Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 7 5700 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

The pairing of an AMD Ryzen 7 5700 with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in Lockdown Protocol produces a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics, where the 8-core Zen 3 processor at times constrains what is otherwise one of the most powerful GPUs ever measured. The benchmark data reveals a system that delivers exceptional frame rates across all tested configurations, yet the scaling patterns between resolutions and settings suggest the CPU is doing more heavy lifting than one might expect in a title that is ostensibly GPU-bound. With the combo ranking 184th out of 3,714 tested combinations, this setup sits comfortably in the top 5% of all configurations, but the real story lies in how the frame rates respond to changes in graphical load.

Resolution Scaling

The most revealing metric in the dataset is the performance drop from 1080p to 4K, which tells a clear story about where the system's limits reside. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 217 FPS at 1920x1080 to 171 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 111 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 21% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a further 35% drop from 1440p to 4K. The cumulative decline from 1080p to 4K is 49%, meaning the system loses roughly half its frame rate when moving to the highest resolution tested.

This scaling pattern is particularly interesting when compared to the Low preset, where the same resolution steps produce different behavior. At Low settings, the system achieves 259 FPS at 1080p, 233 FPS at 1440p, and 178 FPS at 4K — a 10% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 24% drop from 1440p to 4K. The fact that Low settings show less severe percentage declines across resolutions suggests that at lower graphical loads, the CPU becomes more of a limiting factor, preventing the GPU from fully stretching its legs even at 1080p.

The gap between Low and High settings widens as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU that is increasingly saturated at higher pixel counts. At 1080p, the difference between Low and High is only 42 FPS (259 vs 217), but at 4K that gap grows to 67 FPS (178 vs 111). This indicates that while the RTX 5090 is clearly the dominant component at 4K, the Ryzen 7 5700's 8 cores and 16 threads are sufficient to keep feeding the GPU at lower resolutions without becoming a severe bottleneck. The data implies that at 1080p, the system is partially CPU-limited even with a processor that scores in the 78th percentile of all CPUs tested.

Settings Recommendations

Examining the measured rows, the Medium preset emerges as the most balanced option across all three resolutions, offering frame rates that remain highly playable while presumably delivering better visual fidelity than Low. At 4K, Medium produces 127 FPS average with a minimum of 108 FPS and maximum of 146 FPS — a tight enough range to suggest consistent performance. At 1440p, Medium jumps to 196 FPS (min 167, max 226), and at 1080p it reaches 228 FPS (min 194, max 262). The minimum frame rates at Medium are notably higher than the average frame rates at Ultra for every resolution, which is a compelling argument for this preset.

Ultra settings, by contrast, show the steepest performance penalty. At 4K, Ultra averages just 83 FPS — a 35% reduction from Medium's 127 FPS. Even at 1080p, Ultra only manages 175 FPS, which is lower than Medium's 228 FPS. The data suggests that Ultra's visual improvements come at a cost that may not be justifiable given how much headroom Medium provides. For players with high refresh rate monitors, the jump from Medium to High at 1080p costs only 11 FPS (228 to 217), making High a reasonable upgrade if visual fidelity is a priority. However, at 4K, the difference between Medium and High is 16 FPS (127 to 111), which might be more noticeable on displays that cannot exceed 120 Hz.

The Low preset's 178 FPS at 4K is remarkable but likely comes with significant visual compromises. The most sensible recommendation based on the measured data is Medium as the default, with High as an option for those who prefer image quality over a small frame rate sacrifice. Ultra should be reserved for scenarios where the player values maximum detail over the substantial FPS loss.

FAQ

Q: How does the RTX 5090 perform at 4K in Lockdown Protocol?

A: At 4K with Medium settings, the average frame rate is 127 FPS with a minimum of 108 FPS and maximum of 146 FPS. High settings average 111 FPS, while Ultra drops to 83 FPS. Low settings achieve 178 FPS at this resolution.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5700 a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 in this game?

A: The data suggests partial CPU limitation at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and High settings is only 42 FPS (259 vs 217), which is a smaller gap than at 4K where the same comparison shows a 67 FPS difference. This pattern indicates the CPU limits the GPU more at 1080p.

Q: What is the best settings preset for competitive play?

A: Medium offers the best combination of high frame rates and presumably better visuals than Low. At 1080p, Medium averages 228 FPS with a 194 FPS minimum, which exceeds the average FPS of Ultra at 1440p (128 FPS) and comes close to High at 1440p (171 FPS).

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination ranks 184th out of 3,714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 5% of all measured systems.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming smoothly?

A: Yes, based on the measured data. Even at Ultra settings, the average FPS is 83, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium settings provide 127 FPS average, which is comfortable for 120 Hz displays.

Q: How does the CPU's multithreaded performance relate to this game's results?

A: The Ryzen 7 5700 scores 6,617 in 3DMark max threads and 6,628 in 3DMark 16 threads, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20,655. These strong multithreaded results likely contribute to the system's ability to maintain high frame rates, particularly at 1080p where the CPU has more influence.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings average 259 FPS, Medium averages 228 FPS with a minimum of 194 and maximum of 262, High averages 217 FPS, and Ultra averages 175 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 84 FPS, representing a 32% reduction when maxing out all settings. The minimum frame rate at Medium (194 FPS) is higher than the average frame rate at Ultra (175 FPS), showing that even the worst-case frames at Medium beat the typical performance at Ultra.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high. Low settings average 233 FPS, Medium averages 196 FPS (min 167, max 226), High averages 171 FPS, and Ultra averages 128 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with Low losing 26 FPS, Medium losing 32 FPS, High losing 46 FPS, and Ultra losing 47 FPS. Notably, the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium (167) is still higher than the average FPS at 4K High (111).

At 3840x2160, the system shows its most demanding behavior. Low settings average 178 FPS, Medium averages 127 FPS (min 108, max 146), High averages 111 FPS, and Ultra averages 83 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at 4K is 16 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 28 FPS — the largest single-step penalty in the entire dataset. This suggests that Ultra's additional settings at 4K impose a disproportionate cost on the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 184 out of 3,714 tested combinations places this system in the 95th percentile of all configurations measured in Lockdown Protocol. This is a strong result, though the ranking may be influenced by the fact that the RTX 5090 is paired with a mid-range CPU rather than a top-tier flagship processor. The GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is 92, meaning it outperforms 92% of all graphics cards tested across the database. The CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 78, indicating it is a solid performer but not at the very top of the hierarchy.

The nearest rival data for the CPU shows how close the Ryzen 7 5700 is to comparable processors. Its average benchmark score of 25,517 is nearly identical to the Intel Xeon D-2752TER (25,530, delta -0.1%), the AMD Ryzen 5 6600H (25,550, delta -0.1%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 7640U (25,485, delta 0.1%). The AMD Ryzen 7 5825U trails slightly at 25,446 (delta 0.3%). These tiny deltas suggest that the CPU's performance is well within the expected range for its class, and swapping to any of these rivals would likely produce similar results in this game.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605, delta 0.3%) and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940, delta 1.1%), while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X leads slightly at 80,959 (delta -1.4%). The RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 79,842 places it in rarefied company, and its 92nd percentile ranking confirms that it is one of the most powerful GPUs available.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 is a Zen 3 part manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz boosts to 4.60 GHz, and it carries a 16 MB L3 cache with 512 KB L2 and 64 KB L1 per core. The CPU supports DDR4 memory with dual-channel access and a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. These specifications, combined with a 65 W TDP, make it an efficient yet capable processor for gaming workloads.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's influence is most apparent at lower resolutions. The 3DMark results show strong scaling from 2 threads (1,762) to 4 threads (3,382) to 8 threads (5,585), with diminishing returns beyond 8 threads as the max threads score of 6,617 is only 18% higher than the 8-thread score. This suggests the game benefits from multiple cores but does not fully utilize all 16 threads. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20,655 and single-core score of 2,916 indicate a balanced processor that can handle both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded workloads.

The PassMark data further illustrates the CPU's capabilities: multithreaded score of 24,303, single-thread score of 3,296, and physics score of 984. The physics score is particularly relevant for gaming, as it measures the CPU's ability to handle game physics calculations. While the Ryzen 7 5700's 78th percentile ranking means it is not the fastest CPU available, the benchmark results in Lockdown Protocol show that it does not prevent the system from achieving high frame rates, especially at 4K where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on TSMC's 5 nm process, with a massive 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. It operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and boosts to 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for even the most demanding 4K textures.

The RTX 5090's compute specifications are extraordinary: 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, with 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores. Its FP32 throughput of 104.8 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s place it far ahead of virtually any other consumer GPU. The texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s ensures that even the most texture-heavy scenes will not starve the GPU.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. The benchmark scores reflect this GPU's raw power: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18,355, Geekbench OpenCL score of 334,370, and Vulkan score of 376,728. The PassMark G3D score of 39,650 and GPU compute score of 26,756 further confirm its position in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. The fact that 4K Ultra still manages 83 FPS, while 4K Medium reaches 127 FPS, demonstrates that this GPU has enough headroom to handle even the most punishing settings in this title.