Lockdown Protocol

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across the three resolutions reveal a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling in Lockdown Protocol. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average FPS at High settings drops from 93.8 to 70.8, a reduction of roughly 23 frames. The same step from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 brings the average down to 43.3, a further drop of 27.5 frames. This progressive decline indicates that the rendering load scales almost linearly with pixel count, a classic sign that the Intel Arc B580 is the primary limiting component at these settings.

The Low preset tells a similar story but with a steeper absolute cliff. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo achieves 155.6 FPS, which falls to 110.1 at 2560x1440 and then to 72.6 at 4K. The difference between 1080p and 4K at Low is 83 frames, whereas at High the difference is 50.5 frames. This larger absolute gap at Low settings suggests that even when the graphical load is reduced, the GPU still cannot keep pace with the CPU's potential output; the scaling is driven by the GPU's raw throughput limits rather than by any CPU bottleneck.

At Medium settings, the pattern holds: 109.4 FPS at 1080p, 82.8 at 1440p, and 52.1 at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 69 FPS at 1080p, 53.8 at 1440p, and 35.2 at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is nearly 49%, meaning the card loses almost half its performance when pixel count quadruples. This is consistent with a GPU that has a finite fillrate and memory bandwidth ceiling; the data shows no evidence of CPU limiting at any resolution, since the frame rate always scales downward with resolution.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture and operates with a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a substantial figure for this class of card. In Lockdown Protocol, the memory bandwidth appears sufficient for the measured workloads, as the frame rates do not show any anomalous stalls or collapses when moving to 4K; the declines are steady and predictable.

The GPU's compute resources include 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. The pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are the hardware specs that underpin the resolution scaling observed. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 35.2 FPS, which suggests that the fillrate and shading capacity are stretched thin. The FP32 throughput of 13.67 TFLOPS is moderate, and the benchmark results reflect that: the card sits at the 66th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23021.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the Arc B580 is nearly identical in average score to the AMD Radeon 760M, with a deltaPct of 0.1, and it is 0.3 ahead of the NVIDIA P106-100. It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 by 0.7, and it leads the RTX 4060 Mobile by 1.3. These small deltas indicate that the B580 is positioned right at the edge of its performance class; in Lockdown Protocol, the measured FPS figures are consistent with a card that is capable but not exceptional at high resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and the Intel Arc B580 is ranked 1281 out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the pairing in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is a notable result given the CPU's strength. The Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on Zen 4 architecture, and it sits at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 50556. The GPU, however, is at the 66th percentile, and that disparity explains the overall combo rank.

The rank of 1281 out of 1637 means that roughly 78% of tested combinations outperform this one in this specific game. This is not a reflection of a weak CPU; rather, the data indicates that the Arc B580 is the constraining factor. The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks—the Intel Core Ultra 5 235, AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT, Intel Core i7-13850HX, and Intel Core i9-13980HX—all have average scores within 0.8 of the 7900X, so the processor is firmly in the high-end tier. The combo's rank is therefore dragged down by the GPU's mid-tier standing, and the measured FPS confirms that the pairing is GPU-bound across all tested settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 155.6 FPS, which is well above the typical 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. Medium follows at 109.4 FPS, High at 93.8 FPS, and Ultra at 69 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 86.6 FPS, showing a wide performance envelope that gives players room to adjust visuals without falling below playable thresholds.

At 2560x1440, Low still provides a strong 110.1 FPS, while Medium drops to 82.8 and High to 70.8. Ultra falls to 53.8 FPS, which is the first instance where the combo dips below the 60 FPS mark. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 56.3 FPS, a smaller spread than at 1080p but still significant.

At 3840x2160, the situation tightens considerably. Low yields 72.6 FPS, Medium 52.1 FPS, High 43.3 FPS, and Ultra 35.2 FPS. Only the Low preset remains comfortably above 60 FPS, while Medium and High are playable but not smooth, and Ultra is marginal. The data shows that 4K gaming with this combo requires a willingness to accept lower settings; the measured rows indicate no configuration achieves 4K at 60 FPS or better.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It has a large 64 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. Its synthetic benchmark scores are exceptional: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 43695, a 3DMark max threads score of 12536, and a Geekbench multicore score of 17830. In single-threaded tests, it scores 6168 in Cinebench R23 and 2952 in Geekbench, placing it firmly in the top tier for gaming workloads.

In Lockdown Protocol, however, the CPU does not appear to be a limiting factor. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution, which would not happen if the CPU were the bottleneck; a CPU-bound scenario would show flat FPS across resolutions. The fact that 1080p Low hits 155.6 FPS while 4K Low drops to 72.6 FPS is direct evidence that the GPU is the constraint. The 7900X's nearest rivals—the Intel Core Ultra 5 235, AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT, Intel Core i7-13850HX, and Intel Core i9-13980HX—all have average scores within 0.8 of the 7900X, meaning the CPU is performing as expected relative to its class. The data shows that any further gains in Lockdown Protocol would require a stronger GPU, not a stronger CPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal setting depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves 69 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold, so players can max out the visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. The High preset at 93.8 FPS offers headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors, while Low at 155.6 FPS is the only option for very high refresh rates in the 144 Hz range.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 70.8 FPS provides a balanced experience, staying above 60 FPS while maintaining decent visuals. Medium at 82.8 FPS is the safer choice for those who prefer a larger margin, and Low at 110.1 FPS is the best option for competitive play. Ultra at 53.8 FPS is playable but dips below 60, so it is only recommended if visual fidelity takes priority over smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 72.6 FPS is the only configuration that clears the 60 FPS bar, making it the recommended choice for 4K gaming. Medium at 52.1 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced play, but High at 43.3 FPS and Ultra at 35.2 FPS are likely to feel sluggish in a fast-paced FPS. The data suggests that 4K users should either accept Low settings or drop to 1440p for a better experience. Overall, the best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Ultra for a balance of quality and speed, or 1440p High for a middle ground; 4K is only viable on Low.