Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a fast-paced FPS that stresses both the CPU and GPU depending on how you configure it. With an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 paired with an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, the data shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but begins to show its CPU limitations at 1080p. This combination delivers very high frame rates across the board, but the scaling pattern reveals exactly where the bottleneck shifts as you change settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern: as resolution increases, average frame rates drop, but the rate of that drop tells you a lot about the system's balance. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo hits 256 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 223 FPS, a reduction of 33 FPS (about 13%). Jumping to 4K Low yields 144 FPS, another 79 FPS drop (about 35%). This steep decline from 1440p to 4K indicates that the RX 7900 XTX is being pushed harder at higher pixel counts, while at 1080p the CPU is likely the limiting factor, preventing the GPU from stretching its legs even further.

The pattern holds when looking at the High preset. At 1080p High, the average is 188 FPS. At 1440p High, it falls to 138 FPS (a 50 FPS drop), and at 4K High, it drops further to 89 FPS (a 49 FPS drop from 1440p). The consistent ~50 FPS penalty between each resolution step at High settings suggests the GPU workload scales almost linearly with pixel count, which is typical for a game like this that is not particularly CPU-intensive at higher resolutions. The fact that the 1080p to 1440p drop (50 FPS) is nearly identical to the 1440p to 4K drop (49 FPS) reinforces that the GPU is the primary constraint from 1440p upwards.

However, the Low preset tells a slightly different story. The 1080p Low score of 256 FPS is exceptionally high. The drop to 1440p Low (223 FPS) is only 33 FPS, but the drop to 4K Low (144 FPS) is a massive 79 FPS. This non-linear scaling at Low settings suggests that at 1080p Low, the CPU is hitting a ceiling around 256 FPS. The Ryzen 5 5600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, can only feed frames so fast. Once the resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck again, and the frame rate falls according to its rendering capabilities.

Ultra settings present the most demanding scenario. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 141 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 103 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it plummets to 67 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p (about 27%) is larger than the drop from 1440p to 4K (about 35% of the 1440p value). This suggests that even at Ultra settings, the GPU is working hard but the frame rates are still high enough that the CPU is not the primary constraint until you hit the very high 1080p numbers. For a 4K Ultra experience, 67 FPS is still playable, but it is the only configuration in the data that dips below the 90 FPS threshold.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p is the sweet spot. At High settings, it delivers 138 FPS average, which is a significant jump from the 89 FPS at 4K, while still offering a much higher resolution than 1080p. The 1080p numbers are higher (188 FPS at High), but the jump from 1080p to 1440p only costs 50 FPS, which is a fair trade for the increased visual clarity.

Q: Can this system handle 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, but just barely. The measured average FPS at 4K Ultra is 67 FPS. This is playable for a single-player or slower-paced title, but for a competitive FPS like Lockdown Protocol, it may feel less responsive than the 100+ FPS targets that many players prefer. The 4K High setting at 89 FPS is a better balance for 4K.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The gap is substantial. At 1440p, the Low preset averages 223 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 103 FPS. That is a difference of 120 FPS, meaning Low is roughly 116% faster than Ultra. This shows that the Ultra preset imposes a heavy cost on the GPU, likely through advanced effects and higher texture quality.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes the limiting factor at 1080p Low. The average of 256 FPS is the highest in the entire dataset. Since the GPU is not fully utilized at this low resolution and preset, the Ryzen 5 5600's single-thread performance limits the frame rate. At higher settings like Ultra, the GPU takes over as the bottleneck, even at 1080p.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at different settings?

A: The data includes min and max FPS only for the Medium preset. At 4K Medium, the average is 102 FPS with a min of 87 and max of 117. At 1440p Medium, the average is 158 FPS with a min of 134 and max of 182. At 1080p Medium, the average is 216 FPS with a min of 183 and max of 248. This shows that the frame pacing is consistent, with the min FPS staying reasonably close to the average, indicating no severe stuttering.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other systems tested?

A: The combo ranks 554th out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the top 15% of all tested systems. While it is not a top-tier enthusiast build, it is a high-performing configuration that will handle the game smoothly at most settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications make it well-suited for high-resolution gaming. It comes with 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. This large frame buffer is more than enough for Lockdown Protocol, even at 4K Ultra, which reduces the risk of texture pop-in or stuttering due to memory swapping. The GPU's boost clock is rated at 2498 MHz, with a game clock of 2365 MHz, and it has 6144 shading units. These raw specs translate to a Passmark G3D score of 31238, which places it in the 64th percentile of all GPUs.

However, the benchmark data for this specific GPU is intriguing. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB (with a deltaPct of 0.4, meaning the 7900 XTX is only 0.4% faster), the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (1% slower), and the AMD FirePro D300 (1.2% slower). These are all much older and less powerful cards, which suggests that the average benchmark score of 19410 might be skewed by a few outlier results or that the specific benchmark suite doesn't fully capture the 7900 XTX's gaming performance. In practice, the measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol shows a GPU that is extremely capable, pushing 4K High to 89 FPS and 1440p High to 138 FPS.

The GPU's role becomes more apparent when looking at the scaling from Low to Ultra. At 1080p, the jump from Low (256 FPS) to Ultra (141 FPS) shows a 115 FPS penalty for maxing out the settings. This indicates that the Ultra preset relies heavily on pixel shader and ROP throughput. The RX 7900 XTX has 192 ROPs and a pixel rate of 479.6 GPixel/s, which is what allows it to still hit over 140 FPS at 1080p Ultra. The fact that it manages 67 FPS at 4K Ultra, where the pixel count is four times that of 1080p, confirms its raw compute power. The GPU's FP32 performance of 61.39 TFLOPS is the key driver here.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX achieves a rank of 554 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the 85th percentile of all tested systems, which is a strong showing. It is important to note that this rank is specific to this game and this resolution/settings matrix, but it gives a good indication of overall gaming performance.

The rank of 554 is impressive given the CPU is a mid-range part from the 5000 series. The Ryzen 5 5600 has an average benchmark score of 20468 and sits in the 74th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (0.1% faster), the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G (0.2% slower), and the AMD EPYC 9454P (0.2% slower). This shows that the 5600 is a very balanced processor, and its performance is not holding back the 7900 XTX in a significant way, except at the very extreme 1080p Low scenario.

The fact that this combo ranks in the top 15% of all combos indicates that the 7900 XTX is doing the heavy lifting. A less powerful GPU paired with this same CPU would likely rank much lower. The data suggests that the 5600 is sufficient to feed the 7900 XTX at most settings, and the bottleneck is primarily the GPU's rendering speed. For a builder, this means that if you have a 5600 and are looking for a GPU upgrade, this data shows that the 7900 XTX is a viable option that will scale well without a major CPU upgrade, except in extreme low-resolution esports scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides a clear picture of performance across all settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 256. The Medium preset averages 216 FPS, with a minimum of 183 and a maximum of 248. High settings drop the average to 188 FPS, and Ultra brings it down to 141 FPS. This shows a range of 115 FPS between the lowest and highest settings at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 223 FPS. Medium settings average 158 FPS, with a min of 134 and a max of 182. High settings average 138 FPS, and Ultra averages 103 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 120 FPS, which is slightly larger than at 1080p. This suggests that the GPU is becoming more of a factor, as the higher resolution demands more from the render pipeline.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 144 FPS. Medium settings average 102 FPS, with a min of 87 and a max of 117. High settings average 89 FPS, and Ultra averages 67 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 77 FPS, which is smaller in absolute terms but represents a 115% performance uplift when using Low over Ultra. The 4K Medium setting is the only one with complete min/max data in this resolution, showing a 30 FPS variance between the minimum and maximum frames, which is acceptable.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the High preset at 2560x1440 offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 138 FPS average, it provides a smooth and responsive experience for a competitive FPS, while still maintaining a high level of graphical fidelity. The jump to Ultra at 1440p only costs 35 FPS (down to 103 FPS), but that is a 25% reduction, which might be noticeable in fast-paced firefights.

For players with a 1080p monitor, the High preset at 188 FPS is the recommended starting point. It is well above the refresh rate of most standard 144Hz monitors and provides a significant improvement over Medium without the heavy cost of Ultra. If you are looking for maximum competitive advantage, the Low preset at 256 FPS is the fastest option, but it sacrifices the visual polish that makes the game more immersive.

For 4K users, the Medium preset at 102 FPS is the best choice. It is the only 4K setting that breaks the 100 FPS barrier, and the min FPS of 87 ensures that it stays above the 60 FPS threshold for most of the time. The High preset at 89 FPS is also viable, but it is more likely to dip into the 80s during intense scenes. Ultra at 4K, at 67 FPS, is best reserved for players who prioritize image quality over frame rate and have a VRR display to smooth out the frame pacing.