Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 7 3700X + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti combination delivers a playable but aging experience in Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title. With a combo rank of 2099 out of 3714 tested combinations, this pairing sits in the lower-middle tier of the database, yet the measured frame rates reveal surprising headroom at lower settings. The GTX 1080 Ti, a Pascal-era flagship with 11 GB of GDDR5X memory, pairs with an 8-core Zen 2 processor to produce results that range from a smooth 180 FPS at 1080p Low to a demanding 40 FPS at 4K Ultra. This analysis breaks down what those numbers mean for actual gameplay, where the bottlenecks lie, and which settings offer the most balanced experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 provides the most consistently high frame rates, with average FPS ranging from 84 on Ultra to 180 on Low. At 2560x1440, averages drop to between 61 and 132 FPS, while 3840x2160 only reaches 40-85 FPS depending on settings.

Q: How does the GTX 1080 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 15548, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 M380 (15521), 1.7% higher than both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (15290) and GTX 580 (15283), but 0.8% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15679).

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all tested processors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X ranks in the 84th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its average benchmark score is 34260, putting it nearly level with the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (34222, +0.1%) and AMD EPYC 4244P (34220, +0.1%), while slightly ahead of the Intel Core i5-13450HX (34333, -0.2%) and Intel Core Ultra 7 165H (34083, +0.5%).

Q: Which settings preset at 1440p gives the best balance of performance and quality?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 94 average FPS with a minimum of 80 and maximum of 108. This is significantly smoother than High (82 FPS) and Ultra (61 FPS), while still being more visually demanding than Low (132 FPS).

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck the CPU at any resolution?

A: The evidence suggests the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 180 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 40 FPS. The CPU's 8-core, 16-thread configuration appears sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU's age shows at 4K.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of each component?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X had a launch MSRP of $329, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti had a launch MSRP of 699 USD.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is built on the Pascal architecture with the GP102 chip, manufactured on a 16 nm process at TSMC. This GPU packs 11,800 million transistors on a 471 mm² die, featuring 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 88 raster operation pipelines. Its base clock runs at 1481 MHz with a boost clock of 1582 MHz, while the 11 GB of GDDR5X memory operates at 1376 MHz with an effective data rate of 11 Gbps. The memory interface spans 352 bits, yielding a bandwidth of 484.4 GB/s.

These specifications translate to a theoretical pixel rate of 139.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 354.4 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 11.34 TFLOPS. In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth play a critical role. The 11 GB VRAM buffer proves sufficient even at 4K resolution, as evidenced by the measured frame rates at 3840x2160. However, the Pascal architecture lacks dedicated ray tracing cores, which may impact visual effects in this modern FPS title.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 15548 places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs tested. Its closest competitor by score is the AMD Radeon R9 M380 (15521, +0.2% difference), which is notable given that the R9 M380 is a mobile-class GPU. The GTX 1080 Ti also sits 1.7% above the RTX 2060 (15290) and GTX 580 (15283), while trailing the Radeon Pro W5500 (15679) by 0.8%. In practical terms for Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's DirectX 12 (12_1) support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility allow it to run the game, but its 2017 architecture limits high-end performance at demanding settings.

Resolution Scaling

Examining the measured FPS across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 180 average FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops this to 132 FPS (a 26.7% reduction), and at 3840x2160 Low it falls to 85 FPS (a 52.8% reduction from 1440p). This scaling behavior indicates that the GTX 1080 Ti's compute and memory bandwidth are increasingly taxed as pixel count rises.

The Medium preset tells a similar story: 128 FPS at 1080p, 94 FPS at 1440p, and 60 FPS at 4K. The High preset shows 111 FPS at 1080p, 82 FPS at 1440p, and 53 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings demonstrate the steepest dropoff, going from 84 FPS at 1080p to 61 FPS at 1440p and finally 40 FPS at 4K.

The implication is that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in most scenarios. The Ryzen 7 3700X provides enough processing headroom to maintain high frame rates at 1080p, but the GPU's limitations become apparent as resolution increases. The 4K Ultra figure of 40 FPS suggests the GPU is fully saturated, while the 1080p Low figure of 180 FPS hints that the CPU could potentially push even higher if the GPU were faster.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows this combo's capability. Low settings produce 180 average FPS, Medium yields 128 average with a minimum of 108 and maximum of 147, High delivers 111 average, and Ultra drops to 84 average. The variance between Low and Medium (52 FPS gap) suggests that Medium settings introduce significant additional GPU workload, likely through enhanced textures or shadow quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers compress. Low achieves 132 average FPS, Medium provides 94 average (minimum 80, maximum 108), High reaches 82, and Ultra bottoms out at 61. The gap between Low and Medium narrows to 38 FPS, indicating that the GPU is beginning to struggle with the higher pixel count regardless of settings.

At 3840x2160, the GTX 1080 Ti shows its age. Low settings still manage 85 average FPS, but Medium drops to 60 (minimum 51, maximum 69), High falls to 53, and Ultra plunges to 40. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 45 FPS, showing that settings selection becomes increasingly critical at this resolution to maintain playable frame rates.

The minimum FPS data points, available only for Medium settings, reveal frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 108 FPS is 84.4% of the average, while at 1440p Medium the minimum of 80 is 85.1% of the average, and at 4K Medium the minimum of 51 is 85% of the average. This consistency suggests a stable frame pacing across resolutions, with no catastrophic dips.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 1080p, the data clearly indicates that Medium settings (128 average FPS) offer the best experience. The jump from Low to Medium adds visual fidelity while maintaining a frame rate well above typical refresh rates. High settings at 111 FPS are also viable, but Ultra at 84 FPS sacrifices too much performance for marginal visual gains. The minimum of 108 FPS at Medium ensures no noticeable stuttering.

At 1440p, Medium remains the sweet spot with 94 average FPS and an 80 FPS minimum. This combination provides smooth gameplay on most 144Hz monitors, though High settings at 82 FPS may be preferable for users who prioritize visual quality over maximum frame rate. Ultra at 61 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

At 4K, the choices become constrained. Medium settings with 60 average FPS and a 51 FPS minimum represent the only truly playable option, assuming a 60Hz display. Low settings at 85 FPS would be better for competitive play, while High (53 FPS) and Ultra (40 FPS) are borderline unplayable for a fast-paced FPS title. The recommendation is to use Medium at 4K for the best balance, or drop to Low if frame rate consistency is paramount.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, part of the 3000 series built on the Zen 2 architecture (codenamed Matisse), provides 8 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This 7 nm processor, manufactured by TSMC with 3,800 million transistors on a 74 mm² die, features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of L3 cache. Its dual-channel DDR4 memory support provides 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are demonstrated by benchmark scores including 2092 in Cinebench R15 multi-core and 8899 in Geekbench multi-core. Single-thread performance is more modest, with 204 in Cinebench R15 single-core and 1593 in Geekbench single-core. The Passmark suite shows strong multi-threaded results (22458 in multithread, 66399 in integer math) but weaker single-thread performance (2656 in single thread).

The 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34260, places the 3700X in a competitive position. Its nearest rivals by score—the Ryzen AI 7 350 (34222), EPYC 4244P (34220), Core i5-13450HX (34333), and Core Ultra 7 165H (34083)—all fall within a 0.5% band, indicating this CPU remains competitive with much newer parts in synthetic benchmarks.

For Lockdown Protocol specifically, the CPU's performance appears sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at most settings. The 1080p Low result of 180 FPS suggests that the CPU can handle high frame rate scenarios, though the 16 threads may not be fully utilized if the game engine is primarily single-threaded. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz provides reasonable single-thread performance, but the data does not indicate CPU-induced frame rate limits at any tested resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti combination ranks 2099 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 56.5th percentile of all combinations tested. This ranking reflects a mid-tier position, consistent with the individual component percentiles (CPU at 84th, GPU at 58th) but weighted toward the GPU's lower standing.

The ranking implies that most tested combinations outperform this pairing, likely due to newer GPU architectures with better feature support and higher efficiency. The GTX 1080 Ti's Pascal architecture, despite its 11 GB of VRAM and 484.4 GB/s bandwidth, lacks modern features like ray tracing and DLSS that could improve performance in this 2024 title. Meanwhile, the Ryzen 7 3700X, while still competitive in synthetic benchmarks, shows its 2019 origins in single-threaded workloads.

The gap between the CPU's 84th percentile ranking and the combo's 56.5th percentile ranking highlights the GPU as the limiting factor. In a game like Lockdown Protocol, where the measured FPS scales consistently with resolution and settings, the 1080 Ti's age becomes the primary constraint. The data suggests that pairing this CPU with a more modern GPU would yield significantly better results, while the current GPU pairing holds the combo back in the overall standings.