the settings scaling. The fact that the RTX 5090 can push 137 FPS at 4K Low and 111 FPS at 4K High demonstrates its ability to handle the game’s visuals. However, the relatively small performance gap between 4K Low and 4K High (26 FPS) compared to the gap between 1080p Low and 4K Low (39 FPS) suggests that the GPU is not the primary constraint at lower resolutions. The RTX 5090 is clearly capable of far more, but the CPU is holding it back.

The GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18355 and Passmark G3D score of 39650 are indicative of its high-end status. The data shows that the GPU is not the limiting factor in this specific combination for most of the tested settings. The generous 32 GB VRAM is unlikely to be a constraint in this title at these settings, as the game’s memory requirements are presumably far lower. The GPU is essentially performing in an underutilized state, waiting for the processor to provide more data.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combination depend on the user’s priority for frame rate versus visual fidelity. At 4K, the High preset yields 111 FPS, which is excellent for a smooth experience. The Ultra preset drops to 83 FPS, which is still playable but represents a significant 25% performance hit for presumably marginal visual gains. The Medium preset at 4K offers 121 FPS with a minimum of 102 FPS, making it the most balanced choice for 4K gaming if you want to ensure frame times stay high.

For users with 1440p displays, the data suggests that High settings at 133 FPS are a sweet spot, offering a great balance. The Ultra preset at 120 FPS is also viable, as it maintains a high refresh rate experience. The Low preset at 158 FPS is the fastest, but it sacrifices visual quality. At 1080p, the situation is different; the CPU bottleneck is so severe that the GPU can barely differentiate between settings. The 133 FPS at Ultra and 176 FPS at Low show a 43 FPS spread, but all presets are well above 130 FPS, so users can choose based on visual preference without worrying about playability.

The Medium preset stands out as the most consistent across all resolutions, with the only complete min/max data. It provides a 121 FPS average at 4K, 139 FPS at 1440p, and 155 FPS at 1080p. For a competitive FPS, maintaining a high minimum frame rate is crucial, and the Medium preset’s min FPS of 102 at 4K is notably higher than the average of the Ultra preset. Therefore, the recommendation is to use Medium or High settings, depending on resolution, to avoid the CPU bottleneck from becoming too pronounced while still leveraging the GPU’s power.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a clear picture of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are: Low 176 FPS, Medium 155 FPS (min 131, max 178), High 148 FPS, and Ultra 133 FPS. The progression shows a 24% reduction from Low to Ultra at this resolution. At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 158 FPS, Medium 139 FPS (min 119, max 160), High 133 FPS, and Ultra 120 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 24%, similar to 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 137 FPS, Medium 121 FPS (min 102, max 139), High 111 FPS, and Ultra 83 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra at 4K is 39%, which is significantly steeper than at lower resolutions. This indicates that the GPU is becoming a more active participant in performance scaling at 4K, but the CPU still prevents it from reaching its true potential. The data shows that the gap between 1080p and 4K at the same settings is 39 FPS for Low, 34 FPS for Medium, 37 FPS for High, and 50 FPS for Ultra. The growing gap at Ultra settings confirms that the GPU is increasingly stressed with higher visual loads.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 2000 series, based on the Zen+ architecture. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz, with a 65W TDP. It supports DDR4 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s. The CPU has 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 cache per core. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R15 multicore score of 1248 and a Geekbench multicore score of 5648, place it in a solid but not exceptional position.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role is clearly defined by the resolution scaling. The fact that 1080p Low (176 FPS) is only marginally faster than 4K Low (137 FPS) by 39 FPS suggests that the CPU is the bottleneck in both scenarios. The GPU is capable of rendering frames much faster, but it is limited by the CPU’s instruction throughput. The single-thread performance is particularly telling; a Passmark single-thread score of 2239 is modest, and FPS titles often rely heavily on single-core performance for game logic and draw calls. The 12-thread count helps with background tasks and multi-threaded aspects, but the per-core speed is a limiting factor.

The data indicates that the Ryzen 5 2600 prevents the RTX 5090 from achieving its maximum frame rates, especially at 1080p where the CPU overhead is most significant. The 75th percentile ranking for the CPU, while respectable, is far below the GPU’s 92nd percentile. This mismatch explains why the combo rank is 820th out of 3714; the system is only as strong as its weakest link. The CPU’s older PCIe Gen 3 interface may also contribute to the bottleneck, though the benchmark data does not isolate this variable. The evidence strongly suggests that an upgrade to a newer, faster CPU would unlock significantly higher frame rates with this GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this CPU and GPU combination for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data shows that 1440p offers the best balance. At 1440p High, the average is 133 FPS, which is only 15 FPS slower than 1080p High but provides much higher visual clarity. At 4K High, the average drops to 111 FPS, which is still playable but shows a more significant performance hit.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 being fully utilized in this system?

A: No. The benchmark results indicate a CPU bottleneck. The frame rate difference between 1080p Low (176 FPS) and 4K Low (137 FPS) is only 39 FPS, suggesting the CPU is limiting performance even at lower resolutions where the GPU should be less stressed.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 2600 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU’s average score of 21484 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. It is 0.2% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V, 0.5% faster than the Intel Core i9-11900H, 0.7% slower than the Intel Xeon D-1746TER, and 1.2% slower than the AMD EPYC 9454.

Q: Which settings preset provides the most stable frame times?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with min and max FPS data, showing a minimum of 102 FPS at 4K, 119 FPS at 1440p, and 131 FPS at 1080p. This suggests it offers the most consistent frame pacing compared to the other presets where min FPS is not reported.

Q: Does the GPU’s performance ranking align with its in-game performance here?

A: The GPU ranks in the 92nd percentile against all GPUs, but the system’s combo rank is only 820th out of 3714. This discrepancy confirms that the GPU’s potential is not fully realized due to the CPU’s limitations.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops from 133 FPS at 1080p to 83 FPS at 4K. This is a 37.6% reduction, which is the largest percentage drop of any preset, indicating the GPU is working harder at this quality level.