Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a demanding FPS title, and the measured data for the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F paired with the Intel Arc B390 reveals a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics component. The combination delivers playable frame rates only at the lowest settings and resolutions, with a sharp performance cliff emerging as visual fidelity increases. This analysis breaks down the scaling behavior, the role of each component, and the practical settings for this specific hardware pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a steep and consistent penalty as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system averages 88 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops the average to 65 FPS, a reduction of 23 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Low preset yields just 42 FPS, which is less than half of the 1080p result. This pattern indicates that the Intel Arc B390 is the primary limiting factor, as the workload scales directly with pixel count.

The scaling behavior becomes more pronounced at higher quality presets. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 55 FPS at 1080p to 40 FPS at 1440p, and then to 26 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is even more punishing: 41 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and a nearly unplayable 19 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 23 FPS, while the same comparison at 1080p shows a 47 FPS gap. This demonstrates that the GPU's limited shading power is saturated quickly, and the additional pixel workload at higher resolutions amplifies the cost of each quality setting.

The Medium preset data, which includes minimum and maximum frame times, offers insight into consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 63 FPS with a minimum of 53 and maximum of 72. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 and maximum of 53. At 4K Medium, the average is 30 FPS with a minimum of 25 and maximum of 34. The frame time variance remains relatively tight, but the absolute values suggest that even the minimums at 4K are below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where the GPU can maintain average frame rates above 60 FPS, and only when the preset is set to Low.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, operating on the AMD Socket AM5 platform. Its boost clock is listed at 5.00 GHz, and it has a 32 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22799 and a single-core score of 3218. The Geekbench results show a multi-core score of 12362 and a single-core score of 2374. These figures place the processor at the 77th percentile among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 24964.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the Intel Core i7-11850H, which scores 24935 (a 0.1% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F, which scores 25005 (a -0.2% delta). The Intel Core i7-13620H scores 24911 (0.2% delta), and the Intel Core 5 210H scores 24872 (0.4% delta). These results indicate that the 7500F sits right in the middle of a tight performance cluster, with no rival more than 0.4% ahead or behind. In the context of Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's single-thread performance is likely sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the benchmark data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck.

At 1080p Low, the system delivers 88 FPS, which is a respectable figure for a CPU-bound scenario. However, the frame rate drops to 55 FPS at 1080p High, indicating that the GPU is already struggling at this resolution with higher settings. The CPU's 3DMark scores, such as 6376 for 16 threads and 974 for single-thread, reinforce that it has ample compute headroom. The PassMark multithread score of 26825 and integer math score of 79108 further confirm that the processor is not the limiting factor in this pairing. The data consistently points to the GPU as the component that dictates the playable settings and resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and the Intel Arc B390 ranks at position 2512 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the pairing in the bottom 11% of all configurations, which is consistent with the GPU's low performance percentile. The Intel Arc B390 is at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482 based on the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. This score is remarkably low, and the GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463, delta 1.3%), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (score 1460, delta 1.5%), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (score 1446, delta 2.5%), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (score 1443, delta 2.7%).

The GPU's performance is within 2.7% of these legacy and entry-level parts, which explains why the combo rank is so poor. The CPU, by contrast, is a high-performing part, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's fundamental lack of rasterization power. The measured frame rates show that even at 1080p Low, the system only achieves 88 FPS, which is far below what the CPU alone could support. The combo rank of 2512 out of 2828 reflects the reality that this is a severely GPU-limited configuration for a competitive FPS title. The data does not show any scenario where this pairing provides a smooth experience at high settings, and the rank is indicative of a system that is mismatched for the game's demands.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F with the Intel Arc B390 in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system can achieve an average frame rate above 60 FPS, and this is only at Low settings (88 FPS). At 2560x1440, the best average is 65 FPS at Low, while 3840x2160 tops out at 42 FPS at Low.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU has an average benchmark score of 1482, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU scores at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU is at the 9th percentile. The frame rate drops significantly with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 46 FPS, with a minimum of 39 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS at 2560x1440 with the Medium preset.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested configurations?

A: This pairing ranks 2512 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the bottom 11% of all configurations.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance relative to its rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 7500F has a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3218. Its nearest rivals are within 0.4% in average benchmark score, with the Intel Core i7-11850H at 24935, the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F at 25005, the Intel Core i7-13620H at 24911, and the Intel Core 5 210H at 24872.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its compute capabilities are listed at 7.680 TFLOPS for FP32 and 15.36 TFLOPS for FP16. The memory configuration is system shared, with bandwidth dependent on the host system.

In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the GPU scores 1482, which places it at the 9th percentile among all GPUs. This score is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463) and the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460), both of which are significantly older and less capable parts. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, but these figures do not translate into playable performance in Lockdown Protocol. The measured frame rates show that the GPU can handle 88 FPS at 1080p Low, but this drops to 41 FPS at 1080p Ultra. The GPU's limited ROP count and shading units are clearly insufficient for the game's rendering demands at higher presets.

The GPU's lack of dedicated VRAM, relying on system shared memory, further contributes to the poor scaling. The frame rate at 4K Ultra is 19 FPS, which is below the threshold for playability. The data shows that the GPU is only suitable for low-fidelity gaming at 1080p, and even then, it barely achieves 60 FPS. The Arc B390's performance profile is a stark contrast to the CPU, which is a high-end desktop part. This mismatch is the primary reason for the low combo rank, as the GPU cannot leverage the CPU's capabilities in this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the only viable configuration for a smooth experience in Lockdown Protocol is the Low preset at 1920x1080, which yields an average of 88 FPS. This is the only setting and resolution combination that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 63 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but carries the risk of dips below 60 FPS. The 1080p High preset averages 55 FPS, which is borderline, while 1080p Ultra averages 41 FPS, which is not recommended for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 65 FPS, which is playable, but the Medium preset averages 46 FPS and the High preset averages 40 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 30 FPS, which is too low. At 3840x2160, all presets are below 42 FPS, with the Low preset being the only one that approaches playability at 42 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 30 FPS, and the High preset averages 26 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 19 FPS.

For players who prioritize frame rate, the Low preset at 1080p is the clear choice. For those who want slightly better visuals, the Medium preset at 1080p offers a reasonable compromise, as the minimum frame rate of 53 FPS is still within a playable range. The data does not support any settings above Medium at 1080p, nor does it support 1440p with anything above Low, as the average frame rates fall below the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as it results in sub-30 FPS averages at all resolutions above 1080p. The GPU's limitations are such that the lowest settings are necessary to maintain a consistent frame rate, and players should prioritize resolution and preset accordingly.