Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a 2024 FPS that clearly rewards high refresh-rate hardware, and the pairing of an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 produces a wide spread of frame rates depending on how you configure it. This combination sits at rank 644 out of 3714 tested combos, placing it comfortably in the top 20% of all systems tested for this game. The data indicates that this is a setup capable of extreme performance, but the bottleneck shifts dramatically depending on resolution and settings, making the choice of preset more impactful than with many other titles.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but not uniform across all settings, revealing where the CPU and GPU each take their turn as the limiting factor. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 sees the average FPS fall from 201 to 157, a reduction of 44 FPS or roughly 22%. This relatively modest drop suggests that even at 4K Low, the system is still partially constrained by the Ryzen 5 3600's processing power rather than being purely GPU-bound.

Moving to High settings, the scaling story changes. The 1080p average of 169 FPS drops to 151 at 1440p, and then to 98 at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K at High settings is 53 FPS, a much larger absolute drop than the 24 FPS difference seen between 1080p and 1440p at the same preset. This indicates that at High settings, the RTX 4080 begins to hit its limits as the resolution climbs, but the CPU is still capable of feeding it enough frames at the lower resolutions to keep the numbers high.

The most revealing data point is the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the system averages 152 FPS, which is only 17 FPS lower than at 1080p High. However, at 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 113 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls off a cliff to 73 FPS. The delta between 1440p Ultra and 4K Ultra is 40 FPS, whereas the delta between 1080p Ultra and 1440p Ultra is 39 FPS. This near-linear scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings points to a system that is becoming increasingly GPU-limited as the pixel count rises, with the RTX 4080's raw throughput being the primary driver of these numbers.

The Low preset tells a different story, as the FPS deltas are much smaller across resolutions. From 201 FPS at 1080p Low to 181 FPS at 1440p Low, and then to 157 FPS at 4K Low, the performance drop is more gradual. This suggests that at Low settings, the graphics card is so underutilized that the CPU becomes the primary bottleneck, and the resolution increase has less impact on the overall frame rate because the GPU has ample headroom to spare. In practical terms, this combo is heavily CPU-limited at low graphical workloads, but the balance shifts toward the GPU as settings increase.

How This Combo Ranks

With a rank of 644 out of 3714 tested combinations, this specific pairing of a Ryzen 5 3600 and RTX 4080 is well above average for Lockdown Protocol. The percentile placement implies that the majority of systems tested for this game produce lower frame rates than what this combo achieves. However, the ranking also shows that there is significant headroom for improvement, as many other combinations score higher, likely those featuring newer CPUs with higher single-thread performance.

The GPU is the star of this pairing in terms of raw benchmark strength. The RTX 4080 scores an average benchmark of 54247, placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54209, a delta of just 0.1%, meaning the two cards are essentially identical in synthetic tests. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X and AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB score 54828 and 55698 respectively, with deltas of -1.1% and -2.6%, which are still within a narrow band of performance.

The CPU, by contrast, is a more modest performer in synthetic benchmarks. The Ryzen 5 3600 has an average benchmark score of 17035, placing it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1260P at 17007 (delta 0.2%), the Intel Core i5-11400 at 17067 (delta -0.2%), and the AMD EPYC 7573X at 17070 (delta -0.2%). These deltas are minimal, indicating that the Ryzen 5 3600 is in a dense cluster of CPUs with similar multi-threaded performance, but it is not a standout in single-threaded workloads, which often matter more in FPS titles like Lockdown Protocol.

The combination of a top-tier GPU with a mid-range CPU from 2019 creates an interesting dynamic. In CPU-bound scenarios, such as low-resolution gaming with high frame rates, the Ryzen 5 3600 may hold back the RTX 4080. In GPU-bound scenarios, such as 4K Ultra, the pairing performs closer to what the GPU alone can deliver. The overall rank of 644 out of 3714 reflects this imbalance, showing that while the system is fast, it is not optimized for maximum consistency across all settings.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, the Medium preset at 1440p is the standout choice from the measured data. At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system produces an average of 160 FPS, with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 184 FPS. This is a highly playable range for a competitive FPS, offering smooth motion without requiring the user to sacrifice too much graphical quality. The minimum FPS of 136 ensures that even in intense firefights, the frame rate should not drop below the refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

If the user prefers 4K gaming, the Medium preset at 3840x2160 is also viable, with an average of 112 FPS, a minimum of 95 FPS, and a maximum of 129 FPS. The minimum of 95 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the average of 112 FPS provides a comfortable experience. However, the 1440p Medium option offers a higher average FPS and a higher minimum FPS, making it the more reliable choice for competitive play where frame consistency matters more than resolution.

The High preset is a reasonable middle ground, but it introduces more variance. At 1440p High, the average is 151 FPS, which is only 9 FPS lower than Medium, but the lack of a reported minimum FPS for High settings makes it harder to recommend for those who need predictable performance. At 4K High, the average drops to 98 FPS, which is playable but noticeably lower than the Medium preset's 112 FPS. For users with a 144Hz or 165Hz monitor, the Medium preset at 1440p is the clear winner, as it keeps the average FPS above the refresh rate while maintaining a solid minimum.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for this combo in Lockdown Protocol. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 113 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 73 FPS. The visual uplift from High to Ultra is often marginal in fast-paced FPS games, but the performance cost is significant. The Low preset, while producing the highest frame rates (201 FPS at 1080p, 181 FPS at 1440p, 157 FPS at 4K), sacrifices too much graphical quality, making it difficult to spot distant enemies or read the environment. The Medium preset at 1440p offers the best compromise, with a high average FPS and a minimum FPS that keeps gameplay fluid.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset produces an average of 201 FPS, which is the fastest result in the entire dataset. The High preset averages 169 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 177 FPS with a minimum of 150 FPS and a maximum of 204 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 152 FPS, which is still very high but shows how much performance is lost when maxing out the graphical options.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but start to show the GPU's workload increasing. The Low preset averages 181 FPS, a drop of 20 FPS from 1080p Low. The High preset averages 151 FPS, down 18 FPS from 1080p High. The Medium preset averages 160 FPS, with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 184 FPS, making it the most consistent option at this resolution. The Ultra preset averages 113 FPS, which is 39 FPS lower than 1080p Ultra, illustrating the significant cost of combining high resolution with maximum settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance gap widens considerably. The Low preset averages 157 FPS, which is still excellent for 4K and only 24 FPS lower than 1440p Low. The High preset averages 98 FPS, a drop of 53 FPS from 1440p High, showing that the GPU is now the primary limiter. The Medium preset averages 112 FPS, with a minimum of 95 FPS and a maximum of 129 FPS, making it the best 4K option for maintaining a high frame rate. The Ultra preset averages just 73 FPS, which is below the 75 FPS threshold for a smooth experience on many displays, and it is the only setting where the system fails to maintain a high average frame rate.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the frame rates observed in Lockdown Protocol. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, the card has a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s, which is more than sufficient for 4K textures and high-detail environments. The 9728 shading units and 304 TMUs provide the raw compute power needed to push high frame rates at demanding settings, and the boost clock of 2505 MHz ensures that the card operates at its peak during gameplay.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark performance reinforces its strength. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 is a strong indicator of DirectX 12 performance, which Lockdown Protocol likely utilizes. The Passmark G3D score of 34457 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 263779 further confirm that this card is among the fastest available. The RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54247 places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, is virtually identical with a delta of just 0.1%.

In this game, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution and settings increase. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 73 is clearly GPU-bound, as the card is working at its maximum capacity to render the highest quality images. At 1440p Medium, the GPU still has headroom, allowing the system to reach 160 FPS, but the CPU's limitations start to appear at lower settings. The 16 GB of VRAM is a key asset for Lockdown Protocol, as it prevents texture pop-in and stuttering that can occur with cards that have less memory, particularly at 4K where high-resolution textures are more demanding.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 3600 is the weaker link in this combo, and its specifications highlight why the frame rates do not scale perfectly with the GPU's capabilities. With 6 cores and 12 threads, this Zen 2 processor has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache is ample for gaming, but the 7 nm process and 2019 release date mean it lacks the single-thread performance of newer CPUs.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 5 3600 scores 2124 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 15045 in multi-core. The single-core score is particularly relevant for Lockdown Protocol, as FPS titles often rely heavily on one or two threads for game logic and physics. The Geekbench single-core score of 1536 is modest compared to modern CPUs, and this likely contributes to the frame rate ceiling observed at lower resolutions and settings.

The CPU's benchmark percentile of 71 places it above average, but its nearest rivals show that it is not a standout performer. The Intel Core i7-1260P, Core i5-11400, and AMD EPYC 7573X all have average scores within 0.2% of the Ryzen 5 3600, meaning that any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical performance in CPU-bound scenarios. The Passmark multithread score of 17700 is decent, but the single-thread score of 2562 is the more telling metric for gaming.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p and Low settings, where the frame rates are highest. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 201 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame output for this game. The fact that 4K Low produces 157 FPS, which is still very high, suggests that the CPU can push enough frames to keep the GPU busy even at high resolutions, but the gap between 1080p Low and 4K Low (44 FPS) shows that the GPU is still doing significant work. The Ryzen 5 3600's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for Lockdown Protocol, but they do not provide the headroom that a newer 8-core or higher-clocked CPU would offer, which is why the frame rates at lower settings are not as high as they could be with a more powerful processor.