Lockdown Protocol

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate for this CPU/GPU combo in Lockdown Protocol at 2560x1440 on High settings?

A: The measured average is 113.1 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play, but notably lower than the 184.7 FPS achieved at Low settings on the same resolution.

Q: How does the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D compare to its nearest rival in overall CPU benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has an average benchmark score of 37780, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Xeon 6353P (37811) and 0.7% lower than the Intel Core i5-13600KF (38028). It sits at the 90th percentile among all CPUs tested.

Q: What is the performance delta between the RTX 3080 and its closest GPU rival?

A: The RTX 3080's average benchmark score is 35787, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro Duo (35860) and 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon 880M (35646). It ranks in the 80th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol with this combo?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 72.6 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive FPS. The Medium preset offers 82.2 FPS, and Low jumps to 118.5 FPS. For a balanced experience at 4K, Medium provides the best compromise between visual quality and frame rate.

Q: How many cores and threads does the CPU have, and what is its boost clock?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. It also features 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is substantial for gaming workloads.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the RTX 3080?

A: The RTX 3080 has 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock is 1188 MHz, with 19 Gbps effective speed.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows a clear pattern: Lockdown Protocol scales significantly with settings changes, and the best experience depends on your target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 157 FPS is the sweet spot — it delivers well over 144 Hz for most displays while maintaining visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 117.4 FPS is still smooth, but the 40 FPS drop from High to Ultra suggests diminishing returns on visual quality for the performance cost.

At 1440p, High settings at 113.1 FPS is the recommended starting point. This is sufficient for 100 Hz+ monitors and looks far better than Medium (130 FPS) or Low (184.7 FPS) without sacrificing too much. If you have a 144 Hz display, Medium at 130 FPS is the better choice, as it stays above the refresh rate while offering more detail than Low. Ultra at 87.5 FPS is only for those who prioritize image quality over frame rate, as it still clears 60 FPS.

For 4K, the situation is tighter. The High preset at 72.6 FPS is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced FPS. Medium at 82.2 FPS is the best balance — it keeps frame rates above 75 FPS while providing decent visuals. Low at 118.5 FPS is the competitive choice, but the visual downgrade is substantial. Ultra at 57.1 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold and should be avoided for serious play.

Overall, the data suggests that High settings at 1080p and 1440p, and Medium at 4K, provide the best experience for this combo. The frame rate deltas between settings are consistent across resolutions, with Low being roughly 50-60% faster than Ultra in every case.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the primary driver of frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, and its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory plays a critical role at higher resolutions. With a memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s, the card has ample headroom for texture streaming and geometry data, which is reflected in the measured FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K.

The GPU's boost clock of 1710 MHz (base 1440 MHz) is modest by modern standards, but the Ampere architecture's 8704 shading units and 68 RT cores handle the game's rendering workload efficiently. The FP32 performance of 29.77 TFLOPS is the theoretical ceiling, and the benchmark results show this translates to real-world gains: at 1080p High, the combo hits 157 FPS, which drops to 113.1 FPS at 1440p and 72.6 FPS at 4K. This scaling is expected for a card with 10 GB of VRAM — the bus width of 320 bit and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth prevent memory bottlenecks even at 4K Ultra.

The card's 80th percentile ranking among all GPUs (average score 35787) is competitive, though it sits 0.9% below the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE and 1% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile. The 12-pin power connector and 320 W TDP indicate this is a power-hungry part, but that's not reflected in the FPS data — what matters is that the 10 GB frame buffer is sufficient for Lockdown Protocol's demands at all tested settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 250.8 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 178.9 FPS, High at 157 FPS, and Ultra at 117.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 133.4 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, not the CPU.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down proportionally. Low hits 184.7 FPS, Medium 130 FPS, High 113.1 FPS, and Ultra 87.5 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 25-30% across all settings, which aligns with the pixel count increase of 78%. This suggests the RTX 3080's memory bandwidth is keeping pace with the higher resolution demand without introducing a severe bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the results show a more pronounced drop. Low delivers 118.5 FPS, Medium 82.2 FPS, High 72.6 FPS, and Ultra 57.1 FPS. The Ultra preset falls below 60 FPS, making it the only setting/resolution combination in the dataset that fails to maintain a consistent 60 FPS. The 4K results are still impressive for a 10 GB card, but they confirm that 4K Ultra is beyond the RTX 3080's comfortable range in this game.

Comparing settings across resolutions, the pattern is consistent: Medium offers roughly 35-40% more performance than Ultra, while Low offers 60-70% more. The High preset sits between Medium and Ultra, typically 10-15% slower than Medium and 15-20% faster than Ultra. This data indicates that Lockdown Protocol's settings have a predictable impact on performance, making it easy to tune for target frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combo ranks 474th out of 1637 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the top 29% of all combos, which is a solid result for a GPU that is now end-of-life (released in August 2020) paired with a CPU released in November 2024.

The ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's strong single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 1212, passmark single-thread of 4430) and the GPU's mid-range position (80th percentile). The CPU is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it is not the bottleneck in this pairing — the RTX 3080 is the limiting factor. This is evident from the FPS data: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 250.8 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's frame generation ceiling, but at 4K Ultra, the GPU's 57.1 FPS shows where the real constraint lies.

Compared to the CPU's nearest rivals (Intel Xeon 6353P, Core Ultra 5 225, Core i9-13900HK, Core i5-13600KF), the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's benchmark scores are within 0.7% of all four. This means the CPU is not providing a unique advantage in this combo — the ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU's performance class. The RTX 3080's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 880M, is only 0.4% slower, suggesting that swapping to an integrated GPU would yield similar frame rates, though the 10 GB VRAM difference would likely impact 4K performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a Zen 5 (Granite Ridge) part built on TSMC's 4 nm process, with 8 cores and 16 threads. Its 96 MB of shared L3 cache is the standout feature for gaming — this is substantially larger than typical desktop CPUs and reduces memory latency in game workloads. The base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.20 GHz are high for an 8-core part, and the 120 W TDP is moderate given the performance.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (250.8 FPS) indicates the CPU can handle very high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 10081 and max-thread score of 10067 show strong multi-threaded performance, while the single-thread score of 1212 is competitive for a desktop part.

The CPU's benchmark percentiles reinforce this: it sits at the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37780. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6353P, is only 0.1% faster, and the Core i5-13600KF is 0.7% faster. This means the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is not the reason this combo ranks 474th — the GPU is. At 4K, the CPU has even more headroom, as the frame rates drop to 57-118 FPS, giving the CPU plenty of idle time between frames.

The 16 threads are more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol, which is an FPS that likely scales to 8 cores but not beyond. The 96 MB L3 cache is the key differentiator — it ensures that game assets and frequently accessed data stay close to the cores, reducing the need to fetch from system memory (DDR5, dual-channel, 89.6 GB/s). For a game like this, the CPU is essentially a non-factor in limiting performance; the RTX 3080's 10 GB VRAM and 320-bit bus are what determine the final frame rates.