Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol’s measured performance with the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and Intel Arc B370 shows a configuration that is heavily constrained by the graphics processor. The data indicates a playable experience only at lower resolutions and settings, with the system’s frame rate scaling directly with the graphical workload rather than the CPU’s substantial compute capabilities.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K in Lockdown Protocol is steep and consistent across all settings, confirming that the Intel Arc B370 is the primary bottleneck. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 49 at 1920x1080 to 36 at 2560x1440, then to 23 at 3840x2160. This represents a 53% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K at High settings. The scaling is even more dramatic at Ultra, where the average FPS drops from 37 at 1080p to 27 at 1440p, and finally to 18 at 4K—a 51% loss from the baseline resolution.

Lower settings show a similar pattern but with slightly better absolute numbers. At Low, the average FPS goes from 80 at 1080p to 58 at 1440p and 38 at 4K, a 52.5% drop from 1080p to 4K. The consistency of this percentage across presets indicates that resolution scaling is purely GPU-bound; the Ryzen 7 7700X’s 8 cores and 16 threads are not being taxed by this FPS title. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 for the Arc B370 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, which aligns with the observed behavior: the GPU’s fill rate and shading power simply cannot keep up with increasing pixel counts.

The data suggests that playing at 4K is not viable for this combination. Even at Low settings, the 38 FPS average at 3840x2160 is below the threshold for a smooth experience in a competitive FPS. The transition from 1440p to 4K costs roughly 33-35% of the frame rate at every preset, which is a typical penalty for a GPU with only 1280 shading units and 20 ROPs. Users should treat 1440p as the practical ceiling for this combo, and even then, only with settings adjustments.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience in Lockdown Protocol. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 80 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches high-refresh-rate territory. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 57 FPS, while High drops to 49 FPS and Ultra to 37 FPS. For competitive play, the Low preset at 1080p is the only row that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the situation tightens considerably. Low averages 58 FPS, which is borderline acceptable, but Medium drops to 42 FPS, High to 36 FPS, and Ultra to 27 FPS. The minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium is 35, which means there will be noticeable hitches during intense firefights. Given the data, the best balance at 1440p is the Low preset, as it is the only row that stays above 55 FPS on average.

For 4K, none of the presets are truly playable for a fast-paced FPS. Low averages 38 FPS, Medium 27 FPS, High 23 FPS, and Ultra 18 FPS. The recommendation is to avoid 4K entirely with this GPU unless the user accepts a slideshow-like experience. The measured data shows that the jump from Low to Medium costs roughly 11 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and 11 FPS at 4K, which is a significant penalty for marginal visual gains on a GPU with this low a performance ceiling.

The practical advice from the benchmarks is to run Lockdown Protocol at 1080p with the Low preset for the highest frame rate, or at 1440p Low if visual fidelity is more important than raw FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p is the highest quality setting that maintains an average above 55 FPS, making it the best "quality vs. speed" compromise for users with 60Hz monitors.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the definitive limiting factor in this configuration. Its specifications—1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, 20 ROPs, and 10 ray tracing cores—are extremely modest for a modern gaming GPU. The boost clock of 2400 MHz and base clock of 300 MHz do little to compensate for the low core count. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s are the numbers that matter for Lockdown Protocol, and they explain why the frame rates are so low.

The memory situation is unusual: the Arc B370 uses System Shared memory, with bandwidth that is "System Dependent." This means the GPU is borrowing bandwidth from the CPU’s DDR5 memory, which is shared between the 8-core processor and the graphics engine. In practice, this creates additional latency and bandwidth contention, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU needs to fetch more texture data. The 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 places the GPU at the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rivals being the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (deltaPct -0.2) and ATI Radeon HD 5770 (deltaPct -0.5). These are legacy parts from over a decade ago, which contextualizes the Arc B370’s performance tier.

The GPU’s 25W TDP and IGP form factor (bus interface: IGP, slot width: IGP) indicate this is an integrated solution, likely embedded in a mobile or compact platform. The lack of a dedicated power connector and the "Portable Device Dependent" display outputs reinforce this. For Lockdown Protocol, the GPU’s 20 ROPs are the primary constraint at 4K, as the pixel fill rate of 48.00 GPixel/s is insufficient to drive a 3840x2160 buffer at acceptable speeds. The RT cores are present (10 of them), but the game’s measured results do not suggest heavy ray tracing usage; the raw rasterization performance is the bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured dataset for this combo is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Ultra: 37 FPS average
• High: 49 FPS average
• Medium: 57 FPS average (min 48, max 65)
• Low: 80 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Ultra: 27 FPS average
• High: 36 FPS average
• Medium: 42 FPS average (min 35, max 48)
• Low: 58 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Ultra: 18 FPS average
• High: 23 FPS average
• Medium: 27 FPS average (min 23, max 31)
• Low: 38 FPS average

The Medium preset is the only row in the entire dataset that includes minimum and maximum FPS values, which allows for a closer look at frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range is 48 to 65 FPS, a spread of 17 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 35 to 48 FPS, a spread of 13 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 23 to 31 FPS, a spread of 8 FPS. The narrowing spread at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is consistently saturated, whereas at 1080p there is more headroom for occasional spikes, likely when the CPU briefly takes over.

The delta between Low and Ultra is substantial at every resolution: 43 FPS at 1080p (80 vs 37), 31 FPS at 1440p (58 vs 27), and 20 FPS at 4K (38 vs 18). This indicates that the Ultra preset is adding significant shading and texture work that the Arc B370 cannot handle. The Ryzen 7 7700X’s single-thread score of 4190 in PassMark and 1987 in Cinebench R23 single-core suggest that the CPU is ready to feed frames, but the GPU simply cannot render them fast enough to utilize that headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database for Lockdown Protocol, this specific combination of AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2611 out of 2828 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. The combo rank is a direct reflection of the GPU’s limitations; the CPU alone, with an average benchmark score of 35909 and an 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs, is more than capable for this game. The nearest CPU rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (deltaPct 0.3), Intel Core 7 250H (deltaPct 0.5), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 (deltaPct 0.5), and Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (deltaPct 0.7), all of which have nearly identical average scores, meaning the CPU is not the differentiating factor here.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark suite are ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (deltaPct -0.2), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (deltaPct -0.5), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (deltaPct -0.7), and AMD FirePro M2000 (deltaPct 1.4). These deltaPct values are all within 1.5% of the Arc B370’s score, indicating that the GPU is performing at the level of a mid-range graphics card from roughly 2010-2012. For a game released in 2024, this places the combo at a severe disadvantage. The rank of 2611 out of 2828 means there are only 217 tested combos that perform worse, and most of those likely pair similarly weak GPUs with much older CPUs.

Data indicates that if a user were to swap the GPU for something with a higher 3DMark score, the combo rank would improve dramatically, since the CPU’s 85th percentile standing would then contribute positively to the overall ranking. As it stands, the Arc B370 holds the entire system back, making this combo suitable only for esports titles at 1080p Low, not for a modern FPS like Lockdown Protocol at higher settings.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 with the Low preset is the only configuration that averages 80 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 57 FPS, which is the highest quality setting that remains above 55 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low preset (58 FPS) is viable; all other settings at 1440p fall below 42 FPS.

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

A: Technically yes, but not playably. The best 4K result is 38 FPS on the Low preset, with Ultra dropping to 18 FPS. The minimum FPS recorded at 4K Medium is 23, which indicates severe stuttering. The data suggests avoiding 4K entirely for this game.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The GPU is overwhelmingly the bottleneck. The Intel Arc B370 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. In contrast, the Ryzen 7 7700X ranks in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. The frame rates scale almost linearly with GPU workload, indicating the CPU has ample headroom.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370’s average benchmark score of 1184 is within 1.5% of the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, deltaPct -0.2), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, deltaPct -0.5), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, deltaPct -0.7), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, deltaPct 1.4). This places it in the performance class of legacy integrated and entry-level discrete GPUs.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 80 FPS while Ultra averages 37 FPS, a difference of 43 FPS. This is a 54% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 7700X’s performance affect the gaming results?

A: The CPU’s multi-threaded score of 19088 in Cinebench R23 and single-thread score of 4190 in PassMark are strong, but the game’s frame rates are consistently low across all settings. This indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor; the GPU’s low fill rate and shading capacity determine the final FPS.