Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER

This combination of AMD's 6-core Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA's GTX 1660 SUPER lands at rank 1473 out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the bottom 10% of all tested configurations. The data reveals a system that can deliver playable frame rates at 1080p with adjusted settings, but struggles significantly at higher resolutions and maxed-out presets. The pairing sits far from the top of the leaderboard, yet the measured results tell a more nuanced story about where its strengths and limitations actually lie.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1473 out of 1637 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol places it in the lower tier of the database, but that position requires context. This is not a flagship pairing by any means, yet the measured FPS data shows it can handle the game competently at lower resolutions. The Ryzen 5 5500's average benchmark score of 20875 puts it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, while the GTX 1660 SUPER's average benchmark score of 14286 lands in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. That asymmetry — a stronger-than-average CPU paired with a below-average GPU — shapes the entire performance profile observed in the measured frames.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5500 sits within a fraction of a percent of the Intel Core i5-12500 (deltaPct -0.1) and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE (deltaPct -0.1), while edging out the AMD EPYC 7J13 by 0.1%. The GTX 1660 SUPER, meanwhile, trails the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 by 0.2% and the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics by 0.2%, while sitting 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon Vega 11 and 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT. These margins are razor-thin, meaning the combo's low rank stems more from the GPU's modest standing relative to the broader field than from any severe deficiency in either component.

GPU Role

The GTX 1660 SUPER brings 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines operate at a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz. The memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), and the card achieves a pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s with a texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s. In raw compute, it offers 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, with FP16 reaching 10.05 TFLOPS via a 2:1 ratio.

These specifications explain the GPU's 55th percentile standing. In Lockdown Protocol, the measured FPS at 1080p Ultra drops to 54.4, while 4K Ultra falls to 24.6. The 6 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient for the game's demands at the tested settings, as the frame rates decline more steeply with resolution increases than with texture-heavy settings. The GPU's 125 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU requirement indicate a modest power envelope, and the dual-slot design with a single 8-pin connector suggests this card was built for mainstream systems rather than high-end enthusiast rigs.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5500 provides 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, running at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. It includes 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 16 MB of L3 cache. The 7 nm process node from TSMC houses 10,700 million transistors on a 180 mm² die, and the CPU supports DDR4 memory through a dual-channel interface with 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

In single-threaded workloads, the 5500 scores 836 in 3DMark single-thread and 2319 in Cinebench R23 single-core, while multi-threaded results show 16429 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 5411 in 3DMark max threads. The PassMark multithread score of 19330 and single-thread score of 3058 further quantify its capabilities. These numbers, combined with the 79th percentile ranking, suggest the CPU has ample headroom for gaming workloads. In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's influence appears most pronounced at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is less constrained — the jump from 54.4 FPS at 1080p Ultra to 122.3 FPS at 1080p Low indicates that the processor can feed the GPU effectively when graphical load decreases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 122.3 FPS on Low, 88.4 FPS on Medium, 78.2 FPS on High, and 54.4 FPS on Ultra. These results show a clear progression: dropping from Low to Medium costs 33.9 FPS, Medium to High costs 10.2 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 23.8 FPS. The Ultra preset's 54.4 FPS remains above a 30 FPS playability floor but falls short of the 60 FPS target that many competitive FPS players would prefer.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers shift to 91.6 FPS on Low, 62.2 FPS on Medium, 55.7 FPS on High, and 42.2 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium widens to 29.4 FPS, while Medium to High narrows to 6.5 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 13.5 FPS. At this resolution, only the Low preset maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, performance drops significantly: 56.2 FPS on Low, 39.6 FPS on Medium, 36.8 FPS on High, and 24.6 FPS on Ultra. The Low preset here barely reaches 60 FPS, and every other setting falls below that threshold. The Ultra preset at 4K produces frame rates that would be considered borderline unplayable for a fast-paced FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck lies. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces performance by 30.7 FPS (from 122.3 to 91.6), and further to 4K by another 35.4 FPS (to 56.2). At Ultra settings, the same resolution jumps cost 12.2 FPS (1080p to 1440p) and 17.6 FPS (1440p to 4K). The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is approximately 54% at Low settings and 55% at Ultra settings.

These consistent percentage drops across settings indicate that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. If the CPU were the constraint, the FPS at 1080p Low would not scale as dramatically when resolution increases. The 1080p Low result of 122.3 FPS — nearly double the 4K Low result of 56.2 FPS — demonstrates that the GTX 1660 SUPER's fill rate and bandwidth become saturated as pixel count rises, while the Ryzen 5 5500 has sufficient headroom to feed frames at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS on a 1080p monitor?

A: Yes, at Low and Medium settings it achieves 122.3 and 88.4 FPS respectively, while High reaches 78.2 FPS. Ultra falls to 54.4 FPS, just below the 60 FPS mark.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware?

A: Only at Low settings, where it produces 56.2 FPS. Medium yields 39.6 FPS, High 36.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 24.6 FPS, making the higher presets unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5500 compare to its closest CPU rivals?

A: It scores within 0.1% of the Intel Core i5-12500 and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE (both deltaPct -0.1), and is 0.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7J13, showing near-identical average benchmark performance.

Q: What is the GTX 1660 SUPER's standing relative to other GPUs?

A: It sits in the 55th percentile of all GPUs, trailing the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 by 0.2% and the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics by 0.2%, while remaining 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor, as evidenced by the consistent FPS drops across resolution increases. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking and high 1080p Low frame rate of 122.3 FPS indicate it has spare capacity.

Q: What resolution offers the best balance of quality and performance?

A: 1440p at Medium settings provides 62.2 FPS, which is close to a 60 FPS target while offering higher detail than the Low preset. 1080p High at 78.2 FPS is another strong option if higher frame rates are preferred.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to 1080p High as the optimal balance for this combo, delivering 78.2 FPS — comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining visual quality. The 33.9 FPS penalty from Low to Medium at 1080p suggests the GPU is sensitive to certain settings, but the smaller 10.2 FPS drop from Medium to High indicates diminishing returns from further increases. The Ultra preset's 54.4 FPS at 1080p is the only setting at this resolution that fails to reach 60 FPS, making it a poor trade for the modest visual improvements it likely provides.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, 1080p Low at 122.3 FPS provides a substantial competitive advantage in an FPS title. At 1440p, Medium delivers 62.2 FPS and represents the highest resolution at which this combo maintains a 60 FPS experience, while High at 55.7 FPS remains playable with a slight compromise. The 4K resolution should be avoided except at Low settings (56.2 FPS), as the drop to Medium (39.6 FPS) and below introduces noticeable stuttering in fast-paced gameplay. Overall, the data suggests this pairing is best suited for 1080p gaming with High settings, or 1440p with Medium settings, rather than chasing Ultra quality at any resolution.