Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol on the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combo delivers a playable but constrained experience, with the data showing that the GPU is the primary bottleneck as resolution climbs. The benchmark results indicate that the sweet spot for this pairing is 1080p Medium, where the average frame rate of 87 FPS provides a solid balance between visual fidelity and smoothness, while 1440p and 4K require significant settings compromises to remain fluid.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific hardware combination, the measured FPS data points to 1080p Medium as the optimal experience. At this preset, the system achieves an average of 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, providing a stable and responsive feel for a fast-paced FPS title. Stepping up to 1080p High yields a still-respectable 76 FPS average, but the 11 FPS drop from Medium suggests that the High preset begins to tax the GTX 1660 SUPER more heavily without a proportional visual payoff in this game's engine.

At 1440p, the data shows that Low settings are the practical choice, delivering an average of 90 FPS. This is a significant 26 FPS advantage over the 1440p Medium preset's 64 FPS, making the visual downgrade worthwhile for maintaining high frame rates. The 1440p High preset, at 56 FPS average, is borderline for competitive play, while Ultra at 42 FPS is too inconsistent for a smooth experience. For 4K, the results are less encouraging; the data shows that even the Low preset only manages a 58 FPS average, which is marginal, and the Medium preset falls to 41 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K, with a 27 FPS average, is not viable for gameplay.

The evidence suggests that users should prioritize frame rate over eye candy. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 36 FPS (from 123 to 87), which is a substantial loss for what is typically a modest visual upgrade. Therefore, the recommendation is clear: 1080p Medium for the best overall experience, 1440p Low for high-refresh-rate monitors, and 1080p Low (123 FPS average) for esports-level responsiveness where maximum frame rate is paramount.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the decisive component in this pairing's gaming performance. With 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, the card provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The benchmark results show a clear pattern: as resolution increases, the average FPS drops steeply, indicating that the GPU's rasterization power and memory bandwidth are being saturated. The card's 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 48 ROPs are the primary drivers of pixel fill rate, which directly impacts high-resolution performance.

The GPU's clock behavior is also relevant. It has a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz, and the data suggests that sustained loads in Lockdown Protocol keep the card near its boost ceiling at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 123 FPS average indicates the GPU is handling the workload efficiently. However, the performance cliff between 1080p and 1440p (a drop from 123 to 90 FPS at Low settings) highlights the card's limitations when pixel count increases. The GTX 1660 SUPER sits in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12986, placing it in the mid-range tier.

The VRAM capacity of 6 GB is a potential constraint in modern titles. While the measured data does not show a direct VRAM capacity failure, the steep FPS declines at higher settings—particularly the 31 FPS drop from 1080p Medium to 1440p Medium—suggest that memory bandwidth and capacity are being pushed hard. The card's 14 Gbps effective memory speed is a limiting factor compared to newer GPUs with faster memory subsystems. This combo's ranking of 2425 out of 2828 tested combinations (in the 14th percentile) confirms that the GPU holds back the Ryzen 5 7400F, which is a much more capable processor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 2425th out of 2828 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the bottom 15% of all configurations. This low ranking is primarily attributable to the GPU. The CPU itself is a strong performer, sitting in the 83rd percentile of all processors with an average benchmark score of 32750, and it is closely matched with rivals like the Intel Core i5-14600T (0.1% faster) and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (0.2% slower).

The GPU, by contrast, sits in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (0.4% faster), AMD Radeon RX 580 (0.4% faster), and AMD Radeon 740M (0.9% slower). This indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER is a mid-pack performer, but in a modern game like Lockdown Protocol, it is outclassed by more recent hardware. The data shows a clear imbalance: the CPU has headroom to push much higher frame rates, but the GPU cannot deliver them.

This ranking has practical implications. For a user with a high-refresh-rate 1080p monitor, this combo will struggle to consistently hit 144 FPS in demanding scenes, as the 1080p Ultra preset only averages 57 FPS. The bottleneck is unambiguously the GPU, as evidenced by the fact that lowering the resolution from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings only results in a 33 FPS drop (from 123 to 90), which is a smaller relative decline than the CPU would cause if it were the limiting factor. The CPU's strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3072) ensures that it is not the primary constraint in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's capabilities across resolutions and settings:

1080p (1920x1080)

• Low: 123 FPS average — This is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo, indicating that the GPU is not fully saturated and the CPU is feeding frames efficiently.
• Medium: 87 FPS average (min 74, max 100) — A balanced preset that drops 36 FPS from Low, showing a significant scaling cost.
• High: 76 FPS average — A further 11 FPS drop from Medium, making it less ideal for high-refresh displays.
• Ultra: 57 FPS average — A playable but not smooth experience; the 19 FPS drop from High suggests heavy GPU load.

1440p (2560x1440)

• Low: 90 FPS average — Surprisingly strong, only 33 FPS below the 1080p Low result, showing that the GPU can handle this resolution at minimal settings.
• Medium: 64 FPS average (min 54, max 73) — A 26 FPS drop from Low, indicating the settings are taxing the card's bandwidth.
• High: 56 FPS average — A modest 8 FPS drop from Medium, suggesting diminishing returns.
• Ultra: 42 FPS average — This is below the 60 FPS threshold and will feel stuttery in fast-paced action.

4K (3840x2160)

• Low: 58 FPS average — The only 4K preset that approaches playability, but it still falls short of a solid 60 FPS.
• Medium: 41 FPS average (min 35, max 47) — The minimum of 35 FPS shows significant frame drops.
• High: 36 FPS average — Not viable for competitive play.
• Ultra: 27 FPS average — This is a slideshow and should be avoided.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the delta between Low and Ultra settings is 66 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 31 FPS at 4K. This narrowing gap at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor, as it cannot maintain high frame rates regardless of settings once pixel count increases.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a steep performance curve that is characteristic of a GPU-bound system. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 123 at 1080p to 90 at 1440p (a 27% reduction) and then to 58 at 4K (a 36% reduction from 1440p). This is a total drop of 65 FPS from 1080p to 4K, which is a 53% decrease. This is a linear-ish decline that points to the GPU's pixel throughput limit.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar but with a slightly steeper drop: 87 FPS at 1080p, 64 at 1440p (a 26% drop), and 41 at 4K (a 36% drop from 1440p). The total decrease from 1080p to 4K is 46 FPS, or 53%. This consistency across settings suggests that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints, not the CPU.

The fact that 4K Low (58 FPS) is only 19 FPS slower than 1440p Medium (64 FPS) is telling. It shows that the GPU is struggling to process the larger frame buffer at 4K, and that lowering settings has a diminishing impact at higher resolutions. In contrast, the CPU's role is minimal here. The Ryzen 5 7400F has a boost clock of 4.70 GHz and 32 MB of shared L3 cache, which are ample for feeding frames to the GPU. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 123 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame output for this game, but the GPU still has headroom, as evidenced by the steep drop when moving to 1440p.

FAQ

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

A: For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data recommends 1080p Medium, which delivers an average of 87 FPS. For maximum frame rates, 1080p Low achieves 123 FPS average, while 1440p Low is viable at 90 FPS average for users with higher-resolution monitors.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F or the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER the bottleneck?

A: The GPU is clearly the bottleneck. Evidence shows that lowering resolution from 1080p to 4K at Low settings reduces FPS from 123 to 58, a 53% drop, while the CPU's benchmark performance (83rd percentile) indicates it has significant headroom.

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

A: Not at playable settings. The best 4K result is 58 FPS average on Low settings, which is borderline. The Medium preset drops to 41 FPS average, and High and Ultra are below 40 FPS, making them unsuitable for a smooth experience.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: It ranks 2425th out of 2828 tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the bottom 15%. This low ranking is due to the GTX 1660 SUPER's mid-range performance (53rd percentile), which is outclassed by the CPU's high-end capabilities (83rd percentile).

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The difference is 66 FPS, with Low averaging 123 FPS and Ultra averaging 57 FPS. This indicates that the Ultra preset is very demanding on the GPU, and the visual upgrade may not justify the significant frame rate loss.

Q: Is the 6 GB VRAM of the GTX 1660 SUPER sufficient for this game?

A: The data does not show a direct VRAM capacity failure, but the steep FPS drops at higher settings and resolutions (e.g., 31 FPS drop from 1080p Medium to 1440p Medium) suggest that the 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are being heavily taxed, limiting performance at higher presets.