Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 5 5600X + AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT

Lockdown Protocol, the FPS title released on 2024-03-11, presents an interesting scaling profile for this AMD pairing. The measured data shows a system that transitions from being heavily GPU-bound at 4K to increasingly CPU-sensitive at 1080p, with the Ryzen 5 5600X's 6-core/12-thread configuration and the Radeon RX 7800 XT's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory shaping the experience across all settings tiers.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the expected GPU-bound behavior, but the magnitude varies dramatically by preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 233.3 at 1920x1080 to 113.8 at 3840x2160, a reduction of roughly 51%. This halving at the lowest preset indicates that even at 4K Low, the RX 7800 XT maintains substantial headroom, suggesting the scene complexity at Low settings doesn't fully saturate the GPU's 37.32 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

Moving to Medium settings tells a slightly different story: 168.1 at 1080p drops to 81.2 at 4K, again about a 52% reduction. The consistency between Low and Medium scaling suggests the GPU is the primary constraint at both presets. At High settings, the drop is steeper proportionally — from 148.1 at 1080p to 66.6 at 4K, a 55% reduction. Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling: 106.7 to 49.5, a 54% decline, with the 4K Ultra result falling below 60 FPS.

The interesting anomaly appears when comparing Medium and High at the same resolution. At 4K, Medium gives 81.2 while High gives 66.6, yet Ultra drops to 49.5. The gap between Medium and High (17.9%) is smaller than between High and Ultra (25.6%), hinting that the Ultra preset introduces effects that disproportionately tax the GPU's 96 ROPs and 60 RT cores. At 1440p, the same pattern holds: Medium at 124.7, High at 103.3, Ultra at 81.2. The 4K Ultra figure of 49.5 FPS suggests this combo is borderline for competitive play at maximum settings, while 1080p Ultra at 106.7 remains fluid.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 616 out of 1637 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all CPU+GPU pairings. This percentile position (roughly the 62nd percentile) reflects a balanced pairing where neither component dramatically bottlenecks the other. The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 78 and the GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 76 are remarkably close, indicating a well-matched duo.

However, the rank suggests room above — many combos achieve higher frame rates. The CPU's nearest rivals show how tight the 5000-series competition is: the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT scores 20740 (just 0.3% higher), the Intel Core i7-10700 matches at 20746, and the Intel Core i5-12490F leads by 0.5% at 20794. The Intel Xeon 6325P trails by 0.7%. These sub-1% deltas mean the 5600X's synthetic benchmark position (avgBenchmarkScore of 20680) is virtually indistinguishable from its nearest competitors, so any FPS differences in Lockdown Protocol come down to the RX 7800 XT's performance characteristics rather than CPU compute headroom.

For the GPU, the RX 7800 XT's avgBenchmarkScore of 32619 places it just 0.2% ahead of the AMD FirePro S9300 X2, while the NVIDIA P104-100 and T600 Mobile sit 0.4% and 0.7% higher respectively. This clustering around the 32600-32850 range suggests the 7800 XT is in a performance tier where small architectural differences matter more than raw compute, which aligns with the measured FPS results showing 4K High at 66.6 — playable but not exceptional.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle 4K Ultra in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The measured 3840x2160 Ultra average is 49.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many consider necessary for smooth FPS gameplay. For a competitive edge, 4K High at 66.6 or 4K Medium at 81.2 provides better frame pacing.

Q: Is there a significant FPS difference between 1080p and 1440p at the same settings?

A: Yes, but it varies by preset. At Low, 1080p gives 233.3 versus 169.1 at 1440p, a 38% drop. At Ultra, the difference is 106.7 versus 81.2, a 31% reduction. Higher resolutions consistently reduce FPS, confirming GPU-bound behavior.

Q: Which preset gives the highest frame rate at 1080p?

A: Low settings produce the maximum measured average of 233.3 FPS at 1920x1080. Medium follows at 168.1, High at 148.1, and Ultra at 106.7.

Q: How does the CPU's performance affect this game?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600X has a passmark_single_thread score of 3364 and a passmark_multithread score of 21858, with 6 cores and 12 threads. Its percentileVsAllCpus of 78 indicates strong single-thread performance, which is critical for FPS titles. The cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 2622 supports this.

Q: Does the GPU's VRAM capacity matter for this game?

A: The RX 7800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth. Given the 4K Ultra average of 49.5 FPS, VRAM capacity is unlikely the limiting factor; the 37.32 TFLOPS compute and 96 ROPs are more probable constraints.

Q: What is the best 4K experience this combo can deliver?

A: At 3840x2160, Low settings yield 113.8 FPS, which is the only 4K preset exceeding 100 FPS. Medium gives 81.2, and High gives 66.6. For visual quality with playable FPS, High at 66.6 is the highest preset above 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full preset range was measured. Low produces the peak average of 233.3 FPS, a figure that indicates the RX 7800 XT is nowhere near saturated at this resolution and preset. Medium drops to 168.1, High to 148.1, and Ultra to 106.7. The step from Low to Medium is a 28% reduction, while Medium to High is 12%, and High to Ultra is 28%. This suggests the Low preset removes enough geometry and shading work to let the 6-core/12-thread CPU keep the GPU fed, while Ultra adds substantial load that pushes the GPU harder.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low averages 169.1, Medium 124.7, High 103.3, and Ultra 81.2. The 1440p Low figure of 169.1 is still very high, but the gap to 1080p Low (233.3) shows the GPU now carries more of the load. At 1440p Ultra, 81.2 FPS remains smooth for most players, and the 1440p Medium result of 124.7 is ideal for high-refresh displays.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limits become clear. Low hits 113.8, Medium 81.2, High 66.6, and Ultra 49.5. The 4K Low figure is respectable, but the Ultra result falls below 50 FPS, making it unsuitable for fast-paced competitive play. The data shows a consistent ~20-25% FPS penalty for each preset step up at 4K, whereas at 1080p the penalties are less uniform, indicating CPU involvement at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The RX 7800 XT's specifications explain the measured results. Its boost clock of 2430 MHz and game clock of 2124 MHz, combined with 3840 shading units and 240 TMUs, provide substantial raw throughput. The 16 GB GDDR6 memory at 19.5 Gbps effective across a 256-bit bus delivers 624.1 GB/s bandwidth, which is ample for Lockdown Protocol's texture streaming at all tested resolutions.

The GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 76 and avgBenchmarkScore of 32619 place it in the upper tier, but the nearest rival deltas (±0.7% maximum) show how competitive this segment is. The passmark_g3d score of 24176 and 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 4157 are strong, yet the 4K Ultra result of 49.5 FPS suggests the game's Ultra preset includes effects (likely ray-traced or compute-heavy features) that the RDNA 3.0 architecture handles at a moderate pace. The 60 RT cores are present but not abundant, and the 96 ROPs may limit fill-rate-heavy scenes.

Notably, the 4K Low result of 113.8 shows the GPU can push well over 100 FPS at high resolution when the preset is light. This indicates the 7800 XT is not bandwidth-limited at 4K; rather, the Ultra preset's additional shading work — likely tied to the 37.32 TFLOPS FP32 compute — is what drags performance to 49.5.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5600X's Zen 3 architecture, built on TSMC's 7 nm process with 4,150 million transistors, delivers strong single-thread performance that FPS games rely on. The boost clock of 4.60 GHz and base clock of 3.70 GHz, combined with 32 MB of L3 cache, provide low-latency access to game data. The passmark_single_thread score of 3364 and cinebench_r23_singlecore of 2622 confirm this strength.

With 6 cores and 12 threads, the 5600X may become a limiting factor at 1080p Low, where the GPU has less work and the CPU must feed frames faster. The 233.3 FPS result at 1080p Low approaches the practical ceiling for many CPUs, and the passmark_multithread score of 21858 suggests the 12 threads handle Lockdown Protocol's background tasks adequately. However, the 3dmark_16_threads score of 5582 versus 3dmark_2_threads of 1793 shows that scaling beyond 8 threads (4811) is minimal, implying the game may not use all 12 threads efficiently.

The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 78 and avgBenchmarkScore of 20680 place it just behind the Ryzen 5 5600GT (20740) and i7-10700 (20746). The 0.5% delta to the i5-12490F (20794) is negligible in real-world gaming. The 65 W TDP and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR4 dual-channel) are sufficient, but the absence of a vCache suggests the 5600X relies on raw clock speed rather than cache size for gaming performance.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset's 233.3 FPS is the clear choice for maximum refresh rate support, though Medium at 168.1 offers a better balance of visual clarity and speed. At 1440p, Medium at 124.7 FPS is the sweet spot for high-refresh 144 Hz monitors, while High at 103.3 remains excellent. The 1440p Ultra result of 81.2 is acceptable for slower-paced modes but may feel less responsive in firefights.

For 4K, the data recommends Medium at 81.2 FPS as the best blend of fidelity and playability. High at 66.6 is viable for immersive single-player experiences, but Ultra at 49.5 dips below the 60 FPS threshold, risking noticeable stutter in fast action. Low at 113.8 is an option for players prioritizing frame rate over visuals, though the visual sacrifices at 4K may be significant.

The overall pattern suggests the RX 7800 XT + Ryzen 5 5600X combo performs optimally when the preset is tuned to the display resolution. At 1080p, even Ultra remains above 100 FPS, while at 4K, users should cap settings at Medium or High to maintain smooth gameplay. The measured data shows no single "best" preset across all resolutions — the choice depends on the target display's refresh rate and the player's tolerance for visual compromises.