Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 7 7700 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

This combination of an AMD Ryzen 7 7700 processor paired with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics card produces a system that ranks 3199th out of 3714 tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the lower percentile of configurations. The data reveals a significant imbalance between the two components: the Ryzen 7 7700 sits in the 87th percentile among all CPUs, while the GTX 1660 Ti manages only the 41st percentile among GPUs, suggesting the graphics card is the primary constraint in this build. The measured results across four resolutions and four quality presets tell a story of a CPU that has far more headroom than the GPU can utilize, particularly as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 3199 out of 3714 tested pairings places this system in the bottom 14% of all configurations tested for Lockdown Protocol, which is a surprisingly low standing given the individual component credentials. The Ryzen 7 7700's performance percentile of 87 indicates it outperforms the vast majority of CPUs in general benchmark scenarios, yet this advantage does not translate into a competitive gaming position. The GTX 1660 Ti's 41st percentile ranking among all GPUs is the more telling statistic, as it explains why this combo falls so far down the list despite having a top-tier processor.

The delta between the CPU's capability and the GPU's output is stark. When examining the nearest rival CPUs, the Ryzen 7 7700's average benchmark score of 40081 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (40048, a 0.1% difference), the Intel Core 5 221E (40144, -0.2%), the AMD Ryzen 9 270 (40246, -0.4%), and the Intel Core i9-13905H (40313, -0.6%). All four rivals are within 0.6% of each other, confirming the CPU is not the bottleneck in this pairing. Similarly, the GTX 1660 Ti's average score of 7723 is closely matched by the AMD Radeon 540 (7673, 0.7% ahead), AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 (7580, 1.9%), AMD Radeon R7 250 (7557, 2.2%), and Intel Arc A310 (7550, 2.3%). These GPU rivals are all within 2.3% of the GTX 1660 Ti, meaning the graphics card's performance class is firmly in the entry-level tier, which directly explains the low combo ranking.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Its base clock runs at 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, while the memory operates at 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective speed. The GPU contains 1536 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines, producing a pixel rate of 84.96 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 169.9 GTexel/s. Floating-point performance is rated at 5.437 TFLOPS for FP32 and 10.87 TFLOPS for FP16 with a 2:1 ratio.

In Lockdown Protocol, these specifications manifest clearly in the measured results. At 3840x2160 Ultra settings, the GPU manages only 27 FPS average, which is barely playable. The 6 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient for the game's demands across all tested settings, as no VRAM-related stuttering or minimum frame rate collapses are evident in the data. However, the 192-bit memory bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors at higher resolutions, where the GPU must push more pixels with the same memory subsystem. The lack of ray tracing or tensor cores in this Turing-generation GPU means it relies purely on rasterization performance, which explains why the 4K Ultra preset falls to sub-30 FPS territory.

FAQ

Q: Is the GTX 1660 Ti capable of running Lockdown Protocol at 1080p?

A: Yes, the measured data shows the GTX 1660 Ti achieves 122 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings, 87 FPS at Medium, 76 FPS at High, and 57 FPS at Ultra, all of which are playable frame rates.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 7700 compare to its closest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700's average benchmark score of 40081 is within 0.6% of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, Intel Core 5 221E, AMD Ryzen 9 270, and Intel Core i9-13905H, making all five processors effectively equivalent in general performance.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 Medium produces 64 FPS average with a minimum of 54 FPS, which balances visual quality with smooth gameplay, while 1920x1080 Medium offers 87 FPS for those prioritizing frame rate.

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck the CPU in this game?

A: Yes, the CPU's 87th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 41st percentile, combined with the combo's 3199th rank out of 3714, clearly indicates the GTX 1660 Ti is the limiting component in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 Ti perform against its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 Ti's average benchmark score of 7723 is within 2.3% of the AMD Radeon 540, AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100, AMD Radeon R7 250, and Intel Arc A310, showing these five GPUs cluster tightly in performance.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Only at reduced settings — the data shows 58 FPS at 3840x2160 Low, but this drops to 36 FPS at High and 27 FPS at Ultra, making 4K viable only with lower quality presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rate data covers four resolutions and four quality settings, providing a comprehensive view of performance. At 1920x1080, the GTX 1660 Ti delivers 122 FPS on Low, 87 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 74 and maximum of 100), 76 FPS on High, and 57 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show that even at 1080p, the Ultra preset drops below 60 FPS, suggesting the GPU struggles with the highest quality settings even at the most common resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance scales downward as expected. Low settings produce 90 FPS, Medium yields 64 FPS (minimum 54, maximum 73), High drops to 56 FPS, and Ultra falls to 42 FPS. The 1440p Medium result is notable for maintaining a minimum above 50 FPS, which many players consider the threshold for acceptable competitive play in FPS titles. At 1440p High, the average of 56 FPS is borderline, while Ultra at 42 FPS is likely too choppy for fast-paced gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become severe. Low settings achieve 58 FPS, Medium drops to 41 FPS (minimum 35, maximum 47), High falls to 36 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 27 FPS. The 4K Low result is playable, but anything above Medium at this resolution will produce noticeable stuttering during intense combat sequences. The minimum frame rates at 4K Medium (35 FPS) and the absence of minimum data for other 4K presets indicate the GPU is pushed to its absolute limits at this resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU-bound nature of this system. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 (122 FPS) to 2560x1440 (90 FPS) represents a 26% drop, and further to 3840x2160 (58 FPS) is another 36% reduction from 1440p. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU that is saturated by pixel throughput demands, as the CPU would not show such dramatic declines when resolution increases.

At Medium settings, the drop from 1080p (87 FPS) to 1440p (64 FPS) is 26%, and from 1440p to 4K (41 FPS) is 36% — nearly identical percentages to the Low preset. High settings show 1080p at 76 FPS, 1440p at 56 FPS (26% drop), and 4K at 36 FPS (36% drop from 1440p). Ultra settings follow the same pattern: 1080p at 57 FPS, 1440p at 42 FPS (26% drop), and 4K at 27 FPS (36% drop). The consistency of these scaling percentages across all quality presets strongly indicates the GPU is the sole limiting factor, as CPU-bound systems would show smaller percentage drops at higher resolutions.

This scaling behavior implies that the Ryzen 7 7700 is not contributing to performance limitations at any resolution. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, are more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol's demands, leaving the GTX 1660 Ti as the exclusive bottleneck. The 36% drop from 1440p to 4K at every quality setting is a textbook example of GPU-limited scaling, where the additional pixel count overwhelms the graphics card's shading units and memory bandwidth.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing frame rate at 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 122 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play. However, the Medium preset at 87 FPS (minimum 74) offers a better balance between visual quality and performance, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS with improved graphics. The High preset at 76 FPS also remains above the 60 FPS threshold, making it a viable option for those who prefer richer visuals without sacrificing smoothness. The Ultra preset at 57 FPS falls below 60 FPS, so it is not recommended for fast-paced FPS action at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset stands out with 64 FPS average and a 54 FPS minimum, which is the only preset at this resolution that maintains playable frame rates throughout. Low settings at 90 FPS provide the smoothest experience but with reduced visual fidelity, while High at 56 FPS and Ultra at 42 FPS both drop below the 60 FPS target. For 1440p gaming, Medium is the sweet spot, offering a 26% visual quality improvement over Low while keeping frame rates in the playable range.

For 3840x2160, only the Low preset (58 FPS) achieves playable frame rates, with Medium at 41 FPS and High at 36 FPS being marginal at best. Ultra at 27 FPS is not recommended for any gameplay scenario. Given these results, the best overall experience across the entire system is 1920x1080 Medium (87 FPS) or 2560x1440 Medium (64 FPS), depending on whether the player prioritizes visual clarity or frame rate consistency.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is a Zen 4 architecture processor built on TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It contains 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache, totaling 6,570 million transistors on a 71 mm² die. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth, along with PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes. Its 65 W TDP makes it a power-efficient option, and it includes integrated Radeon Graphics as a fallback.

In benchmark tests, the Ryzen 7 7700 demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18760 and single-core score of 1930. The 3DMark results show scaling from 1049 in single-thread to 8484 in 16-thread tests, indicating excellent thread scaling efficiency. PassMark tests reveal particularly strong integer math performance (110295), floating-point math (66246), and data compression (405084), with a multithread score of 34470 and single-thread score of 4063.

Despite this impressive CPU performance, the measured FPS data in Lockdown Protocol shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking at any resolution or settings combination. The consistent 26% and 36% scaling drops between resolutions across all quality presets indicate the GPU is always the limiting factor. The 87th percentile CPU ranking versus 41st percentile GPU ranking quantifies this imbalance, and the combo's 3199th rank out of 3714 confirms that the GTX 1660 Ti prevents the Ryzen 7 7700 from demonstrating its full potential in this game. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are likely underutilized in Lockdown Protocol, as the frame rates are dictated entirely by the graphics card's pixel processing capabilities.