Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D presents a stark contrast in hardware tiers, and the measured results in Lockdown Protocol reflect that dynamic clearly. This combination places the CPU as a potential bottleneck at lower resolutions, while the GPU’s immense power asserts dominance at higher settings and resolutions. The data indicates a system that can deliver high frame rates across the board, but the scaling patterns reveal where each component’s limits begin to show.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about where the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 241 FPS on average. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low settings, the average drops to 217 FPS, a reduction of 24 FPS. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average falls further to 187 FPS. This pattern—a relatively modest decline from 1080p to 1440p (roughly 10%) and a larger drop to 4K (another 14%)—suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU enough frames, but the GPU is beginning to feel the load at higher pixel counts.

The scaling under High settings is more revealing. At 1080p High, the combo averages 202 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 182 FPS, and at 4K High, it falls to 118 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is steep—a 35% reduction—indicating that the RTX 5090 D is becoming the limiting factor as resolution increases. The gap between 1080p and 1440p High is smaller (about 10%), which suggests that at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 5500’s six cores and 12 threads are holding the system back from pushing even higher frame rates.

Ultra settings amplify this trend. The combo hits 182 FPS at 1080p Ultra, 137 FPS at 1440p Ultra, and only 88 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p Low figure, showing that the GPU is working hardest at this extreme setting. The data suggests that for players prioritizing maximum frame rates at 1080p, the CPU becomes a limiting factor, while at 4K, the GPU’s raw horsepower is the primary driver of performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 5000 series, built on the Zen 3 architecture (codenamed Cezanne) with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. It features 16 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 836 in 3dmark_single_thread and 5411 in 3dmark_max_threads, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16429 and a single-core score of 2319.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s impact is most visible at 1080p, where the frame rates plateau. At 1080p Low, Medium, High, and Ultra, the averages are 241, 212, 202, and 182 FPS, respectively. The variation across settings at 1080p is relatively small compared to the jumps seen at higher resolutions. This suggests that the CPU is reaching its limit around the 200-240 FPS range, regardless of the graphics settings. The 241 FPS at Low is only 32% higher than the 182 FPS at Ultra, indicating that the CPU is not the sole bottleneck at 1080p, but it is constraining the system from exceeding these figures.

The Ryzen 5 5500’s performance relative to its peers is modest. It sits at the 73rd percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19593. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (deltaPct -0.1), Intel Core i5-12500 (deltaPct -0.4), Intel Core i7-10700F (deltaPct 0.5), and Intel Core i5-11600KF (deltaPct -0.7). These small percentage differences indicate that the Ryzen 5 5500 is in a tight performance band with these competitors, none of which are top-tier processors. For a game like Lockdown Protocol, which appears to favor both CPU and GPU scaling, this CPU’s 6-core/12-thread configuration is adequate for high frame rates at 1080p but may not fully unlock the RTX 5090 D’s potential at that resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a behemoth, featuring 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its clocks are 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost, and it carries 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The GPU’s benchmarks are equally imposing: it scores 14326 in 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 and 44065 in passmark_g3d, placing it at the 92nd percentile against all GPUs.

The GPU’s influence is most pronounced at 4K resolution. At 4K Medium, the combo achieves 135 FPS with a minimum of 115 and a maximum of 155. At 4K High, it drops to 118 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, to 88 FPS. The difference between 4K Medium and 4K Ultra is 47 FPS, a 35% reduction, which shows that the RTX 5090 D is scaling with the graphics load as expected. The GPU’s 32 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for any settings at 4K, and the data shows no signs of memory-related stutters or crashes, with minimum FPS values recorded only for Medium settings at each resolution.

At 1440p, the GPU’s capability is evident, with the combo posting 217 FPS at Low, 191 FPS at Medium, and 182 FPS at High. The 1440p Ultra result of 137 FPS is still robust, suggesting that the GPU is not the limiting factor until the resolution climbs to 4K. The RTX 5090 D’s nearest rivals in synthetic tests are the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (deltaPct 1.1), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (deltaPct -1.6), and two NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants (deltaPct -2.1 and -2.4). These deltas are small, but the RX 6650M XT is a mobile GPU, highlighting that the 5090 D’s desktop-class performance is in a different league.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 149th out of 2828 combinations. This places it in the top 5.3% of all tested configurations, a strong showing given the CPU’s mid-range positioning. The rank reflects the GPU’s ability to carry the system to high frame rates, especially at higher resolutions where the CPU’s limitations are less impactful.

The combination’s rank is notable because the CPU is a budget-oriented part, while the GPU is a flagship. The data suggests that in Lockdown Protocol, the GPU dominates the performance equation at 1440p and 4K, allowing the combo to outperform many systems with more balanced CPU-GPU pairings. However, the rank also implies that at 1080p, the CPU’s lower single-thread performance (a 3dmark_single_thread score of 836) prevents the system from achieving the highest possible frame rates, which might push it higher in the rankings if paired with a stronger processor. The 149th rank out of 2828 confirms the RTX 5090 D’s raw power, but it also shows that this CPU is not the ideal match for maximizing the GPU’s potential in a CPU-bound scenario.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 4K displays, the Medium preset offers the best balance, delivering 135 FPS on average with a minimum of 115 FPS. This is above the 120 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate 4K monitors. The High preset at 4K drops to 118 FPS, which is still playable but may dip below 120 FPS, while Ultra at 4K falls to 88 FPS, which is less ideal for competitive play.

For 1440p, the High preset is the sweet spot, providing 182 FPS on average. This is only slightly lower than the Medium preset’s 191 FPS, but the visual quality improvement is worth the small frame rate cost. The Low preset at 1440p hits 217 FPS, which is useful for players with 240Hz monitors, but the graphical compromises are significant. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 137 FPS, which is still high but may not justify the visual gains over High for most players.

At 1080p, the High preset is recommended, delivering 202 FPS on average. This is sufficient for 200Hz+ displays and offers a solid visual experience. The Medium preset at 1080p reaches 212 FPS, which is higher, but the difference is marginal compared to the visual quality loss. The Low preset at 1080p maxes out at 241 FPS, which is ideal for esports players with 240Hz monitors, but the game’s visual fidelity suffers. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 182 FPS, which is lower than High and not worth the performance hit.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured FPS data for this combo is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 241 FPS. The Medium preset averages 212 FPS, with a minimum of 180 FPS and a maximum of 243 FPS. The High preset averages 202 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 182 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 217 FPS. The Medium preset averages 191 FPS, with a minimum of 162 FPS and a maximum of 220 FPS. The High preset averages 182 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 137 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 187 FPS. The Medium preset averages 135 FPS, with a minimum of 115 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS. The High preset averages 118 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 88 FPS.

These numbers reveal a consistent pattern: the frame rate decreases as resolution and settings increase, but the drops are not uniform. The largest single drop occurs between 1440p High (182 FPS) and 4K High (118 FPS), a 35% reduction. The smallest drop is between 1080p High (202 FPS) and 1440p High (182 FPS), a 10% reduction. The data also shows that the minimum FPS values are only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution, with 180 FPS at 1080p, 162 FPS at 1440p, and 115 FPS at 4K. This indicates that the Medium preset is the most stable in terms of frame pacing, even if it is not the highest average.

The Ultra preset at 4K, at 88 FPS, is the only measured average below 100 FPS, making it the least desirable option for smooth gameplay. The Low preset at 1080p, at 241 FPS, is the highest recorded average, showing the system’s peak performance when the GPU load is minimized. Overall, the data confirms that this combo is capable of delivering high frame rates at all tested settings, with the RTX 5090 D providing the muscle and the Ryzen 5 5500 serving as a capable, if not ideal, partner.