Lockdown Protocol

The pairing of AMD’s Ryzen 7 9700X with NVIDIA’s RTX 2060 SUPER in Lockdown Protocol produces a clear, predictable scaling curve that reveals where the bottleneck shifts as resolution climbs. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 160.3 FPS, but dropping to 4K Ultra cuts that to 34.4 FPS — a decline of roughly 78% from the peak. This pattern strongly suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and Turing architecture, becomes the limiting factor at higher pixel counts, while the 8-core Zen 5 processor has ample headroom to feed frames at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a consistent and expected trend: as resolution increases, average FPS falls across every settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system posts 160.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low reduces that to 117.7 FPS, a 26.6% drop. Pushing to 4K Low yields 73.6 FPS — a further 37.5% decline from the 1440p figure. The scaling remains proportional across all presets, but the magnitude of the drop between 1440p and 4K is notably steeper than between 1080p and 1440p, indicating that the GPU is running out of pixel-pushing capability.

For High settings, the curve is: 96.5 FPS at 1080p, 70.1 FPS at 1440p, and 48.1 FPS at 4K. The 1440p-to-4K transition costs 31.4% performance, while the 1080p-to-1440p step costs 27.4%. This slight acceleration in the drop-off suggests that memory bandwidth — rated at 448.0 GB/s for the RTX 2060 SUPER — is becoming a constraint at 4K, where texture and buffer sizes expand significantly. The GPU’s 256-bit bus and 14 Gbps effective memory speed are simply being asked to move more data per frame.

Ultra settings tell the most dramatic story: 76.2 FPS at 1080p, 56.1 FPS at 1440p, and 34.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold that most competitive FPS players target, and it is the only resolution/settings combination where the average dips into the low 30s. The gap between Medium and Ultra at 4K is also telling: 56.3 FPS versus 34.4 FPS — a 38.9% penalty for the highest preset. This indicates that Ultra settings introduce effects that disproportionately tax the TU106 chip’s 2176 shading units and 64 ROPs.

The data implies that 1080p is where this combo shines, with all presets except Ultra staying above 96 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (117.7 FPS) and Medium (85.7 FPS) remain competitive for fast-paced play. At 4K, even Low (73.6 FPS) struggles to maintain a smooth experience, and Ultra is effectively unplayable for serious gaming. The CPU is not the limiting factor here; the Ryzen 7 9700X’s 5.50 GHz boost clock and 32 MB of shared L3 cache are more than sufficient for the frame rates observed.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data indicates 1920x1080 is the sweet spot. At Low settings, the system achieves 160.3 FPS, and even High settings deliver 96.5 FPS. Both comfortably exceed the 60 FPS threshold and approach the 144 Hz range for competitive play.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: It can technically run at 4K, but only at Low settings (73.6 FPS) or Medium (56.3 FPS) provide playable results. High settings at 4K drop to 48.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 34.4 FPS, which is below acceptable standards for an FPS title.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 19774, putting it 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (19706) and 0.5% ahead of the RTX 2070 (19680). It trails the Quadro K5200 by 0.8% and the Tesla K40m by 1.3% on average scores.

Q: What is the CPU’s multi-threaded performance relative to its peers?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X scores 36029 on average, which is 0.2% above the Intel Core i5-14500HX (35940) and 0.6% above the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35802). It sits 0.4% below the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (36165).

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The measured frames suggest yes at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory is not saturated. At 4K Ultra, the 34.4 FPS result indicates the memory subsystem or shader throughput is overwhelmed, but VRAM capacity alone cannot be isolated as the cause.

Q: Which settings preset offers the most balanced experience?

A: Medium settings at 1080p (111.1 FPS) provide a strong balance between visual quality and frame rate. At 1440p, Medium (85.7 FPS) is also viable, making it the most flexible preset across resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays with 144 Hz or 165 Hz panels, High settings (96.5 FPS) are the best choice, as they deliver high frame rates with improved visuals over Low (160.3 FPS). Medium (111.1 FPS) is a better option for those who want to stay above 110 FPS, but High offers a more visually complete package without dropping below 90 FPS.

At 1440p, Medium (85.7 FPS) is the recommended preset. It keeps the average above 80 FPS, which is smooth for most players, while Low (117.7 FPS) sacrifices too much visual fidelity for an FPS gain that may not be noticeable on a 60 Hz or 75 Hz monitor. High (70.1 FPS) is playable but dips closer to the edge of comfort, and Ultra (56.1 FPS) falls below the 60 FPS line.

For 4K, the choice is stark. Low (73.6 FPS) is the only preset that maintains a playable average above 70 FPS. Medium (56.3 FPS) is borderline, and High (48.1 FPS) plus Ultra (34.4 FPS) should be avoided for competitive play. If a 4K monitor is the primary display, users should stick strictly to Low settings and accept the visual trade-off.

Ultra settings are never the top recommendation at any resolution. Even at 1080p, Ultra (76.2 FPS) is 21% slower than High (96.5 FPS) with only marginal visual improvements. The data suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER lacks the raw throughput to justify Ultra presets in this title, regardless of resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the four presets produce a clear hierarchy: Low (160.3 FPS), Medium (111.1 FPS), High (96.5 FPS), and Ultra (76.2 FPS). The gap between Low and Medium is 49.2 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 14.6 FPS — a smaller step that suggests diminishing returns between those presets. Ultra is 20.3 FPS behind High, indicating that the highest preset carries a significant performance tax.

Moving to 2560x1440, the order remains the same: Low (117.7 FPS), Medium (85.7 FPS), High (70.1 FPS), and Ultra (56.1 FPS). The percentage drops from 1080p are consistent — Low loses 26.5%, Medium loses 22.9%, High loses 27.4%, and Ultra loses 26.4%. This uniformity implies that resolution scaling affects all presets equally, reinforcing that the GPU is the primary constraint.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low (73.6 FPS), Medium (56.3 FPS), High (48.1 FPS), and Ultra (34.4 FPS). The 1080p-to-4K reductions are stark: Low loses 54.1%, Medium loses 49.3%, High loses 50.2%, and Ultra loses 54.9%. The Ultra preset suffers the most in absolute terms, dropping 41.8 FPS from its 1080p score. This pattern shows that 4K Ultra is not merely a step down but a cliff, likely due to the combination of pixel count and shader-heavy effects.

The data also reveals that Medium at 1440p (85.7 FPS) outperforms High at 4K (48.1 FPS) by a wide margin, and even Low at 4K (73.6 FPS) does not match Medium at 1080p (111.1 FPS). Users should prioritize resolution over preset when GPU resources are limited.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global database of tested combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1186 out of 1637 combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the bottom 27.5% of all tested systems, meaning that most other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher frame rates in this title. The rank reflects the GPU’s age — the RTX 2060 SUPER is an end-of-life product from 2019 — rather than the CPU’s capability, as the Ryzen 7 9700X ranks in the 89th percentile among all CPUs.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 36029 positions it just 0.2% above the Intel Core i5-14500HX and 0.6% above the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, while sitting 0.4% below the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H. This is a tight cluster, indicating that the 9700X is competitive with mid-range mobile and desktop chips. The GPU’s average score of 19774 places it in the 63rd percentile, with rivals like the RTX 2070 (0.5% behind) and GTX TITAN (0.3% behind) showing how crowded the mid-range of 2019 GPUs was.

The combo rank of 1186 suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER is holding back the 9700X. In a game like Lockdown Protocol, which appears to scale well with GPU power given the large FPS differences between presets, the CPU’s 8 cores and 16 threads are rarely the constraint. The data implies that upgrading the GPU would move this combo significantly up the rankings, while the CPU could remain unchanged and still deliver consistent performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), fabricated on TSMC’s 4 nm process. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, and it carries a 65 W TDP. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 per core provide ample data locality for game logic and physics calculations. In synthetic tests, the CPU scores 31588 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4459 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 17002.

For Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role appears secondary. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 160.3 FPS, which is high enough that the GPU is still the limiting factor. The CPU’s single-thread performance (Passmark single-thread score of 4654) is more than adequate for FPS games, which typically rely on a few heavily loaded threads. The 3dmark 2-thread score of 2525 and 4-thread score of 4869 indicate strong low-thread performance, which matters for frame pacing.

The 9700X’s 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it is a top-tier processor, but the combo rank of 1186 shows that this advantage is wasted when paired with a GPU from 2019. In benchmarks like Passmark multi-thread (37161) and data encryption (21815), the CPU excels, but these metrics do not translate to higher FPS in Lockdown Protocol. The data indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution or settings level, as evidenced by the uniform FPS scaling across presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with the TU106 chip, manufactured on TSMC’s 12 nm process. It features 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, along with 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores. The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Clock speeds are 1470 MHz base and 1650 MHz boost, with a 175 W TDP and a single 8-pin power connector.

The GPU’s benchmark results show a 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2011 and a Passmark G3D score of 16462. Its average benchmark score of 19774 places it just 0.3% above the GTX TITAN and 0.5% above the RTX 2070, indicating that it is closely matched with those older high-end cards. The 63rd percentile ranking among all GPUs reflects its mid-range status in the current landscape.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU is the defining component. The FPS data shows that moving from Low to Ultra at any resolution costs between 48% and 53% performance, which is a GPU-bound scaling pattern. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Ultra, the 34.4 FPS result suggests the memory capacity or bandwidth is being pushed to its limits. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is a key metric — at 4K, the data throughput required per frame is massive, and the TU106 chip cannot keep pace.

The GPU’s end-of-life status and 2019 release date are evident in the results. While it can handle 1080p High (96.5 FPS) and 1440p Medium (85.7 FPS) competently, it falls short at 4K Ultra (34.4 FPS). The data suggests that for Lockdown Protocol, the RTX 2060 SUPER is a capable mid-range card that should be paired with a 1080p or 1440p monitor, and that Ultra presets are only viable at 1080p where the frame rate stays above 76 FPS.