Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a fast-paced FPS that stresses both frame pacing and raw throughput, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination lands in the 85th percentile for CPUs and 61st percentile for GPUs. That places the pairing as a solid mid-range contender, but the measured frame data shows that the experience hinges heavily on resolution and preset choices. The RTX 4060’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the Core Ultra 5 225’s 10-core, 10-thread Arrow Lake architecture with a 4.90 GHz boost clock keeps the CPU from becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, which delivers an average of 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold; High drops to 55 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 42 FPS average, both below the playable mark. Low at 4K runs at 89 FPS average, but that comes with a significant visual quality sacrifice, so Medium is the practical ceiling for a smooth experience.

At 2560x1440, every preset clears 60 FPS, making Ultra the best choice with an average of 64 FPS. The headroom here is notable: High runs at 86 FPS, Medium at 98 FPS, and Low at 138 FPS. Since Ultra maintains an average above the 60 FPS threshold, there is no reason to drop below it unless you want extra headroom for competitive play, where the 138 FPS Low preset would give you the maximum refresh rate advantage.

At 1920x1080, the system has ample power for Ultra settings, which averages 88 FPS. The lower presets are all well above 60 FPS as well: High at 117 FPS, Medium at 134 FPS, and Low at 189 FPS. For a 1080p high-refresh monitor, even the Ultra preset provides a smooth experience, and the Low preset’s 189 FPS average makes this combination ideal for esports-style play where frame rate trumps visual fidelity.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU’s nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, are separated by less than one percent, meaning any of these alternatives would produce nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F matches the Core Ultra 5 225 with a deltaPct of 0% and an avgScore of 36945 versus the Intel’s 36938. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is only -0.2% behind with a score of 37018, and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 sits at -0.4% with 37093. The Intel Core i9-12900T rounds out the group at -0.5% with 37112. In practical terms, swapping the Core Ultra 5 225 for any of these chips would shift frame rates by less than one FPS, so the choice between them should come down to platform features or pricing rather than gaming performance.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4060’s nearest rivals are much older or integrated parts, which highlights how the card’s 19545 Passmark G3D score sits at the 61st percentile. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 is the closest match at -0.2% with a score of 17666, while the AMD Radeon 780M integrated graphics is 0.3% ahead with 17588. The AMD Radeon Pro 560 and AMD Radeon Pro 460 trail at 0.5% and 0.7% respectively. None of these rivals are realistic modern alternatives for gaming, which means the RTX 4060 has no true contemporary peer at its performance level in this database—it occupies a unique spot where older discrete cards and newer integrated solutions happen to land nearby.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the frame data shows a steep drop-off as settings increase. Low averages 89 FPS, Medium averages 63 FPS with a 54-73 FPS range, High averages 55 FPS, and Ultra averages 42 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 8 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs another 13 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset at 4K is simply too demanding for the RTX 4060’s 8 GB frame buffer and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth.

At 2560x1440, the scaling is more forgiving. Low hits 138 FPS, Medium averages 98 FPS with a 83-113 FPS range, High averages 86 FPS, and Ultra averages 64 FPS. The transition from High to Ultra costs 22 FPS, which is a significant hit, but the 64 FPS average still clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. The minimum frame data for Medium at 1440p shows 83 FPS, which means even the lowest frames stay comfortably above the playable mark.

At 1920x1080, the system shows its strongest performance. Low averages 189 FPS, Medium averages 134 FPS with a 114-154 FPS range, High averages 117 FPS, and Ultra averages 88 FPS. The step from High to Ultra costs 29 FPS, which is the largest single-preset drop at any resolution, but the 88 FPS average provides plenty of headroom for a 60 Hz or 144 Hz display. The Medium preset’s minimum of 114 FPS means that even the worst-case frames stay well above the playable threshold.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the experience depends on your resolution target. At 1920x1080, all four presets clear the 60 FPS playable threshold, with Ultra averaging 88 FPS—this is the resolution where the system is fully capable. At 2560x1440, all four presets also clear 60 FPS, with Ultra averaging 64 FPS, though the margin is thinner; the measured data shows High at 86 FPS and Medium at 98 FPS, so there is room to drop settings if you want smoother motion. At 3840x2160, only Low and Medium are playable, with Medium averaging 63 FPS and a minimum of 54 FPS—that minimum dips below the 60 FPS threshold, so 4K players should expect occasional stutters even at the best playable preset. High at 55 FPS and Ultra at 42 FPS are not viable for a smooth experience. Overall, the system is a strong 1080p performer, a good 1440p performer, and a marginal 4K performer that requires accepting Medium settings and minor frame dips.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU has enough headroom to keep up at all settings. Looking at the scaling from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the RTX 4060’s average FPS drops by 43 FPS on Low (from 189 to 138), 36 FPS on Medium (from 134 to 98), 31 FPS on High (from 117 to 86), and 24 FPS on Ultra (from 88 to 64). This consistent degradation across all presets points to the GPU becoming more stressed as pixel count increases, which is expected behavior for a card with 8 GB of memory.

The CPU’s role becomes more apparent at 1080p, where the system reaches 189 FPS on Low settings. At that frame rate, the Core Ultra 5 225’s single-thread performance (a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655) and multi-thread performance (a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891) are sufficient to feed the GPU. The 10-core design with 20 MB of L3 cache handles the game’s physics and AI workload without becoming a bottleneck, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates scale almost linearly with preset changes at 1080p.

At 4K, the GPU’s limitations dominate. The RTX 4060’s 128-bit memory bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth struggle with the higher resolution, particularly on the Ultra preset where the average drops to 42 FPS. The CPU’s performance is essentially irrelevant at this point—even a stronger processor would not recover the lost frames because the GPU is already maxed out. The data suggests that for Lockdown Protocol, the RTX 4060 is the deciding factor at 1440p and above, while the Core Ultra 5 225 provides ample compute for the lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 100 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS on 4K?

A: Only at Low (89 FPS average) or Medium (63 FPS average) settings. The Medium preset has a minimum of 54 FPS, so you may see brief dips below 60 FPS. High (55 FPS) and Ultra (42 FPS) are not playable at 4K.

Q: What is the best resolution for this PC?

A: 1920x1080 is the sweet spot, where Ultra settings average 88 FPS and even the most demanding preset stays well above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The Low preset reaches 189 FPS for competitive play.

Q: How much performance drops when going from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The average FPS decreases by 31 FPS on High settings (117 to 86), 36 FPS on Medium (134 to 98), and 24 FPS on Ultra (88 to 64). The drop is largest on lower settings because the CPU has more headroom to feed the GPU at 1080p.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 the limiting factor in this system?

A: Yes, at 1440p and 4K. The GPU’s 8 GB memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth cause frame rates to drop sharply at higher resolutions, particularly on Ultra settings where 4K averages 42 FPS. The CPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 85th percentile, indicating it has sufficient performance for this game.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 5 225 compare to similar CPUs?

A: It is statistically tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (deltaPct 0%), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (-0.2%), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (-0.4%), and Intel Core i9-12900T (-0.5%). Any of these chips would produce nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: What settings should I use for a competitive advantage?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset gives 138 FPS average, and at 1920x1080, Low gives 189 FPS average. These provide the highest frame rates for reduced input lag and smoother motion, at the cost of visual fidelity.