Lockdown Protocol

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is an 8-core, 16-thread desktop processor from the Ryzen 7 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using a 4nm TSMC process. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, and it carries a 65W TDP. The chip features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus with 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth, and it connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes.

For Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s threading and cache structure matter most at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU has to feed a very fast GPU, and the Ryzen 7 9700F’s single-thread performance is strong — its PassMark single-thread score of 4691 places it in the 94th percentile among all CPUs. Multithreaded throughput is also solid: the PassMark multithread score of 36470 and an average benchmark score of 69996 indicate that the processor can handle game logic, physics, and background tasks without bottlenecking. The CPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% higher average score), Intel Core i7-14700KF (0.2% lower), AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.7% higher), and Intel Core i7-14700K (0.9% higher). These deltas are tiny, meaning the 9700F sits in a performance band where no single rival decisively outperforms it in general compute.

In Lockdown Protocol specifically, the measured FPS at 1080p Low reaches 368 FPS, which is far beyond any display’s refresh rate. This suggests that at lower settings, the CPU is not the limiting factor — the GPU is still producing massive frame counts. However, at 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 171 FPS, indicating that the CPU’s role becomes more pronounced as graphical settings push more draw calls and object updates. The 8-core/16-thread configuration is well-suited for an FPS title that likely uses multiple threads for AI, particles, and networking.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 70th out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. That places it in the top 1.9% of all combinations, which is an exceptional result. The rank reflects the synergy between a high-tier CPU and the flagship GPU of the GeForce 40-series.

The RTX 4090 itself sits in the 88th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60347. Its nearest rivals — Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% higher), AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (2.5% lower), and AMD Radeon PRO V710 (2.9% higher) — are not gaming-class parts, which highlights that the RTX 4090’s raw compute is in a league of its own. The CPU’s 94th percentile ranking reinforces that this combo pairs two top-tier components.

Given the rank of 70 out of 3714, the data shows that very few tested configurations outperform this pairing in Lockdown Protocol. The combination is clearly optimized for high-refresh-rate play, and the measured FPS numbers confirm that. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 368 FPS, which is more than double the 144 Hz standard. Even at 4K Ultra, the average stays above 80 FPS, which is playable for most competitive titles.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the bottleneck shifts as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 368 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 270 FPS — a 26.6% reduction. At 4K Low, it falls to 174 FPS, which is another 35.6% drop from 1440p. This pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions: the CPU can push frame rates in the hundreds at 1080p, but the GPU’s rendering workload becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

For Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 261 FPS at 1080p, 192 FPS at 1440p (a 26.4% drop), and 124 FPS at 4K (a 35.4% drop from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across Low and Medium suggest that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions above 1080p. At 1080p, the CPU still has headroom — the jump from 368 FPS (Low) to 261 FPS (Medium) shows that the GPU is already the limiting factor even at 1080p Medium, because the CPU alone could theoretically sustain higher frame rates.

At High settings, the resolution scaling is steeper: 228 FPS at 1080p, 167 FPS at 1440p (26.8% drop), and 108 FPS at 4K (35.3% drop from 1440p). The Ultra preset shows a similar trend: 171 FPS at 1080p, 125 FPS at 1440p (26.9% drop), and 81 FPS at 4K (35.2% drop from 1440p). This uniformity — roughly 27% drop from 1080p to 1440p and 35% drop from 1440p to 4K — strongly indicates that the RTX 4090 is the dominant constraint once the resolution exceeds 1080p. The CPU’s contribution is most visible at 1080p Low, where it delivers 368 FPS, a figure that no GPU alone could achieve without a capable processor.

The data also shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at 4K. At 4K Ultra, the combo still manages 81 FPS, which means the 9700F can feed the RTX 4090 enough data to keep it busy even at the highest settings. If the CPU were weak, the 4K Ultra frame rate would be much lower, as the GPU would be waiting on the processor. Instead, the measured numbers show a smooth degradation that tracks the GPU’s rendering load.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS table provides exact numbers for each resolution and settings combination. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 368 FPS. Medium averages 261 FPS, with a minimum of 222 FPS and a maximum of 301 FPS. High averages 228 FPS. Ultra averages 171 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 270 FPS. Medium averages 192 FPS, with a minimum of 163 FPS and a maximum of 220 FPS. High averages 167 FPS. Ultra averages 125 FPS.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 174 FPS. Medium averages 124 FPS, with a minimum of 105 FPS and a maximum of 142 FPS. High averages 108 FPS. Ultra averages 81 FPS.

The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data recorded across all three resolutions. The minimum FPS values (222 at 1080p, 163 at 1440p, 105 at 4K) show that even in demanding scenes, the combo stays well above 100 FPS at 4K Medium. The maximum values (301 at 1080p, 220 at 1440p, 142 at 4K) indicate that the frame rate can spike significantly when the scene is less demanding.

Comparing Low to Ultra at each resolution: at 1080p, Ultra (171 FPS) is 53.5% lower than Low (368 FPS). At 1440p, Ultra (125 FPS) is 53.7% lower than Low (270 FPS). At 4K, Ultra (81 FPS) is 53.4% lower than Low (174 FPS). This consistent ~53% reduction across all resolutions shows that the Ultra preset imposes a nearly identical relative cost regardless of pixel count, which is expected when the GPU is the bottleneck.

The High preset sits between Medium and Ultra: at 1080p, High (228 FPS) is 12.6% lower than Medium (261 FPS) and 33.3% higher than Ultra (171 FPS). At 1440p, High (167 FPS) is 13.0% lower than Medium (192 FPS) and 33.6% higher than Ultra (125 FPS). At 4K, High (108 FPS) is 12.9% lower than Medium (124 FPS) and 33.3% higher than Ultra (81 FPS). This consistent relationship suggests that the High preset is a balanced middle ground.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the top GPU in the GeForce 40-series, based on the Ada Lovelace architecture (AD102 chip) on a 5nm TSMC process. It has 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, along with 128 ray-tracing cores and 512 tensor cores. Its base clock is 2235 MHz, with a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The memory subsystem is substantial: 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth.

The RTX 4090’s raw compute is reflected in its benchmarks: a PassMark G3D score of 38194, a Geekbench OpenCL score of 255416, and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 271631. Its FP32 throughput is 82.58 TFLOPS, with a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s. These specifications explain why the GPU can sustain 368 FPS at 1080p Low and 174 FPS at 4K Low in Lockdown Protocol.

The 24 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this game at any settings. At 4K Ultra, the GPU has plenty of memory headroom, and the measured 81 FPS average suggests that the bottleneck is sheer rendering load rather than memory capacity. The 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and data transfer are not limiting factors.

The RTX 4090’s position in the GPU hierarchy is clear from its 88th percentile ranking. Its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are not gaming GPUs — Intel Arc Pro A60, AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48, AMD Radeon Pro W6600M, and AMD Radeon PRO V710 — which underscores that the 4090 is in a different class for gaming workloads. The GPU’s performance in Lockdown Protocol is consistent with its flagship status: it delivers playable frame rates at 4K Ultra, and absurdly high frame rates at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 261 FPS with a minimum of 222 FPS — both far above any display refresh rate. At 1440p Medium, the average is 192 FPS with a minimum of 163 FPS, which is still well above 144 Hz. At 4K Medium, the average is 124 FPS with a minimum of 105 FPS, which is suitable for high-refresh-rate 4K monitors (120 Hz or higher).

The High preset is also viable, especially for players who want better visuals without sacrificing frame rate. At 1080p High, the average is 228 FPS; at 1440p High, it’s 167 FPS; at 4K High, it’s 108 FPS. The 4K High result is slightly below the 120 Hz threshold, but it remains smooth for most players. The Ultra preset, while visually the most demanding, drops to 81 FPS at 4K, which is still playable but below the 100 FPS mark that competitive FPS players often target.

For competitive play, the Low preset at 1080p (368 FPS) or 1440p (270 FPS) is the best choice, as it maximizes frame rate and minimizes input latency. The data shows that the Low preset at 1440p still delivers 270 FPS, which is excellent for a high-refresh-rate 1440p monitor. The Low preset at 4K (174 FPS) is also surprisingly high, making it a strong option for players who want 4K resolution with maximum responsiveness.

The Medium preset is the recommended sweet spot for most users. It provides a 53% frame rate improvement over Ultra at every resolution, while the visual difference between Medium and Ultra in an FPS title is often marginal. At 4K Medium, the 124 FPS average with a 105 FPS minimum ensures that even the most intense firefights remain fluid. For players with 144 Hz monitors at 1440p, Medium (192 FPS average) provides plenty of headroom. For 4K 120 Hz displays, Medium (124 FPS average) is the only preset that consistently exceeds the refresh rate, making it the clear choice.

In summary, the Ryzen 7 9700F + RTX 4090 combo is powerful enough to run Lockdown Protocol at any settings, but the data recommends Medium for the best experience per the measured rows. Ultra is only advisable for players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, and Low is reserved for competitive scenarios where every frame counts.