Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol — AMD Ryzen 7 7700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

This pairing combines AMD's 8-core Zen 4 desktop processor with NVIDIA's flagship Ada Lovelace GPU, and in Lockdown Protocol the combination ranks 27th out of 1,637 tested combos. The measured frame rates show a system that can push well past 300 FPS at 1080p Low, yet still holds above 79 FPS at 4K Ultra — a wide operating envelope that makes this combo suitable for both competitive and visually demanding play.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Lockdown Protocol?

A: This CPU+GPU pairing ranks 27th out of 1,637 tested combinations in the game's benchmark database, placing it in the top 2% of all recorded configs.

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

A: The 7700X sits within 0.8% of its nearest competitors. It trails the AMD EPYC 4244P by 0.8% and the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H by 0.8%, while leading the Intel Core i5-13500 by 0.4% and the Intel Core i7-12800HX by 0.5% in average benchmark score.

Q: What kind of frame rates can this combo deliver at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, measured average FPS ranges from 172 at Ultra settings to 330.9 at Low settings. Medium produces 261.4 FPS and High produces 229 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 4090 show weakness relative to its GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4090's average benchmark score of 66,473 places it within 1.3% of its nearest rivals. It trails the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 by 1.3% and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 by 0.9%, while leading the NVIDIA Tesla T4 by 0.4% and the NVIDIA Tesla P40 by 0.5%.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance scale?

A: The 7700X scores 8,859 in 3DMark 16-thread tests versus 1,090 in single-thread tests, showing strong scaling across its 8 cores and 16 threads. Cinebench R23 multicore hits 30,325 while single-core reaches 4,281.

Q: Is the GPU memory capacity a concern for this game?

A: With 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus delivering 1.01 TB/s bandwidth, the RTX 4090 provides ample memory resources. Lockdown Protocol's highest measured load at 4K Ultra still yields 79.3 FPS average, suggesting no memory-related bottleneck.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. Base clock is 4.50 GHz with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, backed by 32 MB of shared L3 cache plus 1 MB L2 per core and 64 KB L1 per core. This is a Raphael-series chip on the AMD Socket AM5 platform, supporting DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is less stressed. The 1080p Low result of 330.9 FPS average requires the processor to feed frames at an extremely high rate. The 7700X's single-thread score of 1,090 in 3DMark and 4,281 in Cinebench R23 single-core indicates strong per-thread performance that helps maintain high minimum frame delivery in an FPS title.

Multi-threaded capability matters for background tasks and game logic. The 7700X posts 8,859 in 3DMark 16-thread and 30,325 in Cinebench R23 multicore, with a Geekbench multicore score of 15,538. These numbers place the CPU at the 89th percentile among all tested processors, and its average benchmark score of 34,313 sits within 0.8% of four close rivals — the Intel Core i5-13500 at 34,175, the Intel Core i7-12800HX at 34,136, the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H at 34,584, and the AMD EPYC 4244P at 34,599.

The 105 W TDP and unlocked multiplier allow sustained operation at boost clocks in gaming workloads. The 6,570 million transistors on a 71 mm² die reflect a dense, efficient design that keeps thermals manageable during extended sessions. For Lockdown Protocol specifically, the CPU's ability to maintain high boost clocks across all 8 cores appears sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 4090 at 1080p, where the GPU is capable of far more than typical monitor refresh rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD102 chip, containing 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. Its 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs deliver raw throughput of 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s. The GPU runs at a base clock of 2235 MHz and boosts to 2520 MHz.

Memory configuration is a defining strength: 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth and 21 Gbps effective memory speed. That capacity and bandwidth become relevant when Lockdown Protocol is set to 4K Ultra, where the card still averages 79.3 FPS. The 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing and DLSS features, though the measured data here reflects native rendering without upscaling.

The RTX 4090's benchmark profile shows a passmark G3D score of 38,194 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9,223. Geekbench OpenCL reaches 317,684 while Vulkan hits 270,615. These results place the GPU at the 91st percentile among all tested graphics cards. Its average benchmark score of 66,473 is within 1.3% of four rivals: the NVIDIA Tesla T4 at 66,733, the NVIDIA Tesla P40 at 66,127, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 at 67,097, and the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 at 67,320.

The card's 450 W TDP and triple-slot cooler require an 850 W suggested PSU with a single 16-pin connector. PCIe 4.0 x16 interface provides sufficient bandwidth for game data transfer. Display outputs include one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a connections, supporting high refresh rate monitors at 1440p and 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the 1,637 tested CPU+GPU combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing holds position 27. That places it in the 98.4th percentile of all recorded configs, a result consistent with the individual component rankings — the CPU at the 89th percentile and GPU at the 91st percentile among their respective categories.

The rank reflects that Lockdown Protocol scales well with both processor and graphics hardware. A CPU that only reaches the 89th percentile might ordinarily limit a top-tier GPU, but the 7700X's strong single-thread performance and 5.40 GHz boost clock appear sufficient to keep the RTX 4090 fed. The GPU's 91st percentile standing is closer to the combo's overall 27th-place finish, suggesting the graphics card is the primary driver of this ranking.

Compared to the nearest rival combos, this pairing's edge comes from the GPU. The RTX 4090's nearest GPU rivals are primarily workstation or datacenter cards (Tesla T4, Tesla P40, Quadro P6000, Radeon Pro Vega 56) that lack gaming-optimized drivers and features. In a gaming context, the RTX 4090's advantages in RT cores and tensor cores translate to better real-world FPS than raw benchmark deltas of 0.4% to 1.3% might suggest.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how this combo allocates work between CPU and GPU as resolution changes. At 1920x1080 Low, the system averages 330.9 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 269.3 FPS, a 18.6% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, average FPS falls to 173.1 — a 47.7% drop from 1080p Low. This scaling pattern indicates the GPU becomes progressively more stressed as pixel count increases.

The settings-based scaling tells a similar story. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces average FPS from 330.9 to 172, a 48.0% penalty. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 127.6 from Low's 269.3, a 52.6% penalty. At 4K, Ultra produces 79.3 FPS versus 173.1 at Low, a 54.2% penalty. The increasing percentage drop at higher resolutions confirms the GPU is the limiting component — CPU load stays relatively constant while GPU work grows with both resolution and settings.

The gap between Medium and High settings at each resolution is consistent: roughly 32 FPS at 1080p (261.4 vs 229), 26 FPS at 1440p (195.1 vs 169.3), and 13 FPS at 4K (122.8 vs 110.1). This narrower spread at 4K suggests the GPU is approaching its throughput ceiling, where each additional setting tier costs more performance proportionally.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings average 330.9 FPS, Medium 261.4 FPS, High 229 FPS, and Ultra 172 FPS. These figures indicate that even at Ultra, the system exceeds 144 Hz refresh rates, making it suitable for high-speed competitive play on standard monitors.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the GPU working harder. Low averages 269.3 FPS, Medium 195.1 FPS, High 169.3 FPS, and Ultra 127.6 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result still clears 120 FPS, which pairs well with high refresh rate QHD displays.

At 3840x2160, the resolution demands become evident. Low settings produce 173.1 FPS average, Medium 122.8 FPS, High 110.1 FPS, and Ultra 79.3 FPS. The 4K Ultra figure sits below 80 FPS, meaning players targeting 4K at maximum settings would need to accept frame rates below 100 FPS or enable upscaling features.

The full dataset shows no min or max FPS values recorded, so only average frame rates are available for analysis. Across all 12 measured configurations, the spread from fastest (1080p Low at 330.9 FPS) to slowest (4K Ultra at 79.3 FPS) represents a 4.2x performance range. This wide range confirms the combo's flexibility: it can deliver esports-level frame rates at 1080p or maintain playable performance at 4K with reduced settings.