Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 9 5950X + AMD Radeon RX 9070

The measured performance data for Lockdown Protocol with the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and AMD Radeon RX 9070 reveals a system that scales predictably across resolution and settings tiers, with the combo ranking in the 1099th position out of 3714 tested combinations — placing it in the upper third of all tested systems. The data shows a clear pattern where the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as resolution climbs, while the 16-core CPU provides ample headroom even at lower settings where frame rates exceed 200 FPS. This pairing of a 2020-era flagship CPU with a 2025 GPU generation produces a balanced profile, though the measured frames per second at 4K Ultra suggest the graphics card is the primary constraint in the most demanding scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior in Lockdown Protocol for this combo shows a consistent frame rate reduction as pixel count increases, but the magnitude of the drop varies significantly by settings preset. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings, the average FPS falls from 245 to 180 — a 65 FPS reduction that represents a 26.5% performance loss. The same resolution step at High settings drops from 152 to 112 FPS, a 40 FPS or 26.3% decrease. This proportional scaling suggests the workload remains balanced between CPU and GPU at these lower resolution and settings combinations.

The transition from 1440p to 4K tells a different story. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 180 to 116, a 64 FPS or 35.6% reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 112 to 72 FPS, a 40 FPS or 35.7% decrease. This consistent ~35% penalty when moving to 4K indicates the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, as the pixel throughput demands of 3840x2160 — approximately 2.25 times the pixels of 2560x1440 — cannot be fully compensated by the Radeon RX 9070's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth.

The most dramatic scaling appears at Ultra settings. From 1080p Ultra at 114 FPS to 1440p Ultra at 84 FPS, the system loses 30 FPS (26.3%). From 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra, the average drops to 54 FPS — another 30 FPS loss (35.7%). The 4K Ultra result of 54 FPS sits below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth for first-person shooters, indicating that this setting combination pushes the GPU to its practical limit. The Medium preset shows the same pattern: 174 FPS at 1080p, 128 FPS at 1440p, and 82 FPS at 4K, with the 4K Medium minimum of 70 FPS still maintaining playability.

The data implies that Lockdown Protocol's rendering engine scales resolution demands in a near-linear fashion for this hardware, with the RX 9070's RDNA 4.0 architecture handling the increased pixel load gracefully but not effortlessly. The CPU's role in this scaling appears minimal — even at 1080p Low where the 245 FPS average approaches the limits of what the Ryzen 9 5950X can feed, the system does not show signs of a CPU bottleneck that would cause irregular frame pacing or erratic minimums. The measured Medium preset minimums of 148 FPS at 1080p and 109 FPS at 1440p demonstrate consistent frame delivery rather than stutter-prone behavior.

FAQ

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Yes, but only at Medium or lower settings. The measured 4K Medium average is 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 FPS, while 4K High averages 72 FPS and 4K Low reaches 116 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 54 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 5950X's core count influence performance in this game?

A: The 16-core, 32-thread processor provides substantial headroom. With a 3.40 GHz base clock and 4.90 GHz boost clock, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 26017 and a single-core score of 1614, indicating strong per-thread performance that prevents CPU bottlenecks even at 1080p Low where frame rates reach 245 FPS.

Q: What is the most demanding settings preset for this combo?

A: The 4K Ultra preset produces the lowest measured average at 54 FPS. This represents a 78% performance reduction compared to the 1080p Low result of 245 FPS, demonstrating the combined impact of maximum resolution and highest graphical detail.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The combination ranks 1099th out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the 70th percentile of all systems tested. This positions it above the median performer while not reaching the top tier of configurations.

Q: Does the RX 9070's 16 GB VRAM cause any limitations?

A: The 16 GB GDDR6 memory with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for all tested settings, as the frame rate reductions at 4K Ultra are consistent with the GPU's compute throughput rather than memory constraints. The card's 3584 shading units and 128 ROPs handle the rendering workload without evidence of VRAM capacity issues.

Q: What is the performance delta between Low and Ultra at each resolution?

A: At 1080p, Low averages 245 FPS and Ultra averages 114 FPS, a 131 FPS difference. At 1440p, the gap is 96 FPS (180 Low vs 84 Ultra). At 4K, the difference narrows to 62 FPS (116 Low vs 54 Ultra), showing that resolution scaling compresses the settings impact as the GPU becomes more constrained.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and frame rate stability across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 174 FPS average with a minimum of 148 FPS and maximum of 200 FPS — the only settings tier with full min/max measurements, suggesting it represents the most consistent experience. The 1440p Medium result of 128 FPS average (minimum 109 FPS) maintains high refresh rate capability, while 4K Medium at 82 FPS average with a 70 FPS minimum keeps the experience above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

For competitive play where maximum frame rate takes priority, the Low preset at 1080p produces 245 FPS average, which would fully utilize high refresh rate displays. The Low preset at 1440p still achieves 180 FPS, making it viable for 165 Hz monitors. However, the visual downgrade from Low to Medium likely sacrifices significant detail for a 71 FPS gain at 1080p (174 to 245) and a 52 FPS gain at 1440p (128 to 180) — a tradeoff that may not be worthwhile given the Medium preset's already excellent frame delivery.

The Ultra preset shows diminishing returns relative to its performance cost. At 1080p Ultra, the 114 FPS average falls 60 FPS below Medium, while at 1440p Ultra the 84 FPS average drops 44 FPS below Medium. At 4K Ultra, the 54 FPS result drops below the 60 FPS threshold, making this combination unsuitable for smooth gameplay. The High preset occupies a middle ground — 152 FPS at 1080p, 112 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K — but the 4K High result sits close to the Medium 4K minimum of 70 FPS, suggesting Medium provides better frame time consistency at that resolution.

The data suggests that Medium is the recommended preset for this hardware combination, as it delivers the highest minimum frame rates relative to its average, indicating more stable frame pacing. The 4K Medium minimum of 70 FPS is particularly notable, as it shows the system can hold above 70 FPS even in demanding scenes, whereas the High and Ultra presets lack reported minimums — potentially indicating less predictable frame delivery.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves 245 FPS average, followed by Medium at 174 FPS (minimum 148, maximum 200), High at 152 FPS, and Ultra at 114 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra spans 131 FPS, with each settings tier producing a meaningful step down in performance.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale proportionally. Low produces 180 FPS, Medium averages 128 FPS (minimum 109, maximum 147), High averages 112 FPS, and Ultra averages 84 FPS. The 96 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at this resolution shows a tighter grouping than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU begins to assert more influence over the rendering pipeline.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope compresses further. Low averages 116 FPS, Medium averages 82 FPS (minimum 70, maximum 95), High averages 72 FPS, and Ultra drops to 54 FPS. The 62 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 4K demonstrates that at this resolution, the GPU's fill rate and shading throughput — capped at 322.6 GPixel/s pixel rate and 36.13 TFLOPS FP32 — become the dominant constraint regardless of settings.

The Medium preset's measured minimum and maximum values at each resolution provide insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p, the 148-200 FPS range represents a 52 FPS variance from minimum to average. At 1440p, the 109-147 FPS range shows a 19 FPS variance from minimum to average. At 4K, the 70-95 FPS range shows a 12 FPS variance from minimum to average. This narrowing variance at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU's workload becomes more uniform, reducing the impact of scene complexity fluctuations on frame delivery.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 achieves a rank of 1099 out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 70th percentile of all systems tested. This positioning suggests the combo outperforms roughly 70% of tested configurations while trailing the top 30%, a solid but not exceptional standing for a system combining a high-end 2020 CPU with a 2025 GPU.

The CPU's individual benchmark standing helps contextualize this rank. The Ryzen 9 5950X holds a 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 51947. Its nearest rivals in aggregate performance include the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX (52073, -0.2% delta), AMD EPYC 8124P (52121, -0.3% delta), Intel Core i9-13900F (51730, +0.4% delta), and Intel Core i7-14700 (52301, -0.7% delta). This tight clustering around the 52000 score level indicates the 5950X remains competitive with newer processors despite its 2020 release date.

The GPU's benchmark standing is notably lower. The RX 9070 holds a 69th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23877. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (23736, +0.6% delta), AMD Radeon RX 6800S (24063, -0.8% delta), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile (23628, +1.1% delta), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (24170, -1.2% delta). This clustering around the 24000 score level suggests the RX 9070's raw compute performance aligns with mid-range GPUs from previous generations, despite its RDNA 4.0 architecture and 4 nm process node.

The combination of a 91st percentile CPU with a 69th percentile GPU results in a 70th percentile system ranking for Lockdown Protocol, indicating the game's performance is more heavily influenced by GPU capability than CPU strength. The data implies that upgrading the GPU would yield larger frame rate improvements than upgrading the CPU, as the 5950X's substantial core count and clock speeds already provide sufficient headroom.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X brings 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process with 8,300 million transistors across a dual-die design measuring 2x 74 mm². With a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz, this processor delivers strong single-threaded performance — evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1614 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 944. These figures suggest the CPU can handle Lockdown Protocol's game logic and physics calculations without becoming a limiting factor.

The CPU's multithreaded capabilities are substantial, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 26017, a Geekbench multicore score of 15233, and a Passmark multithread score of 45424. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10810 and max-thread score of 11597 show that performance scales well across the core count, with only a 7% gain from 16 to 32 threads — indicating the additional threads provide diminishing returns for this workload. The L3 cache of 64 MB and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate data throughput for gaming scenarios.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role appears to be providing consistent frame delivery rather than maximizing peak frame rates. The 1080p Low result of 245 FPS represents the system's ceiling, and the fact that this drops to 180 FPS at 1440p Low — a 26.5% reduction — suggests the CPU can feed the GPU effectively at lower resolutions. The 5950X's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 51947, places it above the median but below the absolute top performers, meaning it will not bottleneck the RX 9070 in most scenarios.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 represents the RDNA 4.0 architecture on TSMC's 4 nm process, packing 53,900 million transistors into a 357 mm² die with a transistor density of 151.0M per mm². The GPU operates at a base clock of 1330 MHz, a game clock of 2070 MHz, and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with memory running at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective). The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for all tested settings in this game.

The RX 9070's compute resources include 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 raster operation units, along with 56 ray tracing cores. The pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s indicate the card's fill rate capabilities, while FP32 performance of 36.13 TFLOPS (matching FP16 at a 1:1 ratio) shows balanced compute throughput. These specifications translate to the measured frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, where the GPU demonstrates its strength at lower resolutions but shows limitations at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's benchmark profile shows a 69th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23877. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6290 provides a synthetic measure of DirectX 12 performance, while Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores of 131539 and 58705 respectively show strong compute and API-specific performance. The Passmark G3D score of 25381 and GPU compute score of 14737 indicate the card's gaming and computational capabilities.

In Lockdown Protocol, the RX 9070's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases. At 1080p, the GPU can push frame rates well beyond 144 Hz at most settings, with only Ultra dropping to 114 FPS. At 1440p, the card maintains above 84 FPS across all settings, while at 4K, it manages 72 FPS at High but falls to 54 FPS at Ultra. This scaling pattern suggests the GPU's 2520 MHz boost clock and 16 GB memory buffer are well-matched to the game's requirements at lower resolutions, but the 4K Ultra scenario exceeds the card's comfortable operating envelope.