Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers an exceptionally high-performance experience in Lockdown Protocol, with benchmark data showing every tested resolution and preset combination exceeding the 60 FPS playability threshold. The measured frame rates are consistently high, ranging from a minimum average of 88 FPS at 4K Ultra to a maximum average of 346 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this combination is not merely capable but provides substantial headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. This analysis examines the measured performance metrics, component roles, optimization settings, and comparative standing of this hardware pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 resolution, the RTX 5090 D produces an average of 118 FPS on High settings, with the Medium preset yielding 135 FPS average and a minimum of 115 FPS alongside a maximum of 155 FPS. The Low preset at 4K reaches 190 FPS average, while the most demanding Ultra settings still maintain a solid 88 FPS average, comfortably above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance scales upward significantly. The High preset delivers 183 FPS average, while Medium achieves 209 FPS with a minimum of 178 FPS and maximum of 241 FPS. The Low settings produce 295 FPS average, and Ultra settings remain highly fluid at 137 FPS average. These numbers indicate that 1440p provides a substantial performance boost over 4K while maintaining excellent visual quality.

At 1920x1080, the performance ceiling is remarkably high. Low settings produce an extraordinary 346 FPS average, while Medium settings reach 285 FPS with a minimum of 243 FPS and maximum of 328 FPS. High settings maintain 249 FPS average, and even Ultra settings achieve 187 FPS average. The frame rates at 1080p are consistently above 180 FPS across all presets, making this resolution ideal for competitive play or very high refresh rate monitors.

The data reveals a clear scaling pattern: moving from 4K to 1440p increases average frame rates by roughly 55-60% across comparable settings, while moving from 1440p to 1080p adds another 35-40% performance uplift. The complete dataset shows that this combination never drops below 88 FPS average in any tested configuration, which is a remarkable achievement for a demanding FPS title.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling between resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at 4K, while the CPU's capabilities become more relevant at lower resolutions. At 3840x2160, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 102 FPS (190 FPS vs 88 FPS), demonstrating the significant GPU workload impact at this resolution. The RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth appear sufficient to handle 4K textures without memory-related performance degradation.

At 2560x1440, the same Low-to-Ultra spread expands to 158 FPS (295 FPS vs 137 FPS), showing that the GPU still dominates performance scaling. However, the Intel Core Ultra 5 225's 10 cores and 10 threads, with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, begin to show their influence as frame rates approach 300 FPS. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and single-core score of 3655 suggest adequate processing power for high-FPS scenarios.

The 1920x1080 results reveal the most balanced interaction between CPU and GPU. The Low preset at 346 FPS likely approaches the CPU's frame generation limit, as the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution. The Ultra preset at 187 FPS still shows GPU-bound behavior, but the diminishing returns between presets (346 vs 249 vs 187 FPS) indicate that the CPU's capability to feed the GPU becomes increasingly important as resolution drops. The Core Ultra 5 225's PassMark single-thread score of 4412 and multi-thread score of 30459 position it well for maintaining high frame rates without becoming a limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 88 FPS, which is 28 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. All four presets at 4K are considered playable according to the benchmark data.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combination?

A: The maximum measured average is 346 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Medium preset at 1080p provides a more balanced 285 FPS average, while still maintaining a minimum of 243 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D perform relative to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77712 places it 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76904), and 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940). It also outperforms both NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants, which score 79396 and 79605 respectively.

Q: Is the Core Ultra 5 225 a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 D in this game?

A: The data suggests minimal bottlenecking. At 1080p Low, the combination achieves 346 FPS, and the CPU's benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core 25891, single-core 3655) indicate sufficient capability. The 0% performance delta to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F suggests balanced performance.

Q: What are the minimum frame rates for Medium settings?

A: The measured minimums are 115 FPS at 4K, 178 FPS at 1440p, and 243 FPS at 1080p. These minimums remain far above the 60 FPS playability threshold, indicating consistent frame delivery without significant drops.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This pairing ranks 20th out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 0.5% of all configurations tested for this game.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearest rival data, the Intel Core Ultra 5 225's average benchmark score of 36938 places it essentially equal to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945, 0% delta), and within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (37018, -0.2% delta). The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (37093, -0.4% delta) and Intel Core i9-12900T (37112, -0.5% delta) also provide nearly identical CPU performance, meaning any of these processors would yield similar frame rates in CPU-limited scenarios.

For the GPU side, the RTX 5090 D's nearest performance rivals present an interesting mix. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76904, 1.1% ahead) is the closest match, while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940, 1.6% behind) slightly outperforms it. Both NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants (79396 and 79605) sit within 2.4% of the RTX 5090 D's score, though these are compute-oriented cards. The combination of the Core Ultra 5 225 with any of these GPU alternatives would produce broadly similar in-game performance, with the RX 6850M XT potentially offering marginally higher frame rates.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is Ultra, which achieves 88 FPS average. This makes Ultra the recommended setting for 4K, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above the playability threshold.

For 2560x1440, Ultra settings again provide the best experience with 137 FPS average. This represents a 49 FPS improvement over the 4K Ultra result, demonstrating that 1440p Ultra offers both excellent visual fidelity and high refresh rate capability.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings achieve 187 FPS average, making it the clear choice for maximum quality at this resolution. The frame rate remains well above 60 FPS and provides sufficient headroom for most high refresh rate monitors, though users with 240Hz or higher displays might consider High (249 FPS) or Medium (285 FPS) settings for additional smoothness.

The Verdict

This PC configuration can absolutely run Lockdown Protocol, and the data shows it excels across all tested scenarios. The verdict data confirms that every resolution and preset combination is playable: 3840x2160 supports all four presets with the best being Ultra at 88 FPS, 2560x1440 supports all presets with Ultra at 137 FPS, and 1920x1080 supports all presets with Ultra at 187 FPS. The minimum performance across all configurations is 88 FPS average, which is 28 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

The RTX 5090 D demonstrates exceptional raw performance with its 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 32 GB GDDR7 memory, while the Core Ultra 5 225 provides solid CPU support with its 10-core, 10-thread configuration. The GPU's 92.2 billion transistors and 21760 shading units contribute to its 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, while the CPU's 85th percentile ranking ensures balanced system performance.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 3714 tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this Core Ultra 5 225 and RTX 5090 D pairing ranks 20th overall. This places it in the top 0.54% of all configurations tested, indicating that only 19 other combinations deliver higher performance in this game. The combination's strengths are particularly evident at higher resolutions, where the RTX 5090 D's massive memory bandwidth and compute throughput shine, while the CPU maintains sufficient frame delivery at lower resolutions.

The ranking reflects the synergy between the two components: the RTX 5090 D's 92nd percentile GPU score (77712 average benchmark) and the Core Ultra 5 225's 85th percentile CPU score (36938 average benchmark) combine to produce a top-20 result. Notably, the GPU's nearest rivals include mobile and compute cards, suggesting that the RTX 5090 D's desktop gaming performance is particularly well-suited to Lockdown Protocol's requirements. The 20th rank out of 3714 confirms that while this is not the absolute fastest configuration available, it sits within the elite tier of systems capable of running this game at maximum settings with exceptional frame rates.