Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER presents a fascinating case study in Lockdown Protocol’s performance scaling. This combination, ranked 152nd out of 1637 tested configurations, demonstrates a clear narrative: the GPU is the dominant force at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strong single-threaded capabilities ensure the system remains fluid even at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable yet informative scaling pattern across the three tested resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 304.4 FPS, which drops to 227.8 FPS at 1440p and further to 148 FPS at 4K. This represents a 51% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at Low settings.

The scaling becomes more dramatic as settings increase. At Ultra settings, the frame rate falls from 142.5 FPS at 1080p to 106.3 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 65.4 FPS at 4K. This is a 54% drop from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 672.3 GB/s bandwidth are being stressed by the higher pixel counts.

The data suggests the limiting component shifts based on resolution. At 1080p Low, the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are more likely to be the bottleneck, given the extremely high frame rates. The Ryzen 5 9600X’s boost clock of 5.40 GHz and its 3DMark single-thread score of 1253 indicate strong per-core performance that can drive these high FPS numbers. However, at 4K Ultra, the GPU’s 44.10 TFLOPS FP32 performance becomes the primary constraint, as the 65.4 FPS result shows the renderer struggling with the combined load.

Interestingly, the transition from Medium to High settings at each resolution shows a smaller performance gap than from High to Ultra. At 1440p, Medium produces 162.7 FPS while High produces 139.8 FPS—a 16% difference. The jump from High to Ultra is more severe, with Ultra at 106.3 FPS being 24% lower than High. This suggests the Ultra preset introduces rendering features that disproportionately impact the GPU.

FAQ

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The system achieves an average of 65.4 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is below the 90.2 FPS seen at High settings, indicating that Ultra presets require sacrificing nearly 28% of performance for the visual upgrade.

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 304.4 FPS. This is more than double the 148 FPS achieved at 4K Low, making 1080p the clear choice for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER’s 16 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The data does not directly measure VRAM usage. However, the 16 GB GDDR6X memory with a 256-bit bus width provides a theoretical bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s, which appears adequate given the measured FPS figures across all tested settings.

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

A: It ranks 152nd out of 1637 combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 9% of tested configurations. This is a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings yield 227.8 FPS while Ultra yields 106.3 FPS. The difference is 121.5 FPS, meaning Ultra delivers only 47% of the Low-setting frame rate.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: The evidence suggests so. At 1080p Low, the 304.4 FPS result is likely near the CPU’s limit given its 6-core/12-thread configuration and 3.90 GHz base clock. The GPU’s 86th percentile ranking suggests it could push higher frames if the CPU were less constrained.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the primary driver of Lockdown Protocol’s visual output. Its AD103 chip, built on a 5 nm TSMC process, contains 45,900 million transistors. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2340 MHz and a boost clock of 2610 MHz, while its memory runs at an effective 21 Gbps.

The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory across a 256-bit bus provides 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration appears well-suited for the game’s demands, as evidenced by the smooth scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 4K High, the system maintains 90.2 FPS, suggesting the memory subsystem can handle the increased texture and geometry load without significant stuttering.

The GPU’s 8448 shading units and 96 ROPs contribute to its pixel rate of 250.6 GPixel/s. This raw throughput is reflected in the 4K results: even at Ultra settings, which likely enable heavy post-processing effects, the card manages 65.4 FPS. The 264 TMUs and texture rate of 689.0 GTexel/s also play a crucial role in maintaining texture detail at higher resolutions.

However, the GPU shows its limits at 4K Ultra. The 65.4 FPS result is below the 90.2 FPS at High, indicating that Ultra settings introduce a rendering load that the 44.10 TFLOPS FP32 performance cannot fully overcome. This is not a flaw but rather a characteristic of the game’s Ultra preset being designed for maximum visual fidelity over frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

In Lockdown Protocol, this specific combination ranks 152nd out of 1637 tested combos. This places the system in the top 9.3% of all configurations, which is notable for a CPU that costs $279 at launch and a GPU that was $799 at launch.

The CPU’s percentile rank of 85 versus all CPUs and the GPU’s percentile rank of 86 versus all GPUs indicate a well-balanced pairing. Both components sit near the 85th percentile of their respective categories, suggesting that neither is dramatically underperforming relative to the other in this game.

The nearest rivals for the CPU include the Intel Core i5-13490F with a deltaPct of 0.3% and the AMD Ryzen 5 230 with another 0.3% delta. These close scores indicate that the Ryzen 5 9600X is performing exactly as expected for its class. For the GPU, the NVIDIA CMP 50HX is only 0.7% behind, while the RTX A2000 is 1.6% ahead. These tight margins confirm the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is delivering consistent, expected performance in this title.

The combo’s 152nd rank out of 1637 suggests that while many systems outperform it, the vast majority of tested configurations do not. This is a strong result for a pairing that targets high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming and acceptable 4K performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user’s priority of frame rate versus visual quality. For competitive play, 1080p Low delivers 304.4 FPS, which is ideal for 240Hz and higher refresh rate monitors. This setting maximizes responsiveness and minimizes input lag.

For a balance of visuals and performance, 1440p High at 139.8 FPS is the recommended choice. This resolution provides a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining frame rates above 130 FPS, which is suitable for most high-refresh-rate displays. The 1440p Medium setting at 162.7 FPS is also viable for users who prefer higher frame rates over slight visual improvements.

At 4K, the data suggests High settings at 90.2 FPS is the most practical option. This provides a smooth experience on 60Hz displays and is playable on 120Hz panels. The 4K Ultra setting at 65.4 FPS is only recommended for users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate and have a 60Hz monitor.

The 1080p Ultra setting at 142.5 FPS is an interesting outlier—it offers Ultra visuals at frame rates comparable to 1440p High. For users with a 1080p 144Hz monitor, this setting provides the best visual experience without sacrificing smoothness.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance envelope is wide. Low settings produce 304.4 FPS, Medium yields 219 FPS, High achieves 193.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 142.5 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 53% reduction in frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the figures are 227.8 FPS for Low, 162.7 FPS for Medium, 139.8 FPS for High, and 106.3 FPS for Ultra. The Low-to-Ultra gap here is 53%, consistent with the 1080p scaling.

At 3840x2160, the measurements show 148 FPS for Low, 105.7 FPS for Medium, 90.2 FPS for High, and 65.4 FPS for Ultra. This represents a 56% reduction from Low to Ultra, the largest relative drop across all resolutions.

The data reveals that the performance penalty for Ultra settings scales slightly with resolution. At 1080p, Ultra is 53% slower than Low; at 1440p, it is also 53% slower; but at 4K, it becomes 56% slower. This suggests the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are stretched further at higher resolutions when Ultra effects are enabled.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, a 6-core/12-thread processor from the 9000 series, plays a supporting role in Lockdown Protocol. Its Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge, is built on a 4 nm TSMC process. The CPU features a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 65W TDP.

The CPU’s benchmark results indicate strong performance for its size. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 25525 and single-core score of 3603 place it well above average. The Geekbench scores of 15182 multicore and 3363 single-core further confirm its capabilities. These results suggest the CPU can handle the game’s physics and AI calculations without becoming a bottleneck at moderate frame rates.

However, at 1080p Low where the system produces 304.4 FPS, the CPU’s 6 cores may be pushed to their limits. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7585 and max-thread score of 7590 indicate that the CPU’s performance plateaus beyond 8 threads, which is typical for a 6-core part. This could explain why the frame rate at 1080p Low does not scale as dramatically as the GPU’s raw power might suggest.

The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate data throughput for game logic. The 24 PCIe Gen 5 lanes ensure the GPU has a high-bandwidth connection, though the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER uses PCIe 4.0 x16, which is more than sufficient.

In this game, the CPU appears to be a capable partner to the GPU, enabling high frame rates at lower resolutions while allowing the GPU to take over as the primary bottleneck at 4K. The 85th percentile ranking versus all CPUs confirms that the Ryzen 5 9600X is performing above average for its class, making this combo a well-matched pair for Lockdown Protocol.