Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 pairing delivers a formidable Lockdown Protocol experience, with the data showing a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but reveals a strong CPU foundation at 1080p. The benchmark results indicate a configuration capable of pushing high refresh rates across the board, though the scaling patterns clearly define where each component's workload begins and ends.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo reveals a classic resolution scaling curve, with the most substantial performance drop occurring between 1440p and 4K. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 sees average FPS fall from 319 to 270, a reduction of 49 frames. Pushing further to 3840x2160 drops the average to 174, meaning the jump from 1440p to 4K costs 96 frames per second — nearly double the penalty of the 1080p to 1440p step.

This pattern intensifies at higher quality presets. With High settings, the system produces 228 FPS at 1080p, 167 FPS at 1440p, and 108 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K here represents a 35% performance reduction, while the 1080p to 1440p drop is 27%. The Ultra preset shows the steepest absolute decline: 171 FPS at 1080p, 125 FPS at 1440p, and 81 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result at 81 FPS average indicates that even this flagship GPU is being pushed to its limits by the highest quality settings at maximum resolution.

The data strongly suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, particularly with Low and Medium settings, the system is not fully GPU-limited. The 319 FPS Low result at 1080p, compared to 270 FPS at 1440p, shows the RTX 4090 has headroom that the CPU must feed. Conversely, the 4K results — where the gap between Low (174 FPS) and High (108 FPS) is 66 frames — demonstrate that the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as pixel count rises. The Medium preset at 4K, with an average of 124 FPS and a minimum of 105, represents a balanced point where the GPU's 24 GB frame buffer and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are being utilized effectively.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 7700 brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth provide the foundation for feeding the RTX 4090 in this FPS title. Synthetic benchmarks show this processor achieving a 3DMark 16-thread score of 8484, a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18760, and a single-core score of 1930.

The CPU's role in Lockdown Protocol becomes evident when examining the Low settings results. At 1080p Low, the system hits 319 FPS average, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. This figure, compared to the 270 FPS at 1440p Low, suggests that at 1080p the CPU is doing significant work to maintain frame delivery. The processor's 87th percentile ranking against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40081, places it in the upper tier of gaming processors.

The nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks highlight the 7700's positioning. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 scores 40048 (0.1% delta), the Intel Core 5 221E scores 40144 (-0.2%), the AMD Ryzen 9 270 scores 40246 (-0.4%), and the Intel Core i9-13905H scores 40313 (-0.6%). These deltas are negligible, indicating that the 7700 sits in a performance band where no single rival holds a meaningful advantage. For Lockdown Protocol specifically, the 8-core/16-thread configuration appears well-suited, as the game's frame rates at 1080p and 1440p Low settings (319 and 270 FPS) show the CPU can sustain high throughput without becoming a bottleneck.

The processor's boost behavior, reaching 5.30 GHz, is critical for maintaining the high average FPS figures observed. The PassMark single-thread score of 4063 and Geekbench single-core score of 2525 suggest strong per-core performance, which FPS titles typically leverage. The 7700's 65 W TDP and 5 nm process from TSMC indicate an efficient design that can sustain these clocks under gaming loads.

GPU Role

The RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, with specifications that explain its ability to drive high frame rates across all tested resolutions. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus delivers 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, while the AD102 chip contains 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The boost clock of 2520 MHz and base clock of 2235 MHz, combined with 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, position this GPU at the top of the consumer stack.

The GPU's role in Lockdown Protocol is most clearly demonstrated by the 4K results. At 4K Ultra, the system averages 81 FPS, while 4K High achieves 108 FPS and 4K Low reaches 174 FPS. The scaling between these presets shows the GPU's compute resources being taxed differently based on quality settings. The Medium preset at 4K, with a 105 FPS minimum and 142 FPS maximum, illustrates the GPU's ability to maintain playable frame rates even when the engine's visual complexity increases.

The RTX 4090's 88th percentile ranking against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60347, confirms its elite status. The nearest rivals show an interesting pattern: the Intel Arc Pro A60 matches at 60326 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 trails at 60140 (0.3%), the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M leads at 61896 (-2.5%), and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 sits at 58657 (2.9%). These are workstation-class GPUs, and the RTX 4090's gaming-focused architecture delivers the frame rates observed in this test.

The GPU's 450 W TDP and 16-pin power connector indicate the power delivery required to sustain these clocks. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223 and PassMark G3D score of 38194 provide synthetic evidence of the GPU's capability, but the Lockdown Protocol data shows real-world performance that aligns with these expectations. At 1080p High, the 228 FPS average suggests the GPU is not fully utilized, while at 4K Ultra, the 81 FPS average indicates the GPU is working near its maximum capacity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for this combo reveals consistent performance patterns across all twelve tested configurations. At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 174 FPS, Medium 124 FPS (min 105, max 142), High 108 FPS, and Ultra 81 FPS. The Medium preset is the only 4K configuration with recorded minimum and maximum values, showing a 37 FPS variance between the 105 FPS floor and 142 FPS ceiling.

At 2560x1440, the system produces: Low 270 FPS, Medium 192 FPS (min 163, max 220), High 167 FPS, and Ultra 125 FPS. The Medium preset's 57 FPS variance at this resolution is larger than at 4K, indicating more frame pacing variability during intense scenes. The 1440p results show a clear hierarchy: Low to Medium costs 78 FPS, Medium to High costs 25 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 42 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the numbers are: Low 319 FPS, Medium 261 FPS (min 222, max 301), High 228 FPS, and Ultra 171 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset shows a 79 FPS variance between minimum and maximum, the largest fluctuation in the entire dataset. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 148 FPS, representing a 46% reduction in performance purely from quality settings.

The stepwise progression across resolutions at each setting shows consistent scaling. For Low, the sequence is 319 → 270 → 174 FPS. For Medium, it is 261 → 192 → 124 FPS. For High, it is 228 → 167 → 108 FPS. For Ultra, it is 171 → 125 → 81 FPS. The percentage drops between resolutions are largest at Low settings, where the 1440p to 4K transition costs 96 FPS (36%), and smallest at Ultra, where the same transition costs 44 FPS (35%).

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 108th out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 3% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the synergy between the 8-core CPU and the flagship GPU, a pairing that clearly prioritizes high frame rate delivery.

The rank of 108 out of 3714 means 3606 other combinations scored lower, while 107 achieved better performance in this game. The data indicates that the combos ranking higher likely feature even more powerful CPUs, as the RTX 4090 is already the top consumer GPU in the market. The 7700's position at the 87th CPU percentile and the 4090's at the 88th GPU percentile suggest that this combo sits near the upper boundary of what is achievable with current hardware.

The measured frame rates support this high ranking. At 1080p Low, the 319 FPS average is competitive with any configuration, while the 4K Ultra result of 81 FPS shows that even this top-tier combo cannot completely overcome the demands of maximum settings at 4K. The ranking indicates that for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing delivers exceptional performance, with the CPU providing enough throughput to keep the GPU fed at lower resolutions and the GPU taking over as the primary constraint at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The 2560x1440 Medium preset offers a strong balance, delivering 192 FPS average with a 163 FPS minimum and 220 FPS maximum. This configuration provides high frame rates while maintaining visual quality, as the 4K Medium result of 124 FPS shows the GPU being pushed harder at higher resolution.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 7700 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The 7700 averages 40081 across all benchmarks, which is 0.1% above the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (40048), 0.2% below the Intel Core 5 221E (40144), 0.4% below the AMD Ryzen 9 270 (40246), and 0.6% below the Intel Core i9-13905H (40313). These differences are effectively negligible.

Q: Is this combo CPU-bound or GPU-bound in Lockdown Protocol?

A: At 1080p and 1440p with Low settings, the data suggests CPU limitation, as the 319 FPS and 270 FPS results show the GPU has headroom. At 4K, the system becomes GPU-bound, with the 174 FPS Low result dropping to 81 FPS at Ultra, indicating the RTX 4090 is the limiting factor.

Q: What kind of frame rate variance does the Medium preset show across resolutions?

A: At 1080p, the Medium preset ranges from 222 FPS minimum to 301 FPS maximum. At 1440p, it ranges from 163 to 220 FPS. At 4K, it ranges from 105 to 142 FPS. The variance decreases as resolution increases, from 79 FPS at 1080p to 57 FPS at 1440p to 37 FPS at 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's benchmark performance compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4090 averages 60347, which is essentially tied with the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326, 0% delta), 0.3% above the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60140), 2.5% below the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61896), and 2.9% above the AMD Radeon PRO V710 (58657).

Q: What is the biggest performance gap between quality settings at any resolution?

A: The largest gap is at 1080p, where Low settings produce 319 FPS and Ultra produces 171 FPS, a difference of 148 FPS. At 1440p, the gap is 145 FPS (270 to 125), and at 4K, the gap is 93 FPS (174 to 81).