Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + Intel Arc B390

This combination of an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3302 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the bottom 11% of all configurations. The ranking reflects a system that can run the game, but with significant compromises required in both resolution and quality settings. The Intel Arc B390, operating as an integrated graphics solution with system-shared memory, is the dominant constraint in this pairing, while the Ryzen 5 3600 provides ample processing headroom that goes largely underutilized in this title. Benchmark results indicate that users will need to prioritize either visual fidelity at lower resolutions or playable frame rates at higher resolutions, as the GPU's performance ceiling is reached well before the CPU becomes a limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 3302 out of 3714 places this configuration in the bottom 11% of all tested Lockdown Protocol systems. This positioning is primarily driven by the Intel Arc B390's performance profile, which sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs in the benchmark database. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in direct competition with legacy mobile and entry-level desktop parts, including the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). Notably, the Arc B390 actually outperforms all four of its nearest rivals, but the margin is slim—between 1.3% and 2.7%—meaning it occupies a performance tier that is fundamentally limited for modern FPS titles.

In contrast, the Ryzen 5 3600 presents a much stronger picture. Its average benchmark score of 17035 places it at the 71st percentile among all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core i7-1260P (17007, 0.2% slower), Intel Core i5-11400 (17067, 0.2% faster), AMD EPYC 7573X (17070, 0.2% faster), and AMD EPYC 7742 (16998, 0.2% slower). The CPU's performance is essentially neck-and-neck with these alternatives, showing that it is a well-balanced mid-range processor. However, in Lockdown Protocol, this CPU strength does not translate into competitive frame rates because the GPU cannot keep pace. The data suggests that this combo's ranking is almost entirely a function of GPU limitation, with the CPU's capabilities being largely irrelevant to the outcome at most settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, fabricated on Intel's 3 nm process node. Its clock speeds are modest, with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, which is a wide boost range that indicates significant thermal and power headroom for momentary performance increases. The GPU features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, 24 raster operations pipelines, and 12 ray tracing cores, providing a baseline hardware feature set for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 support. Pixel rate is rated at 60.00 GPixel/s, texture rate at 120.0 GTexel/s, and FP32 compute at 7.680 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 15.36 TFLOPS using a 2:1 ratio.

Memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," meaning performance scales with the host system's DDR4 memory configuration and bandwidth. This is a critical limitation for Lockdown Protocol, as the Ryzen 5 3600's dual-channel memory provides 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is shared between CPU and GPU workloads. The GPU's power envelope is 80 W TDP, and it requires no power connectors, reinforcing its integrated nature. The measured FPS data shows that this GPU is capable of producing playable frame rates only at lower settings and resolutions, with performance degrading sharply as quality increases—for example, at 1080p, the average frame rate drops from 88 FPS on Low to 41 FPS on Ultra, a 53% reduction.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the user's resolution target and frame rate preference. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 88 FPS, which is the highest measured frame rate across all configurations and provides a smooth experience for fast-paced FPS gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 63 FPS average with a minimum of 53 FPS and maximum of 72 FPS, which remains playable but with less headroom for demanding scenes. The High preset at 1080p drops to 55 FPS average, while Ultra falls to 41 FPS, making the latter questionable for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset produces 65 FPS average, which is still respectable, but Medium drops to 46 FPS (min 39, max 53) and High to 40 FPS, with Ultra at 30 FPS. For 4K (3840x2160), only the Low preset achieves a playable 42 FPS average, with Medium at 30 FPS (min 25, max 34) and High at 26 FPS, while Ultra falls to 19 FPS. The data indicates that the Low preset provides the most consistent experience across all resolutions, with diminishing returns from higher settings that do not justify the substantial frame rate penalties. Users seeking a balance between visual quality and performance should consider Medium at 1080p, where the 63 FPS average with a 53 FPS minimum offers a reasonable compromise, but for any resolution above 1080p, the Low preset is the only reliable choice for maintaining frame rates above 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values show a clear progression across settings: Low delivers 88 FPS average, Medium provides 63 FPS average (min 53, max 72), High achieves 55 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 41 FPS average. The 1080p resolution is where this combo performs best, with all settings except Ultra maintaining frame rates above 55 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 25 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 8 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 14 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance scales downward significantly. Low yields 65 FPS average, Medium provides 46 FPS average (min 39, max 53), High achieves 40 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 30 FPS average. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings costs 23 FPS, while at High settings the cost is 15 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum of 39 FPS, which may cause noticeable stuttering in intense combat scenarios.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become severe. Low delivers 42 FPS average, Medium provides 30 FPS average (min 25, max 34), High achieves 26 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 19 FPS average. No 4K setting achieves a 60 FPS average, and even the Low preset falls below the 45 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for acceptable gameplay. The minimum FPS of 25 at Medium 4K indicates that frame pacing could be problematic, with drops below 30 FPS during demanding moments.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the extent to which the GPU is the limiting component. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 88 FPS at 1080p to 65 FPS at 1440p (a 26% reduction) and then to 42 FPS at 4K (a 35% reduction from 1440p, or 52% from 1080p). At High settings, the progression is 55 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p (a 27% reduction), and 26 FPS at 4K (a 35% reduction from 1440p, or 53% from 1080p). This consistent pattern of approximately 26-27% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and an additional 35% reduction from 1440p to 4K indicates that the GPU is scaling with pixel count in a predictable manner, which is characteristic of a fill-rate or memory-bandwidth-bound scenario.

The fact that the percentage reductions are nearly identical across Low and High settings suggests that the GPU is operating at its architectural limits regardless of quality preset, meaning that the bottleneck is not shader complexity but rather the fundamental throughput of the Xe3-LPG architecture with system-shared memory. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see smaller frame rate differences between resolutions, particularly at lower settings where GPU load is reduced. The data shows the opposite: the GPU is so constrained that even at Low settings, resolution scaling produces large frame rate penalties. This confirms that the Intel Arc B390's system-shared memory architecture and limited compute resources are the primary determinants of performance in Lockdown Protocol, and that the Ryzen 5 3600's capabilities are not being fully utilized.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 88 FPS average, which is the highest measured frame rate. For a balance of quality and performance, 1080p with Medium settings provides 63 FPS average (min 53, max 72). At 2560x1440, only Low settings (65 FPS) approach playable frame rates, while 4K is not recommended as even Low settings only reach 42 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, outperforming the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). Its GPU percentile ranking is 9th among all GPUs.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 3600 holding back performance in this game?

A: No. The CPU's average benchmark score of 17035 places it at the 71st percentile, with rivals like the Intel Core i7-1260P (17007) and Intel Core i5-11400 (17067) within 0.2% of its performance. The measured FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows consistent percentage drops that indicate GPU limitation, not CPU bottlenecking.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Only at 1920x1080 with Low settings (88 FPS average). At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 63 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS, meaning dips below 60 are possible. At 1440p Low, the average is 65 FPS, but this is the only 1440p setting that exceeds 60 FPS, and it may not hold consistently.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance like?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 scores 696 in 3DMark single-thread, 214 in Cinebench R15 single-core, 892 in Cinebench R20 single-core, and 2124 in Cinebench R23 single-core. These scores indicate adequate single-thread performance for gaming workloads, though they are not exceptional compared to newer architectures.

Q: How does the combo rank overall in Lockdown Protocol?

A: This combination ranks 3302 out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 11%. The ranking reflects the GPU's 9th percentile performance, which is the primary constraint, rather than the CPU's 71st percentile capability.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture (Matisse codename), fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth, and features a cache hierarchy of 64 KB L1 per core, 512 KB L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. These specifications are competitive for a mid-range desktop processor, and its benchmark scores confirm strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15045, Cinebench R20 multi-core of 6318, and PassMark multi-thread of 17700.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the measured FPS data. The Ryzen 5 3600's 3DMark scores show a scaling pattern from 1361 (2-thread) to 4605 (16-thread) and 4603 (max-thread), indicating good multi-threading efficiency. However, the game's performance is limited by the GPU at all settings and resolutions tested. The CPU's nearest rivals—the Intel Core i7-1260P (0.2% slower), Intel Core i5-11400 (0.2% faster), AMD EPYC 7573X (0.2% faster), and AMD EPYC 7742 (0.2% slower)—all show negligible performance differences, confirming that CPU choice has minimal impact on this combo's Lockdown Protocol results. The data suggests that even a significantly more powerful CPU would not improve frame rates, as the GPU's 9th percentile ranking is the definitive bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 3600's 71st percentile CPU ranking means it has substantial headroom that cannot be utilized in this configuration.