Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol pairs a 12-core, 24-thread AMD Ryzen 9 5900X with Intel’s integrated Arc B370 graphics, a combination that produces playable frame rates only at the lowest settings and resolutions. The CPU, built on the Zen 3 architecture and fabricated on TSMC’s 7 nm process, operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, drawing up to 105 W TDP within an AMD Socket AM4 platform. This processor was released on November 4, 2020, with a launch MSRP of $549, and its benchmark data shows a solid multi-threaded presence, scoring 16,262 points in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1,527 in single-core, with a Geekbench multicore score of 14,118. The GPU side is far more constrained: the Arc B370 is an integrated part of the Panther Lake chip, using the Xe3-LPG architecture on a 3 nm Intel process, with 1,280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs, but its memory is system-shared, meaning bandwidth is system dependent rather than a fixed specification. The GPU’s raw compute is 6.144 TFLOPS FP32, and its only recorded 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1,184, which places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. The measured FPS data confirms that this pairing is heavily GPU-bound, with the CPU’s capabilities largely untapped in Lockdown Protocol, as even the best 1080p result—80 FPS at Low—does not stress the Ryzen 9’s 12 cores.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X brings substantial processing headroom to Lockdown Protocol, yet the game’s frame rates suggest that this headroom is rarely exercised. With 12 physical cores and 24 threads, the CPU can handle complex simulation and physics workloads, but the game’s bottlenecks lie elsewhere. The processor’s boost clock of 4.80 GHz provides strong single-thread performance, as reflected in its 3DMark single-thread score of 941 and PassMark single-thread score of 3,469, which are crucial for the main game loop and AI logic. In multi-threaded tasks, the 5900X excels, evidenced by a 3DMark max-threads score of 10,075 and a PassMark multithread score of 39,002, but Lockdown Protocol’s frame pacing does not improve proportionally with these capabilities, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU’s 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s) are more than adequate for feeding frames to the integrated GPU, but the system-shared memory architecture of the Arc B370 means that the CPU and GPU compete for the same bandwidth, which can introduce latency under load. Benchmark results show that the 5900X sits in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41,376, placing it just 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 356H, while trailing the Intel Core i7-14650HX by 0.5%. In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role is to maintain a stable baseline, but the data shows that the GPU cannot translate that stability into high frame rates, particularly at higher settings where the average FPS drops below 40 at 1440p.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Ryzen 9 5900X and the Intel Arc B370 ranks 2,611 out of 2,828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems evaluated. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU’s limited performance, as the CPU is a high-end part from 2020, but the integrated graphics drag the overall result down. The combo’s rank implies that most other pairings—whether with discrete GPUs or more balanced integrated solutions—deliver better frame rates in this game. The data indicates that this pairing is best suited for low-resolution, low-settings play, where it can achieve a playable 80 FPS at 1080p Low, but it falls sharply as resolution and settings increase. At 1440p Ultra, the combo manages only 27 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 18 FPS, making the experience nearly unplayable. The rank of 2,611 suggests that users would need to significantly lower graphical expectations to get a smooth experience, and even then, the system’s performance is below what most modern setups deliver. When compared to the GPU’s nearest rivals—the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (0.2% faster), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (0.5% faster), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (0.7% faster), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1.4% slower)—the Arc B370’s performance is in line with decade-old discrete parts, which explains the poor combo ranking. The CPU’s power is effectively wasted in this configuration, as the frame rates are capped by the GPU’s 6.144 TFLOPS compute and shared memory bandwidth.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated GPU with no dedicated VRAM; it uses system-shared memory, with the type, bus width, and bandwidth all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent." This is a critical limitation for Lockdown Protocol, a fast-paced FPS that requires consistent memory throughput for textures and geometry. The GPU’s base clock is 300 MHz, boosting to 2,400 MHz, and it features 1,280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs, with 10 ray tracing cores. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, but these figures do not translate into playable frame rates at higher settings. The GPU’s only recorded benchmark is a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,184, which places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, meaning it performs worse than 95% of the hardware in the database. This low percentile is reflected in the measured FPS: at 1080p High, the average is 49 FPS, which drops to 37 FPS at Ultra, and at 1440p High, it falls to 36 FPS. The GPU’s lack of dedicated memory means that at 4K, the system shared memory bandwidth becomes a severe bottleneck, with High settings yielding only 23 FPS and Ultra yielding 18 FPS. The Arc B370’s nearest rivals, such as the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (0.5% faster) and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (0.7% faster), are all older discrete parts with their own memory, but the integrated nature of the B370 means it cannot even match their dedicated bandwidth, resulting in the observed frame rates. The GPU’s 25 W TDP and IGP slot width indicate it is designed for low-power portable devices, not high-refresh gaming, and the data confirms this.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data across resolutions shows a steep decline that clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 80 FPS, but this drops to 58 FPS at 1440p Low (-27.5%) and 38 FPS at 4K Low (-52.5%). This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where increasing pixel count directly reduces frame rate because the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are insufficient to keep up. The trend is even more pronounced at higher settings: at 1080p Medium, the average is 57 FPS, which falls to 42 FPS at 1440p Medium (-26.3%) and 27 FPS at 4K Medium (-52.6%). At High settings, the drop from 1080p (49 FPS) to 1440p (36 FPS) is -26.5%, and to 4K (23 FPS) is -53.1%. The Ultra preset shows the worst absolute performance, with 37 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K, representing a -27% drop and a -51.4% drop, respectively. These percentages are remarkably consistent, hovering around 26-27% for the 1080p-to-1440p step and 51-53% for the 1440p-to-4K step, which indicates that the GPU is being saturated at every resolution, and the CPU’s 12 cores are not the constraint. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would show less variation across resolutions, but the data shows a linear relationship with pixel count, confirming that the Arc B370’s limited ROPs (20) and system-shared memory are the primary limiting factors. The CPU’s high single-thread score (941 in 3DMark single-thread) could easily drive higher frame rates if the GPU were faster, but the integrated graphics cap the output.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance, but only at the lowest settings. With Low settings, the average FPS is 80, which is the highest recorded value in the entire dataset. Medium settings reduce the average to 57 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS, indicating acceptable smoothness for casual play. High settings yield an average of 49 FPS, which is borderline for a competitive FPS, while Ultra settings drop the average to 37 FPS, making the experience noticeably stuttery. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decline significantly. At Low, the average is 58 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium reduces it to 42 FPS (with a range of 35-48 FPS), High drops it to 36 FPS, and Ultra falls to 27 FPS. The 1440p results show that the GPU is struggling to maintain even 60 FPS at the lowest settings, and at Ultra, the frame rate is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. At 3840x2160, the performance collapses further. Low settings produce an average of 38 FPS, Medium yields 27 FPS (with a range of 23-31 FPS), High drops to 23 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 18 FPS. The 4K results are uniformly unplayable for a fast-paced game, with even the best case (Low) falling below 40 FPS. The data shows that the only viable configuration for this combo is 1080p Low, where the 80 FPS average provides a responsive experience, but any increase in quality or resolution quickly degrades the frame rate. The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings at each resolution, showing 48 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K, which suggests that frame pacing is also inconsistent under load.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for this CPU-GPU combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The only playable configuration is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which produces an average of 80 FPS. At Medium settings, the average drops to 57 FPS, and at High it falls to 49 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but is below the ideal for competitive play.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its closest rivals in terms of GPU performance?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1,184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. It is 0.2% slower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, 0.5% slower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770, 0.7% slower than the AMD Radeon HD 7650M, and 1.4% faster than the AMD FirePro M2000.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 5900X the bottleneck in this system?

A: No, the data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU scores 16,262 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1,527 in single-core, placing it in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, but the frame rates drop consistently by about 26-27% from 1080p to 1440p and 51-53% from 1440p to 4K, which is a GPU-bound scaling pattern.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested systems in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The combination of the Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2,611 out of 2,828 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems evaluated for this game.

Q: Does the Arc B370 have dedicated VRAM, and how does that affect performance?

A: The Arc B370 has no dedicated VRAM; it uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth. This is a major limitation, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory access, which becomes a severe bottleneck at higher resolutions like 4K, where the average FPS drops below 40 even at Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU’s multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 5900X has an average benchmark score of 41,376, which is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H, 0.4% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 356H, 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 440, and 0.5% lower than the Intel Core i7-14650HX.