Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title, presents a demanding workload that clearly separates hardware tiers. This analysis examines the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580. The data indicates a system where the legacy GPU is the primary constraint, especially at higher resolutions and settings, while the 8-core CPU provides ample headroom. The following sections break down the specific frame rates, scaling behavior, and component roles based solely on the measured data.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience in Lockdown Protocol. Across all three tested resolutions, the "Low" preset consistently delivers the highest average frame rates, while the "Ultra" preset yields the lowest. This creates a straightforward recommendation for users prioritizing smooth gameplay over visual fidelity.

At 1920x1080, the "Low" preset achieves an average of 85 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this entire combination. Moving up to "Medium" sees a substantial drop to 60 FPS average, with a measured range between 51 and 69 FPS. The "High" preset further reduces performance to 53 FPS average, and "Ultra" falls to 40 FPS. For competitive FPS play, the 1080p "Low" setting is the only option that provides a clear margin above 60 FPS, making it the most viable for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the pattern remains consistent but with lower absolute numbers. The "Low" preset averages 62 FPS, which is still playable but leaves little headroom for dips. The "Medium" preset drops to 44 FPS (ranging from 38 to 51 FPS), while "High" manages 39 FPS and "Ultra" falls to 29 FPS. The data suggests that 1440p is only comfortable on the "Low" preset, as any higher setting pushes the average below the 60 FPS threshold.

The 3840x2160 results are marginal for playability. Even the "Low" preset only achieves a 40 FPS average. The "Medium" preset averages 29 FPS (with a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS), "High" drops to 25 FPS, and "Ultra" bottoms out at 19 FPS. None of these settings provide a consistently smooth experience at 4K, indicating that this resolution is beyond the practical capabilities of this hardware for this game.

The best experience per the measured data is the 1080p "Low" preset. It is the only configuration that delivers an average frame rate (85 FPS) that is not only above 60 FPS but also provides a significant buffer, which is crucial for maintaining smoothness during intense firefights. The "Medium" preset at 1080p is a secondary option for those who wish to improve visuals, but the 60 FPS average leaves no room for error, and the 51 FPS minimum shows that dips below the refresh rate are possible.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 3384 out of 3714 total combos. This places the system in the lower percentile of tested configurations, ranking in the bottom 9% of all combinations. This low ranking is a direct reflection of the GPU's performance limitations, which are discussed in the following section.

The rank is not a measure of CPU capability. The Ryzen 7 7700 has an average benchmark score of 40081 and sits at the 87th percentile when compared against all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (average score 40048, deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Core 5 221E (average score 40144, deltaPct -0.2), are essentially performance equivalents. This indicates that the processor is a high-performing, modern component.

Conversely, the GPU's average benchmark score is 12928, placing it at the 53rd percentile against all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (avgScore 12940, deltaPct -0.1) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (avgScore 12986, deltaPct -0.4). The combination's low rank in Lockdown Protocol, despite the strong CPU, clearly points to the GPU as the bottleneck that drags the entire system down in this specific gaming workload.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the dominant factor in this system's Lockdown Protocol performance. Its specifications, while dated, explain the measured results. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1257 MHz with a boost clock of 1340 MHz, and memory runs at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). The GPU is based on the GCN 4.0 architecture (Polaris 20) and is built on a 14 nm process.

The data shows that this GPU is the primary limiting component. The frame rates at 1080p "Low" (85 FPS) suggest that the GPU is starting to become saturated, but the massive drop in performance when moving to higher resolutions and settings is a clear sign of its limited computational power. For instance, at 1080p "Ultra," the average FPS is 40, which is less than half of the "Low" setting's performance. This is a classic sign of the GPU's shading units (2304), texture units (144), and ROPs (32) being overwhelmed by the increased rendering load.

The GPU's memory configuration also plays a role. While 8 GB is a reasonable capacity, the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth can become a constraint at higher resolutions where more texture data is being fetched. The difference between 1080p and 1440p "Low" settings (85 FPS to 62 FPS) highlights how the GPU struggles with the increased pixel count. The RX 580's role is clear: it is the gatekeeper of performance, and its 2017-era architecture (released 2017-04-17) is not able to keep pace with the demands of this 2024 title at higher quality presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are as follows:

• Low: 85 FPS average.
• Medium: 60 FPS average, with a minimum of 51 and a maximum of 69.
• High: 53 FPS average.
• Ultra: 40 FPS average.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly:

• Low: 62 FPS average.
• Medium: 44 FPS average, with a minimum of 38 and a maximum of 51.
• High: 39 FPS average.
• Ultra: 29 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable:

• Low: 40 FPS average.
• Medium: 29 FPS average, with a minimum of 24 and a maximum of 33.
• High: 25 FPS average.
• Ultra: 19 FPS average.

The data reveals a consistent performance hierarchy. The "Low" preset is always the fastest, followed by "Medium," "High," and "Ultra" in that order. The gap between "Low" and "Medium" is significant, representing a 29% drop in performance at 1080p (85 to 60 FPS), a 29% drop at 1440p (62 to 44 FPS), and a 27.5% drop at 4K (40 to 29 FPS). This indicates that the "Medium" preset introduces a substantial additional workload that the RX 580 cannot handle efficiently.

The minimum FPS data, available only for the "Medium" preset, shows that frame pacing is a concern. At 1080p, the 51 FPS minimum shows dips below the 60 FPS average, while at 1440p, the 38 FPS minimum can lead to noticeable stutters. At 4K, the 24 FPS minimum confirms that the experience is not smooth. These minimum frame times are crucial for understanding the playability, as they represent the worst-case scenario during gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The performance degradation from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the nature of the bottleneck. The data shows that the system is heavily GPU-limited. When moving from 1080p to 1440p on the "Low" preset, the average FPS drops from 85 to 62, a reduction of 27%. Scaling further to 4K, the average FPS drops to 40, a further 35% reduction from the 1440p figure and a 53% reduction from the 1080p baseline.

This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would be more similar across resolutions, as the CPU workload does not change significantly with resolution. Instead, we see a clear and consistent decline in FPS as the number of pixels increases. This confirms that the RX 580's fill rate and shader throughput are being exhausted by the higher resolutions.

The scaling is more pronounced at higher settings. For example, at 1080p "Ultra" the average is 40 FPS, and at 4K "Ultra" it is 19 FPS, a 52.5% drop. The fact that the "Ultra" preset at 1080p (40 FPS) is nearly identical to the "Low" preset at 4K (40 FPS) further illustrates that the GPU is the limiting factor. It suggests that the GPU has a maximum rendering capacity, and increasing either resolution or settings will push it to that limit. This behavior indicates that users should lower resolution first to gain FPS, as the CPU has the headroom to handle the frame generation if the GPU could render faster.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with the "Low" preset achieves the highest average frame rate at 85 FPS. This is the only configuration that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, making it the best choice for smooth gameplay.

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K?

A: The measured data shows that 4K performance is marginal. The "Low" preset averages 40 FPS, "Medium" averages 29 FPS, and "Ultra" averages 19 FPS. None of these results provide a consistently smooth experience, indicating 4K is not recommended.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 has an average benchmark score of 40081. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, scores 40048, showing a deltaPct of 0.1. The Intel Core 5 221E scores 40144, with a deltaPct of -0.2. The CPU is ranked in the 87th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: Is the system more limited by the CPU or GPU?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The frame rates drop significantly with increasing resolution (e.g., 85 FPS at 1080p "Low" to 40 FPS at 4K "Low"), a classic sign of a GPU limitation. The CPU's high benchmark ranking and the consistent FPS drop across resolutions confirm this.

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p on Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS for 2560x1440 on the "Medium" preset is 44 FPS. The data also shows a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS for this configuration.

Q: What are the differences between the "Low" and "Ultra" presets at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the "Low" preset averages 85 FPS, while the "Ultra" preset averages 40 FPS. This represents a significant performance cost of 45 FPS (a 53% reduction) for the higher visual quality settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is a powerful 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture (codenamed Raphael). It operates on the AMD Socket AM5 platform and has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The CPU's benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18760 and a single-core score of 1930. It ranks in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40081.

In the context of Lockdown Protocol, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The measured FPS data shows that the system's performance is dictated by the GPU. The CPU's high multi-threaded performance (8 cores, 16 threads) ensures that it can handle the game's logic and physics without becoming a bottleneck. The fact that the frame rates scale so dramatically with resolution is a clear indication that the CPU has the headroom to feed the GPU with data, but the GPU cannot render the frames fast enough.

The CPU's single-threaded performance is also strong, with a Passmark single-thread score of 4063 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2525. This is important for an FPS title like Lockdown Protocol, which often relies on a single main thread for game logic. The CPU's high boost clock and efficient Zen 4 architecture ensure that this main thread is well-served. However, the data suggests that even this strong single-thread performance cannot compensate for the GPU's limitations. The system is firmly in a GPU-bound state, and the Ryzen 7 7700's role is to provide a stable, high-performance foundation that is ready for a more capable graphics card.