Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol presents a demanding workload for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, but the benchmark data indicates that the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 provides a stable foundation that allows the GPU to be the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The measured results show that this combination ranks 3199 out of 3714 tested configurations, placing it in the lower half of the performance spectrum for this title. This is a pairing where the GPU's 6 GB of VRAM and Turing architecture are consistently challenged, while the Zen 4 processor demonstrates it has ample headroom to spare.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a clear GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 122 FPS at 1920x1080 to 90 FPS at 2560x1440, a 26.2% reduction, and then to 58 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 35.6% drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a graphics card that is being saturated by pixel count and fill rate demands.

The trend continues across all quality presets, but the relative drop becomes even more pronounced at higher settings. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 76 at 1080p to 56 at 1440p (a 26.3% decrease) and then to 36 at 4K (a 35.7% decrease from 1440p). At Ultra settings, the descent is from 57 FPS at 1080p to 42 FPS at 1440p, finally reaching just 27 FPS at 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across different presets is a strong indicator that the limiting component is the GPU’s raw processing power and memory bandwidth, not the CPU.

The data suggests that the GTX 1660 Ti is the primary constraint at 1440p and 4K. The Ryzen 5 7600, with its high single-thread performance and 6-core/12-thread configuration, is not shown to be holding back the frame rates at these resolutions. The severe 35% penalty from 1440p to 4K at every setting level, including Low, points directly to the GPU's pixel throughput limits. The 288.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 84.96 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient for the pixel workload at 3840x2160, resulting in average FPS figures that are mostly below the 60 FPS threshold.

Settings Recommendations

For users targeting smooth gameplay, the measured data points to a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 122 FPS, which is exceptionally high and provides a significant competitive advantage in a fast-paced FPS. The Medium preset still offers a very playable 87 FPS, with an average that is 35 FPS lower but likely with a substantial improvement in visual quality. High settings at 1080p yield 76 FPS, which remains fluid, while Ultra drops to 57 FPS, which is on the edge of what is generally considered ideal for a shooter.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the choice becomes more critical. The Low preset achieves 90 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium at 64 FPS is also a solid option for a smooth experience. However, High settings at 56 FPS and Ultra at 42 FPS may feel less responsive for competitive play, despite the visual upgrade. The most balanced experience for a 1440p display appears to be the Medium preset, which offers a good compromise between frame rate and detail.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets provide a truly high-refresh experience. The Low preset is the only one that comes close to 60 FPS, with an average of 58 FPS. Medium drops to 41 FPS, High to 36 FPS, and Ultra falls to 27 FPS. The data suggests that 4K gaming is only feasible with significant compromises in settings. The Low preset is the only viable option for a remotely smooth experience, while Medium and above will likely result in noticeable stutter and a sub-optimal experience for a FPS title.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 1440p with high settings?

A: The data shows an average of 56 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings. This is playable, but it is below the 60 FPS mark that many players consider the minimum for a smooth experience. For a more consistent frame rate, the Medium preset, which averages 64 FPS, is a better choice.

Q: What is the best performance-to-quality ratio for this hardware?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset, with an average of 87 FPS, offers a strong balance. At 2560x1440, the Low preset at 90 FPS or the Medium preset at 64 FPS are the best options. The Low preset is the only one that delivers a playable average of 58 FPS at 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The frame rate drops by roughly 35% when moving from 1440p to 4K across all settings, which is a signature of GPU limitations. The Ryzen 5 7600, which scores 1852 in Cinebench R23 single-core, appears to have sufficient headroom.

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

A: The measured results do not explicitly show a VRAM capacity error, but the GTX 1660 Ti has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. At higher resolutions and settings, this memory configuration is likely a contributing factor to the performance drop, as the game’s texture and geometry data exceeds what the card can efficiently handle.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 Ti compare to its closest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1660 Ti has an average benchmark score of 7723 and is in the 41st percentile of all GPUs. It is 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon 540, 1.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100, and 2.3% ahead of the Intel Arc A310.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K with the lowest settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with the Low preset, the measured average FPS is 58. This makes 4K gaming possible, but only with minimal detail settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates provides a detailed look at the performance envelope of this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the data shows a wide range of performance. The Low preset averages 122 FPS, providing a very responsive experience. The Medium preset averages 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, indicating good frame pacing. High settings average 76 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 57 FPS, showing a significant cost for maximum detail.

Moving to 2560x1440, the resolution increase has a clear impact. The Low preset averages 90 FPS, which is still very smooth. Medium averages 64 FPS, with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS. High settings drop to an average of 56 FPS. The Ultra preset averages just 42 FPS, making it a challenging setting for this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GTX 1660 Ti is pushed to its limits. The Low preset is the only one that manages an average above 50 FPS, with 58 FPS. The Medium preset averages 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. High settings average 36 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 27 FPS, which is not a playable experience for most users. The data clearly shows that 4K resolution is only feasible with the lowest quality settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is the decisive component in this pairing for Lockdown Protocol. The benchmark data shows that its performance ceiling is reached well before the CPU's limits. The GPU's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a key factor in its performance. The measured frame rates show that this bandwidth is insufficient for the demands of 4K, where the game's data throughput requirements exceed what this card can deliver.

The GPU's architecture, based on the Turing chip with a 12 nm process, includes 1536 shading units and 48 ROPs. The pixel rate of 84.96 GPixel/s and texture rate of 169.9 GTexel/s are the theoretical limits that govern how fast it can fill the screen. The severe FPS drops at higher resolutions are directly correlated with these limits. The card's percentile rank of 41 and its average benchmark score of 7723 place it in the lower-mid range, and the game's results reflect this, with 4K Ultra being nearly unplayable.

The boost clock of 1770 MHz is the operational speed that helps it achieve its 5.437 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. However, this raw compute power is not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K. The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is nearly linear with the increase in pixel count, which is a classic sign of a GPU-limited workload. The end-of-life status of this GPU is reflected in its inability to handle the demands of this 2024 title at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 serves as a capable partner, ensuring that it does not become the limiting factor in Lockdown Protocol. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU has more than enough performance to feed the GPU. Its single-core score of 999 in 3dmark and 1852 in Cinebench R23 demonstrate strong per-thread performance, which is crucial for game logic and frame pacing. The 6-core, 12-thread configuration, based on the Zen 4 architecture, provides ample multi-threading for the game's background tasks.

The CPU's high boost clock of 5.10 GHz is a key asset. This allows it to process the game's main thread quickly, preventing CPU-side stutters. The data shows that the frame rate drops are almost entirely attributable to the GPU, as the FPS scaling with resolution is consistent regardless of the CPU load. The Ryzen 5 7600 is in the 78th percentile for all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26324. It performs nearly identically to its nearest rivals, with a 0.2% difference from the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX and a 0.5% difference from the AMD Ryzen 5 8540U.

With a TDP of 65 W, the CPU is efficient and does not present a thermal challenge that would cause throttling, which could affect performance. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache provides a large, fast pool of memory for frequently accessed data, which helps with game performance. The Ryzen 5 7600’s 83.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth with DDR5 support is another factor that ensures the CPU can quickly relay information to the GPU. In this configuration, the CPU is a supporting player that fully enables the GTX 1660 Ti to reach its own performance limits, but it is not the reason for the low frame rates at 4K.