Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 9 9900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER

This combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers gameplay that ranks in the 93.5th percentile among all tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing 241st out of 3,714 configurations. The pairing demonstrates strong headroom across all resolution tiers, with the most demanding Ultra preset at 4K still producing a playable 73 FPS average, while lower settings at 1080p exceed 300 FPS. The data indicates a system well-balanced for competitive FPS play, though the scaling behavior reveals where each component's contribution begins to shift.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo achieves rank 241 out of 3,714 tested configurations, placing it comfortably in the top 7% of all pairings evaluated for Lockdown Protocol. This ranking reflects the combined capability of the Ryzen 9 9900X, which sits at the 92nd percentile among all CPUs, and the RTX 4080 SUPER, which holds the 86th percentile among all GPUs. The CPU's average benchmark score of 57,498 places it within 0.1% of the AMD EPYC 9015 (57,555) and 0.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7313 (57,399), while trailing the Intel Core i9-14900 by 1.1% and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M by 1.4%. On the GPU side, the 4080 SUPER's average score of 54,209 sits 0.1% below the RTX 4080 (54,247) but 1.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828) and 2.7% above the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698).

In practical terms, this ranking means the combo outperforms the vast majority of systems tested in Lockdown Protocol, with only 240 configurations achieving higher measured performance. The gap between this combo and the top-ranked systems is not attributable to a single weak link; both the CPU and GPU deliver near-peer-leading synthetic scores. The 12-core, 24-thread Ryzen 9 9900X provides substantial compute headroom that prevents CPU-bound bottlenecks even at high frame rates, while the RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 throughput handle the game's rendering demands without obvious limitations. The result is a configuration that should satisfy players targeting high-refresh-rate monitors at 1440p or smooth 4K experiences on High settings.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average of 73 FPS. This is the lowest measured average across all tested configurations, but it remains above the 60 FPS threshold typically considered acceptable for smooth gameplay. The step from High (97 FPS) to Ultra (73 FPS) represents a 24.7% performance drop, indicating that Ultra presets impose a significant additional load on the GPU.

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play with this setup?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 with Low settings delivers 331 FPS average, which is the highest measured result. For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, 1080p Low provides the fastest response. However, 2560x1440 with Low settings still achieves 243 FPS, offering a substantial resolution upgrade with only a 26.6% frame rate penalty, making it a strong compromise for competitive play on higher-resolution displays.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K at High settings shows FPS dropping from 205 to 97, a 52.7% reduction. This magnitude of decline when resolution increases indicates the GPU becomes the primary limiter at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 331 FPS result suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU effectively, but the frame rate ceiling likely approaches CPU limits given the 12-core processor's single-thread score of 1,286 in 3DMark.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its closest GPU rival in this game?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER's average benchmark score of 54,209 is within 0.1% of the RTX 4080 (54,247), making the two effectively equivalent in raw compute terms. This translates to nearly identical performance in Lockdown Protocol, so users upgrading from the non-SUPER variant should not expect measurable FPS differences. The gap to the next competitor, the Radeon Pro W5700X at 54,828, is also minimal at 1.1%.

Q: What frame times can be expected at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo delivers 172 FPS average with a minimum of 147 FPS and maximum of 198 FPS. The 25 FPS delta between minimum and average suggests consistent frame pacing, with the 147 FPS minimum still well above typical high-refresh-rate thresholds. This preset appears to offer a good balance between visual quality and performance stability.

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 9900X's multi-threaded performance matter for this game?

A: Lockdown Protocol's results show strong scaling with the CPU's capabilities, but the game likely does not utilize all 24 threads given the 331 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low. The CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 12,552 and max-thread score of 13,929 indicate robust multi-core throughput, yet the single-thread score of 1,286 may be more relevant for frame pacing. The 5.60 GHz boost clock provides ample single-thread headroom for the game's primary simulation thread.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 205 FPS at 1920x1080 to 151 FPS at 2560x1440, a 26.3% reduction, then further to 97 FPS at 3840x2160, a 35.8% reduction from 1440p. Across the full range, this represents a 52.7% performance decline from 1080p to 4K. This steep scaling curve indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER's rendering throughput, rather than the CPU's processing capability, is the dominant constraint when pixel count increases.

For Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced in absolute terms: 331 FPS at 1080p drops to 243 FPS at 1440p (26.6% reduction) and then to 157 FPS at 4K (35.4% reduction from 1440p). The fact that 1080p Low reaches 331 FPS while 4K Low only manages 157 FPS suggests the GPU is heavily taxed even at minimal visual settings when resolution demands rise. The CPU maintains adequate frame delivery at 1080p, but the 157 FPS at 4K Low indicates the GPU cannot keep pace with the CPU's potential output at that resolution.

The Medium preset shows similar behavior with 235 FPS at 1080p, 172 FPS at 1440p, and 111 FPS at 4K. The consistency of the percentage drops across presets—roughly 26% from 1080p to 1440p and 35% from 1440p to 4K—confirms that resolution, not settings level, is the primary driver of performance variation. This pattern suggests that players seeking higher frame rates should first reduce resolution before adjusting quality settings, as resolution has a larger impact on this combo's performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 331 FPS average, Medium settings yield 235 FPS with a minimum of 200 FPS and maximum of 270 FPS, High settings achieve 205 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 154 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 53.5% performance reduction, with the most significant single-step drop occurring between Medium and High (12.8%) and between High and Ultra (24.9%). The Medium preset's 200 FPS minimum ensures that even demanding scenes stay above typical 144Hz refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU's workload increasing. Low settings average 243 FPS, Medium settings deliver 172 FPS with a minimum of 147 FPS and maximum of 198 FPS, High settings achieve 151 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 113 FPS. The 147 FPS minimum at Medium is noteworthy because it aligns closely with the 144Hz refresh rate common on 1440p gaming monitors, meaning the system will occasionally dip just below that threshold. High settings at 151 FPS average provide a more comfortable cushion above 144Hz, while Ultra at 113 FPS falls below it entirely.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low settings produce 157 FPS, Medium settings average 111 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS and maximum of 128 FPS, High settings achieve 97 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 73 FPS. The Medium preset's 95 FPS minimum means the system cannot guarantee 100+ FPS at 4K, while Ultra settings at 73 FPS average may struggle on high-refresh-rate 4K displays. The gap between Low (157 FPS) and Medium (111 FPS) at 4K is 29.3%, indicating that even modest quality increases carry significant cost at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For players using 1080p displays, the Medium preset at 235 FPS average with a 200 FPS minimum offers the best combination of visual quality and performance headroom. The jump from Medium to High costs 30 FPS (12.8% reduction) while providing marginal visual improvements, and the 205 FPS average at High still exceeds most display refresh rates. Ultra at 154 FPS is playable but represents a 34.5% reduction from Medium, making it difficult to recommend unless visual fidelity is the absolute priority.

At 1440p, the High preset at 151 FPS average is the recommended choice for most players. This setting provides 151 FPS average, which comfortably exceeds 144Hz refresh rates, while maintaining a 24.9% performance advantage over Ultra (113 FPS). The Medium preset at 172 FPS offers additional headroom for competitive play, but its 147 FPS minimum suggests occasional drops below 144Hz. For those with 165Hz or higher refresh monitors, the Medium preset's higher average may be preferable despite the minimum frame rate concerns.

At 4K, the situation becomes more nuanced. High settings at 97 FPS average are the best choice for players with 60Hz to 120Hz displays, delivering smooth gameplay with minimal visual compromises. Medium at 111 FPS offers a 14.4% improvement but at the cost of reduced visual quality, and its 95 FPS minimum may cause noticeable stutter on 120Hz displays. Ultra at 73 FPS is only suitable for 60Hz displays, while Low at 157 FPS provides the highest frame rates but sacrifices significant visual fidelity. The data suggests that 4K players should default to High settings and only drop to Medium if frame pacing issues become apparent.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X brings substantial processing capability to this combination, with 12 cores and 24 threads operating at a 4.40 GHz base clock and 5.60 GHz boost clock. The CPU's Zen 5 architecture on a 4 nm TSMC process node provides the foundation for its strong single-thread and multi-thread performance. In synthetic benchmarks, the 9900X achieves a 3DMark single-thread score of 1,286 and a max-thread score of 13,929, with Cinebench R23 results of 2,253 single-core and 32,172 multi-core. These figures place the CPU at the 92nd percentile overall, with an average benchmark score of 57,498 that sits within 1.4% of its nearest rivals.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes evident at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 300 FPS. At 1080p Low, the 331 FPS average suggests the game's simulation and draw-call processing are keeping pace with the GPU's output, but the 331 FPS figure may approach the CPU's practical limit for this workload. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2,519 and 4-thread score of 4,886 indicate that the game likely benefits from the CPU's high boost clock and strong per-core performance, as FPS titles rarely scale across all 24 threads. The 64 MB L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth provide ample data throughput for game assets, while the DDR5 memory support ensures the CPU can feed the GPU without bandwidth bottlenecks.

The CPU's benchmark results relative to its nearest rivals show that the 9900X is competitive but not dominant in this segment. Its average score trails the Intel Core i9-14900 by 1.1% and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M by 1.4%, while leading the AMD EPYC 9015 by 0.1% and the AMD EPYC 7313 by 0.2%. For Lockdown Protocol specifically, the 331 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low indicates that the CPU can support very high frame rates, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor once resolution increases above 1080p or settings rise above Low.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER serves as the primary performance driver in this configuration, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus providing 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm TSMC process, delivers 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute through 10,240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. The boost clock of 2550 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz provide the raw speed, while 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores handle ray tracing and AI workloads. The GPU holds the 86th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 54,209, placing it within 0.1% of the RTX 4080 and 1.1% behind the Radeon Pro W5700X.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's influence is most visible in the resolution scaling behavior. The 52.7% frame rate drop from 1080p High to 4K High confirms that the GPU's rendering throughput is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the 73 FPS average represents the GPU's maximum output for this workload, while at 1080p Low, the 331 FPS result suggests the GPU is not yet fully saturated and could deliver even higher frame rates if the CPU allowed. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for this game's requirements, as evidenced by the absence of memory-related stutters in the min FPS data.

The GPU's benchmark comparisons show it is closely matched with the non-SUPER RTX 4080, with only a 0.1% difference in average scores. The 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of VRAM and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth are identical to the RTX 4080 in specification, which explains the negligible performance gap. The GPU's position relative to the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (2.7% lower score) and AMD Radeon 8060S (2.8% lower score) indicates that the 4080 SUPER is competitive within its class, though not the absolute fastest option available. For Lockdown Protocol, the GPU delivers playable frame rates across all tested settings, with the caveat that Ultra presets at 4K require accepting sub-100 FPS performance.