Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title, presents an interesting stress test for the combination of an AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. The data available shows a system capable of very high frame rates, but the performance scaling across resolutions reveals a classic bottleneck dynamic. The RTX 5090 is the dominant component, but its immense power is not always fully utilized, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU's capabilities become the limiting factor. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data to show how this pairing behaves in practice, focusing on the balance between the two components.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking observation from the measured data is the dramatic shift in frame rates as resolution changes. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 261 FPS. When the resolution is increased to 1440p, this drops to 238 FPS, and at 4K, it falls further to 181.8 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that at 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-limited; the GPU has the headroom to render far more frames, but the CPU cannot feed it data fast enough. The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p (a decrease of 23 FPS) supports this, as the GPU is still not the primary constraint.

The trend continues, but the nature of the bottleneck shifts at higher settings. At Ultra settings, the frame rate at 1080p is 176.5 FPS, which drops to 129.9 FPS at 1440p and 83.8 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is much steeper at Ultra (a 52.5% reduction) than at Low (a 30.3% reduction). This suggests that as settings increase, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The RTX 5090 is now working much harder, and the frame rate is increasingly dictated by its rendering capabilities rather than the CPU's processing speed. The data clearly shows a system that is CPU-bound at lower resolutions and settings, transitioning to a GPU-bound state as the graphical load increases.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a flagship Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU with a massive 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. Its benchmark scores are equally impressive, with a Passmark G3D score of 39650 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14411, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. These raw capabilities are reflected in the 4K performance, where it still manages a very playable 115.1 FPS at High settings. The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 170 RT cores are clearly sufficient to handle the game's demands at high resolutions.

However, the GPU's role is constrained by the CPU in many scenarios. The fact that the 1080p Low setting (261 FPS) is only slightly higher than the 1440p Low setting (238 FPS) shows the GPU is being held back. If it were solely GPU-limited, the 1080p score would be significantly higher. The GPU's immense power is effectively capped by the processor's ability to issue draw calls and process game logic. The high VRAM capacity and bandwidth are not being fully stressed in this title at these settings, as the bottleneck lies elsewhere. In essence, the RTX 5090 provides the ceiling for performance, but the Ryzen 5 5600GT determines how often that ceiling can be reached.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, running on the AM4 socket. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores are solid, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17272 and a single-core score of 2438. It sits in the 78th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20740, placing it on par with the Intel Core i7-10700, which has a deltaPct of 0. This performance level is adequate for gaming, but it is not in the same league as the GPU.

The CPU's role as the limiting factor is most evident at 1080p. Here, the frame rate differences between Low (261 FPS) and Medium (233.2 FPS) are relatively small, and the High (218.7 FPS) and Ultra (176.5 FPS) settings show a more pronounced drop. This pattern suggests that the CPU is struggling to keep up with the game's physics and AI calculations, regardless of the graphical load. The data implies that the 5600GT is a capable gaming CPU, but it simply cannot provide enough data to fully saturate an RTX 5090 at lower resolutions. The 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support are likely contributory factors to this limitation, as the CPU is unable to maintain the data throughput required for such high frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

When looking at the overall picture, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 59th out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the top 3.6% of all combinations tested, which is a strong showing. The high rank is almost certainly driven by the GPU's overwhelming performance, as the CPU is a more mid-range part. The rank demonstrates that even with a bottleneck, the sheer power of the RTX 5090 is enough to propel this combo to a high position in the overall standings.

The ranking suggests that while the system is not perfectly balanced, it is still highly effective for this game. The CPU's position in the 78th percentile of all CPUs is good, but the GPU's 94th percentile is exceptional. This discrepancy creates an unbalanced system, but one that still delivers top-tier results. The data shows that the combo's rank confirms the GPU's ability to compensate for the CPU's limitations, resulting in a system that performs far better than its processor would suggest on its own.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across a matrix of settings and resolutions. The data is as follows:

• 1080p Low: 261.0 FPS average
• 1080p Medium: 233.2 FPS average
• 1080p High: 218.7 FPS average
• 1080p Ultra: 176.5 FPS average
• 1440p Low: 238.0 FPS average
• 1440p Medium: 196.4 FPS average
• 1440p High: 177.2 FPS average
• 1440p Ultra: 129.9 FPS average
• 4K Low: 181.8 FPS average
• 4K Medium: 127.7 FPS average
• 4K High: 115.1 FPS average
• 4K Ultra: 83.8 FPS average

The data shows a clear hierarchy, with 1080p providing the highest frame rates and 4K the lowest. The most significant finding is the 261 FPS at 1080p Low, which is the highest score in the dataset. This is a strong indicator of the CPU bottleneck, as the GPU should be capable of far more. The 4K Ultra score of 83.8 FPS is the lowest, showing the GPU is being fully utilized at this extreme setting. The spread between Low and Ultra settings is also notable, with the difference being 84.5 FPS at 1080p, 108.1 FPS at 1440p, and 98 FPS at 4K. This variance indicates that the system's performance is highly sensitive to settings changes at all resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 261.0, which was achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is this system more limited by the CPU or the GPU?

A: The data indicates a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions and settings. For example, the difference between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings is only 23 FPS, which is small, suggesting the CPU is the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, as the frame rate drops significantly.

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

A: The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 59th out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 3.6% of all tested systems.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 4K resolution, the average FPS drops from 181.8 on Low settings to 83.8 on Ultra settings. This represents a 98 FPS difference, or a 53.9% reduction in frame rate.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for the GPU in this combo?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 84306, which places it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the boost clock speed of the CPU in this combo?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT has a boost clock speed of 4.60 GHz.