Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination delivers a playable experience in Lockdown Protocol across most resolutions, with clear performance scaling tied to both the CPU's single-thread strength and the GPU's 16 GB frame buffer. Benchmark data places this combo at rank 2360 out of 3714 tested configurations, and the measured frame rates show a system that comfortably handles 1080p and 1440p while requiring settings adjustments at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable settings preset at 1920x1080 resolution?

A: The Ultra preset is fully playable, achieving an average of 78 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays above the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution.

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 2560x1440 with High settings?

A: Yes. The High preset at 1440p produces an average of 76 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. Medium and Low presets also remain playable at this resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 3840x2160 for maintaining 60 FPS?

A: Only the Low preset is playable at 4K, delivering an average of 79 FPS. Medium drops to 56 FPS average, High falls to 49 FPS, and Ultra drops to 37 FPS.

Q: How does the frame rate scale between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The Low preset averages 167 FPS, while Ultra averages 78 FPS. This represents a drop of 89 FPS, or roughly 53% of the Low preset's performance, when moving to the most demanding preset.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between 1080p and 4K on the High preset?

A: At 1920x1080, High settings average 104 FPS. At 3840x2160, the same preset averages 49 FPS. This is a reduction of 55 FPS, indicating a strong GPU dependency at higher resolutions.

Q: Does the combo provide consistent minimum frame rates at Medium settings?

A: The data shows minimum FPS values only for Medium presets. At 1080p, the minimum is 101 FPS; at 1440p, the minimum is 74 FPS; at 4K, the minimum is 48 FPS. This suggests frame time consistency degrades significantly as resolution increases.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the most demanding option that remains at or above 60 FPS, with an average of 78 FPS. The High preset offers 104 FPS, Medium delivers 119 FPS, and Low reaches 167 FPS, all comfortably above the threshold. For users prioritizing visual fidelity over raw frame rate, Ultra is the recommended choice.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 76 FPS average is the best balance of quality and performance. Medium is also viable at 87 FPS, while Low reaches 123 FPS. The Ultra preset falls short at 57 FPS, making it unsuitable for the 60 FPS target. The data shows that dropping from High to Medium only gains 11 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at lower settings.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only option that maintains 60 FPS, averaging 79 FPS. Medium drops to 56 FPS, High to 49 FPS, and Ultra to 37 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 23 FPS, which is substantial. Users targeting 4K should expect to run minimal settings for a smooth experience.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals a shift in bottleneck behavior. At 1080p, the CPU plays a more significant role, as frame rates vary widely between presets — from 167 FPS at Low to 78 FPS at Ultra. This spread of 89 FPS indicates that the Core Ultra 5 225 can push high frame rates when the GPU is not heavily taxed. The processor's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 and PassMark single-thread score of 4412 support this capability.

At 1440p, the GPU begins to assert more influence. The frame rate range narrows to 66 FPS (from 123 FPS at Low to 57 FPS at Ultra). The High preset at 76 FPS shows a moderate drop from 1080p's 104 FPS, a reduction of 28 FPS. This indicates the RX 7600 XT is handling the increased pixel load, but the CPU still contributes meaningfully to overall throughput.

At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The frame rate range compresses further to 42 FPS (from 79 FPS at Low to 37 FPS at Ultra). The High preset drops from 76 FPS at 1440p to 49 FPS at 4K, a 27 FPS loss. The RX 7600 XT's 16 GB GDDR6 memory and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for capacity but not for high frame rates at this resolution. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 17132 places it in the 60th percentile of all GPUs, reinforcing its mid-range positioning.

The scaling between resolutions and presets shows that Lockdown Protocol at this combo's settings is CPU-bound at 1080p and GPU-bound at 4K, with 1440p representing a balanced midpoint. The Core Ultra 5 225's 10 cores and 10 threads provide adequate processing power, as evidenced by its PassMark multithread score of 30459, but the GPU's architectural limits cap high-resolution performance.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F with a score of 36945 and a delta of 0%, indicating near-identical performance. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018 (-0.2%), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093 (-0.4%), and the Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112 (-0.5%). All four chips are within 0.5% of the Core Ultra 5 225's average score of 36938, meaning users would see virtually identical frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios. The Ryzen 5 5600F is the closest match at a 0% delta.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 has the most notable rival score at 17208, which is -0.7% relative to the RX 7600 XT's 17083 average. This places the RTX 3070 slightly ahead in raw compute terms. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 17037 (+0.3%), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019 (+0.4%), and the NVIDIA Tesla M4 scores 16932 (+0.9%). While the GTX 690 and HD 7970M are older architectures, their benchmark parity suggests similar practical frame rates in this game. The RTX 3070's small lead of 0.7% would translate to a negligible FPS difference in most scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT ranks 2360 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the lower-middle tier of the database, at approximately the 36th percentile of all configurations. The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 85 indicates strong processing capability, while the GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 60 shows mid-pack graphics performance. The disparity between these percentiles suggests that the GPU is the primary constraint on this combo's overall ranking. In practical terms, this rank means the system outperforms the majority of tested hardware but falls well short of high-end configurations that would typically feature more powerful GPUs paired with similar CPUs.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol at all three tested resolutions, but the experience varies significantly. At 1920x1080, all four presets — Low (167 FPS), Medium (119 FPS), High (104 FPS), and Ultra (78 FPS) — clear the 60 FPS threshold, making this the ideal resolution for the combo. At 2560x1440, Low (123 FPS), Medium (87 FPS), and High (76 FPS) are playable, but Ultra falls short at 57 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low (79 FPS) maintains a playable frame rate; Medium (56 FPS), High (49 FPS), and Ultra (37 FPS) all drop below 60 FPS.

The verdict per resolution is clear: 1080p can run every preset smoothly, 1440p requires dropping from Ultra to High for a stable experience, and 4K necessitates Low settings. The combo's rank of 2360 out of 3714 reflects this mixed capability. For users with a 1080p or 1440p monitor, this system delivers a solid experience. For 4K gaming, the RX 7600 XT's 16 GB memory helps with asset loading but cannot sustain high frame rates at maximum quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 79 FPS average
• Medium: 56 FPS average, 48 FPS minimum, 65 FPS maximum
• High: 49 FPS average
• Ultra: 37 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 123 FPS average
• Medium: 87 FPS average, 74 FPS minimum, 100 FPS maximum
• High: 76 FPS average
• Ultra: 57 FPS average

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 167 FPS average
• Medium: 119 FPS average, 101 FPS minimum, 136 FPS maximum
• High: 104 FPS average
• Ultra: 78 FPS average

The Medium preset is the only one with reported minimum and maximum values, providing insight into frame time stability. At 1080p, the minimum of 101 FPS shows strong consistency. At 1440p, the minimum of 74 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold but with less headroom. At 4K, the minimum of 48 FPS falls below playable levels, even though the average is 56 FPS. This data suggests that Medium settings at 4K would suffer from noticeable stutters during intense scenes, reinforcing the recommendation to use Low at that resolution. The progression of average FPS from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings — 119 to 87 to 56 — shows a consistent reduction of roughly 27% per resolution step, indicating scaling that is heavily influenced by pixel count.