Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title, presents a demanding workload that clearly exposes the balance between the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT. The measured frame rates across four resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system that is heavily influenced by GPU load, though the processor's capabilities ensure high refresh rates are achievable at lower settings. The data set provides a complete picture of how this specific hardware combination scales and where its performance boundaries lie.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K follows an expected downward curve, but the magnitude of the drops tells a compelling story about the limiting component. At the Low preset, the average FPS falls from 191.2 at 1920x1080 to 140.7 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 50.5 frames, and then further down to 89.5 at 3840x2160. This consistent drop indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases.

The scaling pattern shifts dramatically when moving to higher quality presets. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 91.2 at 1080p, dropping to 66.4 at 1440p and then to 40.9 at 4K. The percentage decreases are steepest between 1440p and 4K, suggesting that the RX 6700 XT's 12 GB memory buffer and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated by the combination of high resolution and maximum visual fidelity. The data indicates that at 1080p and 1440p with Medium or High settings, the Ryzen 7 5700X3D's 96 MB of shared L3 cache allows the CPU to keep pace, but the GPU's raw compute limits are reached quickly at 4K.

Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (191.2) and Ultra (91.2) is exactly 100 FPS. At 4K, that spread compresses to 48.6 FPS (89.5 vs 40.9). This compression strongly implies that at 4K, the GPU is the dominant constraint, as it cannot fully utilize the CPU's headroom regardless of the visual workload being reduced. The 7 nm process node and RDNA 2.0 architecture of the GPU appear to be the deciding factors at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting smooth gameplay on a 1440p display, the Medium preset delivers the most balanced experience among the measured rows. At 2560x1440, Medium produces an average of 100.4 FPS, which is 40.3 FPS higher than High (87.8) and 34.0 FPS higher than Ultra (66.4). The jump from Medium to High costs 12.6 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs an additional 21.4 FPS, making Ultra a significant performance penalty for what is likely a marginal visual gain.

At 1080p, the High preset stands out as the optimal choice for competitive play. The 118.8 average FPS at High is more than sufficient for a fast-paced FPS, and it leaves headroom above the 60 FPS threshold for any demanding scenes. Pushing to Ultra at 1080p reduces performance to 91.2 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 23.2% drop from High. For those with a 4K display, the data suggests that only the Low preset (89.5 FPS) approaches a playable frame rate, as Medium (64.9) and High (58.2) both dip below the 60 FPS comfort zone, while Ultra (40.9) is generally not recommended.

The measured results indicate that the Medium preset at 1440p offers the most desirable combination of visual quality and performance for this hardware combo. It maintains a triple-digit frame rate while providing a substantial improvement over Low, which reaches 140.7 FPS but sacrifices graphical fidelity. The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory is likely sufficient for Medium settings at 1440p without encountering capacity-related stutters.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the central figure in these benchmark results, and its specifications directly explain the observed frame rates. With 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, the GPU's parallel processing capacity is substantial for a mid-range card. The boost clock of 2581 MHz and game clock of 2424 MHz provide the raw speed needed to push frames, but the 192-bit memory bus and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors at higher resolutions.

The RX 6700 XT's 40 ray accelerators support DirectX 12 Ultimate, which is relevant for a 2024 FPS title that may utilize ray-traced effects. However, the measured data does not isolate ray tracing performance, so the impact of these cores cannot be directly quantified from this fact pack. The FP32 performance of 13.21 TFLOPS gives an indication of the card's general compute capability, and the 77th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the upper-mid range of the performance spectrum.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the aggregate benchmark data include the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (0.7% higher average score) and the NVIDIA RTX A5000 (1.3% higher). This close grouping suggests that the RX 6700 XT is competitive within its class, and the measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol reflects this positioning. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is a notable asset, as it allows the card to handle the texture and geometry loads at 1440p High and Ultra without exceeding memory limits, though the 4K Ultra result of 40.9 FPS indicates that the GPU's compute throughput, not just its memory capacity, is the final arbiter of performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a granular view of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 191.2 at Low to 91.2 at Ultra, with Medium at 138.4 and High at 118.8. The 1080p results show a near-linear progression from Low to Ultra, with each preset step reducing performance by roughly 23-30 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 140.7 at Low, 100.4 at Medium, 87.8 at High, and 66.4 at Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 74.3 FPS, which is narrower than the 100 FPS gap at 1080p, further confirming the GPU's increasing dominance at higher resolutions. The 1440p Ultra result of 66.4 FPS is notable as it remains above 60 FPS, making it a viable option for players who prioritize visual fidelity over raw frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the results are 89.5 at Low, 64.9 at Medium, 58.2 at High, and 40.9 at Ultra. The 4K data reveals that only the Low preset maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, while Medium is borderline and High falls just short. The 4K Ultra result of 40.9 FPS is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset, representing a 78.6% drop from the best 1080p result. This pattern underscores the GPU-bound nature of the system at 4K, where the RX 6700 XT's 13.21 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for maximum settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain over 100 FPS?

A: At 1920x1080, all presets except Ultra (91.2 FPS) exceed 100 FPS, with Low reaching 191.2. At 2560x1440, only Low (140.7) and Medium (100.4) break the 100 FPS barrier.

Q: How much performance is lost when switching from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 118.8 at 1080p High to 58.2 at 4K High, a reduction of 60.6 FPS, which is a 51% decrease.

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

A: At 1080p and 1440p with lower presets, the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads can keep up, but the frame rate drops at 4K and Ultra settings indicate the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

Q: Does the RX 6700 XT's 12 GB VRAM cause any issues at 4K?

A: The 4K Ultra result of 40.9 FPS suggests the GPU's compute limits are hit before memory capacity becomes a problem, as the 384.0 GB/s bandwidth is the more likely constraint.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 5700X3D's cache affect gaming performance here?

A: The 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a defining feature of the 3D V-Cache design, and the CPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates strong gaming performance that avoids bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the exact frame rate at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 100.4, making it the only 1440p preset besides Low to achieve a triple-digit frame rate.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D brings a unique combination of 8 cores, 16 threads, and a massive 96 MB shared L3 cache to this pairing. The 3.00 GHz base clock and 4.10 GHz boost clock are modest by modern standards, but the cache configuration is designed to reduce memory latency and improve gaming performance. The 105 W TDP and 7 nm Zen 3 architecture on the AM4 socket provide a stable foundation for sustained gaming workloads.

The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22366 and a Passmark multithread score of 26318. The single-thread performance of 3157 in Cinebench R23 is equally important for FPS games, which often rely on a few heavily loaded threads. The 82nd percentile ranking among all CPUs places it well above average, and its nearest rivals in the aggregate data include the Intel Core i7-1360P (0.2% higher) and the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D (0.3% higher), indicating tight competition at this performance level.

In the measured Lockdown Protocol data, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p Low, where the 191.2 FPS result demonstrates that the processor can feed frames at a very high rate when the GPU is not overwhelmed. The fact that the 1080p Low result is more than double the 4K Ultra result (40.9 FPS) highlights how the CPU's capabilities are masked by GPU limitations at higher resolutions. The 3D V-Cache technology is particularly beneficial for gaming, and the data supports this by showing consistent performance across all settings at 1080p, where CPU-bound scenarios are most likely to occur.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination ranks 915th out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the 44th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 56% of hardware combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this game. The ranking reflects the mid-range positioning of both components, with the GPU's 77th percentile and CPU's 82nd percentile not translating to a top-tier gaming experience in this specific title.

The GPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks, such as the RX 6800 (0.7% higher) and RTX A5000 (1.3% higher), suggest that the RX 6700 XT is competitive with slightly higher-tier cards. However, the combo rank of 915 indicates that Lockdown Protocol is a demanding title that rewards more powerful hardware. The fact that the combo sits just past the halfway point of all tested combinations implies that while this system can deliver playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, it is not optimized for 4K gaming or maximum settings at higher resolutions.

The rank also accounts for the CPU's contribution, and the Ryzen 7 5700X3D's performance in synthetic benchmarks does not fully translate to a higher combo ranking in this game. This suggests that Lockdown Protocol is more GPU-intensive than CPU-intensive, as the data shows the GPU becoming the limiting factor at 4K. For players with this exact configuration, the measured results indicate that targeting 1080p or 1440p with Medium or High settings is the most effective way to achieve a satisfying experience, rather than pushing for 4K Ultra, which falls well short of the 60 FPS target.