Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination delivers a strong Lockdown Protocol experience, ranking 208th out of 2828 tested hardware combos. This pairing sits in the top 8% of all configurations, with the RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute providing ample headroom. The measured data reveals a system that excels at high-refresh 1440p gaming, remains highly playable at 4K, and shows clear signs of CPU limitation only at the lowest settings and resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about where this system's bottleneck shifts. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 205 FPS at 1920x1080 to 151 FPS at 2560x1440, a 26% reduction, and then to 97 FPS at 3840x2160, another 36% reduction from 1440p. This progressive decline indicates that the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as pixel count rises, which is expected behavior for a high-end card like the RTX 4080 SUPER.

The Low settings row reveals the CPU ceiling more dramatically. At 1080p Low, the system hits 275 FPS average, but at 1440p Low it only drops to 243 FPS (an 11.6% decrease), and at 4K Low it reaches 157 FPS (a 35.4% decrease from 1440p). The relatively small gap between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings suggests the Ryzen 5 7500X3D's 6 cores and 12 threads are keeping pace with the GPU's output at those resolutions, with the 96 MB of shared L3 cache helping to feed the processor. The larger drop at 4K Low confirms the GPU is now the limiting factor, as the RTX 4080 SUPER's 736.3 GB/s memory bandwidth and 816.0 GTexel/s texture rate are being fully utilized.

Ultra settings show the steepest scaling curve. From 154 FPS at 1080p, the average falls to 113 FPS at 1440p (26.6% drop) and then to 73 FPS at 4K (35.4% drop from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result of 73 FPS average, while still playable, represents a 52.6% reduction from the 1080p Ultra figure. This indicates that Ultra settings at 4K push the RTX 4080 SUPER to its limits, with the 10240 shading units and 112 ROPs working at maximum capacity.

The Medium settings row provides the only min/max FPS data in the measured set. At 4K Medium, the average is 111 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS and maximum of 128 FPS, a spread of 33 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average rises to 172 FPS with a 147 FPS minimum and 198 FPS maximum, a 51 FPS spread. At 1080p Medium, the average is 235 FPS with 200 FPS minimum and 270 FPS maximum, a 70 FPS spread. The widening range at lower resolutions suggests that CPU-side frame time variability becomes more pronounced when the GPU can produce frames faster, pointing to the Ryzen 5 7500X3D's 4.50 GHz boost clock as a contributing factor in maintaining high averages.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this configuration for Lockdown Protocol, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for the texture and geometry loads at 4K Ultra. The card's 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 80 RT cores provide the raw processing power needed for the game's rendering pipeline.

The GPU's benchmark profile places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54209. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, scores 54247, a delta of -0.1%, meaning the SUPER variant is essentially performance-equivalent to the non-SUPER model in synthetic tests. This near-tie carries into gaming results, where the measured FPS at 4K High (97 FPS) and 1440p High (151 FPS) reflect a card that is well-matched to high-refresh 1440p monitors and capable of smooth 4K gameplay at reduced settings.

The clock behavior of the RTX 4080 SUPER, with a base of 2295 MHz and boost up to 2550 MHz, allows it to maintain high utilization during demanding scenes. The 320 TMUs and 112 ROPs ensure that texture filtering and pixel output keep pace with the shading units. At 4K Ultra, the 73 FPS average indicates the GPU is the primary constraint, as reducing to High settings yields a 32.9% improvement to 97 FPS, and dropping to Medium produces 111 FPS.

The 320-watt TDP and triple-slot cooler design suggest the card is engineered for sustained performance, and the measured results confirm it can hold high frame rates without thermal throttling affecting averages. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600 and Passmark G3D score of 34245 place it in a performance tier where Lockdown Protocol's 4K Medium settings (111 FPS) represent a comfortable operating point.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K smoothly?

A: Yes, at Medium settings the 4K average is 111 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS, and at High settings it averages 97 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 73 FPS average, which remains playable but below the 90+ FPS threshold that high-refresh displays benefit from.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combination?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 as the sweet spot. At High settings, the average is 151 FPS, and even at Ultra settings it maintains 113 FPS. This resolution leverages the RTX 4080 SUPER's capabilities while avoiding the CPU bottleneck seen at 1080p.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 7500X3D compare to its nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks?

A: The 7500X3D has an average benchmark score of 44573, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. It is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (44466), 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i9-13950HX (44342), and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (44309). It trails the Intel Core i5-14600 (44889) by 0.7%.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER significantly faster than the regular RTX 4080?

A: No, the benchmark data shows they are nearly identical. The RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209 on average, while the RTX 4080 scores 54247, a delta of -0.1%. This means the SUPER variant offers negligible performance difference in synthetic tests.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with this setup?

A: At Low settings, the average is 275 FPS, at Medium it is 235 FPS, at High it is 205 FPS, and at Ultra it is 154 FPS. All settings are highly playable, with the minimum recorded frame rate at Medium being 200 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU hold back performance at any settings?

A: Yes, at 4K Ultra the 73 FPS average shows the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's headroom is evident from the 4K Low result of 157 FPS, which is more than double the Ultra figure, indicating the processor can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them at higher settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 275 FPS, Medium settings average 235 FPS with a minimum of 200 FPS and maximum of 270 FPS, High settings average 205 FPS, and Ultra settings average 154 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 121 FPS, representing a 44% reduction from the lowest to highest quality preset. The minimum FPS at Medium (200 FPS) is higher than the average FPS at Ultra (154 FPS), demonstrating that settings choice has a substantial impact on both average and floor performance.

At 2560x1440, the averages remain high but show the expected decline. Low settings average 243 FPS, Medium settings average 172 FPS with a minimum of 147 FPS and maximum of 198 FPS, High settings average 151 FPS, and Ultra settings average 113 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 130 FPS, a 53.5% reduction. The Medium settings minimum of 147 FPS still exceeds the Ultra average of 113 FPS, indicating that players seeking consistent high refresh rates should consider Medium or High presets at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. Low settings average 157 FPS, Medium settings average 111 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS and maximum of 128 FPS, High settings average 97 FPS, and Ultra settings average 73 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 84 FPS, a 53.5% reduction that mirrors the 1440p scaling. The Medium settings minimum of 95 FPS is particularly notable, as it shows the system can maintain near-100 FPS at 4K with moderate quality settings.

The Medium settings row across all resolutions provides the most complete picture of consistency. The minimum-to-maximum spread at 1080p is 70 FPS, at 1440p it is 51 FPS, and at 4K it is 33 FPS. This tightening spread at higher resolutions indicates that frame time consistency improves when the GPU is more heavily loaded, reducing the impact of CPU-side fluctuations.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D plays a supporting role in this configuration, but its architecture is well-suited to Lockdown Protocol. With 6 cores and 12 threads, a base clock of 4.00 GHz, and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, the processor provides solid single-thread performance, evidenced by its Passmark single-thread score of 3494. The 96 MB of shared L3 cache is the standout feature, as this large cache helps reduce memory latency in game workloads that exhibit data locality.

The CPU's benchmark scores paint a picture of a balanced performer. Its multithread score of 25047 and physics score of 2779 suggest it can handle the game's background simulation tasks, while the single-thread score of 3494 ensures responsive frame delivery. The Passmark data compression score of 271649 is notably high, indicating strong memory subsystem performance, which in gaming translates to fewer stalls when fetching game assets.

The CPU's role becomes most apparent at 1080p with lower settings. The jump from 1080p Low (275 FPS) to 1440p Low (243 FPS) is only 32 FPS, a 11.6% decrease, which is far smaller than the resolution pixel increase of 78%. This suggests the CPU is limiting performance at 1080p Low, as the GPU could likely render more frames if the processor could feed them faster. The Ryzen 5 7500X3D's 4.50 GHz boost clock is the key enabler here, allowing it to maintain high instruction throughput.

At 4K, the CPU's influence wanes. The 4K Low result of 157 FPS is 42.9% lower than the 1080p Low figure, matching the GPU load increase more closely. The CPU's Passmark integer math score of 70774 and floating-point score of 43594 provide the computational headroom needed to avoid becoming a bottleneck at higher resolutions, where the GPU's rendering time dominates.

The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44573, places it slightly ahead of the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (44466) and Intel Core i9-13950HX (44342), while trailing the Intel Core i5-14600 (44889) by a narrow 0.7% margin. This competitive positioning means the 7500X3D does not hold back the RTX 4080 SUPER in most scenarios, with the 1080p Low results being the primary exception where the processor's 6-core/12-thread configuration shows its limits.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting the highest frame rates at 1920x1080, Low settings at 275 FPS average provide the maximum performance, but Medium settings at 235 FPS average with a 200 FPS minimum offer a better balance of visual quality and speed. The 200 FPS minimum at Medium ensures that even demanding scenes stay above 144 Hz refresh rate thresholds, making Medium the recommended preset for competitive play at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, High settings at 151 FPS average deliver excellent visual fidelity while maintaining refresh rates above 144 Hz for most displays. Players with 165 Hz or 240 Hz monitors may prefer Medium settings at 172 FPS average, which sacrifices some visual quality but provides a 13.9% higher average frame rate. Ultra settings at 113 FPS average remain viable for those prioritizing image quality over maximum smoothness.

At 3840x2160, Medium settings at 111 FPS average with a 95 FPS minimum represent the best compromise between visual quality and performance. High settings at 97 FPS average are also acceptable for 60 Hz displays, but the Medium preset's minimum of 95 FPS ensures the experience stays above 90 FPS even in heavy scenes. Ultra settings at 73 FPS average are only recommended for players who prioritize graphics over frame rate and can tolerate sub-90 FPS performance.

Across all resolutions, the Medium settings preset consistently provides the most balanced experience, with minimum FPS values that stay within 14% of the average. The data indicates that Medium settings at 1440p (172 FPS average, 147 FPS minimum) offer the best overall experience for this hardware combination, delivering high frame rates with sufficient visual quality and consistent frame pacing. For 4K users, Medium settings at 111 FPS average provide a smooth experience that leverages the RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB memory capacity without pushing the GPU into its performance floor.