Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a 2024 FPS that puts a heavy load on the GPU, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER demonstrates this clearly. The benchmark data shows a system that can deliver smooth 1080p gameplay with adjusted settings but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions. The measured FPS across all settings and resolutions reveals a component relationship where the GTX 1660 SUPER is the primary bottleneck, especially as pixel count increases.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a clear story about where the performance limit lies. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 75.8 at 1920x1080 to 58.9 at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 22%, and then plunges to 36.3 at 3840x2160, which is a 52% drop from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario; the GTX 1660 SUPER simply cannot sustain the pixel throughput required at 4K.

The Low settings data reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 125.3 FPS, which drops to 91.3 at 1440p and then to 57.8 at 4K. The fact that even at the lowest settings, the 4K frame rate remains below 60 FPS indicates that the limiting factor is raw pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth, not shader complexity. The 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth and 48 ROPs on the GTX 1660 SUPER are the hardware constraints here.

When moving from Medium to High settings at the same resolution, the FPS penalty is modest, but the jump from High to Ultra is severe. At 1440p, High delivers 58.9 FPS while Ultra drops to 41.6, a 29% loss. This suggests that Ultra settings introduce effects that heavily tax the GPU's 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, likely related to advanced lighting or shadow techniques. The 1080p Ultra result of 55.4 FPS is barely above the 1440p High result, showing that the GPU is already near its limits even at the lower resolution when settings are maxed.

GPU Role

The GTX 1660 SUPER features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes a limiting factor at 4K, where the larger frame buffer demands and higher bandwidth requirements exceed what this card can deliver. The benchmark results confirm this: at 4K, even with Low settings, the card only manages 57.8 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 25.6 FPS, which is effectively unplayable.

Clock speeds on this card are a base of 1530 MHz and a boost of 1785 MHz. These clocks, combined with the 1408 shading units, produce the 5.027 TFLOPS FP32 throughput. The benchmark scores for the GPU, such as the Passmark G3D score of 12699, place it in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, including the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT with a deltaPct of -0.7, are essentially equivalent in raw performance, yet the GTX 1660 SUPER's memory bandwidth advantage is what carries it in situations like Lockdown Protocol where textures and effects are memory-hungry.

The card's 125 W TDP and dual-slot design are modest, but the data shows that this is not a power or thermal issue—it is a pure compute and bandwidth limitation. The 4K Ultra result of 25.6 FPS is a clear indicator that this GPU is not designed for that workload, regardless of driver optimizations. For 1080p gaming, however, the card performs admirably, with 125.3 FPS at Low settings being more than sufficient for competitive play.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 1080p with high frame rates?

A: Yes, at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 125.3, and at High settings it is 75.8. For competitive play, Low or Medium settings (87 FPS) provide frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the GTX 1660 SUPER or the Ryzen 5 3600 the bottleneck at 1440p?

A: The data points to the GPU as the bottleneck. At 2560x1440, the FPS drops from 91.3 at Low to 41.6 at Ultra, showing that the GPU is struggling with the increased resolution and settings. The CPU has more headroom, as indicated by its benchmark scores.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1440p?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440, High settings deliver 58.9 FPS and Medium delivers 61.6 FPS. Therefore, Medium settings are the optimal choice to maintain a frame rate above 60 FPS at this resolution.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286, which is -0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 and -0.5% lower than the AMD Radeon Vega 11. Its performance is essentially on par with these cards, meaning in-game FPS will be very similar.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware?

A: No. The best 4K result is 57.8 FPS at Low settings, which is barely playable, but High settings drop to 36.3 FPS and Ultra to 25.6 FPS. This combination is not suited for 4K in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 3600's 6-core, 12-thread configuration hold back the GPU?

A: Based on the data, no. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15045, indicate it has sufficient processing power. The frame rate scaling with resolution and settings shows the GPU is the limiting component.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination is ranked 1465 out of 1637 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the bottom 11% of all configurations, which is a poor showing for a game that is likely optimized for newer hardware. The rank reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's, as the Ryzen 5 3600 itself performs in the 76th percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-11400 with a deltaPct of -0.1, meaning the Ryzen 5 3600 is essentially tied with it in overall benchmark performance. The AMD Ryzen 5 1600 is also a close rival with a deltaPct of -0.2. This indicates that the CPU is not the weak link in this combo, as it trades blows with newer and older processors alike.

However, the GPU's ranking is more concerning. The GTX 1660 SUPER sits in the 55th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all within -0.7% of its average score. This means that swapping the GPU for any of these competitors would yield nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol. The combo's low overall rank is therefore a direct result of the GPU's mid-range standing in a game that appears to demand high-end graphics hardware.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. It has 32 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. These specifications are more than adequate for a modern FPS, and the benchmark data supports this, with a Passmark multithread score of 17700 and a single-thread score of 2562.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck, as frame rates scale inversely with resolution and settings, which is a classic GPU-bound signature. The Ryzen 5 3600's 3DMark scores, such as 4605 for 16 threads and 696 for single-thread, indicate that it can handle the game's thread load without issue.

The CPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the Intel Core i5-11400 at -0.1% and the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS at 0.2%. These are all closely matched processors, meaning that upgrading from the Ryzen 5 3600 to any of these would not yield a significant FPS increase in this game, as the GPU would remain the limiting factor. The 65 W TDP and 7 nm process node also make this an efficient and cool-running chip, which is beneficial for system stability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. Low settings produce an average of 125.3 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium settings yield 87 FPS, High settings 75.8 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 55.4 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is a 56% reduction, indicating that Ultra settings introduce significant GPU load that the 1660 SUPER cannot fully handle, but the 1080p High result is still playable.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across the board. Low settings average 91.3 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium drops to 61.6 FPS, High to 58.9 FPS, and Ultra to 41.6 FPS. The Medium setting is the sweet spot for 1440p, providing a frame rate just above 60 FPS. The High setting is marginally below 60 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter on a 60 Hz display.

At 3840x2160, the GTX 1660 SUPER is clearly out of its depth. Low settings average 57.8 FPS, which is borderline playable, but Medium drops to 39.3 FPS, High to 36.3 FPS, and Ultra to a slideshow-like 25.6 FPS. None of these results are ideal for a competitive FPS, and the game is effectively unplayable at 4K with any settings other than Low. The data conclusively shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p Medium being the limit for a consistent 60 FPS experience.