Lockdown Protocol

Resolution Scaling

The performance curve across resolutions reveals a system that remains heavily GPU-bound even at 1080p, though the degree of scaling is unusually steep. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 249 FPS; stepping to 1440p High drops that to 183 FPS, a 26.5% reduction; and 4K High lands at 118 FPS, another 35.5% cut from the 1440p figure. This is a pronounced scaling pattern that points to the RTX 5090 D's raw throughput being the primary limiter at every step, rather than any CPU bottleneck emerging at lower resolutions.

The Low preset tells a similar story with even higher absolute numbers. From 368 FPS at 1080p Low to 295 FPS at 1440p Low (a 19.8% drop) and then 190 FPS at 4K Low (a 35.6% drop from 1440p), the scaling factor between 1440p and 4K remains remarkably consistent regardless of settings. This consistency suggests that the rendering workload scales predictably with pixel count, and the GPU's memory bandwidth—listed at 1.79 TB/s—is being exercised fully as resolution climbs. The 32 GB GDDR7 frame buffer is never a constraint at any resolution tested, so the FPS deltas are purely a function of shading and rasterization load.

What is notable is that the 1080p to 1440p transition produces a smaller relative drop than the 1440p to 4K transition across all settings. For High, the 1080p-to-1440p drop is 26.5% versus a 35.5% drop for 1440p-to-4K. For Ultra, the pattern is steeper: 187 FPS at 1080p falls to 137 FPS at 1440p (a 26.7% drop) and then to 88 FPS at 4K (a 35.8% drop from 1440p). The widening gap at higher resolutions indicates that the game's pixel-shading workload scales super-linearly with resolution, a common trait in FPS titles with heavy post-processing effects.

The data strongly suggests that this pairing is engineered for high-refresh 1440p and 4K gaming. At 4K Ultra, the 88 FPS average is still above 60 FPS, but it is a significant compromise versus the 118 FPS at 4K High. The 190 FPS at 4K Low demonstrates that even at the highest pixel count, the system can push well beyond standard 1440p refresh rates when settings are dialed down. Overall, the limiting component shifts decisively toward the GPU's compute and memory subsystem as resolution increases, while the CPU's contribution becomes more prominent only at the lowest resolution and settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X brings 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. In this game, the CPU's role is best understood through the 1080p Low result of 368 FPS. That figure is the highest measured across the entire dataset, and it indicates that even at extreme frame rates, the 9900X does not become a bottleneck. The single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2253, is more than sufficient to feed the RTX 5090 D at these frame rates.

The 12-core, 24-thread configuration is likely overkill for Lockdown Protocol's threading model, which is typical of FPS titles that scale well to 8 threads but see diminishing returns beyond that. The multi-threaded strength of the 9900X—shown in a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32172 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 22174—ensures that any background tasks or game engine threads beyond the primary render thread are handled without contention. The 64 MB of L3 cache provides a large shared pool for game data, which helps maintain consistent frame pacing in combat-heavy scenes.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s on a dual-channel DDR5 interface is adequate for this workload, as the game's data throughput requirements are modest compared to the GPU's 1.79 TB/s. The 9900X's percentile ranking of 92 among all CPUs places it in the top tier for gaming, and its nearest rivals—such as the AMD EPYC 9015 with a deltaPct of -0.1% and the Intel Core i9-14900 at -1.1%—confirm that it sits at the very top of the performance hierarchy. The 1080p Low result of 368 FPS versus the 1440p Low result of 295 FPS shows a 19.8% drop, which is purely resolution-driven; if the CPU were the limiter, the 1080p figure would plateau rather than scale with the GPU.

The boost clock of 5.60 GHz is the key enabler for high single-threaded performance in this game. At 1080p with Low settings, the render thread becomes the sole bottleneck only if the CPU cannot issue draw calls fast enough. The data shows no such plateau, as the 368 FPS figure is significantly higher than any other resolution/settings combination. The 9900X's 120 W TDP and 4 nm process node from TSMC suggest efficient power delivery, though the exact thermal behavior is not measured here. The CPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 57498, puts it in a class where the game's frame rate is dictated by the GPU at all tested resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a combo rank of 8 out of 2828 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. That places it in the top 0.3% of all system pairings, which is an exceptional result given the game's release in 2024 and the hardware's 2025 GPU launch. The rank of 8 means only seven other CPU-GPU combinations produced higher average frame rates across the measured scenarios.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 92 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77712, is a primary driver of this high combo position. The nearest GPU rivals in the synthetic benchmarks—such as the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT with a deltaPct of -1.6% and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at -2.4%—are all desktop or workstation parts that trail the RTX 5090 D in pure rasterization throughput. The CPU's percentile ranking of 92 and average score of 57498 complement the GPU well, as there is no obvious mismatch that would drag the combo ranking down.

The combo rank of 8 out of 2828 is particularly telling because it reflects real measured game performance, not synthetic averages. The measured FPS data shows a minimum of 88 FPS at 4K Ultra and a maximum of 368 FPS at 1080p Low, which spans a wide operating range that covers both competitive and cinematic play styles. The fact that this combo holds the 8th position suggests that only a handful of other pairings—likely those with even higher-end CPUs or more overclocked variants—can outperform it. The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals, ranging from -0.1% to -1.4%, indicate that the 9900X is not leaving performance on the table; the GPU is the dominant factor in this rank.

For context, the 2828 combos in the database include a wide array of older and lower-tier hardware. Ranking 8th means this pairing is within striking distance of the absolute top, and the gap to the number one combo is likely small given the GPU's already elite status. The data confirms that this is a flagship-tier configuration for Lockdown Protocol, suitable for maximum refresh rates at any resolution the user chooses.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset produces an average of 368 FPS, which is the single fastest result in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 285 FPS, with a minimum of 243 FPS and a maximum of 328 FPS, indicating solid frame consistency. High drops to 249 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 187 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 181 FPS, which is the largest absolute range of any resolution, showing that the game's settings have a profound impact on GPU load even at the lowest pixel count.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high. Low produces 295 FPS, Medium delivers 209 FPS with a minimum of 178 FPS and a maximum of 241 FPS, High comes in at 183 FPS, and Ultra falls to 137 FPS. The 1080p-to-1440p drops are 19.8% for Low, 26.7% for Medium, 26.5% for High, and 26.7% for Ultra. These consistent reductions of roughly one-quarter across all settings reinforce that the GPU's pixel throughput is the dominant constraint, with the CPU maintaining its ability to feed frames without issue.

At 3840x2160, the results are still playable but show a clear step down. Low yields 190 FPS, Medium produces 135 FPS with a minimum of 115 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS, High delivers 118 FPS, and Ultra drops to 88 FPS. The 1440p-to-4K drops are 35.6% for Low, 35.4% for Medium, 35.5% for High, and 35.8% for Ultra. This tight clustering of the percentage drop—all within 0.4 percentage points of each other—demonstrates that the resolution scaling is independent of settings, which is a hallmark of a purely GPU-bound scenario.

The Medium settings rows are the only ones that include minimum and maximum FPS values, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the range from 243 to 328 FPS spans 85 FPS, which is a 35% variance from the average. At 1440p Medium, the range is 178 to 241 FPS, a 63 FPS spread or 30% variance. At 4K Medium, the range narrows to 115 to 155 FPS, a 40 FPS spread or 30% variance. The relative variance remains consistent across resolutions, suggesting that the game's frame time spikes scale with the average rather than being a fixed overhead.

The data shows no min or max values for Low, High, or Ultra presets, which means the analysis relies on averages for those settings. The averages alone tell a coherent story: the combo is capable of 4K High at 118 FPS, which is well above the standard 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and 1440p Ultra at 137 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh 1440p monitors. At 1080p, every setting exceeds 187 FPS, making this pairing overkill for 1080p displays unless the user is chasing maximum competitive refresh rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing, and the data makes its role unmistakable. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, the GPU has a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s, which is more than sufficient to feed its 21,760 shading units. The boost clock of 2407 MHz, combined with a base clock of 2017 MHz, drives a peak FP32 throughput of 104.8 TFLOPS. These specifications translate directly into the measured frame rates, where the GPU's compute capacity is the primary determinant of performance at every resolution and settings combination.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores corroborate its in-game dominance. A 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14326 and a PassMark G3D score of 44065 place it in the top tier, with a percentile ranking of 92 among all GPUs. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 310674 and Vulkan score of 376915 further demonstrate its raw compute strength. The nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks—the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT at 1.1% deltaPct, the RX 6850M XT at -1.6%, and the Tesla P100 variants at -2.1% and -2.4%—are all substantially lower in absolute performance, highlighting how far ahead the RTX 5090 D is in this game's workload.

The 32 GB frame buffer is a key asset for Lockdown Protocol at 4K. The game's textures and effects at Ultra settings are likely to consume significant VRAM, but the 32 GB capacity ensures no spillover to system memory, which would cause stutter. The measured minimum FPS at 4K Medium of 115 FPS confirms that even in the most demanding scenes, the GPU maintains high frame rates without memory-related drops. The 512-bit memory bus and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are also critical for the resolution scaling observed; as pixel count rises, the memory subsystem must deliver texture data at an increasingly rapid rate, and the data shows no bandwidth bottleneck even at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's transistor count of 92,200 million on a 5 nm process from TSMC gives it a die size of 750 mm², which reflects the sheer scale of the chip. The 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores are not directly exercised by the measured FPS data, but they contribute to the GPU's overall architectural efficiency. The 575 W TDP and the requirement for a 950 W suggested PSU indicate that this is a power-hungry part, but the measured performance justifies the power draw in the context of this game.

The RTX 5090 D's role as the limiting component is most evident in the resolution scaling data. From 1080p Low at 368 FPS to 4K Low at 190 FPS, the drop is 48.4%, which tracks closely with the pixel count increase of 4x (from 2.07 million to 8.29 million pixels). If the GPU were not the bottleneck, the scaling would be sub-linear due to CPU constraints. The fact that the scaling is nearly linear with pixel count confirms that the GPU's shading and memory bandwidth are the sole constraints, and the CPU's 12 cores and high boost clock are never exposed as a limitation.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience in Lockdown Protocol with this hardware. For users with a 4K display, the High preset at 118 FPS is the recommended choice, as it delivers a 34% improvement over Ultra's 88 FPS while maintaining visual fidelity that is only marginally reduced. The Medium preset at 135 FPS is a viable alternative for those who prioritize frame rate over absolute image quality, but High strikes the best balance between the two. Low at 190 FPS is only recommended for competitive play where maximum frame rate is paramount, as the visual downgrade is substantial.

For 1440p users, the Ultra preset at 137 FPS is the standout recommendation. This frame rate is sufficient for 144Hz displays, and the visual quality at Ultra is the intended experience for this resolution class. High at 183 FPS is a strong option for those with 165Hz or 240Hz monitors, as it provides a 34% frame rate increase over Ultra with only a minor reduction in settings. Medium at 209 FPS is the choice for esports-focused players who want to maximize refresh rates, while Low at 295 FPS is reserved for extreme competitive scenarios where every frame matters.

For 1080p users, the data suggests that all settings are overkill for most displays. Ultra at 187 FPS exceeds the capabilities of most 1080p monitors, which typically cap at 144Hz or 240Hz. Medium at 285 FPS and Low at 368 FPS are only relevant for 360Hz or higher refresh rate panels, which are rare. The recommendation for 1080p is to use Ultra settings to maximize visual quality, as the frame rate remains above 144 FPS and the GPU has ample headroom to maintain smooth gameplay. High at 249 FPS is a middle ground, but the step up to Ultra costs only 62 FPS, which is a 25% reduction for a significant visual upgrade.

The frame consistency data from the Medium presets—with minimums of 243 FPS at 1080p, 178 FPS at 1440p, and 115 FPS at 4K—indicates that the game does not exhibit severe frame time spikes that would cause stutter. The minimum FPS values are all within 15-20% of the averages, which is a healthy margin for a fast-paced FPS. This consistency suggests that the recommended presets will deliver a smooth experience without unexpected drops during intense combat sequences.

The overall verdict is that this combo is best utilized at 1440p Ultra or 4K High, depending on the user's display. The measured data shows that the RTX 5090 D has enough headroom to run the game at high settings across all resolutions, and the Ryzen 9 9900X provides the CPU horsepower to ensure no bottleneck. For users who want the absolute best visual experience, 4K High at 118 FPS is the sweet spot; for those who prioritize frame rate, 1440p Ultra at 137 FPS offers a superior balance of speed and fidelity. The Low presets are only recommended for professional or competitive players who are chasing the absolute maximum refresh rates that this hardware can achieve.