Lockdown Protocol

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

The measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol tells a clear story about how this AMD Ryzen 9 5950X + Intel Arc B390 combination scales across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 88 FPS, which drops to 65 FPS at 1440p Low, and further to 42 FPS at 4K Low. That progression represents a 26% reduction when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a 52% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The pattern is consistent across all settings presets, but the magnitude of the drop intensifies as the graphics load increases.

Looking at High settings specifically, the system produces 55 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 27% from 1080p to 1440p, and 53% from 1080p to 4K. Medium settings show 63 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K — again, a 27% and 52% reduction respectively. Ultra settings follow the same trajectory: 41 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K, representing 27% and 54% reductions.

This remarkably consistent scaling pattern — roughly a quarter loss at 1440p and a half loss at 4K regardless of preset — points directly at the GPU as the limiting factor. The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution with a 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs, and its benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 places it alongside very modest discrete graphics solutions from years past. When the resolution doubles in pixel count, the GPU's workload scales proportionally, and the FPS drops accordingly. A CPU-bound scenario would show much smaller FPS differences between resolutions, since the CPU's workload doesn't change with pixel count.

The data reveals something else interesting: the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, Low delivers 88 FPS versus 41 FPS for Ultra — a 47 FPS spread. At 4K, Low delivers 42 FPS versus 19 FPS for Ultra — only a 23 FPS spread. This compression of the settings range at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU is saturated, as the additional pixel fill rate demand dominates whatever savings lower settings might provide. The 4K Medium measurement includes a minimum of 25 FPS and maximum of 34 FPS, showing notable frame-time variance even in the mid-range preset.

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

The Intel Arc B390 uses system shared memory, meaning there is no dedicated VRAM pool to draw from. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," which means the GPU borrows from the Ryzen 9 5950X's DDR4 memory. This architecture has direct implications for Lockdown Protocol's performance at higher resolutions, where memory bandwidth demands increase substantially.

The GPU's clock behavior shows a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The boost clock represents an 8.3x multiplier over the base, and the actual sustained clock in gaming workloads would depend on thermal and power headroom. The GPU's TDP is 80 W, and it has no power connectors — it's an IGP (integrated graphics processor) solution. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The FP32 compute throughput is 7.680 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1).

For a game like Lockdown Protocol, an FPS title, the rendering pipeline needs consistent fill rates and geometry throughput. The 24 ROPs are a modest count for 4K resolution, which requires massive pixel fill. At 4K Ultra, the system only manages 19 FPS, and even 4K Low yields just 42 FPS. The GPU's architecture is Xe3-LPG, built on Intel's 3 nm process, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The 12 ray tracing cores are present but unlikely to be heavily utilized at these performance levels.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places this GPU in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in benchmark scores are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% lower), GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% lower), GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% lower), and GT 710 (1443, 2.7% lower). These are entry-level or legacy mobile/desktop GPUs, which contextualizes the Arc B390's performance class. It's a capable integrated solution that can handle esports titles and lighter gaming, but Lockdown Protocol at high resolutions pushes it well beyond its comfort zone.

The shared memory architecture means the Ryzen 9 5950X's dual-channel DDR4 memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s serves as the ceiling for GPU memory transactions. This bandwidth is shared with CPU workloads, creating potential contention. The measured FPS data suggests this isn't a catastrophic bottleneck at 1080p, where the system still achieves 88 FPS at Low settings, but the 4K results indicate the GPU is hitting its structural limits.

FAQ

Q: Why does the 4K Ultra preset only achieve 19 FPS?

A: The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU with a 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs and a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482. At 4K resolution, the 24 ROPs and 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 compute are insufficient to maintain playable frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, especially with Ultra settings that maximize the rendering workload.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463 (1.3% lower), GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5% lower), GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5% lower), and GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7% lower). All of these are within 3% of the Arc B390's performance.

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 5950X help or hinder the GPU in this game?

A: The Ryzen 9 5950X provides 16 cores, 32 threads, and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, making it a high-end CPU with a 91st percentile ranking. The CPU is unlikely to bottleneck the Arc B390 at any resolution, as the FPS scaling pattern across resolutions mirrors what would be expected from a GPU-limited scenario.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1080p is the only resolution where the system achieves an average of 60 FPS or higher, and that only occurs at Low settings (88 FPS). At 1440p, the highest average FPS is 65 at Low settings. 4K performance ranges from 19 FPS at Ultra to 42 FPS at Low, which is below playable thresholds for most FPS titles.

Q: How much FPS is lost moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: Across all settings, the drop is consistently around 27%. At Low settings, FPS goes from 88 to 65. At Medium, from 63 to 46. At High, from 55 to 40. At Ultra, from 41 to 30. This consistent percentage reduction indicates the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: Is the Arc B390's shared memory a problem for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The system shared memory architecture means the GPU uses the same DDR4 memory pool as the CPU, with system-dependent bandwidth. This arrangement contributes to the performance limitations seen at higher resolutions, but the GPU's raw compute and ROP counts are the more significant constraints.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X + Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2512 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the bottom 11% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the significant mismatch between the CPU and GPU in this pairing. The Ryzen 9 5950X is a high-end desktop processor with a 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 51947. Its nearest CPU rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX (52073, 0.2% higher), AMD EPYC 8124P (52121, 0.3% higher), Intel Core i9-13900F (51730, 0.4% lower), and Intel Core i7-14700 (52301, 0.7% higher). These are all within 1% of the 5950X's average score, showing it competes with modern high-end processors.

The Intel Arc B390, in contrast, ranks in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of just 1482. This places it in the company of decade-old discrete GPUs like the GT 710 and GT 625 OEM. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a bottom-tier GPU results in a system that is severely GPU-bound in Lockdown Protocol. The combo rank of 2512 out of 2828 suggests that many other CPU+GPU pairings deliver better frame rates in this game, even those with weaker CPUs, because the GPU is the primary determinant of FPS in this title.

The data indicates that this combo would perform nearly identically in Lockdown Protocol with a much weaker CPU, as the Arc B390 is the clear performance ceiling. The 5950X's massive compute resources — 16 cores, 32 threads, 64 MB L3 cache — are largely idle while the GPU struggles to maintain 60 FPS even at 1080p Low. This is a textbook case of component imbalance, where the CPU's capabilities far exceed what the GPU can utilize in a GPU-bound game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's resolution and frame rate priorities. At 1080p, Low settings deliver 88 FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset to exceed 60 FPS. Medium settings at 1080p yield 63 FPS, which is also above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a better visual experience. High settings drop to 55 FPS, and Ultra to 41 FPS. For competitive FPS play at 1080p, Low or Medium settings are the viable choices, with Medium offering the better balance of visual quality and performance.

At 1440p, no settings preset achieves 60 FPS. Low delivers 65 FPS, which is the only preset above 60 FPS at this resolution. Medium yields 46 FPS, High 40 FPS, and Ultra 30 FPS. The 1440p Medium measurement shows a minimum of 39 FPS and maximum of 53 FPS, indicating frame times range from roughly 19 ms to 26 ms — noticeable variability that could affect gameplay smoothness. For 1440p users, Low settings are the only option for maintaining a playable frame rate, and even then, the 65 FPS average may dip below 60 FPS during intense scenes.

At 4K, none of the presets achieve playable frame rates for an FPS title. Low delivers 42 FPS, Medium 30 FPS, High 26 FPS, and Ultra 19 FPS. The 4K Medium measurement shows a minimum of 25 FPS and maximum of 34 FPS, representing a 36% swing between minimum and maximum — significant frame time instability. 4K gaming is not recommended with this combo, as even the lowest settings fail to maintain 60 FPS.

The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Medium at 63 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold while offering better visual fidelity than Low. Users who prioritize maximum frame rates should select 1080p Low at 88 FPS, but the Medium preset's 63 FPS is likely the sweet spot for most players.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full measured FPS dataset for Lockdown Protocol with the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and Intel Arc B390 covers 12 configurations across four presets and three resolutions.

At 1920x1080:

• Low: 88 FPS average
• Medium: 63 FPS average, with a minimum of 53 FPS and maximum of 72 FPS
• High: 55 FPS average
• Ultra: 41 FPS average

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 65 FPS average
• Medium: 46 FPS average, with a minimum of 39 FPS and maximum of 53 FPS
• High: 40 FPS average
• Ultra: 30 FPS average

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 42 FPS average
• Medium: 30 FPS average, with a minimum of 25 FPS and maximum of 34 FPS
• High: 26 FPS average
• Ultra: 19 FPS average

The only configurations with minimum FPS data are the Medium presets at each resolution. This suggests that Medium settings exhibit the most frame time variability, which is interesting given that Low and High presets presumably have more stable frame delivery. The 1080p Medium range spans 53-72 FPS, a 19 FPS spread. The 1440p Medium range spans 39-53 FPS, a 14 FPS spread. The 4K Medium range spans 25-34 FPS, a 9 FPS spread. The absolute spread narrows at higher resolutions, but the percentage spread (relative to the average) remains substantial.

Looking at the progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution:

• At 1080p: 88, 63, 55, 41 — the Ultra preset delivers 47% of the Low preset's frame rate
• At 1440p: 65, 46, 40, 30 — Ultra delivers 46% of Low
• At 4K: 42, 30, 26, 19 — Ultra delivers 45% of Low

This consistent ~45-47% ratio between Low and Ultra across all resolutions reinforces that the settings impact is proportional regardless of resolution, suggesting the GPU's rendering pipeline handles all presets with similar efficiency degradation.

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

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer codename), manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. The CPU has 64 MB of L3 cache, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 64 KB of L1 cache per core. It supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration with 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The 105 W TDP and unlocked multiplier make it a versatile desktop processor, and its launch MSRP was $799.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, as the FPS scaling pattern demonstrates. The 5950X's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multicore score of 26017, Geekbench multicore of 15233, and Passmark multithread of 45424. Single-thread performance is also solid, with Cinebench R23 singlecore at 1614, Geekbench singlecore at 2083, and Passmark singlethread at 3470. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10810 and max-threads score of 11597 indicate the CPU can handle heavily threaded workloads efficiently.

The 5950X's percentile ranking of 91 places it in the top 9% of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 51947 is remarkably close to its nearest rivals: the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX (52073, 0.2% higher), AMD EPYC 8124P (52121, 0.3% higher), Intel Core i9-13900F (51730, 0.4% lower), and Intel Core i7-14700 (52301, 0.7% lower). This puts the 5950X in a dead heat with modern high-end processors, despite being released in a previous generation.

For Lockdown Protocol specifically, the CPU's 16 cores and 32 threads provide ample headroom for game logic, physics, and AI computations. The 4.90 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-thread performance for game engine tasks that aren't well-parallelized. However, the measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at every resolution and settings combination. The consistent FPS drops across resolutions — roughly 27% from 1080p to 1440p and another 35% from 1440p to 4K — are characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios, where the CPU's frame production capacity far exceeds what the GPU can render.

The CPU's 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth is shared with the Arc B390's system shared memory. This means the GPU's memory transactions compete with CPU memory access for the same bandwidth. In a game like Lockdown Protocol, where the GPU is already struggling, this shared bandwidth could contribute to the frame time variability seen in the Medium preset measurements. The 5950X's dual-channel DDR4 support, while adequate for CPU workloads, is less than what a dedicated GPU with its own VRAM would provide. This is another instance where the CPU's capabilities are constrained by the integrated GPU's architecture.

The data suggests that pairing the 5950X with a discrete GPU would yield dramatically better Lockdown Protocol performance, as the CPU's 91st percentile ranking indicates it can feed much faster graphics solutions. The current combo's 2512 out of 2828 ranking in this game is almost entirely attributable to the Arc B390's 9th percentile GPU performance. The CPU is effectively waiting for the GPU to catch up at every frame.