Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title, presents a demanding workload where the combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 demonstrates a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. The measured data shows this pairing is capable of delivering high refresh rate experiences, though the balance between CPU and GPU load shifts predictably as resolution increases. This analysis breaks down the specific frame rates, the role of each component, and how this particular setup ranks against other tested configurations in the database.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combo achieves an average of 160 FPS. This is the lowest average at that resolution, while the Low preset reaches 345 FPS.

Q: How does the performance at 1440p High compare to 4K High?

A: The average frame rate at 2560x1440 High is 157 FPS, which is significantly higher than the 101 FPS average at 3840x2160 High. This represents a substantial drop in performance when moving to 4K.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: Based on the data, the High preset at 2560x1440 yields an average of 157 FPS, which is sufficient for a 144Hz display. The Medium preset also works, with an average of 180 FPS and a minimum of 153 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM appear to be a limiting factor in these tests?

A: The data does not indicate a VRAM capacity limitation. The measured frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings, suggesting that the 16 GB of GDDR7 memory is sufficient for the tested configurations in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance relate to the FPS results?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D scores 1,269 in 3dmark_single_thread and 6,739 in cinebench_r23_singlecore. These strong single-thread results help ensure that the CPU can keep up with the GPU at lower resolutions where frame rates are extremely high, such as the 345 FPS average seen at 1080p Low.

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combination for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The combo is ranked 163 out of 3,714 tested combinations in the database for this game. This places it in the top percentile of all tested systems.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the primary driver of frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, with its performance scaling directly with the graphical workload. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s, which is ample for the textures and geometry at the tested settings. The core clock boosts up to 2617 MHz, and with 10,752 shading units, the card delivers a raw FP32 throughput of 56.28 TFLOPS. These specifications translate into the measured performance, where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

At 4K Ultra, the most demanding test, the average frame rate drops to 76 FPS. This indicates the GPU is working near its limit to render the scene at this high fidelity. Moving to 4K High, the average rises to 101 FPS, showing a 25 FPS gain from reducing settings. The 4K Medium preset shows an average of 116 FPS with a minimum of 99 FPS, suggesting a playable experience for most users. The 4K Low preset achieves 163 FPS, demonstrating that even at 4K, the RTX 5080 has significant headroom when the visual load is reduced.

The RTX 5080's relative performance in the database shows it sits 0.6% above the AMD Radeon 8060S and 0.7% above the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB in average benchmark scores. It trails the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE by 2.2%. This positions the RTX 5080 as a high-end part, and the in-game results confirm this, as the frame rates are consistently high across all tested configurations, with the exception of 4K Ultra. The GPU's 87th percentile ranking among all GPUs supports its capability as a top-tier component for this FPS title.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience in Lockdown Protocol, the data suggests that the High preset offers the optimal balance between visual quality and performance, particularly for users with high refresh rate displays. At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers an average of 157 FPS, which is ideal for 144Hz monitors. The Medium preset at this resolution provides a higher average of 180 FPS and a minimum of 153 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. While the Low preset at 1440p reaches 253 FPS, the visual compromise is likely too significant for most players.

At 3840x2160, the High preset's 101 FPS average is playable, but users with 120Hz or higher refresh rate 4K displays may need to consider the Medium preset. The Medium preset at 4K yields an average of 116 FPS with a minimum of 99 FPS, which is a more robust option for maintaining a high frame rate floor. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 76 FPS, is more suited to cinematic, slower-paced gameplay rather than competitive FPS action, where higher frame rates are crucial.

For esports-focused players at 1920x1080, the lower presets unlock extreme performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 345 FPS, while Medium hits 245 FPS. However, the High preset at 1080p still provides a very high average of 214 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any competitive scenario. Given the high frame rates, the High preset appears to be the sweet spot for most users, offering a substantial improvement in visual fidelity over Medium without a significant sacrifice in responsiveness.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high, starting with 345 FPS on Low. The Medium preset averages 245 FPS with a minimum of 208 FPS and a maximum of 282 FPS. High settings yield 214 FPS, and Ultra still produces a very high 160 FPS average. This suggests that at 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear dependency on the GPU. The Low preset averages 253 FPS, a significant drop from 1080p but still very fast. The Medium preset averages 180 FPS with a minimum of 153 FPS and a maximum of 207 FPS. High settings deliver 157 FPS, and Ultra drops to 118 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p shows a 135 FPS difference, indicating that the GPU is becoming a more significant factor.

At 3840x2160, the GPU load is at its highest. The Low preset averages 163 FPS, which reflects the RTX 5080's raw power. The Medium preset averages 116 FPS with a minimum of 99 FPS and a maximum of 133 FPS. High settings achieve 101 FPS, while Ultra drops to 76 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is 87 FPS, which is less than at 1440p, but the absolute values are lower, confirming the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution. The minimum FPS data, available only for Medium settings, shows a 14 FPS drop from the average at 4K, a 27 FPS drop at 1440p, and a 37 FPS drop at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals the shifting bottleneck. At 1080p High, the average is 214 FPS. At 1440p High, this drops to 157 FPS, a 26.6% decrease. At 4K High, the average is 101 FPS, a 52.8% decrease from 1440p and a 52.8% decrease from 1080p. This scaling pattern is typical of a system where the CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions, and the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

The data for the Low preset shows a similar trend. At 1080p, the average is 345 FPS. This drops to 253 FPS at 1440p, a 26.7% decrease, and then to 163 FPS at 4K, a 52.7% decrease from 1080p. The consistent percentage drops across presets suggest that the scaling is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven. The 52.8% drop from 1080p to 4K indicates that the GPU's workload quadruples in pixel count, and while the RTX 5080 is powerful, it cannot maintain the same frame rates at 4K as it can at 1080p.

This behavior confirms that at 1080p, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is likely the limiting component, as the frame rates are extremely high and the GPU is not fully saturated. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as the frame rates are much lower and the CPU has more time to prepare frames. The 1440p resolution appears to be the balance point, where both components are contributing significantly to the overall performance, as evidenced by the 157 FPS average on High settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D plays a crucial role in ensuring the GPU can deliver its maximum performance, particularly at lower resolutions. With 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, the CPU has massive multi-threaded capability, scoring 47,737 in cinebench_r23_multicore and 56,154 in passmark_multithread. The high boost clock of 5.50 GHz and a substantial 128 MB of L3 cache contribute to strong single-thread performance, as seen in its 6,739 cinebench_r23_singlecore score. This combination of high core count and strong single-core performance is ideal for a modern FPS.

The CPU's 3dmark_2_threads score of 2,512 and 3dmark_single_thread score of 1,269 are particularly relevant for gaming. Many game engines, including those for FPS titles like Lockdown Protocol, rely heavily on a few primary threads. The 9900X3D's ability to execute these threads quickly ensures that the GPU is not waiting for data, which is critical for achieving the high frame rates seen at 1080p. The 345 FPS average at 1080p Low is a direct result of the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with enough data to render frames at that speed.

The CPU's overall performance places it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,762. It is nearly identical in performance to the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, which has an average score of 55,093, putting the 9900X3D 0.6% behind. It is 1.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and 2.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700F. This competitive positioning shows that while the 9900X3D is a top-tier CPU, its performance is closely matched by its nearest rivals, meaning the GPU often dictates the final frame rate in this game.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 pairing ranks 163 out of 3,714 total combinations. This places the combo in the top 4.4% of all tested systems, a strong showing that confirms its high-end status. This ranking reflects the balance of the 9900X3D's excellent gaming performance with the RTX 5080's powerful rendering capabilities.

The rank is a holistic measure of the system's capability across all tested metrics. Given the individual component rankings, with the CPU in the 91st percentile and the GPU in the 87th percentile, a combined rank of 163 out of 3,714 is consistent with expectations. The system is clearly not limited by a weak component; instead, it represents a well-matched pairing where the CPU and GPU are both capable of supporting high frame rates. The measured FPS data supports this high ranking, showing that the system can achieve very high performance levels at all tested resolutions and settings.

The fact that this combo is in the top 163 of over 3,700 systems indicates that it outperforms the vast majority of other configurations. The data shows that for a demanding FPS title like Lockdown Protocol, this pairing is more than sufficient to deliver a premium experience, whether at 1080p with extreme frame rates or at 4K with high visual fidelity. The rank, combined with the measured performance, makes it clear that this is a top-tier configuration for this game.