Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in Lockdown Protocol. The measured data shows a clear progression: average frame rates climb from 27.1 FPS at 4K Ultra to 123.7 FPS at 1080p Low. This combination sits at rank 1456 out of 1637 tested combos, placing it in the lower third of the database, which aligns with the mid-range positioning of both components. The following analysis breaks down how resolution, CPU, and GPU each shape these results.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating that the graphics card becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 123.7 at 1920x1080 to 90.7 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 33 FPS, then further down to 55.8 at 3840x2160. That represents a 54.9% loss from 1080p to 4K on Low. The pattern holds at High settings, where 75.3 FPS at 1080p drops to 57.4 at 1440p and then to 37.1 at 4K — a 50.7% decline overall.

The scaling behavior reveals that the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for 1080p but become strained at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the system bottoms out at 27.1 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a fast-paced FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases: at 1080p the spread is 64.2 FPS (123.7 vs 59.5), while at 4K it narrows to 28.7 FPS (55.8 vs 27.1). This compression at 4K suggests that the GPU is saturated regardless of quality settings, leaving little headroom for visual improvements without sacrificing frame rate.

The data points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck for 4K operation. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are capable of feeding frames at lower resolutions, but the 1660 SUPER's compute resources — 1408 shading units and 5.027 TFLOPS FP32 — simply cannot sustain high frame rates at 3840x2160. For users targeting 4K, the measured results indicate that even Low settings will hover near 55 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower paced moments but will feel inconsistent during intense firefights.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5600G brings 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth provide solid fundamentals for gaming. In synthetic benchmarks, the chip scores 16758 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2365 in single-core, which places it at the 78th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-11800H with an average score of 20024, a delta of -0.2%, and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX at 19928, a delta of 0.3% — meaning the 5600G trades blows with much more expensive parts in aggregate performance.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes evident when comparing frame rates at 1080p versus 4K. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 123.7 FPS, which is high enough that the CPU's single-thread performance (993 in Cinebench R20 single-core) is likely keeping pace with the GPU's output. However, the 5600G's integrated Radeon Vega 7 graphics is disabled in this configuration, so all rendering falls to the discrete GPU. The CPU's 3dmark single-thread score of 872 and passmark single-thread score of 3177 suggest adequate headroom for 1080p gaming, but the 4K results show that the GPU becomes the limiting factor long before the CPU is challenged.

The benchmark data indicates that the 5600G is not the primary constraint in this pairing. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are proportionally similar across all settings, which would not occur if the CPU were bottlenecking at higher resolutions. For instance, at Medium settings, the drop from 88.3 FPS at 1080p to 38.4 FPS at 4K is a 56.5% reduction, closely matching the 55.8% drop seen on Low. This consistency implies the GPU is the binding constraint, with the CPU maintaining sufficient throughput to avoid additional frame loss.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a 12 nm process, featuring 1408 shading units and a boost clock of 1785 MHz. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is the key resource for handling high-resolution textures. The GPU's passmark G3D score of 12699 places it at the 55th percentile among all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 at a score of 14314, a delta of -0.2%. The 1660 SUPER's average benchmark score of 14286 is nearly identical to the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics at 14315, showing that this card sits right at the boundary of mid-range performance.

The measured FPS data directly reflects these specifications. At 1080p Medium, the system produces 88.3 FPS, which is a solid result for a competitive FPS. However, the 6 GB VRAM capacity becomes a concern at 4K, where High settings require more memory bandwidth than the card can provide. The 4K High result of 37.1 FPS versus the 4K Low result of 55.8 FPS shows that texture quality has a significant impact on performance, likely due to VRAM pressure exceeding the 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. The card's 85.68 GPixel/s pixel rate and 157.1 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient for 1080p but struggle to fill 3840x2160 pixels at high quality.

The GTX 1660 SUPER's end-of-life production status and 125 W TDP suggest it is a mature design, and the benchmark results confirm its limits. The gap between 1440p High (57.4 FPS) and 4K High (37.1 FPS) is 20.3 FPS, while the gap between 1440p Low (90.7 FPS) and 4K Low (55.8 FPS) is 34.9 FPS. The larger absolute drop at Low settings indicates that the GPU's compute units are the limiting factor at 4K, rather than memory bandwidth alone — reducing quality settings cannot overcome the raw pixel throughput requirement.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that 1080p is the sweet spot for this combination, with all settings producing playable frame rates. At 1920x1080, Low delivers 123.7 FPS, Medium 88.3 FPS, High 75.3 FPS, and Ultra 59.5 FPS. For competitive play, Low settings provide the highest frame rate with a 64.2 FPS advantage over Ultra, which is significant in a fast-paced FPS where reaction time matters. However, the jump from Low to Medium costs 35.4 FPS while the jump from Medium to High costs only 13 FPS, suggesting that Medium offers a better balance of visual quality and performance at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the options narrow. Low produces 90.7 FPS, which is excellent, but Medium drops to 66.4 FPS and High to 57.4 FPS. Ultra falls to 40 FPS, which is borderline for competitive play. The data indicates that 1440p Low is the recommended target for this resolution, as it maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while the higher presets dip below that threshold. The 16.5 FPS gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is larger than the 11.5 FPS gap at 1080p, showing that quality settings have a greater impact as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly overmatched. Even Low settings only reach 55.8 FPS, and Medium drops to 38.4 FPS. Ultra bottoms out at 27.1 FPS, which is not suitable for an FPS. The recommendation is to avoid 4K entirely with this combo, as the frame rates fall below the 60 FPS target even at the lowest quality preset. The 37.1 FPS at 4K High versus 38.4 FPS at 4K Medium shows minimal difference, indicating that the GPU is so heavily constrained that adjusting settings yields little benefit.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Ryzen 5 5600G and GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 1456 out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 11th percentile of all configurations. The low ranking is consistent with the GPU's modest performance — the 1660 SUPER sits at the 55th percentile among GPUs, and the CPU at the 78th percentile, but the combination's overall position suggests that the GPU drags the pair down more than the CPU boosts it. The rank indicates that this is a lower-midrange configuration that can handle 1080p gaming well but struggles at higher resolutions.

The nearest rival GPUs to the 1660 SUPER — the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 with a delta of -0.2% and the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics with a delta of -0.2% — have nearly identical average scores, meaning the 1660 SUPER is not significantly outperforming integrated or entry-level discrete solutions in aggregate benchmarks. However, the measured FPS data shows that in Lockdown Protocol specifically, the 1660 SUPER delivers playable frame rates at 1080p across all settings, which is a better outcome than the rank alone might suggest. The combination's low rank is more a reflection of the competition — many systems with higher-end GPUs achieve 100+ FPS at 1440p or 4K — rather than a failure of this pair to meet basic playability standards.

The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i7-11600H with a delta of 0.2% and the AMD EPYC 7713P with a delta of -0.2%, show that the 5600G is competitively positioned in CPU performance. Yet the overall combo rank of 1456 indicates that the GPU's performance ceiling is the determining factor. For users with this hardware, the data supports treating it as a 1080p-focused build.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows 1920x1080 as the optimal resolution. At 1080p, all settings produce playable frame rates, with Low reaching 123.7 FPS and Ultra at 59.5 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (90.7 FPS) stays comfortably above 60 FPS, while 4K falls below 55.8 FPS even on Low.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (14314) and 0.2% lower than the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14315). It is also 0.5% below the AMD Radeon Vega 11 (14352) and 0.7% below the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (14389).

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600G a bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent across settings — for example, a 54.9% reduction on Low and a 50.7% reduction on High — which suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads with a 4.40 GHz boost clock are sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p.

Q: What settings should I use for 1440p gaming?

A: For 2560x1440, the Low preset is recommended, as it delivers 90.7 FPS. Medium drops to 66.4 FPS, High to 57.4 FPS, and Ultra to 40 FPS. Only Low maintains a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K at any settings?

A: The measured results show 4K performance is marginal. Low settings reach 55.8 FPS, Medium 38.4 FPS, High 37.1 FPS, and Ultra 27.1 FPS. None of these meet the 60 FPS standard, so 4K is not recommended for this hardware.

Q: How does this combo rank overall in the database?

A: This combination ranks 1456 out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the lower portion of the database, consistent with the GPU's 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs and the CPU's 78th percentile ranking among all CPUs.