Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title, presents an interesting case study when paired with the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080. The measured data reveals a configuration that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet transitions into a more balanced state at 1080p. The following analysis breaks down the benchmark results, focusing on how each component contributes to the final frame rates and where this combo stands among thousands of tested systems.

Resolution Scaling

The most immediate observation from the data is how average FPS scales with resolution. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 489 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 425 FPS, a reduction of 64 FPS. At 4K Low, the average falls to 257 FPS, a substantial 232 FPS drop from the 1080p figure. This pattern clearly indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases, which is expected for a high-end card like the RTX 4080.

The scaling behavior becomes more pronounced when examining the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 386 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 253 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average sinks to 140 FPS. The steep decline from 1440p to 4K—a 113 FPS reduction—shows that the 4K Ultra preset is exceptionally demanding on the render pipelinecars. In contrast, the gap between 1080p and 1440p Ultra is 133 FPS, suggesting that even at the higher pixel density, the GPU still has substantial headroom.

Interestingly, the Medium preset reveals the only reported min/max FPS values in the entire dataset. At 4K Medium, the average is 219 FPS, with a minimum of 186 FPS and a maximum of 252 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 397 FPS, with a minimum of 337 FPS and a maximum of 457 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average is 462 FPS, with a minimum of 393 FPS and a maximum of 532 FPS. These figures suggest that the Medium preset produces a wider variance in frame times, likely due to dynamic scene complexity rather than a consistent bottleneck.

The data indicates that the RTX 4080 is the dominant force in this pairing. At 1080p and 1440p, the frame rates are exceptionally high, often exceeding 250 FPS even on Ultra. At 4K, the GPU still manages playable frame rates, but the scaling curve shows diminishing returns as the resolution increases. The 3700X is not the limiting factor at 4K, as evidenced by the fact that even the most demanding preset still yields 140 FPS, which is well above the threshold where CPU limitations typically manifest.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, codenamed Matisse. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a 32 MB L3 cache. In the context of Lockdown Protocol, a fast-paced FPS, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates.

Looking at the benchmark scores, the 3700X achieves a Geekbench multicore score of 8899 and a single-core score of 1593. Its Passmark multithread score is 22458, with a single-thread score of 2656. The CPU’s percentileVsAllCpus is 84, placing it in the top 16% of all processors tested. The average benchmark score is 34260. The nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 with a deltaPct of 0.1, the AMD EPYC 4244P with a deltaPct of 0.1, the Intel Core i5-13450HX with a deltaPct of -0.2, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H with a deltaPct of 0.5. These rivals are all within 0.5% of the 3700X’s average score, indicating that the 3700X is competitive with modern mid-range and upper-mid-range processors.

In Lockdown Protocol specifically, the CPU’s impact is most visible at 1080p where the frame rates are highest. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 489 FPS. This high frame rate suggests that the CPU can keep up with the GPU’s output, but it also means that any CPU bottleneck would manifest here first. The fact that the 1080p Low result is only 53 FPS higher than the 1080p High result (436 FPS) indicates that the game is not heavily CPU-bound, even at these extreme frame rates. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect a smaller difference between Low and High settings at the same resolution.

The 3700X’s 8 cores and 16 threads are ample for a modern FPS. The data suggests that the CPU provides sufficient headroom for the RTX 4080 to operate without significant stalling. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz helps with single-threaded performance, which is critical for game logic. The L3 cache of 32 MB is also beneficial for keeping frequently accessed data close to the cores. Overall, the CPU role in this configuration is to support the GPU, and the measured FPS indicates it does so effectively, particularly at 1440p and 4K where the GPU workload is heavier.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the clear star of this benchmark. It features the AD103 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. The GPU has 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. Its base clock is 2205 MHz with a boost clock of 2505 MHz. The memory configuration is 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. The GPU’s transistor count is 45,900 million on a die size of 379 mm².

In terms of synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4080 achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 214739, and its Vulkan score is 263779. The Passmark G3D score is 34457, with a GPU compute score of 20671. The GPU’s percentileVsAllGpus is 86, meaning it outperforms 86% of all GPUs tested. The average benchmark score is 54247. The nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER with a deltaPct of 0.1, the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X with a deltaPct of -1.1, the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB with a deltaPct of -2.6, and the AMD Radeon 8060S with a deltaPct of -2.7. The RTX 4080 is nearly identical in performance to the 4080 SUPER, and it is slightly ahead of the other listed rivals.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU’s role is defined by its ability to render frames at high resolutions. The data shows that the RTX 4080 is capable of delivering over 140 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is a demanding setting. The VRAM capacity of 16 GB is sufficient for the game’s textures and geometry, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates across all settings. The high memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s helps maintain smooth performance, especially at 4K where data transfer rates are critical.

The boost clock of 2505 MHz is a key factor in achieving these frame rates. The GPU’s shading units and texture mapping units are fully utilized, as the resolution scaling shows a clear decline in FPS as pixel count increases. At 1080p, the GPU is not fully taxed, allowing for frame rates up to 489 FPS on Low. At 4K, the GPU is pushed harder, with the Ultra preset dropping to 140 FPS. This indicates that the RTX 4080 is the bottleneck at 4K, which reflects its strength rather than a weakness, as it still maintains playable performance at the highest settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at how the combo performs across resolutions and settings. The following table summarizes the average FPS for each configuration:

• 1080p Low: 489 FPS
• 1080p Medium: 462 FPS (min 393, max 532)
• 1080p High: 436 FPS
• 1080p Ultra: 386 FPS
• 1440p Low: 425 FPS
• 1440p Medium: 397 FPS (min 337, max 457)
• 1440p High: 337 FPS
• 1440p Ultra: 253 FPS
• 4K Low: 257 FPS
• 4K Medium: 219 FPS (min 186, max 252)
• 4K High: 186 FPS
• 4K Ultra: 140 FPS

At 1080p, the differences between settings are relatively modest. The gap between Low and Ultra is 103 FPS, showing that the GPU has ample headroom even at the highest quality settings. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 393 is lower than the High preset’s average of 436, indicating some frame-time spikes, but the overall experience remains smooth.

At 1440p, the scaling is more pronounced. The Low preset delivers 425 FPS, while Ultra drops to 253 FPS. The High preset at 337 FPS is a solid middle ground. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 337 matches the High preset’s average, suggesting that the Medium preset can have occasional dips that bring it down to High-level performance.

At 4K, the frame rates become more demanding. Low produces 257 FPS, which is still exceptionally high. Medium drops to 219 FPS, High to 186 FPS, and Ultra to 140 FPS. The min FPS for Medium at 4K is 186, which is the same as the High preset’s average. This shows that the Medium preset at 4K can sometimes be as demanding as the High preset in terms of worst-case frames.

The data reveals that the combo is capable of delivering high refresh rate gaming at 1080p and 1440p, and it can still achieve 60+ FPS at 4K Ultra with a significant margin. The 140 FPS minimum average for 4K Ultra is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that this configuration is future-proof for high-resolution gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 holds the number 1 rank in Lockdown Protocol, out of a total of 3714 tested combinations. This is a top-tier result, placing this configuration at the very pinnacle of the database for this game. The rank of 1 means that no other tested combination of CPU and GPU achieves higher average FPS in Lockdown Protocol.

This ranking is significant because it indicates that the 3700X does not hold back the RTX 4080 in this specific title. While the 3700X is an older CPU released in 2019, its 8 cores and 16 threads, combined with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, are sufficient to fully utilize the RTX 4080’s capabilities. The data suggests that Lockdown Protocol is not heavily CPU-dependent, allowing the GPU to shine.

The nearest rivals for the CPU, such as the Intel Core i5-13450HX and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350, are within 0.5% of the 3700X’s average benchmark score. However, the combo’s rank of 1 indicates that the 3700X’s specific performance characteristics, including its cache size and memory bandwidth, are well-matched to the RTX 4080 for this game. The rank also implies that the GPU is the dominant factor, and any CPU with sufficient single-thread performance could achieve similar results.

For the GPU, the nearest rival is the RTX 4080 SUPER, which has a deltaPct of 0.1, meaning it is essentially identical in average benchmark score. The fact that this combo still ranks first suggests that the 3700X does not introduce any bottleneck that would allow a faster GPU to pull ahead. The ranking confirms the balance of this configuration, delivering the highest measured FPS among all tested combos.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user’s refresh rate and resolution. The data shows that the combo can easily handle 144Hz and 165Hz displays at 1440p with High settings, achieving 337 FPS. For 240Hz displays at 1080p, the Low preset delivers 489 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate.

For 4K gaming, the High preset provides an average of 186 FPS, which is suitable for high refresh rate 4K monitors (typically 144Hz). The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 140 FPS, which is still playable but may not fully saturate a 144Hz display. The Medium preset at 4K offers 219 FPS, providing a balance between visual fidelity and performance, with a min FPS of 186 ensuring smooth gameplay.

For users with a 1440p 144Hz monitor, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as it delivers 253 FPS, exceeding the refresh rate. The High preset at 337 FPS is also an excellent option if users prefer higher frame rates for competitive play. The Medium preset at 397 FPS is overkill for most displays, but it could be used to maximize frame time consistency, given its min FPS of 337.

For 1080p users, the Ultra preset at 386 FPS is the best experience, as it provides the highest visual quality without sacrificing frame rate. The Low preset at 489 FPS is unnecessary unless the user has a 480Hz monitor. The Medium preset at 462 FPS is a good middle ground, but the Ultra preset’s 386 FPS is already well above any practical refresh rate.

In summary, the data recommends using Ultra settings at 1080p and 1440p for the best visual experience, as the frame rates remain exceptionally high. At 4K, the High preset is the sweet spot for 144Hz displays, while the Ultra preset is suitable for 60Hz displays or those who prioritize visuals over frame rate.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 489 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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

A: At 4K Ultra, the combo delivers an average of 140 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while at 1080p, the CPU provides enough headroom to reach 489 FPS without becoming a bottleneck.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 1st out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: What is the minimum FPS reported in the dataset?

A: The lowest reported min FPS is 186 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Medium settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, while the RTX 4080 SUPER has a deltaPct of 0.1, making them virtually identical in performance.