Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT lands at rank 2105 out of 2828 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. That places this combo in the lower third of all tested systems, a position that reflects a significant bottleneck on the graphics side rather than the processor. The RX 5700 XT is an older RDNA 1.0 part, and benchmark results indicate it struggles to keep up with the demands of this FPS title at higher settings. While the CPU is a top-tier performer, the GPU holds the entire system back, making this pairing more suited for 1080p gaming than for pushing high refresh rates at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear hierarchy: at 1920x1080 the combo delivers playable frame rates, but as resolution climbs, the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2105 out of 2828 puts this system in the 74th percentile from the bottom, meaning roughly three-quarters of all tested combos outperform it in Lockdown Protocol. This is a poor result for a processor that ranks in the 91st percentile among all CPUs. The gap between the CPU's potential and the combo's actual in-game performance is stark. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor with a 128 MB L3 cache, designed to excel in gaming workloads. However, the RX 5700 XT's average benchmark score of 16361 places it in the 59th percentile among all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell, and the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 — all of which score within 0.3% of the RX 5700 XT. This shows the GPU is not a standout performer; it is a mid-range part from a previous generation.

The data suggests that this combo's rank is almost entirely dictated by the GPU. In Lockdown Protocol, the measured FPS drops from 156 at 1920x1080 Low to just 34 at 3840x2160 Ultra. That is a 78% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest settings at 4K. At 2560x1440, the average FPS at High settings is 71, which is playable but far from smooth for a competitive FPS. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as 47737 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 13795 in 3DMark max threads, indicate it has ample headroom to feed the GPU, but the RX 5700 XT simply cannot translate that processing power into high frame rates. This combo ranks poorly because the GPU is the weak link.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT comes with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1905 MHz, with a game clock of 1755 MHz. Memory runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective. These specifications are from the RDNA 1.0 architecture, which lacks the ray tracing cores found in later generations. The GPU's 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 9.754 TFLOPS, which is modest by modern standards.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role is pivotal. The measured FPS data shows that at 1920x1080, the RX 5700 XT can handle Low settings at 156 FPS, which is excellent for a 1080p monitor with a high refresh rate. However, at Medium settings, the average drops to 111 FPS, and at High it falls to 97 FPS. At Ultra, it drops further to 72 FPS. This pattern indicates that the GPU's 8 GB of VRAM and its compute resources are adequate for 1080p gaming, but the card begins to struggle as the workload increases. At 2560x1440, the average FPS at High is 71, and at 4K it drops to 46 FPS at High and 34 FPS at Ultra. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is sufficient for 1080p, but at higher resolutions, the demand for texture data and shader work exceeds what this card can deliver.

The benchmark scores for the GPU confirm its mid-range status. Its Passmark G3D score is 16277, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2134. The nearest rivals, including the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M with a score of 16351 and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell with 16408, show that this GPU is within 1% of several professional and workstation cards. This is not a high-end gaming GPU by any measure. In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU is the limiting factor at every resolution above 1080p. The data shows that even at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS of 72 is not ideal for a competitive FPS, and at 1440p High, the 71 FPS average leaves little headroom for frame time spikes.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 1920x1080 with high settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 High is 97 FPS, which is smooth for most players. At 1080p Low, it reaches 156 FPS, and at Medium it averages 111 FPS. Ultra drops to 72 FPS, which is still playable but may feel less responsive in fast-paced firefights.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X3D overkill for the RX 5700 XT?

A: The data suggests yes. The CPU ranks in the 91st percentile among all processors, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737 and a single-core score of 6739. The GPU, however, ranks in the 59th percentile. In Lockdown Protocol, the combo rank of 2105 out of 2828 shows that the GPU holds the system back significantly.

Q: What is the best resolution to play Lockdown Protocol with this combo?

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 is the sweet spot. At Medium settings, the average FPS is 111, which provides a good balance between visual quality and performance. At 2560x1440, the average FPS at High is 71, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced FPS.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its nearest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The RX 5700 XT has an average benchmark score of 16361. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M at 16351 (0.1% slower), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell at 16408 (0.3% faster), and the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 at 16415 (0.3% faster). These are all very close in performance.

Q: Does the 8 GB of VRAM limit performance in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 3840x2160, the measured FPS drops to 46 at High and 34 at Ultra. This suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s and its compute resources are the limiting factors at 4K, not just capacity.

Q: Is this combo good for competitive play?

A: For competitive play at 1080p, yes. The measured FPS at Low (156) and Medium (111) is well above the 60 FPS threshold. However, at 1440p, the average FPS at High (71) may not be enough for high-refresh-rate monitors, and the combo's overall rank of 2105 indicates better options exist.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of which settings offer the best experience. For players targeting 1920x1080, the Medium preset is the best choice. It delivers an average FPS of 111, with a minimum of 94 and a maximum of 127. This provides a smooth experience with a good balance between visual fidelity and performance. The High preset at 97 FPS is also acceptable, but the Medium preset offers a more comfortable margin above the 60 FPS baseline. The Low preset at 156 FPS is ideal for esports players who prioritize maximum frame rates, but it sacrifices visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is again the best option, with an average FPS of 81 and a minimum of 69. This is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a decent experience on a 1440p monitor. The High preset at 71 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 53 FPS is not recommended for a smooth experience. At 3840x2160, the data shows that even the Low preset only achieves 74 FPS, and the Medium preset drops to 52 FPS with a minimum of 44. For 4K gaming, the Low preset is the only one that provides a playable frame rate, but it is not recommended for this combo given the significant drop in visual quality. The best experience overall is at 1080p Medium, where the balance of performance and quality is most favorable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol with this combo shows a clear progression across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 156 FPS, which is the highest measured value for this combo. The Medium preset averages 111 FPS, with a minimum of 94 and a maximum of 127. The High preset averages 97 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 72 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the combo is capable of delivering high frame rates, especially at lower settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. The Low preset averages 114 FPS, which is still excellent. The Medium preset averages 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 and a maximum of 93. The High preset averages 71 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 53 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, with the High preset falling from 97 FPS to 71 FPS, a 27% decrease. This shows that the RX 5700 XT struggles to maintain high frame rates at 1440p with higher settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance is limited. The Low preset averages 74 FPS, which is the only setting that approaches a playable frame rate. The Medium preset averages 52 FPS, with a minimum of 44 and a maximum of 60. The High preset averages 46 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 34 FPS. The data shows that 4K gaming is not viable with this combo at any setting above Low. The difference between 1080p Low (156 FPS) and 4K Ultra (34 FPS) is a 78% reduction in frame rate, highlighting the GPU's limitations at high resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor from the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a TDP of 120 W. The CPU features a massive 128 MB L3 cache, which is split across the chiplet design. The L1 cache is 80 KB per core, and the L2 cache is 1 MB per core. This is a high-end desktop processor on the AMD Socket AM5 platform, supporting DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and 89.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The CPU has 24 PCIe Gen 5 lanes and is built on a 4 nm process from TSMC.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data and handle game logic. The benchmark scores show that the 9900X3D is more than capable of this task. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737 and single-core score of 6739 are strong indicators of its processing power. The Passmark multithread score is 56154, and the 3DMark max threads score is 13795. These scores position the CPU in the 91st percentile among all processors. However, the combo's rank of 2105 out of 2828 shows that the CPU's power is not being fully utilized in this game due to the GPU bottleneck.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (0.6% faster), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (1.3% slower), the Intel Xeon 6505P (2% slower), and the Intel Core i7-14700F (2.1% slower). These are all strong processors, and the 9900X3D is competitive with them. In Lockdown Protocol, the measured FPS at 1080p Low (156 FPS) suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions. However, at 1440p and 4K, the GPU's performance caps the frame rate, meaning the CPU's additional headroom is wasted. The data indicates that this processor would be better paired with a more powerful GPU to take advantage of its capabilities in this FPS title.