Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a demanding FPS that heavily taxes the GPU, and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 combo reflects this, ranking in the bottom 4% of tested configurations. The data shows a system that is strictly limited by its graphics card, where even dropping to the lowest settings at 4K only yields 36 FPS, and the playable range is firmly locked to 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent pattern: performance degrades sharply as resolution increases, confirming that the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 76 FPS, which drops to 56 FPS at 1440p and further to 36 FPS at 4K. This represents a 52.6% reduction in average frame rate from 1080p to 4K at the lowest settings, a steep decline that points directly at the GPU's pixel-pushing limits.

The trend is even more pronounced at higher settings. With High settings, the average FPS falls from 47 at 1080p to 35 at 1440p, then plummets to 22 at 4K. That is a 53.2% loss from 1080p to 4K, nearly identical to the Low setting drop. This consistency across presets indicates that the rendering load is scaling uniformly with pixel count, and the GTX 1650's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 128-bit bus are being saturated regardless of the graphical complexity.

The limiting component is unambiguously the GPU. The Ryzen 5 5500, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, provides enough computational headroom that the frame rate does not plateau at lower resolutions. For instance, the jump from 47 FPS at 1080p High to 76 FPS at 1080p Low shows a 61.7% improvement, which is far larger than what a CPU-bound scenario would produce. If the processor were the constraint, the FPS difference between settings would be minimal. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor, as even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is most stressed, the average of 17 FPS is still well above a single-digit crawl, indicating the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 sits at rank 3580 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the 3.6th percentile of all configurations, meaning that over 96% of tested systems deliver higher average frame rates in this game. This is a very low standing, and it is driven almost entirely by the GPU's position in the market.

The GTX 1650 itself holds a percentile rank of 40 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 7472. Its nearest rivals in synthetic tests include the Intel UHD Graphics 750, which scores 7441, and the AMD Radeon R7 350, which scores 7425. The GTX 1650 is only 0.4% faster than the integrated UHD 750 and 0.6% faster than the R7 350. This is a stark indicator of how weak the discrete card is in absolute terms; it is barely ahead of integrated graphics solutions in raw compute benchmarks, and in a real-time FPS like Lockdown Protocol, that deficit translates into a very low combo rank.

The CPU, by contrast, is a much stronger performer. The Ryzen 5 5500 holds a percentile rank of 73 against all CPUs and has an average benchmark score of 19593. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430, scores 19617, putting the Ryzen 5 5500 just 0.1% behind. It is also 0.4% behind the Intel Core i5-12500 and 0.7% behind the Core i5-11600KF, while being 0.5% ahead of the Core i7-10700F. This places the CPU in the mid-to-upper tier of processors, but its potential is wasted in this pairing. The data shows a 73rd-percentile CPU shackled to a 40th-percentile GPU, and the combo rank of 3580 out of 3714 reflects the GPU's drag on the overall result.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the defining component in this system's Lockdown Protocol performance, and its specifications explain the low frame rates. The card operates at a base clock of 1485 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, with a memory clock of 2001 MHz (8 Gbps effective). It features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s. The pixel rate is 53.28 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 93.24 GTexel/s, with a raw FP32 performance of 2.984 TFLOPS.

These numbers are modest for a modern game. The 4 GB VRAM is a significant constraint for Lockdown Protocol at higher resolutions. At 4K, the card must manage textures and geometry with a limited memory pool, which contributes to the steep drop from 36 FPS at Low to 17 FPS at Ultra. The 128-bit memory bus and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth also limit how quickly data can be fed to the GPU cores, a factor that becomes more critical as resolution increases and the demand for texture data grows.

The card's 896 shading units and 32 ROPs are simply too few to handle the pixel workload at 4K. The measured data shows that at 4K Medium, the average FPS is 26 with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 29, indicating that the GPU is running at its limits with very little variance. The GTX 1650's position in the GPU hierarchy, where it is only 1% faster than the Intel Arc A310 and 0.3% faster than the AMD Radeon HD 8850M, confirms that it is near the bottom of the discrete GPU stack. This is a card designed for 1080p esports titles, not for high-resolution, high-fidelity FPS gaming, and Lockdown Protocol's measured results align perfectly with that expectation.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo is achieved at 1080p with Low settings, which delivers an average of 76 FPS. This is the only configuration that approaches the 60+ FPS threshold that is generally considered smooth for an FPS. The 1080p Medium preset yields an average of 54 FPS (with a range of 46 to 62 FPS), which is playable but may feel less consistent during intense firefights. The 1080p High setting drops to 47 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35 FPS, both of which are below the smoothness target for a competitive shooter.

At 1440p, the situation is worse. The Low setting produces 56 FPS, which is acceptable for casual play, but Medium drops to 40 FPS (34-46 FPS range), and High falls to 35 FPS, with Ultra at 26 FPS. None of these are ideal for a fast-paced FPS. At 4K, all settings are below playable thresholds, with Low at 36 FPS, Medium at 26 FPS, High at 22 FPS, and Ultra at 17 FPS.

The data strongly suggests that users should avoid 4K entirely and treat 1440p Low as the ceiling for acceptable performance. For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, 1080p Medium is the recommended preset, as it provides a 54 FPS average with a minimum of 46 FPS, which is a tolerable margin for most players. However, for competitive play where frame rate is paramount, 1080p Low is the clear choice, offering a 76 FPS average that is 40.7% higher than Medium and 61.7% higher than High. The measured rows show a clear trade-off: every step up in settings costs roughly 20-25% of the frame rate at 1080p, and the cost is even steeper at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a full range of results across settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 76 FPS. Medium drops to 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 62 FPS. High results in 47 FPS, and Ultra is the lowest at 35 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 41 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for higher fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages fall across the board. Low produces 56 FPS. Medium yields 40 FPS (34-46 FPS range). High drops to 35 FPS, and Ultra is 26 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 30 FPS, a smaller absolute gap than at 1080p, but the relative cost is similar.

At 3840x2160, the card struggles. Low averages 36 FPS. Medium is 26 FPS (22-29 FPS range). High is 22 FPS, and Ultra is 17 FPS. The gap from Low to Ultra is 19 FPS, and even the best-case minimum at Medium (22 FPS) is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The data indicates that 4K is not a viable resolution for this pairing, regardless of settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves a consistently playable frame rate. At 1080p Low, it averages 76 FPS, and at 1080p Medium, it averages 54 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low setting exceeds 50 FPS (56 FPS), and at 4K, all settings fall below 36 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 7472. It is 0.3% faster than the AMD Radeon HD 8850M (7447), 0.4% faster than the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (7441), and 0.6% faster than the AMD Radeon R7 350 (7425). It is 1% slower than the Intel Arc A310 (7550).

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500 the bottleneck in this system?

A: No. The CPU has an average benchmark score of 19593 and a percentile rank of 73 against all CPUs. The frame rate scaling between settings and resolutions indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. For example, at 1080p, raising settings from Low to Ultra cuts the average FPS from 76 to 35, a 53.9% drop, which is a GPU-driven change.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 FPS and a maximum of 46 FPS. The High preset averages 35 FPS. This is a 12.5% reduction in average FPS from Medium to High.

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 4K Ultra?

A: Technically, it runs, but not playably. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 17 FPS. This is far below the 30 FPS minimum threshold for acceptable gameplay, and the data suggests it is an unusable configuration.

Q: How does the combo's rank in this game compare to its component parts?

A: The combo ranks 3580 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This is much lower than the CPU's individual percentile rank of 73, and it is in line with the GPU's weaker percentile rank of 40. The low combo rank is driven by the GPU's inability to handle the game's demands.