Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is an FPS that scales dramatically with both resolution and settings, and this particular pairing of an AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 produces a wide performance envelope. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but reveals a more balanced picture at 1080p, where the CPU's capabilities become a limiting factor. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across the board, explains the roles of each component, and contextualizes the combo's rank among all tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, clearly identifying the GPU as the primary bottleneck as pixel count rises. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 233 at 1920x1080 to 171 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 62 FPS, and then further to 111 at 3840x2160, marking a 122 FPS total drop from 1080p to 4K. This pattern indicates that the RTX 5090's rendering workload scales almost linearly with resolution, which is expected for a game that is heavily reliant on pixel shading and fill rate.

The scaling behavior is even more pronounced when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 278 FPS, which drops to 250 at 1440p and then to 178 at 4K. The percentage decline from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is roughly 36%, while at High settings the decline is approximately 52%. This difference suggests that at lower settings, where the GPU's fixed-function units are less stressed, the CPU begins to assert more influence at 1080p, capping the maximum achievable frame rate; as resolution increases, the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the sole limiter, making the frame rate drop more severe at higher settings.

Interestingly, the gap between 1440p and 4K is larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p at every setting level. For instance, at Medium settings, moving from 1080p (244 FPS) to 1440p (196 FPS) costs 48 FPS, while moving from 1440p to 4K (127 FPS) costs 69 FPS. This non-linear scaling is typical of a GPU that has ample memory bandwidth but is constrained by raw compute at higher resolutions. The RTX 5090's 1.79 TB/s bandwidth and 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance are substantial, but the data shows that the demand at 4K Ultra (83 FPS) is nearly double the demand at 1080p Ultra (175 FPS), indicating that players targeting 4K must accept significant compromises in visual quality to maintain high refresh rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant force in this configuration, and its specifications directly explain the measured frame rates. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, the card has an enormous memory pool that prevents any VRAM capacity issues even at 4K Ultra settings; the data shows no anomalous FPS dips that would suggest memory swapping or texture thrashing. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed, which translates to that 1.79 TB/s bandwidth—a figure that allows the GPU to feed its 21760 shading units without starvation.

The GPU's clock behavior is notable: a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. In Lockdown Protocol, the average FPS at 1080p Medium (244) and 1440p Medium (196) suggests that the card is boosting aggressively, likely staying near its maximum boost clock when the CPU can keep up. However, the 4K results tell a different story. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 127 with a minimum of 108 and a maximum of 146, showing a wide variance that indicates the GPU is not consistently sustaining its boost clock under heavy load. This is consistent with a power-limited scenario, though the exact power draw is not in the data; the 575 W TDP and 950 W suggested PSU hint at the card's appetite.

The RTX 5090's architectural strengths—680 TMUs and 176 ROPs—are reflected in the texture-heavy and fill-rate-heavy workloads of Lockdown Protocol. The texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s are sufficient to drive the observed FPS at 1440p, where the card achieves 250 FPS at Low settings. But at 4K Ultra, the 83 FPS average indicates that the ROPs are being saturated, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p while the FPS does not scale down proportionally—it actually drops by more than half, pointing to a compute bottleneck rather than a pure memory bandwidth limit.

Benchmark scores place the GPU in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79842. Its nearest rivals in synthetic tests are the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (deltaPct 0.3) and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (deltaPct 1.1), though those are workstation and mobile parts respectively; in gaming, the RTX 5090's real-world FPS in this title is what matters, and the data shows it is more than capable of 4K gaming, albeit not at maximum refresh rates with all settings maxed.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is a Zen 3 part with 8 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. Its role in Lockdown Protocol becomes evident when examining the 1080p results, where the CPU's single-thread performance and inter-core communication determine the upper ceiling. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 278, but at 1080p High it drops to 233—a smaller difference than the 1440p to 4K drops, suggesting that the CPU is not the sole limiter even at 1080p. However, the fact that 1080p Low (278 FPS) does not scale to the GPU's theoretical maximum indicates that the CPU is holding back performance at lower resolutions.

The CPU's benchmark scores are revealing. In Cinebench R23, the 5800XT scores 23794 in multicore and 3359 in single-core. The single-core score is critical for FPS games like Lockdown Protocol, which rely on a main game thread for physics and game logic. The 3dmark single-thread score of 959 and the 2-thread score of 1879 suggest that the CPU can handle moderate thread counts well, but its 4-thread score of 3603 and 8-thread score of 6141 indicate diminishing returns as more cores are utilized. This is consistent with a game that is not heavily multi-threaded; the 16-thread score of 7683 is barely higher than the 8-thread score, showing that the CPU's extra threads beyond 8 provide little benefit in this title.

The CPU's 32 MB shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for this game, but they are not as fast as newer platforms. The data shows that at 4K, where the GPU is the bottleneck, the CPU's slower memory bandwidth does not matter; the FPS is determined solely by the GPU's pixel throughput. But at 1080p, the CPU's memory latency and bandwidth can limit how quickly it can feed draw calls to the GPU. The 5800XT's 105 W TDP and 4,150 million transistors on a 74 mm² die are modest by modern standards, yet its 81st percentile ranking among all CPUs (average benchmark score 29879) shows it is a capable gaming processor, though not a top-tier one.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H scores 29868 (deltaPct 0), while the Ryzen 5 9600X scores 29713 (deltaPct 0.6), meaning the 5800XT is essentially on par with those parts in synthetic benchmarks. In Lockdown Protocol, this translates to a CPU that can drive 1080p gaming at very high frame rates but cannot push beyond the 278 FPS observed at Low settings. The CPU's boost clock of 4.80 GHz is high, but the architectural IPC of Zen 3 is lower than newer designs, which is why the 1080p results plateau rather than climbing higher.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 5800XT and RTX 5090 ranks 132nd out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 3.6% of all configurations tested. This is a strong result, but it is not at the very top, which is expected given that the CPU is a mid-range part from 2024 paired with a flagship GPU from 2025. The rank reflects the fact that the GPU is doing most of the heavy lifting; if the CPU were faster, the combo would likely rank higher, as the 1080p results show headroom that a newer processor could exploit.

The rank of 132 out of 3714 means that there are 131 combos that perform better in this game, likely featuring newer CPUs with higher single-thread performance or more cores that the game can utilize. The data does not specify what those combos are, but the implication is clear: the RTX 5090 is so powerful that it can overcome a slower CPU at higher resolutions, but at 1080p, the CPU's limitations hold the combo back from achieving the absolute highest frame rates. In practical terms, this combo is excellent for 1440p and 4K gaming, where the rank is more indicative of GPU-bound performance, and adequate for 1080p high-refresh gaming, though not at the level of a top-tier CPU pairing.

The combo's position in the 96.4th percentile of all combos suggests that most users will find this setup more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol. The rank also implies that the GPU is not being wasted; the 5800XT is capable enough to avoid severe bottlenecking at 1440p and 4K, where the FPS is 171 and 111 at High settings, respectively. For a competitive FPS player who prioritizes frame rate over visual fidelity, this combo delivers 250 FPS at 1440p Low, which is well above the threshold for high-refresh monitors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings yield an average of 278 FPS, Medium yields 244 FPS (with a minimum of 208 and maximum of 281), High yields 233 FPS, and Ultra yields 175 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 34 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is only 11 FPS, indicating that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for visual quality versus performance at this resolution. The Ultra preset takes a significant hit, dropping 58 FPS from High, which suggests that Ultra enables effects that heavily tax the GPU even at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the data shows: Low settings average 250 FPS, Medium averages 196 FPS (minimum 167, maximum 226), High averages 171 FPS, and Ultra averages 128 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with Low losing 28 FPS, Medium losing 48 FPS, High losing 62 FPS, and Ultra losing 47 FPS. Notably, the Ultra preset at 1440p (128 FPS) is close to the 4K High preset (111 FPS), suggesting that the game's Ultra settings at 1440p are nearly as demanding as High settings at 4K.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low averages 178 FPS, Medium averages 127 FPS (minimum 108, maximum 146), High averages 111 FPS, and Ultra averages 83 FPS. The 4K Low result of 178 FPS is impressive and indicates that the RTX 5090 can handle 4K at high refresh rates if the player is willing to reduce settings. However, the 4K Ultra result of 83 FPS is just below the 90 FPS threshold that many players consider smooth, and the 4K High result of 111 FPS is more playable. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 108, which is still above 60, but the wide spread between minimum and maximum (38 FPS) suggests occasional stutters during intense scenes.

The overall pattern across all resolutions shows that the RTX 5090 provides a 2x to 3x performance uplift over typical mid-range GPUs, but the CPU's influence is most felt at 1080p Low, where the 278 FPS ceiling is reached. At 4K, the CPU is essentially irrelevant, as the GPU is fully saturated.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, but at an average of 83 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is playable but not ideal for high-refresh monitors. For smoother gameplay, 4K High settings provide 111 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play with this setup?

A: The data shows 1440p Low settings deliver 250 FPS, which is likely the best balance for competitive play, offering high frame rates without the CPU bottleneck seen at 1080p.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5800XT holding back the RTX 5090?

A: At 1080p, yes; the 278 FPS cap at Low settings suggests CPU limitation. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, so the CPU is not significantly holding back performance.

Q: How much FPS is gained by lowering settings from High to Low at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Low settings average 178 FPS versus 111 FPS at High, a gain of 67 FPS, or roughly 60% more performance.

Q: What does the combo rank of 132 out of 3714 mean?

A: It means this pairing performs better than approximately 96.4% of all tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top tier for overall gaming performance.

Q: Is 32 GB of VRAM necessary for this game?

A: The RTX 5090 has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, and the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (83 FPS) shows no signs of VRAM capacity issues, so the memory pool is more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol.