Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol presents a demanding workload that scales heavily with both resolution and quality settings. This analysis examines the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination using measured frame rate data, providing a clear picture of what this pairing can deliver.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals that the RTX 2060 is the primary constraint in this system. Across all resolutions, the frame rate drops consistently as settings increase from Low to Ultra. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 148 FPS, which is the highest average observed for this combo. However, this comes at the cost of visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1080p produces 102.6 FPS, a figure that still comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay while offering a substantial improvement in image quality over Low.

At 1440p, the Medium preset yields 77.1 FPS, which remains playable and is the recommended balance for users with a 1440p display. The High preset at 1440p drops to 66 FPS, which is acceptable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at any resolution is not recommended. At 1080p, Ultra produces 66.7 FPS, but at 1440p it falls to 52.7 FPS, and at 4K it collapses to 31.2 FPS. The performance cost of Ultra settings is steep, and the data indicates the GPU lacks the headroom to maintain a consistent experience.

For 4K displays, the data shows that only the Low preset (68.7 FPS) provides a playable frame rate. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 48.7 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. Therefore, the optimal experience for most users will be the Medium preset at 1080p or 1440p. This provides a frame rate well above 60 FPS while retaining a reasonable level of graphical detail. The High preset is viable at 1080p (92.8 FPS) and 1440p (66 FPS) for those prioritizing visual quality over maximum frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 provides an average of 102.6 FPS. This is the highest-quality setting that maintains a frame rate well above the 60 FPS target. The High preset (92.8 FPS) is also viable, but Medium offers a better balance between visual fidelity and performance headroom.

Q: Can this combination handle 4K resolution?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves a playable average frame rate of 68.7 FPS. The Medium preset (48.7 FPS) and High preset (43.6 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS threshold, and Ultra (31.2 FPS) is not suitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmark performance?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 16074, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. It is 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7600S and 1.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500, while being 1.7% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and AMD Radeon Pro 5700.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 106.2 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 52.7 FPS. This represents a significant 53.5 FPS difference, indicating that the Ultra settings more than double the rendering load compared to Low.

Q: How powerful is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU scores 34004 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4800 in Cinebench R23 single-core. It also achieves a Geekbench multi-core score of 18413 and a single-core score of 3341. Its average benchmark score is 37780, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D significantly faster than its nearest rivals?

A: The data shows the CPU is very closely matched with its nearest rivals. It has a deltaPct of -0.1% compared to the Intel Xeon 6353P and Intel Core Ultra 5 225, and -0.6% and -0.7% compared to the Intel Core i9-13900HK and Intel Core i5-13600KF, respectively.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1328 out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the pairing in the lower 19% of all tested configurations. The ranking is a direct result of the GPU's performance ceiling. While the CPU is a top-tier component, the RTX 2060, with its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit memory bus, limits the overall frame rate, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

The data indicates that this combo is heavily GPU-bound. The CPU's high benchmark scores, including a 90th percentile ranking and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 34004, are not the limiting factor. The GPU's 58th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 16074 are far more representative of the system's overall performance in this game. The rank of 1328 suggests that users pairing a high-end CPU with a mid-range GPU will see performance that is constrained by the graphics card, resulting in a lower rank than if the GPU were more powerful.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a detailed view of performance across all combinations of resolution and settings.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 148 FPS. The Medium preset averages 102.6 FPS, which is a 45.4 FPS drop from Low. The High preset averages 92.8 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 66.7 FPS. The progression shows a steep decline in performance as settings are increased, with the Ultra preset delivering less than half the frame rate of the Low preset.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 106.2 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 77.1 FPS, and the High preset averages 66 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 52.7 FPS. The pattern is consistent with 1080p, showing a clear performance hierarchy across the settings presets.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 68.7 FPS. The Medium preset averages 48.7 FPS, and the High preset averages 43.6 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, averaging only 31.2 FPS. At this resolution, the GPU is severely taxed, and even the Low preset is only marginally above 60 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear impact on frame rates as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At the High preset, the frame rate drops from 92.8 FPS at 1080p to 66 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 26.8 FPS. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the frame rate drops further to 43.6 FPS, a reduction of 22.4 FPS. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

The Low preset shows a similar trend. At 1080p, it achieves 148 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 106.2 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 68.7 FPS. The frame rate scales almost inversely with the number of pixels rendered. The consistent drop across all settings confirms that the RTX 2060's rendering capabilities are being saturated as resolution increases.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at the Medium preset (102.6 to 48.7 FPS) demonstrates the GPU's limitations. The performance is nearly halved when the resolution is quadrupled. This behavior is characteristic of a system where the graphics card is the limiting component, as the CPU's performance does not change with resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a high-end desktop processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture. It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. Its benchmark results are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 34004 and a single-core score of 4800. The CPU's 96 MB of shared L3 cache and 4 nm process node contribute to its high performance.

Given the measured frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, the CPU is not a bottleneck. The performance differences between resolutions and settings are entirely attributable to the GPU. The 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for this game's workload. The CPU's high single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1212 and Geekbench single-core score of 3341, ensures it can feed frames to the GPU without constraint.

The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-13600KF, have nearly identical average benchmark scores (38028 vs 37780 for the 9800X3D). The performance delta is only -0.7%. This indicates that in a GPU-bound scenario like Lockdown Protocol with an RTX 2060, the choice of CPU has negligible impact on the resulting frame rates. The system's performance is defined by the graphics card, and the CPU's role is to provide ample headroom so that it is never the limiting factor.