Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D + Intel Arc B390

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D paired with the Intel Arc B390 in Lockdown Protocol produces a heavily GPU-bound experience, where the processor's 8 cores and 16 threads are largely left waiting on an integrated graphics solution that ranks in the bottom percentile of all GPUs. This combo sits at rank 2512 out of 2828 tested configurations, placing it in the bottom 11% of all combinations, and the frame rate data clearly shows that the Arc B390 is the limiting factor at every resolution and settings level tested.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a system where the GPU is the bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 88 FPS, but that drops to 65 FPS at 1440p and further to 42 FPS at 4K. This represents a 52% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the Arc B390's rendering capabilities are being saturated well before the CPU's potential is reached.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at higher settings. At High settings, the frame rate falls from 55 FPS at 1080p to 40 FPS at 1440p, then to 26 FPS at 4K — a 53% drop from 1080p to 4K. Medium settings show a similar trajectory: 63 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K, with the 4K result being exactly half of the 1080p figure. Ultra settings are the most demanding, starting at 41 FPS at 1080p, falling to 30 FPS at 1440p, and collapsing to 19 FPS at 4K — a 54% reduction across the resolution range.

What this scaling data suggests is that the Arc B390's fill rate and shading capacity are the primary constraints. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are simply insufficient to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions, particularly when quality settings increase the per-pixel workload. The fact that the 4K-to-1080p ratio remains remarkably consistent across all four settings presets — roughly a 48-54% performance hit — indicates that the GPU is operating at its compute ceiling regardless of the quality preset chosen.

Interestingly, the 1440p results at Low (65 FPS) and the 1080p results at High (55 FPS) suggest that resolution scaling is more punishing than settings scaling for this combo. Moving from 1080p Low to 1440p Low costs 23 FPS, while moving from 1080p Low to 1080p High costs 33 FPS, but the latter is a more significant relative drop. This implies that the Arc B390's memory subsystem — which is system-shared rather than dedicated — may be adding latency overhead as resolution increases, since the bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent" and the memory type is "System Shared."

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2512 out of 2828 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it firmly in the lower quartile of system configurations. With only 316 combos performing worse, this pairing is competitive with entry-level integrated graphics systems rather than dedicated GPU setups. The rank position aligns closely with the Arc B390's individual GPU percentile of 9, which means it outperforms only 9% of all GPUs in the benchmark database.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the overall benchmark database are all legacy NVIDIA parts: the GT 520MX (1.3% faster), GeForce 800M (1.5% faster), GT 625 OEM (2.5% faster), and GT 710 (2.7% faster). This places the Arc B390 in the same performance class as decade-old entry-level discrete GPUs, which explains why Lockdown Protocol frame rates are so modest despite the Ryzen 7 7800X3D's capabilities. The CPU's nearest rivals — the Ryzen 7 8700G, Core i7-13650HX, and Ryzen 7 7745HX — all have essentially identical average scores (within 0.4%), confirming that CPU performance is not a differentiator in this pairing.

The substantial gap between the CPU's strong benchmark standing and the overall combo rank highlights a fundamental mismatch. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D ranks in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, while the Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile among GPUs. In a game like Lockdown Protocol, which appears to be GPU-limited based on the resolution scaling data, the CPU's headroom is wasted. The data shows that even a modest upgrade to a GPU in the 50th percentile would likely transform this combo's ranking, as the processor's 3DMark 16-thread score of 7980 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16817 suggest it can feed far more capable graphics hardware.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, fabricated on Intel's 3 nm process. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a 300 MHz base clock and can boost up to 2500 MHz, which is a significant boost range that suggests thermal and power headroom can meaningfully affect performance.

The GPU's memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM of its own. This means the Arc B390 draws from the main system DDR5 memory, and the bandwidth is explicitly listed as "System Dependent." In Lockdown Protocol, this shared memory arrangement likely contributes to the performance degradation at higher resolutions, as the GPU must contend with CPU memory traffic. The 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D's dual-channel DDR5 controller is the ceiling for GPU memory access, and this is far below what dedicated graphics cards offer.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark score of 1482 is the sole GPU benchmark available, and it places the Arc B390 in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This score is remarkably close to the GT 520MX's 1463 (1.3% slower), the GeForce 800M's 1460 (1.5% slower), the GT 625 OEM's 1446 (2.5% slower), and the GT 710's 1443 (2.7% slower). These rivals are all from NVIDIA's bottom-tier lineup from roughly a decade ago, which contextualizes the Arc B390's position in the market.

In Lockdown Protocol specifically, the GPU's 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is insufficient for smooth gameplay at higher settings. The frame rate data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 19 FPS, which is below playable thresholds. Even at 1080p Low, the 88 FPS result is the only configuration that approaches what most players would consider smooth, and this is with the minimum quality settings.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS in any configuration?

A: According to the measured data, no. The highest frame rate achieved is 88 FPS at 1080p Low, followed by 65 FPS at 1440p Low and 63 FPS at 1080p Medium. All other configurations fall below 60 FPS, with 4K results ranging from 19-42 FPS depending on settings.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals in raw benchmark performance?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. This is 1.3% slower than the GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% slower than the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% slower than the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% slower than the GT 710 (1443).

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

A: The data suggests 1080p Low at 88 FPS is the smoothest experience, but 1080p Medium at 63 FPS offers a balanced trade-off. At 1440p, Low settings at 65 FPS is the only configuration above 60 FPS. For 4K, Low settings at 42 FPS is the best possible result.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 7800X3D bottlenecking the Arc B390 in this game?

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 83rd percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile. The resolution scaling data shows performance dropping consistently as resolution increases, which indicates the GPU is the limiting component, not the CPU.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Lockdown Protocol?

A: It ranks 2512 out of 2828 total combinations, placing it in the bottom 11% of all systems tested. This is consistent with the GPU's low percentile ranking and suggests the processor is significantly more capable than the graphics solution.

Q: What is the Ryzen 7 7800X3D's approximate performance level relative to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The 7800X3D has an average benchmark score of 33079, which is essentially identical to the Ryzen 7 8700G (33089), Core i7-13650HX (33089), and Ryzen 7 7745HX (33091). The Ryzen 9 PRO 6950H is 0.4% faster at 33201.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a desktop processor built on the Zen 4 architecture (codename Raphael) using TSMC's 5 nm process. It packs 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The CPU's 96 MB of shared L3 cache is the key feature that distinguishes it from other Ryzen 7000 parts, providing a substantial cache pool that benefits gaming workloads.

In Lockdown Protocol, however, the CPU's performance appears to be largely irrelevant to the frame rates achieved. The measured FPS figures show a clear GPU bottleneck, with the Arc B390 unable to push frame rates high enough to stress the processor. The CPU's 3DMark scores — 7980 for 16 threads, 7967 for max threads, and 959 for single thread — indicate strong multi-threaded and adequate single-threaded performance, but these capabilities are untapped in this configuration.

The CPU's Cinebench R23 results of 16817 multi-core and 1713 single-core, along with Geekbench scores of 15610 multi-core and 2426 single-core, confirm that the 7800X3D is a high-performance part. The PassMark multi-thread score of 34293 and single-thread score of 3759 further reinforce this. But when paired with a GPU that ranks in the 9th percentile, the CPU's 83rd percentile standing is wasted.

The processor's memory support for DDR5 with a dual-channel bus provides 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is the theoretical ceiling for the Arc B390's system-shared memory. This shared arrangement means the CPU and GPU compete for the same memory bandwidth, potentially limiting both components in memory-intensive scenes. The CPU's 120 W TDP and 11,270 million transistors on a 71 mm² die show it's a power-efficient design, but this efficiency doesn't translate to higher frame rates when the GPU is the constraint.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rate data, the optimal experience for this combo depends on the target resolution. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 88 FPS, which is the only configuration approaching high refresh rates. The Medium preset at 63 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and performance, offering a 28% reduction in frame rate from Low but with better visual fidelity. High at 55 FPS is borderline for smooth gameplay, while Ultra at 41 FPS is the most visually impressive but may feel sluggish in fast-paced FPS action.

For 1440p, the options are more limited. Low at 65 FPS is the only preset above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended choice for smooth play. Medium at 46 FPS is playable but noticeable stutter may occur in intense scenes, given the measured minimum of 39 FPS. High drops to 40 FPS, and Ultra falls to 30 FPS, both of which are below what most players would consider acceptable for a competitive FPS.

At 4K, the situation is challenging across all presets. Low at 42 FPS is the best achievable result, followed by Medium at 30 FPS (with a minimum of 25 FPS), High at 26 FPS, and Ultra at 19 FPS. For 4K gameplay, the Low preset is the only viable option, and even then, players should expect sub-60 FPS performance. The data suggests that 1080p Medium provides the best overall experience, offering a 63 FPS average with a measured minimum of 53 FPS, which maintains playability during demanding scenes.

The Medium preset at 1080p is the most balanced choice for this hardware. It delivers a frame rate that most players would find acceptable while providing better visual quality than Low. The 53 FPS minimum ensures that even in the most demanding moments, the game remains responsive. For players who prioritize smoothness above all else, 1080p Low at 88 FPS is the clear winner, but the visual compromise may be significant for a 2024 FPS title.