Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D + Intel Arc B370

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D paired with the Intel Arc B370 delivers playable frame rates at 1080p with lower presets, but struggles heavily at higher resolutions and settings in Lockdown Protocol. The measured data shows a clear trend: this combination ranks 2611 out of 2828 tested combos, placing it in the bottom percentile of systems tested for this game. The CPU is a high-end desktop part with strong synthetic benchmarks, while the GPU is an integrated-class solution with limited performance headroom. The following analysis breaks down how this pairing behaves across resolutions, what each component contributes, and where the bottlenecks emerge.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how drastically performance degrades as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 80 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops the average to 58 FPS, a reduction of 22 FPS or roughly 27.5% lower than the 1080p result. Continuing to 3840x2160 at Low settings, the average falls further to 38 FPS, which is 42 FPS below the 1080p figure and 20 FPS below the 1440p result. This scaling pattern shows that each resolution step costs a significant portion of performance, indicating the GPU is the primary limiting factor.

The Medium preset tells a similar story across resolutions. At 1920x1080 Medium, the average FPS is 57, with minimum and maximum values of 48 and 65 respectively. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average drops to 42 FPS, with observed range of 35 to 48. At 3840x2160 Medium, the average falls to 27 FPS, with a range of 23 to 31. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is approximately 26.3%, and from 1440p to 4K is approximately 35.7%. The increasing percentage loss at higher resolutions confirms that pixel count is overwhelming the GPU’s capabilities.

High settings show the same downward trajectory: 49 FPS at 1080p, 36 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is 13 FPS (26.5% reduction), while the gap between 1440p and 4K is also 13 FPS but represents a 36.1% reduction from the 1440p figure. Ultra settings are the most demanding, yielding 37 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p, and only 18 FPS at 4K. These numbers indicate that even at the lowest resolution tested, Ultra settings cannot maintain a smooth experience.

The data suggests that resolution scaling is steep and consistent across all presets. The limiting component is clearly the Intel Arc B370, as the CPU’s strong multi-threaded performance does not compensate for the GPU’s limited fill rate and shading power. At 4K, no preset achieves even 40 FPS average, and Ultra dips to 18 FPS, which is below playable thresholds for most users. The system is best suited for 1080p gaming, where Low settings provide 80 FPS and Medium provides 57 FPS, but even these numbers leave little headroom for demanding scenes.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a desktop processor from the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The processor has a 120 W TDP and is manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 96 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth, plus PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes.

In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU performs strongly. Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 22807, while single-core is 2228. Passmark multi-thread score reaches 41318, and single-thread score is 4704. The CPU’s average benchmark score is 58386, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs tested. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M with an average score of 58323 (0.1% higher), the Intel Xeon w5-2545 at 58504 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i9-14900 at 58115 (0.5% lower), and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 at 58826 (0.7% higher). These deltas are all within 1%, indicating that the 9850X3D is competitive with high-end server and desktop chips in general compute tasks.

For Lockdown Protocol, an FPS title, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage game logic. With 8 cores and 16 threads, this processor has ample capacity for modern game engines. The high boost clock of 5.60 GHz helps with single-threaded game threads, and the large 96 MB L3 cache should reduce memory latency for frequently accessed data. However, the measured FPS results show that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 80 FPS, but this is far below what this CPU could deliver with a more powerful GPU. The Passmark physics score of 4171 and integer math score of 123140 suggest strong computational performance that would not constrain frame rates in most scenarios.

The data implies that the CPU is vastly underutilized in this configuration. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 18, which is a CPU-independent result driven entirely by GPU limits. Even at 1080p Low, the 80 FPS figure is modest relative to the CPU’s capabilities; a stronger GPU would likely push frame rates much higher. The CPU’s 92nd percentile ranking among all CPUs contrasts sharply with the GPU’s 5th percentile ranking, highlighting the imbalance. For Lockdown Protocol, the CPU has more than enough headroom, and the system’s performance ceiling is defined by the Arc B370.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combination achieves in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 80, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The next highest is 57 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 49 FPS at 1080p High.

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: At 3840x2160, the best average FPS is 38 with Low settings. Medium settings yield 27 FPS, High yields 23 FPS, and Ultra yields 18 FPS. None of these reach the 60 FPS target commonly considered smooth, and even 30 FPS is only achieved at Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 9850X3D has an average benchmark score of 58386. Its closest rival, the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, scores 58323, which is 0.1% lower. The Intel Xeon w5-2545 scores 58504 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115 (0.5% lower), and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 scores 58826 (0.7% higher). All differences are within 1%.

Q: What is the GPU’s performance percentile and how does it rank among tested GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc B370 is in the 5th percentile of all GPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 1184 from the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% higher), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% higher), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, 0.7% higher), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, 1.4% lower).

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol?

A: This combination ranks 2611 out of 2828 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8% of systems tested for this game. The data indicates that most other combinations deliver better performance.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 58 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 27 FPS. This is a difference of 31 FPS, with Ultra delivering only 46.6% of the Low preset’s performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a complete picture of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 80 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded for this combination. Medium settings at the same resolution yield 57 FPS average, with a minimum of 48 and maximum of 65 FPS. High settings drop to 49 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 37 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a steady decline, with Ultra offering only 46.3% of the Low preset’s performance.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 58 FPS. Medium settings average 42 FPS, with a range of 35 to 48 FPS. High settings average 36 FPS, and Ultra settings average 27 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 31 FPS, with Ultra delivering 46.6% of Low’s frame rate. Compared to 1080p, each preset loses roughly 20-30% performance at 1440p. For example, Low goes from 80 to 58 FPS (27.5% reduction), Medium from 57 to 42 FPS (26.3% reduction), High from 49 to 36 FPS (26.5% reduction), and Ultra from 37 to 27 FPS (27.0% reduction). The consistency of these percentage drops suggests uniform scaling based on pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 38 FPS. Medium settings average 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 and maximum of 31 FPS. High settings average 23 FPS, and Ultra settings average 18 FPS. The reduction from 1440p to 4K is larger in percentage terms: Low drops from 58 to 38 FPS (34.5% reduction), Medium from 42 to 27 FPS (35.7% reduction), High from 36 to 23 FPS (36.1% reduction), and Ultra from 27 to 18 FPS (33.3% reduction). The slightly larger percentage losses at 4K indicate that the GPU is becoming increasingly saturated as resolution grows.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently shows the only recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the range is 48 to 65 FPS; at 1440p Medium, 35 to 48 FPS; and at 4K Medium, 23 to 31 FPS. The spread between minimum and maximum increases at lower resolutions (17 FPS at 1080p, 13 FPS at 1440p, 8 FPS at 4K), suggesting that frame time variance is more pronounced when the GPU has more headroom. The Low, High, and Ultra presets lack recorded min/max values, but the averages provide sufficient data for analysis.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture with the Panther Lake chip. It is manufactured on a 3 nm process at Intel, with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units, plus 10 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS. The memory configuration is system shared, meaning it relies on the host system’s DDR5 memory with bandwidth described as system dependent. The GPU has a 25 W TDP and uses no power connectors.

In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, the Arc B370 scores 1184, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs tested. Its nearest rivals are all older or lower-end parts: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (0.2% higher), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% higher), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% higher), and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (1.4% lower). These comparisons highlight the Arc B370’s position at the very bottom of the GPU performance hierarchy, with no modern discrete GPUs within a similar score range.

The measured FPS data in Lockdown Protocol reflects this low ranking. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 80 FPS, which is the only preset and resolution combination that approaches a smooth gaming experience. However, even this number is modest for an FPS title, and the GPU’s limitations become apparent at higher presets. The 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 20 ROPs constrain fill-rate-heavy workloads, which explains the steep scaling from Low to Ultra settings. The system-shared memory architecture also means that bandwidth is dependent on the CPU’s DDR5 configuration, potentially adding latency in memory-intensive scenes.

The GPU’s 5th percentile ranking is the dominant factor in this combo’s overall performance. While the CPU ranks in the 92nd percentile, the GPU’s low standing ensures that no resolution or setting combination can overcome its fundamental limits. The ray tracing cores (10) and DirectX 12 Ultimate support provide modern feature support, but the raw performance is insufficient for demanding games like Lockdown Protocol at higher settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combination depend on the user’s resolution and frame rate target. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 80 FPS average, which is the only measured configuration that exceeds 60 FPS. Medium settings at 1080p provide 57 FPS average, which is close to but below the 60 FPS threshold. High settings at 49 FPS and Ultra at 37 FPS are progressively less viable. For users seeking the smoothest experience at 1080p, Low settings are recommended, with Medium as a compromise if visual fidelity is prioritized over frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 58 FPS, which is the only option near playable levels. Medium drops to 42 FPS, High to 36 FPS, and Ultra to 27 FPS. None of these reach 60 FPS, but Low might be acceptable for users tolerant of slightly lower frame rates. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 16 FPS, suggesting that the visual improvement from Medium does not justify the performance cost. For 1440p gaming, Low settings are the only reasonable choice, and even then, the 58 FPS average may dip in demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, all presets produce sub-40 FPS averages. Low at 38 FPS is the best option, followed by Medium at 27 FPS, High at 23 FPS, and Ultra at 18 FPS. The 4K resolution is not well suited to this GPU, and users should expect a compromised experience regardless of settings. If 4K is required, Low settings provide the least objectionable frame rates, but the system is better used at lower resolutions.

The data shows that the Medium preset consistently offers a moderate visual upgrade over Low with a measurable FPS cost. At 1080p, the difference is 23 FPS (80 to 57); at 1440p, it is 16 FPS (58 to 42); and at 4K, it is 11 FPS (38 to 27). The percentage cost increases with resolution, making Medium less attractive at higher pixel counts. For users who prioritize visual quality and can tolerate frame rates in the 40-60 range, Medium at 1080p is the best balance. For maximum performance, Low at 1080p is the clear winner.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2611 out of 2828 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 7.7th percentile of all systems tested. This ranking reflects the severe imbalance between the high-end CPU and the low-end integrated GPU. The CPU’s 92nd percentile performance among all CPUs and the GPU’s 5th percentile performance among all GPUs create a configuration where the GPU is overwhelmingly the limiting factor. The 217 positions from the bottom of the ranking indicate that the vast majority of tested combinations deliver better performance in this game.

The implications of this ranking are clear: users with this combo will experience below-average performance in Lockdown Protocol compared to other tested systems. The CPU’s strong synthetic benchmark scores (e.g., Cinebench R23 multi-core of 22807 and Passmark multi-thread of 41318) do not translate to gaming performance when paired with such a weak GPU. The data suggests that this combo is better suited for non-gaming workloads, where the CPU’s capabilities can be fully utilized, or for esports titles with very low graphical demands.

The 2828 total combos tested provide context for the ranking. Being in the bottom 217 means that only a small fraction of systems perform worse. The measured FPS data confirms this, as even the best-case scenario (1080p Low at 80 FPS) is modest, and most other combinations would deliver significantly higher frame rates with the same CPU. For potential buyers or users, this ranking serves as a warning that Lockdown Protocol will not run smoothly at higher settings, and the system should be paired with a discrete GPU to unlock the CPU’s gaming potential.