Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, an FPS released on 2024-03-11, presents a demanding workload for the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and the Intel Arc B390. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system where the integrated-class GPU is the clear performance limiter. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the pairing achieves an average of 88 FPS, but this figure erodes rapidly as resolution and graphical fidelity increase. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 19 FPS, indicating a fundamental constraint in the graphics subsystem for this title. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data, the combo's rank among tested configurations, and the specific roles of the CPU and GPU in shaping Lockdown Protocol's performance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 in Lockdown Protocol is steep and consistently points to the graphics processor as the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 88 at 1080p to 65 at 1440p, a reduction of 23 FPS (26%), and then further to 42 at 4K, another drop of 23 FPS (35%). This pattern shows that each step up in resolution imposes a near-linear penalty on performance. The GPU must render an increasing number of pixels, and the Arc B390, with its system-shared memory and 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, does not have the headroom to maintain higher throughput as the pixel count grows.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar but the starting point is lower. The average FPS goes from 63 at 1080p to 46 at 1440p and then to 30 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 17 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is 16 FPS. The 4K Medium result includes a minimum of 25 FPS and a maximum of 34 FPS, showing that the frame pacing is relatively tight but the overall performance is below the threshold for smooth play. For High settings, the averages are 55 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K. The decline from 1080p to 1440p is 15 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is 14 FPS. This consistent reduction across all presets indicates that the limiting factor is not CPU-bound but rather the GPU's ability to process geometry, textures, and shading at higher resolutions.

The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling, with averages of 41 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The 1080p Ultra result is the only one in this category that approaches playability, while the 4K Ultra result is essentially a slideshow. The data suggests that the Arc B390's memory bandwidth, which is system-dependent, becomes a critical bottleneck at higher resolutions where larger framebuffers are required. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are insufficient to cope with the fill-rate demands of 4K rendering in this fast-paced FPS. Therefore, the resolution scaling analysis clearly shows that the GPU is the component holding back performance, and users should expect to lower both resolution and settings to achieve acceptable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2512 out of 2828 tested combos. This places it in the bottom 11% of all configurations, indicating that the vast majority of other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher average frame rates in this game. The percentile ranking for the GPU alone is 9, meaning it outperforms only 9% of all tested graphics processors. This low percentile is a strong indicator that the Arc B390 is the primary reason for the combo's poor standing, as the CPU's percentile is much higher at 81.

The combo rank of 2512 suggests that Lockdown Protocol is particularly demanding on the GPU side, and this specific graphics solution is not well-suited for it. For context, the GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which scores 1.3% lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, which scores 1.5% lower. The Intel Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482, which is barely above these older, low-end mobile parts. In contrast, the CPU's nearest rivals are much closer in performance, with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE being only 0.2% slower and the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H being 0.5% faster. This disparity confirms that the CPU is not the bottleneck; the GPU is holding the entire system back.

The fact that the combo ranks so low despite having a capable processor underscores the importance of GPU selection for Lockdown Protocol. The data shows that even a mid-range CPU like the Ryzen 5 9600X cannot compensate for a GPU that scores only 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The measured FPS results align with this ranking, as the highest average frame rate achieved at any resolution and setting is 88 FPS at 1080p Low, which is playable but not exceptional. The combo's rank of 2512 out of 2828 is a quantitative measure of its overall capability in this game, and it clearly demonstrates that this is a low-performing configuration for Lockdown Protocol.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture with a 4 nm process node. Its base clock is 3.90 GHz with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and it has a 65 W TDP. The CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks is strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17528.5 and a single-core score of 2183.5. In Geekbench, it scores 14438 multicore and 2923 single-core. These numbers indicate that the CPU has ample computational power for gaming workloads, including those in Lockdown Protocol, which is an FPS that typically relies on a few fast cores for game logic and physics.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. This cache configuration helps reduce memory latency and improve performance in scenarios where data is reused frequently, such as in game loops. The memory support is DDR5 with a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient for feeding the CPU's cores, but it is also shared with the GPU in this particular system, as the Arc B390 uses system shared memory. This sharing could introduce some contention, but the CPU's performance in Lockdown Protocol is unlikely to be the primary constraint given the GPU's limitations.

The measured FPS data supports the conclusion that the CPU is not the bottleneck. At 1080p Low settings, the average FPS is 88, which is a reasonable frame rate for a 6-core CPU. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar frame rates across different resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not increase significantly with resolution. However, the data shows a clear decline in FPS from 1080p to 4K at every setting level. For example, at Low settings, the FPS drops from 88 at 1080p to 42 at 4K, a reduction of 52%. This decline is entirely attributable to the GPU's rendering capabilities, not the CPU. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as the Passmark multithread score of 30027 and the single-thread score of 4570, confirm that it is a capable processor that would not struggle with the logical demands of Lockdown Protocol at any resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol is presented across three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 88 FPS, the highest recorded for this combo. Medium settings at 1080p produce an average of 63 FPS, with a minimum of 53 and a maximum of 72. High settings drop the average to 55 FPS, and Ultra settings result in 41 FPS. These numbers show that at 1080p, the combo can deliver playable frame rates at Low and Medium settings, but High and Ultra will be less smooth.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 65 FPS, which is a significant drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings at 1440p average 46 FPS, with a minimum of 39 and a maximum of 53. High settings average 40 FPS, and Ultra settings average 30 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low preset provides a consistently smooth experience above 60 FPS, while Medium and High are borderline playable, and Ultra falls below the 30 FPS threshold. The minimum FPS values for Medium at 1440p (39 FPS) indicate that there are moments of frame dips that could be noticeable in fast-paced gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the performance is largely inadequate for a competitive FPS. Low settings average 42 FPS, Medium settings average 30 FPS with a minimum of 25 and a maximum of 34, High settings average 26 FPS, and Ultra settings average 19 FPS. None of these results reach 60 FPS, and even the Low preset is below 45 FPS. The 4K Medium result has a minimum of 25 FPS, which would likely cause visible stuttering during intense action sequences. The data across all resolutions shows a clear pattern: the Arc B390 is only capable of delivering smooth performance at 1080p with lower settings, and higher resolutions require significant compromises. The best experience, based on the measured rows, is at 1080p Low with 88 FPS average, or 1080p Medium with 63 FPS and a minimum of 53 FPS, which offers a better balance of visual quality and playability.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, with a chip codenamed Panther Lake. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The GPU features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its FP32 compute performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The memory configuration is system shared, meaning it uses the same DDR5 memory as the CPU, with bandwidth that is system dependent. This is a critical limitation for Lockdown Protocol, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth.

In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, the Arc B390 scores 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% higher), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1.5% higher), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (2.5% higher), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (2.7% higher). These are all low-end, older graphics solutions, indicating that the Arc B390 is at the very bottom of the performance spectrum for dedicated GPUs, and it is not even a dedicated part but an integrated one. The GPU's TDP is 80 W, and it uses no power connectors, as it is an IGP.

The measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol directly reflects these limitations. The highest average FPS achieved is 88 at 1080p Low, which is a modest result for an FPS game. The GPU's pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are simply not high enough to sustain high frame rates at higher resolutions or settings. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 19, which is unplayable. The system-shared memory is a particular concern, as the bandwidth is dependent on the system's memory configuration and is shared with the CPU. This means that in demanding scenes, memory bandwidth contention can further reduce performance. The data shows that the Arc B390 is the primary bottleneck in this combo, and its low benchmark scores and percentile ranking confirm that it is not suitable for demanding titles like Lockdown Protocol beyond 1080p Low or Medium settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's priority for smoothness versus visual fidelity. The highest average frame rate is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings, yielding 88 FPS. This is the only configuration that exceeds 60 FPS by a significant margin, making it the best choice for competitive play where frame rate is paramount. For users who want a better visual experience without sacrificing too much performance, 1080p Medium settings provide an average of 63 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS. This is still above the 60 FPS threshold for most of the time, and the occasional dips to 53 FPS are unlikely to be severely disruptive.

At 1440p, the Low preset averages 65 FPS, which is playable, but Medium settings drop to 46 FPS, and High settings to 40 FPS. The 1440p Ultra preset averages 30 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for an FPS. Therefore, if a user has a 1440p monitor, they should stick to Low settings for the best frame rates, or consider reducing the resolution to 1080p for higher settings. The 4K resolution is not recommended at any setting, as even Low settings only average 42 FPS, and Medium settings average 30 FPS with a minimum of 25 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 19 FPS, which is unplayable.

The data suggests that the best overall experience is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. This configuration provides an average FPS of 63, which is smooth enough for most players, while offering improved visual quality over Low settings. The minimum FPS of 53 indicates that the frame rate stays relatively stable, with only minor dips. If a user prioritizes maximum frame rate for competitive advantage, 1080p Low is the clear choice. For those who are willing to accept lower frame rates for higher detail, 1080p High at 55 FPS is an option, but the drop from 63 to 55 FPS may not be worth the visual upgrade. The 1440p Low setting at 65 FPS is an alternative for users with higher-resolution displays, but the visual quality will be lower than 1080p Medium. Overall, the measured data points to 1080p Medium as the sweet spot for this combo in Lockdown Protocol.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest average FPS measured is 88, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations in this game?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and Intel Arc B390 combo ranks 2512 out of 2828 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor for performance?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The Intel Arc B390 has a percentile rank of 9 among all GPUs, while the CPU has a percentile rank of 81, and FPS drops significantly with resolution increases.

Q: What are the average FPS figures at 1080p for each setting?

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS is 88 for Low, 63 for Medium, 55 for High, and 41 for Ultra settings.

Q: Is 4K resolution playable with this hardware?

A: No, 4K is not playable. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 42 with Low settings, while Medium, High, and Ultra average 30, 26, and 19 FPS respectively.

Q: What settings offer the best balance of visual quality and performance?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides an average of 63 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS, offering a good balance. For maximum frame rate, 1080p Low at 88 FPS is the best option.