Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is an early-access FPS that clearly favors high refresh rate displays, and this particular pairing of an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces a wide spread of results depending on how you configure the graphics menu. The data shows that the RTX 4090 is the dominant component here, but the older 8-core CPU still holds its own at lower resolutions. The measured frames per second tell a clear story: this combo is capable of pushing well past 200 FPS at 1080p, but you will need to make deliberate choices about quality versus speed, especially if you are targeting 4K. The benchmark results indicate that the "Low" preset is the only setting that consistently breaks the 200 FPS barrier, while "Ultra" drops below 100 FPS at 4K, which is a significant gap for a competitive shooter.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo depends entirely on your display's native resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the "Low" preset delivers an average of 210.6 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded across all tests. This is the only scenario where the frame rate exceeds 210, making it the ideal choice for esports-style play on a 240Hz monitor. The "Medium" preset at 1080p still delivers a very respectable 183.6 FPS, which is a solid option if you want some visual polish without sacrificing too much speed. The "High" preset at 1080p drops to 177.2 FPS, and "Ultra" falls to 160.9 FPS, which are both still playable but represent a noticeable step down from the lower presets.

At 2560x1440, the "Low" preset remains the top performer at 187.2 FPS, followed by "Medium" at 165.2 FPS and "High" at 155.9 FPS. The "Ultra" preset at 1440p produces 128.8 FPS, which is still smooth but shows that the quality ceiling is beginning to impact performance. For 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. The "Low" preset at 4K yields 160.4 FPS, which is excellent, but "Medium" drops to 122.5 FPS, "High" to 106.6 FPS, and "Ultra" to 83.1 FPS. The data suggests that for 4K gaming, the "Low" preset is the only one that keeps you comfortably above the 144Hz refresh rate threshold, while "High" and "Ultra" are better suited for 60Hz displays or slower-paced gameplay. The recommendation is straightforward: prioritize the "Low" preset for competitive play at any resolution, or accept the frame rate drops of higher presets if visual fidelity is more important.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the clear performance driver in this configuration, and its specifications explain why the frame rates scale so predictably with resolution. The GPU features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol at any tested resolution. The 16384 shading units and 128 RT cores are paired with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and the data shows that this hardware is not the bottleneck at 1080p or 1440p, where the CPU begins to limit performance. The RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is reflected in the fact that even at 4K with "Low" settings, the combo still achieves 160.4 FPS, which confirms the raw compute power on offer.

The memory configuration is particularly relevant for this game. With 24 GB of VRAM, there is no risk of running out of memory at any resolution or preset, which means the frame rate differences between settings are purely a function of GPU compute load and CPU overhead. The 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and asset loading at 4K "Ultra" do not cause stutters, even though the average FPS drops to 83.1. The RTX 4090's position in the benchmark database is strong, with a percentile of 91 against all GPUs, and its nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks are professional workstation cards like the Tesla T4 and Quadro P6000, which are not designed for gaming. This confirms that the RTX 4090 is operating at the top of the consumer gaming stack, and the measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol reflects that dominance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is an older 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, and its role in this combo is to feed the RTX 4090 enough data to keep it busy. The CPU has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 32 MB of L3 cache. The benchmark results show that this CPU is a limiting factor at 1080p, where the frame rates are capped at 210.6 FPS on "Low" settings. This is not a CPU bottleneck in the traditional sense, but rather a reflection of the single-thread performance of the 3700X, which has a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2694. At higher resolutions like 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, and the CPU's workload decreases, which is why the frame rate differences between 1440p and 4K are smaller than the differences between 1080p and 1440p.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are less critical for this game, but the 8 cores and 16 threads still provide a solid foundation. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19087 places it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-12600 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT, which have similar average benchmark scores. The deltaPct values are negligible, ranging from -0.1 to 0.2, indicating that the 3700X is essentially on par with these newer mid-range chips in synthetic tests. For Lockdown Protocol, this means the CPU will not cause any major frame drops, but it does prevent the RTX 4090 from reaching its full potential at 1080p. If you are targeting 4K, the CPU is sufficient, but for maximum 1080p performance, a newer processor with higher single-core clocks would be necessary.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 3700X and RTX 4090 ranks 233rd out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, which places it in the top 15% of all configurations. This is a strong result, but it is notably the ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's performance. The RTX 4090 is an end-of-life product with a successor in the GeForce 50 series, but it still delivers exceptional frame rates in this game. The 233rd rank suggests that there are 232 other combos that perform better, likely featuring newer CPUs with higher single-core performance that can better feed the RTX 4090 at lower resolutions. The data shows that the combo is not the absolute best, but it is far above average, and the measured FPS numbers confirm that it is more than capable of delivering a smooth experience.

The rank is a relative measure, and the deltaPct values from the CPU's nearest rivals help contextualize its position. The Intel Core i5-12600 has an average benchmark score that is 0.1% lower than the 3700X, while the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT is 0.1% higher. These differences are negligible, meaning that swapping the CPU for a newer mid-range option would likely not change the overall combo ranking by more than a few spots. The RTX 4090's nearest rivals in the GPU benchmarks are all professional cards, which are not relevant for gaming, so the ranking is primarily driven by the CPU's ability to keep up with the GPU. In this case, the 3700X does a respectable job, but the 233rd rank out of 1637 combos indicates that there is headroom for improvement with a better CPU.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS is 210.6, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the "Low" settings preset.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 a good match for the Ryzen 7 3700X at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160, the combo delivers 160.4 FPS on "Low" settings and 83.1 FPS on "Ultra" settings, showing that the GPU is the primary driver at this resolution.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 3700X compare to its nearest CPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The 3700X has an average benchmark score of 28631, which is within 0.2% of the Intel Core i5-12600, Intel Core i5-12600H, AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT, and AMD EPYC 7203P.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among all tested configurations in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The combo ranks 233rd out of 1637 tested combos, placing it in the top 15% of all configurations.

Q: Does the 24 GB of VRAM on the RTX 4090 provide any advantage in this game?

A: The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensures that there are no memory-related stutters at any resolution or settings preset, even at 4K "Ultra" settings.

Q: At 1440p, what is the FPS difference between the "Low" and "Ultra" presets?

A: At 2560x1440, the "Low" preset achieves 187.2 FPS, while the "Ultra" preset achieves 128.8 FPS, a difference of 58.4 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: "Low" settings produce 210.6 FPS, "Medium" produces 183.6 FPS, "High" produces 177.2 FPS, and "Ultra" produces 160.9 FPS. The data shows a clear progression, with the "Low" preset being the only one to exceed 200 FPS at this resolution. The gap between "Low" and "Ultra" is 49.7 FPS, which represents a significant performance cost for higher visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: "Low" at 187.2 FPS, "Medium" at 165.2 FPS, "High" at 155.9 FPS, and "Ultra" at 128.8 FPS. The delta between the lowest and highest presets at 1440p is 58.4 FPS, which is larger than the 1080p gap, indicating that the GPU is under more load at this resolution. The "Low" preset remains the best option for high refresh rate gaming, while "Ultra" still provides a playable experience.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: "Low" at 160.4 FPS, "Medium" at 122.5 FPS, "High" at 106.6 FPS, and "Ultra" at 83.1 FPS. This resolution shows the largest relative drop from "Low" to "Ultra", with a difference of 77.3 FPS. The "Low" preset at 4K still delivers over 160 FPS, which is impressive, but the "Ultra" preset falls below 90 FPS, making it less suitable for fast-paced competitive play. The measured data across all resolutions confirms that the "Low" preset is the consistent top performer, with "Medium" as a reasonable compromise, and "High" and "Ultra" reserved for users who prioritize visuals over frame rate.