Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 pairing in Lockdown Protocol delivers a fascinating split-personality performance profile. This combination, ranking in the 1183rd position out of 2828 tested combos, places it in the upper-middle tier of the database, but its behavior across resolutions reveals a system that is brutally efficient at high frame rates yet constrained by architectural limits at the highest visual fidelity. The data indicates a capable 1440p machine that struggles to maintain a smooth 4K Ultra experience.

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

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), built on a 4nm process by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, supported by a substantial 128 MB of L3 cache. This processor sits in the 91st percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 54762.

The processor's raw throughput is exceptional. In Cinebench R23, it scores 47737 in multi-core and 6739 in single-core tests. Its 3DMark results show a scalable thread response: 2512 with 2 threads, 4885 with 4 threads, 9002 with 8 threads, 12490 with 16 threads, and 13795 with max threads. This scaling pattern suggests that while the CPU has immense headroom, its performance in Lockdown Protocol is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions.

Compared to its nearest rivals in the database, the 9900X3D is virtually tied with the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, which posts an average score of 55093 (a delta of -0.6%). It is 1.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (54053), 2% ahead of the Intel Xeon 6505P (53701), and 2.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700F (53620). These margins are slim, indicating that the CPU's gaming performance is competitive with its peers.

In the context of Lockdown Protocol, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is rarely the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 214 FPS, which is a strong indicator that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at high frame rates. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1269 and the PassMark single-thread score of 4646 suggest that per-core performance is robust enough to handle the game's logic and physics without creating a bottleneck, even when the GPU is pushing out over 200 frames per second. The CPU's role here is to provide a stable foundation; it does not appear to hold the system back.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is an Ampere-architecture GPU built by Samsung on an 8nm process, featuring 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. It has a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1725 MHz, with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card's FP32 performance is rated at 20.31 TFLOPS.

The RTX 3070 holds a 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17208. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, scores 17083 (a delta of 0.7%), while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 17037 (1% delta). Interestingly, the RTX 3070 is 1.5% behind the NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17468), which is a compute-oriented card. These close margins show that the RTX 3070 is a solid mid-range performer, but it is not a top-tier part.

The GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor in Lockdown Protocol. The measured FPS data shows a significant drop when moving from 1440p to 4K, particularly at higher settings. At 4K Ultra, the system averages only 47 FPS, while at 4K High it reaches 63 FPS. The 8 GB frame buffer appears to be a limiting factor at 4K with higher settings, as the game likely requires more memory for textures and geometry at that resolution.

At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU is clearly the dominant component in determining performance. The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at these resolutions shows the GPU's workload increasing predictably. The RTX 3070's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1440p High (97 FPS) but becomes strained at 4K, where the combination of higher memory pressure and compute load reduces frame rates substantially.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data indicates that the "Medium" preset offers the most balanced experience, particularly if you have a high-refresh-rate monitor. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers an average of 152 FPS with a minimum of 129 FPS and a maximum of 175 FPS. This is a smooth, playable frame rate that maintains good visual quality without sacrificing responsiveness.

At 1440p, Medium is again the sweet spot, providing an average of 111 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS and a maximum of 128 FPS. This is ideal for 144Hz monitors, as it stays above the refresh rate threshold for most of the time. The High preset at 1440p drops to 97 FPS, which is still playable but shows a noticeable 14 FPS penalty for the visual upgrade.

For 4K, the data suggests that Medium is the highest setting you should consider. The 4K Medium average of 72 FPS (min 61, max 83) is borderline playable, but the Ultra preset's 47 FPS is too low for a competitive FPS. The Low preset at 4K yields 101 FPS, which is surprisingly high and suggests that the game is well-optimized at lower settings. However, the visual sacrifice is significant.

The recommendation is clear: stick with Medium settings. It provides the best frame-time consistency, as evidenced by the presence of min and max FPS values in the data (only Medium has these recorded across all resolutions). This consistency is crucial for a fast-paced FPS where frame pacing matters. The Low preset offers higher averages but likely sacrifices too much visual detail, while High and Ultra introduce too much variance for competitive play.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1183rd out of 2828 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the 58th percentile of all combos, meaning it outperforms a majority of systems but is far from the top tier.

This ranking is somewhat surprising given the CPU's strength. The 9900X3D is a top-tier processor, but the RTX 3070's mid-range status pulls the combo down. The data suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor for this pairing. In the database, the CPU alone sits in the 91st percentile, while the GPU sits in the 61st percentile. The combo's ranking is closer to the GPU's percentile, confirming that the graphics card dictates the overall gaming experience in this title.

The nearest rival GPUs (RX 7600 XT, GTX 690, HD 7970M, Tesla K40c) all have similar average scores to the RTX 3070, but they are paired with different CPUs. The fact that this combo still manages to rank above the median suggests that the 9900X3D provides a modest uplift over what those other CPUs might deliver, even though the GPU is the primary constraint. In essence, this combo is a case of "too much CPU, not enough GPU" for this specific game, resulting in a solid but unspectacular overall ranking.

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

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 214 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 157 FPS (a 27% decrease), and 4K Low further reduces it to 101 FPS (a 53% decrease from 1080p). This steep drop-off is characteristic of a GPU that is hitting its limits as pixel count increases.

For the Medium preset, the scaling is similar but slightly less severe in percentage terms. 1080p Medium yields 152 FPS, 1440p Medium drops to 111 FPS (a 27% decrease), and 4K Medium falls to 72 FPS (a 53% decrease from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and Medium settings indicates that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are being taxed uniformly as resolution increases.

The High and Ultra presets show even more dramatic scaling. At High, 1080p delivers 133 FPS, 1440p drops to 97 FPS (27% decrease), and 4K falls to 63 FPS (53% decrease). At Ultra, the numbers are 99 FPS at 1080p, 73 FPS at 1440p (26% decrease), and 47 FPS at 4K (53% decrease). The fact that the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is consistently around 53% across all settings strongly suggests that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller percentage drop at lower settings, where the CPU workload is relatively higher. Instead, the uniform scaling points directly at the RTX 3070's rendering capabilities.

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

The following table details the exact measured FPS values for this combo in Lockdown Protocol:

1080p (1920x1080)

• Low: 214 FPS average
• Medium: 152 FPS average (minimum 129, maximum 175)
• High: 133 FPS average
• Ultra: 99 FPS average

1440p (2560x1440)

• Low: 157 FPS average
• Medium: 111 FPS average (minimum 95, maximum 128)
• High: 97 FPS average
• Ultra: 73 FPS average

4K (3840x2160)

• Low: 101 FPS average
• Medium: 72 FPS average (minimum 61, maximum 83)
• High: 63 FPS average
• Ultra: 47 FPS average

The data shows that the RTX 3070 can handle 1080p with ease, maintaining over 100 FPS even at Ultra settings. The 214 FPS at Low is particularly impressive for competitive play. At 1440p, the GPU starts to show its limits at Ultra (73 FPS) but remains playable at Medium and High. The 4K results are the weakest link, with only the Low preset (101 FPS) providing a consistently high frame rate. The Ultra preset at 4K (47 FPS) is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a fast-paced FPS.

The minimum FPS values for Medium settings across all resolutions (129 at 1080p, 95 at 1440p, 61 at 4K) indicate that the frame pacing is generally stable, with no severe stutters. However, the gap between average and minimum FPS at 4K Medium (72 vs 61) suggests that the GPU is working hard to maintain that preset, and any intense scene could cause a noticeable dip. For the best experience, the data supports using Medium at 1440p, which offers a robust 111 FPS average with a minimum above 90 FPS, ensuring a fluid and responsive gaming session.