Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D + Intel Arc B570

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a distinctive performance profile in Lockdown Protocol, a competitive FPS released in March 2024. The measured data shows this combination achieves playable frame rates at 1080p across all settings, but struggles at 4K Ultra, where the average drops to 30 FPS. The system ranks 2264 out of 2828 tested combos, placing it in the lower third of tested configurations, which suggests that while the CPU is exceptionally strong, the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions and quality presets.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 136 FPS average, which drops to 100 FPS at 1440p Low (a 26% reduction) and further to 64 FPS at 4K Low (a 53% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline indicates that the Intel Arc B570 is the primary constraint as pixel count increases. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is relatively mild, but the jump to 4K nearly halves performance at every settings tier.

Looking at High settings, the degradation follows a similar trajectory: 84 FPS at 1080p falls to 62 FPS at 1440p (26% drop) and then to 40 FPS at 4K (52% drop from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across different presets strongly suggests a uniform GPU bottleneck rather than any CPU-related stall. At Ultra settings, the pattern intensifies: 63 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is particularly telling — hitting exactly 30 FPS average indicates the GPU is working at its absolute limit, delivering just under the 60 FPS threshold that competitive FPS players typically target.

The 4K Medium preset shows 46 FPS average with a minimum of 39 FPS and maximum of 52 FPS, while the 1440p Medium preset delivers 71 FPS with a 60-81 FPS range. These figures demonstrate that even at Medium settings, the system cannot sustain 60 FPS at 4K, but comfortably exceeds that threshold at 1440p. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo requires accepting either Low settings (64 FPS) or sub-60 FPS averages at higher presets. For players prioritizing smooth gameplay, the resolution scaling indicates that 1440p is the practical ceiling for maintaining competitive frame rates across all quality levels.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a Zen 5 architecture processor built on TSMC's 4 nm process, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock runs at 4.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, and it carries 96 MB of shared L3 cache — a substantial amount that benefits workloads with large working sets. The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its capability: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22807 and a single-core score of 2228, alongside a PassMark multithread score of 41318 and a single-thread score of 4704.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU in most scenarios, given the frame rate scaling patterns discussed above. However, the 1080p Low preset achieving 136 FPS average suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at lower resolutions where pixel shading demands are reduced. The 9850X3D's 96 MB L3 cache is likely beneficial for game logic and physics calculations that exhibit spatial locality, though the measured data cannot isolate this effect directly. The CPU's PassMark physics score of 4171 and data compression score of 474501 indicate strong computational throughput, which helps maintain consistent frame pacing even when the GPU is taxed.

Comparing to its nearest CPU rivals, the 9850X3D sits within a tight performance band. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M scores 58323 (0.1% higher), the Intel Xeon w5-2545 scores 58504 (0.2% lower deltaPct), the Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 scores 58826 (0.7% lower). These margins are negligible, meaning the 9850X3D's CPU performance is not a differentiator in this combo's ranking. The CPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms it is far above average, yet the system's overall combo rank of 2264 out of 2828 highlights that the GPU drags the total package down.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest measured average is 136 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only preset where the system exceeds 120 FPS.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 1440p in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Yes, at 1440p the combo delivers 100 FPS on Low, 71 FPS on Medium, and 62 FPS on High settings. However, at Ultra settings the average drops to 46 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the 4K performance compare across settings?

A: At 4K, the averages are 64 FPS on Low, 46 FPS on Medium, 40 FPS on High, and 30 FPS on Ultra. Only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS at this resolution, and the Ultra preset reaches exactly 30 FPS average.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only measured minimum FPS values come from the Medium preset: 82 FPS at 1080p, 60 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K. Other presets in the data do not include minimum FPS readings.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 2264 out of 2828 total tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the bottom 20% of tested systems despite having a top-tier CPU.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the performance ceiling?

A: The data indicates GPU limitation. Frame rates scale almost linearly with resolution changes while settings changes at a fixed resolution produce smaller variations, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's 92nd percentile ranking versus the GPU's 65th percentile supports this conclusion.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2264 out of 2828 tested configurations places this system in the lower tier for Lockdown Protocol. This ranking is surprising given the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D's exceptional CPU performance — it sits at the 92nd percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 58386, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.7% of its score. The Intel Arc B570, by contrast, ranks at the 65th percentile among all GPUs with an average score of 20556, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% higher) and Intel Arc A750 (0.1% lower).

The disparity between CPU and GPU percentiles explains why this combo underperforms relative to what the CPU alone might suggest. The B570's PassMark G3D score of 14195 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 indicate a mid-range graphics solution, while the CPU is clearly high-end. In a game like Lockdown Protocol, which appears GPU-bound based on the resolution scaling data, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The system's rank suggests that many other combos with weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs achieve better frame rates in this specific title.

The rank position also implies that for Lockdown Protocol specifically, the 9850X3D's additional cache and high clock speeds do not translate into a competitive advantage. The game likely does not stress the CPU enough to benefit from the 96 MB L3 cache or the 5.60 GHz boost clock. Players considering this combo for Lockdown Protocol should recognize that the CPU investment does not yield proportional gains in this game, and that the GPU is the component that determines the overall experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 96 FPS average with a minimum of 82 FPS and maximum of 111 FPS, providing a smooth and responsive experience for competitive play. The High preset at 84 FPS is also viable, but the Medium preset offers a better balance between visual quality and frame rate headroom, especially given the minimum FPS of 82 ensures consistent performance. The Low preset at 136 FPS may appeal to players seeking maximum refresh rate compatibility, but the visual compromise is significant.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again emerges as the best choice, delivering 71 FPS average with a 60-81 FPS range. This keeps the frame rate at or above 60 FPS throughout, which is critical for a fast-paced FPS. The High preset at 62 FPS is playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes, and the minimum FPS of 60 at Medium suggests that High could dip below that threshold. The Low preset at 100 FPS is excellent for competitive play but sacrifices visual fidelity. For 4K, the Low preset at 64 FPS is the only option that maintains 60+ FPS; the Medium preset at 46 FPS is playable for casual sessions but may feel inconsistent in competitive scenarios.

The data supports a recommendation of Medium settings at 1080p and 1440p as the sweet spot, with Low settings at 4K for those who must play at that resolution. Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution, as they produce 63 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K — all below what competitive FPS players would consider acceptable. The Medium preset's measured minimum and maximum values, available in the data, provide confidence in its consistency compared to other presets where these figures are not recorded.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for this combo covers three resolutions and four settings tiers. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 136 FPS average, Medium achieves 96 FPS (with 82 min and 111 max), High achieves 84 FPS, and Ultra achieves 63 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 100 FPS, Medium delivers 71 FPS (with 60 min and 81 max), High delivers 62 FPS, and Ultra delivers 46 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Low preset produces 64 FPS, Medium produces 46 FPS (with 39 min and 52 max), High produces 40 FPS, and Ultra produces 30 FPS.

The Medium preset is the only tier where minimum and maximum FPS values are recorded across all resolutions, providing a clearer picture of frame time consistency. At 1080p, the 82-111 FPS range indicates a 29 FPS spread; at 1440p, the 60-81 FPS range shows a 21 FPS spread; and at 4K, the 39-52 FPS range narrows to a 13 FPS spread. This tightening of the frame range at higher resolutions aligns with GPU-bound behavior — as the GPU becomes more fully utilized, the variance in frame delivery decreases because the bottleneck is consistent. The absence of min/max data for other presets limits direct comparison, but the Medium preset's consistency at 1440p (staying at or above 60 FPS) is notable.

The step from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 40 FPS (from 136 to 96), while the step from Medium to High costs 12 FPS (96 to 84), and from High to Ultra costs 21 FPS (84 to 63). This nonlinear scaling suggests that the Low-to-Medium transition imposes a significant rendering load, while the Medium-to-High step is comparatively modest. At 1440p, the same transitions cost 29 FPS (100 to 71), 9 FPS (71 to 62), and 16 FPS (62 to 46) respectively. At 4K, the transitions cost 18 FPS (64 to 46), 6 FPS (46 to 40), and 10 FPS (40 to 30). The smaller absolute drops at 4K indicate that the GPU is already saturated, so settings changes have less relative impact.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage generation) using TSMC's 5 nm process, with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. It operates at a fixed 2500 MHz base and boost clock, with 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The GPU features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its compute capabilities include 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 and 23.04 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio), with 18 ray tracing cores. The pixel rate is 200.0 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s, with a 150 W TDP.

The B570's benchmark scores place it in the mid-range segment. Its PassMark G3D score of 14195 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 indicate solid 1080p performance but limited headroom for higher resolutions. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% higher) and Arc A750 (0.1% lower), confirms its position. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 83514 and Vulkan score of 96844 show respectable compute performance, but these do not translate into strong gaming frame rates at 4K.

In Lockdown Protocol, the B570's 10 GB VRAM is sufficient for the measured presets, as no memory-related stuttering is evident from the FPS data. The 380 GB/s memory bandwidth appears adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the GPU's raw shading power becomes the constraint — the 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 is modest for 4K rendering. The fixed 2500 MHz clock means the GPU does not boost dynamically, which may limit its ability to handle transient loads. The 160-bit memory bus, while providing adequate bandwidth for its class, is narrower than competing solutions and contributes to the performance drop at 4K. Overall, the B570 serves as a capable 1080p and 1440p GPU, but the data clearly shows it cannot sustain high frame rates at 4K in this game.