Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 9 9900X + Intel Arc B370

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the Intel Arc B370 delivers playable frame rates at 1080p Low settings but falls well short of smooth performance at higher resolutions or quality presets in Lockdown Protocol. This combination ranks 2611th out of 2828 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. The data shows a system where the GPU is the overwhelming bottleneck, with the CPU’s substantial multi-threaded capabilities largely untapped due to the integrated graphics solution’s modest throughput.

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

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), built on TSMC’s 4 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, backed by a 64 MB L3 cache and 1 MB L2 per core. This is a desktop-class CPU with a 120 W TDP, designed for AMD Socket AM5, and it supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the processor achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32172 and a single-core score of 2253, with Geekbench scores of 22174 multi-core and 3010 single-core.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role is largely preparatory: the game’s frame rate ceiling is set by the graphics solution, not the processor. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 80 FPS average, which is the highest observed in any configuration. This suggests that even at the lowest settings, the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, but the GPU cannot push beyond this threshold. The 9900X’s 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and 2-thread score of 2519 indicate strong per-core performance, which is relevant for an FPS title that typically relies on a few primary threads. However, the benchmark results across all resolutions and settings show a consistent pattern: frame rates scale with resolution and quality, not with CPU capability, confirming that the processor is not the limiting factor.

The CPU’s 92nd percentile ranking among all CPUs (avgBenchmarkScore 57498) places it just above the AMD EPYC 9015 (57555, -0.1% delta) and AMD EPYC 7313 (57399, 0.2% delta), while trailing the Intel Core i9-14900 (58115, -1.1% delta) and Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58323, -1.4% delta). This near-parity with server-class parts underscores its raw compute headroom, but in Lockdown Protocol, this headroom remains unused because the GPU saturates first. The 9900X’s PassMark multi-thread score of 54643 and floating point math score of 120083 further illustrate its capabilities, yet none of this translates to higher FPS in this game due to the GPU bottleneck.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best performance this combo achieves in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest average frame rate is 80 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration that crosses the 60 FPS threshold, with the next highest being 58 FPS at 2560x1440 Low.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X’s average benchmark score is 57498, which is effectively tied with the AMD EPYC 9015 (57555, -0.1% delta) and AMD EPYC 7313 (57399, 0.2% delta). It sits 1.1% behind the Intel Core i9-14900 (58115) and 1.4% behind the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58323).

Q: Is the Intel Arc B370 a discrete graphics card?

A: No, the Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 25 W TDP and no power connectors. Its memory is system shared, with bandwidth described as system dependent, and it uses the Xe3-LPG architecture on Intel’s 3 nm process.

Q: What is the worst performance scenario for this combo?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 18 FPS, observed at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. This is below the 23 FPS minimum recorded at 2560x1440 Ultra and the 23 FPS average at 4K High.

Q: How does the GPU rank among all tested graphics cards?

A: The Intel Arc B370 sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, -0.2% delta), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, -0.5% delta), and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, -0.7% delta), showing it is comparable to a decade-old mainstream card.

Q: Does the CPU’s multi-threading help in this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate no, as frame rates are identical or lower when comparing settings that would stress the CPU. For instance, at 1080p Medium the average is 57 FPS versus 49 FPS at High, and at 1440p Medium it drops to 42 FPS from 58 FPS at Low, showing GPU-bound scaling rather than CPU-bound improvements.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, which is the hallmark of a GPU-limited system. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 80 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 58 FPS, a 27.5% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 38 FPS, which is a 52.5% drop from the 1080p Low baseline. This pattern holds across all settings: at Medium, 1080p yields 57 FPS, 1440p yields 42 FPS (26.3% lower), and 4K yields 27 FPS (52.6% lower). At High settings, 1080p averages 49 FPS, 1440p drops to 36 FPS (26.5% lower), and 4K falls to 23 FPS (53.1% lower). Ultra settings show 37 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p (27.0% lower), and 18 FPS at 4K (51.4% lower).

The consistency of these percentage drops — roughly 26-27% from 1080p to 1440p and another 35% from 1440p to 4K — indicates that the integrated GPU’s pixel throughput is the binding constraint. The Arc B370’s pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, which are modest figures that scale poorly with resolution. The CPU’s performance is unaffected by resolution, so the fact that FPS drops proportionally to pixel count means the GPU is working at its maximum capacity at every resolution. Had the CPU been the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to remain relatively flat across resolutions at the same settings, which is not the case here. The data strongly suggests that even at 1080p Low, the GPU is near its limit, and any further resolution increase directly taxes the render pipeline.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X + Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2611th out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the bottom 7.7% of all configurations, a position that reflects the severe mismatch between the high-end CPU and the entry-level integrated GPU. To contextualize this rank, the CPU alone sits at the 92nd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs. The combo rank is thus dragged down almost entirely by the graphics component, as the CPU’s percentile ranking would suggest a much higher overall position if paired with a capable discrete GPU.

The rank of 2611 out of 2828 means that 217 other combos perform worse, while 2610 perform better. Given that the GPU’s benchmark score (1184) is comparable to the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, -0.5% delta), a card from 2009, the low combo rank is unsurprising. The data shows that this pairing is only suitable for the lowest demands of Lockdown Protocol, and even then, only at 1080p Low does it achieve a playable 80 FPS average. For any other configuration, the combo falls below 60 FPS, with most settings at 1440p and all settings at 4K falling below 45 FPS. The rank reflects this reality: it is a bottom-tier configuration for this game, limited by the GPU’s inability to handle modern FPS rendering workloads.

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

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture (Panther Lake), fabricated on Intel’s 3 nm process. It runs at a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, with 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. It also includes 10 ray tracing cores. Its memory is system shared, meaning it uses the host system’s DDR5 memory, with bandwidth described as system dependent. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which are modern API standards.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU’s modest specifications translate directly into the observed frame rates. The FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS and the 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are the key metrics that limit resolution scaling. At 4K (3840x2160), the GPU must process 8.3 million pixels per frame, and with a 48 GPixel/s fill rate, it can theoretically output about 5.8 frames per second at full pixel throughput — but the actual 23 FPS at High settings indicates that the game’s shading workload also plays a role. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places the GPU at the 5th percentile, and its nearest rival is the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, -0.2% delta), which is a mobile card from the early 2010s. This comparison underscores the GPU’s age-equivalent performance level.

The GPU’s 25 W TDP and IGP form factor mean it has no dedicated video memory or power connectors, which limits its ability to sustain high clock speeds under load. The boost clock of 2400 MHz is decent for an integrated part, but the small number of shading units (1280) and ROPs (20) cap its throughput. In practice, the measured FPS shows that the GPU can handle 1080p Low at 80 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra it drops to 37 FPS, indicating that the shading units become the bottleneck as quality settings increase. The GPU’s role in this combo is clearly to provide basic playability at low resolutions and settings, with no headroom for higher fidelity.

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

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of this combo’s performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are: 80 FPS at Low, 57 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 48 and maximum of 65), 49 FPS at High, and 37 FPS at Ultra. This shows a clear progression: dropping from Low to Medium costs 23 FPS (28.8%), from Medium to High costs 8 FPS (14.0%), and from High to Ultra costs 12 FPS (24.5%). The minimum FPS at Medium (48) is close to the average at High (49), indicating some frame time variance at lower settings.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: 58 FPS at Low, 42 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 48), 36 FPS at High, and 27 FPS at Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 16 FPS (27.6%), from Medium to High is 6 FPS (14.3%), and from High to Ultra is 9 FPS (25.0%). The minimum FPS at Medium (35) is just 1 FPS below the average at High (36), suggesting that the GPU is consistently near its limits at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: 38 FPS at Low, 27 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 23 and maximum of 31), 23 FPS at High, and 18 FPS at Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 11 FPS (28.9%), from Medium to High is 4 FPS (14.8%), and from High to Ultra is 5 FPS (21.7%). The minimum FPS at Medium (23) equals the average at High (23), indicating that the GPU is fully saturated and frame rates are tightly clustered.

Across all resolutions, the relative drops from Low to Medium (approximately 27-29%), Medium to High (approximately 14-15%), and High to Ultra (approximately 22-25%) are consistent, which suggests that each quality tier imposes a similar incremental load on the GPU. The data also shows that the gap between 1080p and 1440p is roughly 27-28% at each setting, and the gap between 1440p and 4K is roughly 35-38%, which aligns with the pixel count differences (1440p has 1.78x the pixels of 1080p, and 4K has 2.25x the pixels of 1440p). This consistency confirms that the GPU is the sole limiting factor, with the CPU providing no additional headroom at any resolution or setting.