Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a widely playable experience in Lockdown Protocol, with performance scaling predictably across resolutions and presets. The data shows a combination that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold at 1080p and 1440p across nearly all settings, while 4K requires a significant drop in graphical fidelity to maintain smooth gameplay. Benchmark results indicate a system that is better suited to high-refresh-rate play at mainstream resolutions than to native 4K gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the recorded data shows the RTX 2070 SUPER and Core Ultra 5 225 combination struggling to maintain high frame rates at demanding presets. The Ultra preset averages 39 FPS, which falls well below the playable threshold of 60 FPS. High settings improve the average to 51 FPS, still under the threshold. Medium settings reach an average of 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS, narrowly missing the playable mark. Low settings are the only viable option at 4K, producing an average of 83 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the picture improves substantially. The Low preset averages 129 FPS, while High settings deliver 80 FPS. Medium settings average 91 FPS, with a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 105 FPS. The Ultra preset averages exactly 60 FPS, matching the playable threshold and making it the most demanding preset that remains playable at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the combination shows its strongest results. Low settings average 175 FPS, while High settings reach 109 FPS. Medium settings average 125 FPS, with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS. Ultra settings average 82 FPS, comfortably clearing the 60 FPS threshold and providing a smooth experience for competitive play.

The pattern across resolutions is consistent: each step down in resolution yields a significant frame rate increase. From 4K Medium to 1440p Medium, the average FPS rises from 59 to 91, a gain of 32 FPS. From 1440p Medium to 1080p Medium, the average rises from 91 to 125, another 34 FPS improvement. The largest absolute jump occurs between 4K Ultra at 39 FPS and 1080p Ultra at 82 FPS, more than doubling the frame rate.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals where each component matters most. At 3840x2160, the GPU is the dominant factor. The RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus provide 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, but the sheer pixel workload at 4K pushes the GPU to its limits. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is substantial, from 83 FPS down to 39 FPS, indicating that the GPU's compute resources, including its 2560 shading units and 40 RT cores, are fully taxed at higher settings.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts. The GPU still carries most of the load, but the Core Ultra 5 225's performance becomes more relevant. The CPU's 10 cores and 10 threads, with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, provide sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at this resolution. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 69 FPS (129 to 60), showing that the GPU remains the primary bottleneck, but the CPU is no longer holding the system back.

At 1920x1080, the CPU's role becomes more pronounced. The Core Ultra 5 225's single-thread performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655, helps maintain high frame rates even at Low settings where the GPU has less work. The 175 FPS average at 1080p Low suggests that the CPU can drive frame rates well beyond what the GPU would achieve in isolation. However, the GPU still limits maximum performance, as evidenced by the drop to 82 FPS at Ultra settings.

The scaling between resolutions indicates that this combination is GPU-limited at 4K, balanced at 1440p, and increasingly CPU-relevant at 1080p. The RTX 2070 SUPER's 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 283.2 GTexel/s texture rate define the upper bound of performance, while the Core Ultra 5 225's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth ensure the CPU does not become a liability at lower resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database places the Core Ultra 5 225 among several close competitors. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F has an average benchmark score of 36945, essentially identical to the Core Ultra 5 225's 36938, with a delta of 0 percent. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018, a 0.2 percent advantage. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093, a 0.4 percent lead, while the Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112, a 0.5 percent edge. These four rivals all fall within a narrow band around the Core Ultra 5 225's performance, meaning any of them would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol when paired with the same GPU.

For the GPU side, the RTX 2070 SUPER's nearest rivals show similar clustering. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20480, just 1 percent below the RTX 2070 SUPER's 20282. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534, a 1.2 percent advantage. The Intel Arc B570 scores 20556, a 1.3 percent lead, and the Intel Arc A750 scores 20582, a 1.5 percent advantage. None of these rivals would meaningfully change the gameplay experience in Lockdown Protocol; the differences are within the margin of run-to-run variance.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested combinations in the database, this pairing ranks 2165 out of 3714, placing it in the 58th percentile of all recorded CPU-GPU combos for Lockdown Protocol. This rank reflects a system that is above average but not exceptional. The CPU itself sits at the 85th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs. The combination's overall rank is pulled down by the GPU's relatively lower standing compared to the CPU.

The rank suggests that many other combinations deliver higher frame rates, but this system still outperforms a significant portion of the tested population. The gap between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's moderate percentile indicates that upgrading the GPU would yield a larger performance improvement in this game than upgrading the CPU.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which average 83 FPS. Medium settings average 59 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold, while High and Ultra average 51 FPS and 39 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the best playable preset at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings are playable at 1440p, averaging exactly 60 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that meets the playable threshold at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER's average benchmark score is 20282. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M is 1 percent behind, while the RTX 3070 Mobile, Intel Arc B570, and Intel Arc A750 are 1.2, 1.3, and 1.5 percent ahead respectively.

Q: Does the Core Ultra 5 225 bottleneck the RTX 2070 SUPER at 1080p?

A: The data shows the CPU can drive high frame rates at 1080p, with Low settings averaging 175 FPS. The GPU remains the limiting factor at higher presets, where Ultra settings average 82 FPS.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p Medium and 1440p Medium?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average is 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 91 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 105 FPS.

Q: Is this combination ranked highly among tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 2165 out of 3714 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all recorded systems for this game.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the only preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, which averages 83 FPS. Medium settings average 59 FPS, missing the threshold by a single frame.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings are the most demanding preset that remains playable, averaging exactly 60 FPS. Lower presets provide progressively higher frame rates, with High at 80 FPS, Medium at 91 FPS, and Low at 129 FPS.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings again take the top playable spot, averaging 82 FPS. The scaling from Low at 175 FPS through High at 109 FPS and Medium at 125 FPS shows that all presets are comfortably playable at this resolution.

The Verdict

The data confirms that this system can run Lockdown Protocol. At 3840x2160, the verdict is limited to Low settings, which average 83 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, with Ultra averaging 60 FPS. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, with Ultra averaging 82 FPS and Low reaching 175 FPS.

For players prioritizing visual quality, 1440p Ultra delivers the best balance, hitting exactly 60 FPS. For competitive play, 1080p Low or Medium offers far higher frame rates, with 175 FPS and 125 FPS respectively. The system cannot sustain 60 FPS at 4K on anything above Low, so 4K gaming requires significant graphical compromises. Overall, the RTX 2070 SUPER and Core Ultra 5 225 combination is a capable pairing for this game, especially at mainstream resolutions.