Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER combination delivers a high-refresh-rate experience in Lockdown Protocol, but the balance between CPU and GPU shifts dramatically as resolution increases. This analysis breaks down the measured performance data across all settings and resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear transition from a CPU-bound to a GPU-bound workload. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 309.5 FPS, which drops to 228.1 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 145.5 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 53% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at the lowest settings, indicating that the GPU becomes the limiting factor even at lower graphical loads.

The scaling pattern changes with higher settings. At Ultra, the frame rate drops from 143.2 FPS at 1080p to 102.6 FPS at 1440p, then to 70.1 FPS at 4K. That is a 51% total reduction, but the absolute frame rates are much lower to begin with. The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens significantly at higher resolutions: at 1080p the difference is 166.3 FPS (309.5 vs 143.2), while at 4K it shrinks to 75.4 FPS (145.5 vs 70.1). This compression suggests that at 4K, the GPU's rendering workload dominates, and the CPU's headroom becomes less relevant.

At 1440p, the medium preset still manages 160.6 FPS, while High delivers 138.1 FPS. The 4K numbers show that even the most demanding preset, Ultra at 70.1 FPS, remains playable, but those seeking higher refresh rates should consider dropping to High, which yields 87.5 FPS. The data indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 672.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to feed the 8-core, 16-thread CPU at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the GPU's compute throughput becomes the bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p displays, the Low preset at 309.5 FPS exceeds the refresh rate of virtually all monitors, but the Medium preset at 218.9 FPS still provides a massive competitive advantage while improving visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 143.2 FPS is the best choice for those with 144Hz panels who want maximum image quality without sacrificing smoothness.

At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 160.6 FPS, which is ideal for 165Hz monitors. The High preset at 138.1 FPS is nearly as good and offers better visuals. For 4K gaming, the High preset at 87.5 FPS provides the best balance, as it remains above 60 FPS while offering acceptable quality. The Ultra preset at 70.1 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes, and the Low preset at 145.5 FPS sacrifices too much visual quality for a marginal competitive edge.

The data shows that the scaling from Medium to High costs roughly 22% performance at 1080p (218.9 to 191.1), 14% at 1440p (160.6 to 138.1), and 18% at 4K (106.9 to 87.5). The jump from High to Ultra is more punishing: 25% at 1080p, 26% at 1440p, and 20% at 4K. This suggests that High is the sweet spot for most users, as it retains most of the visual improvements while avoiding the steep performance penalty of Ultra.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo maintain 144 FPS at 1440p?

A: Yes, at Medium settings it achieves 160.6 FPS, and at High it delivers 138.1 FPS, which is close to but below 144 FPS. Low settings reach 228.1 FPS, so competitive players have ample headroom.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is more involved at 1080p, given that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER produces 309.5 FPS at Low settings, which is an extremely high frame rate. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D's 8 cores and 16 threads with a 96 MB shared L3 cache help sustain these rates.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average is 70.1 FPS. While this is above 60 FPS, it is the lowest result in the data set and may dip in intense firefights.

Q: How does the Medium preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: Medium produces 160.6 FPS versus 138.1 FPS on High, a 16% difference. The visual trade-off is relatively minor in a fast-paced FPS, so Medium is a solid choice for higher refresh rates.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER enough for 4K gaming in this title?

A: Yes, but only with settings adjustments. High settings yield 87.5 FPS, which is smooth, while Ultra dips to 70.1 FPS. The 16 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor based on the data.

Q: Does the CPU's single-thread performance matter here?

A: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D scores 4800 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 1212 in 3DMark single-thread, which are strong results. In a competitive FPS, this helps maintain high minimum frame rates, though the measured data only provides averages.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER ranks 157th out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 9.6% of all configurations. This is a strong result, but it is not at the absolute top tier, which suggests that there are faster combinations available, likely pairing higher-end GPUs.

The CPU itself sits in the 90th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37780. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6353P (deltaPct -0.1), Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (deltaPct -0.1), Intel Core i9-13900HK (deltaPct -0.6), and Intel Core i5-13600KF (deltaPct -0.7). These deltas are all within 1%, meaning the 9800X3D is essentially tied with these processors in general compute performance, but its 3D V-Cache architecture provides a specific advantage in gaming workloads.

The GPU ranks in the 86th percentile against all GPUs, with an average score of 48704. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA CMP 50HX (deltaPct -0.7), Intel Arc A550M (deltaPct -2.1), NVIDIA RTX A2000 (deltaPct 1.6), and NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile (deltaPct 2). The positive deltas for the RTX A2000 and A1000 Mobile indicate they score higher on average, but these are workstation and mobile parts, respectively, which do not reflect gaming performance.

The rank of 157 out of 1637 shows that while this combo is capable, it is not a top-100 performer in this specific game. The data implies that higher-tier GPUs, such as those with more shading units or higher memory bandwidth, would push the frame rates even further, particularly at 4K where the GPU is the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a Zen 5 architecture processor built on TSMC's 4 nm process, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. It operates with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz, with a TDP of 120 W. The processor includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is critical for gaming performance.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p and Low settings, where the frame rate reaches 309.5 FPS. This high ceiling is supported by the CPU's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s and its ability to feed the GPU with draw calls efficiently. The 3DMark scores show strong scaling: 2394 for 2 threads, 4669 for 4 threads, 8252 for 8 threads, and 10081 for 16 threads. This near-linear scaling up to 8 threads indicates that the CPU can handle the game's multi-threaded workload effectively.

At higher resolutions, the CPU's influence diminishes as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The drop from 309.5 FPS at 1080p Low to 145.5 FPS at 4K Low demonstrates that the same CPU workload is being fed to a GPU that is working harder per frame. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 34004 and Geekbench multicore of 18413 confirm that this is a high-end desktop processor, capable of sustaining high frame rates in competitive titles.

The 3D V-Cache, while not explicitly named in the specs, is implied by the 96 MB shared L3 cache. This large cache helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for gaming. The CPU's passmark multithread score of 40009 and single-thread score of 4430 place it in the top tier of consumer processors, making it an excellent match for the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance is as follows: Low settings produce 309.5 FPS, Medium 218.9 FPS, High 191.1 FPS, and Ultra 143.2 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 90.6 FPS (29% reduction), while High to Ultra costs 47.9 FPS (25% reduction). This resolution clearly favors high refresh rates, with even Ultra exceeding 140 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 228.1 FPS, Medium 160.6 FPS, High 138.1 FPS, and Ultra 102.6 FPS. The Medium to High drop is 22.5 FPS (14%), while High to Ultra is 35.5 FPS (26%). This resolution balances visual quality and performance, with High settings offering a smooth experience for most gamers.

At 3840x2160, the numbers are: Low 145.5 FPS, Medium 106.9 FPS, High 87.5 FPS, and Ultra 70.1 FPS. The Medium to High drop is 19.4 FPS (18%), and High to Ultra is 17.4 FPS (20%). At this resolution, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as even Low settings cannot reach the frame rates seen at lower resolutions.

The overall trend shows that the combo is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high refresh rates on Medium and High settings without sacrificing too much visual quality. At 4K, it remains playable but requires settings management to stay above 60 FPS. The data confirms that this is a well-balanced pairing, with the CPU providing ample headroom at lower resolutions and the GPU handling the heavy lifting at 4K.