Lockdown Protocol

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 3544 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. That places this configuration in the bottom 5% of all recorded system pairings, a position that reflects the GPU's age far more than the CPU's capability. The database shows this combo is functional for basic play, but it sits well below the median experience.

The ranking is heavily dragged down by the Radeon RX 570, which was already a mid-range card at its release and now operates against much newer hardware. The Core Ultra 5 235, by contrast, ranks in the 89th percentile among all CPUs in the database, meaning it is a strong processor by any measure. The mismatch between a high-end modern CPU and an end-of-life graphics card creates a lopsided pairing where the GPU becomes the decisive constraint in every resolution tested.

Benchmark results indicate that at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 77 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. That is the only tested configuration where this system reaches playable performance. Every other setting and resolution combination falls below 60 FPS average, and several drop into single-digit or low-twenties territory at 4K.

The rank of 3544 out of 3714 means there are only 170 tested combos that perform worse in this specific game. This is not a subtle difference at the bottom of the table; it is a definitive placement among the slowest systems in the database. Users considering this pairing for Lockdown Protocol should understand that they are building near the floor of what the game can run on, not at a comfortable mid-range position.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have nearby rivals in the database that would produce nearly identical system behavior. For the Core Ultra 5 235, the closest match is the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, with an average benchmark score of 46030 against the Intel chip's 46062, a delta of just 0.1%. The Intel Core i9-13900HX sits 0.1% higher with a score of 46098. Two AMD EPYC server chips, the 4364P and the 7303, are also within 0.2% of the Core Ultra 5 235's score. In practice, any of these processors would deliver nearly indistinguishable CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol, though the EPYC parts are workstation-oriented and not typical gaming choices.

On the GPU side, the Radeon RX 570's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, which scores 28874 versus the RX 570's 28766, a delta of negative 0.4%, meaning the RX 570 is actually slightly ahead despite being an older desktop card. The AMD Radeon RX 470 is 0.8% slower, and the AMD Radeon R9 M295X is 0.7% faster. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 is 1.2% faster, though that is a workstation card not intended for gaming. For Lockdown Protocol, swapping the RX 570 for any of these near-identical performers would not change the playability picture in any meaningful way.

The practical takeaway is that the Core Ultra 5 235 has ample headroom and could be paired with a much stronger GPU without becoming a bottleneck. Meanwhile, the RX 570 sits in a performance cluster where minor changes in silicon lottery or driver state could move the effective result by a few percent, but no single swap among these rivals would lift the system out of the bottom ranks.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear division of labor in this combo. At every resolution, moving from Low to Ultra settings produces a substantial FPS drop, which points to the GPU being the dominant factor in Lockdown Protocol's performance scaling. The CPU's role is mostly to feed frames fast enough, and the Core Ultra 5 235 is far more capable in that regard than the RX 570 can utilize.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 36 at Low to 17 at Ultra. The step from Low to Medium drops from 36 to 26 FPS, a reduction of about 28%. Moving from Medium to High drops further to 22 FPS, and High to Ultra falls to 17 FPS. These are large percentage losses that follow the graphics preset, not the resolution, confirming that the GPU is saturated at 4K even on the lowest settings.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats. Low averages 56 FPS, Medium drops to 40 FPS, High falls to 35 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 26 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 16 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is just 5 FPS, and High to Ultra is 9 FPS. The diminishing returns at higher presets indicate that the RX 570 is running out of shading power and memory bandwidth well before the CPU becomes relevant.

At 1920x1080, the GPU still dominates but the CPU begins to matter at the low end. Low settings hit 77 FPS average, which is the only measured configuration above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium drops to 54 FPS, High to 47 FPS, and Ultra to 36 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium is a 23 FPS drop, the largest single-step reduction in the entire data set, which suggests that even at 1080p the RX 570's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are quickly overwhelmed as texture and shading demands increase.

The Core Ultra 5 235's 14 cores and 24 MB of shared L3 cache are far beyond what this game requires at these frame rates. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking and its benchmark scores, such as 14769 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2085 in single-core, indicate it could support significantly higher FPS if paired with a stronger GPU. The RX 570, with a 74th percentile GPU ranking and 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, is the limiting factor at all resolutions. Users should treat this as a GPU-bound system in Lockdown Protocol, regardless of resolution or preset.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS or higher?

A: Only at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where it achieves 77 FPS average. No other tested resolution or preset combination reaches the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution with any playable settings. At 2560x1440, even Low settings only reach 56 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS playability threshold. At 3840x2160, the highest average is 36 FPS on Low.

Q: How does the RX 570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 570 scores 28766 in the database average, which is within 0.8% of the AMD Radeon RX 470 and within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon R9 M295X. It is slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6800M by 0.4% and behind the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 by 1.2%.

Q: Is the Core Ultra 5 235 a bottleneck for the RX 570?

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 89th percentile of all CPUs and its nearest rivals are within 0.2% of its average benchmark score. The GPU is the limiting factor at every resolution in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: What FPS can be expected at 2560x1440?

A: Low settings average 56 FPS, Medium averages 40 FPS with a range of 34 to 46 FPS, High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. None of these are playable by the 60 FPS standard.

Q: How much does the preset affect performance at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Low averages 36 FPS, Medium averages 26 FPS with a range of 22 to 30 FPS, High averages 22 FPS, and Ultra averages 17 FPS. The difference between the lowest and highest preset is 19 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the lowest resolution tested was High settings with an average of 22 FPS and no recorded minimum or maximum values. Low settings improved to 36 FPS average. Medium settings produced 26 FPS average, with a minimum of 22 FPS and a maximum of 30 FPS. Ultra settings fell to 17 FPS average. None of these configurations come close to the 60 FPS playability threshold, and even the best case at Low is only 60% of the target.

At 2560x1440, High settings averaged 35 FPS with no min or max recorded. Low settings reached 56 FPS average, which is just 4 FPS short of playable. Medium settings averaged 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46 FPS. Ultra settings dropped to 26 FPS average. The 56 FPS at Low is the closest this combo gets to playable at this resolution, but it still misses the mark.

At 1920x1080, the full range of behavior becomes visible. High settings averaged 47 FPS with no min or max recorded. Low settings hit 77 FPS average, the only playable result in the entire data set. Medium settings averaged 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 and a maximum of 63 FPS, meaning even the maximum frame rate barely clears the threshold. Ultra settings fell to 36 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 41 FPS, confirming that the RX 570's performance collapses as graphical demands increase.

The medium preset measurements are the only ones with full min and max data. At 3840x2160 Medium, the range is 22 to 30 FPS, a narrow band that shows the GPU is consistently saturated. At 2560x1440 Medium, the range is 34 to 46 FPS, slightly wider but still tightly grouped. At 1920x1080 Medium, the range is 46 to 63 FPS, where the maximum briefly touches the playable threshold but the average remains below it.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no tested setting reaches the 60 FPS playability threshold. The best result is Low settings at 36 FPS average, but that is still 24 FPS short of playable. The database records no playable settings for this resolution, meaning users should not attempt 4K with this combo for Lockdown Protocol.

At 2560x1440, the situation is identical. No setting reaches 60 FPS. Low settings at 56 FPS is the closest, but it remains below the playability threshold. The verdict data confirms no playable settings exist at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the only playable configuration is Low settings, which achieves 77 FPS average. That is the single best setting for this system, and it is also the only setting that works. Medium settings at 54 FPS average are not playable, and High at 47 FPS and Ultra at 36 FPS are progressively worse.

The recommendation is unambiguous: run Lockdown Protocol at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This produces 77 FPS average, which is 17 FPS above the playability threshold. The 4 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth of the RX 570 are simply insufficient for higher presets, and the data shows that every step up in quality costs a significant amount of frame rate. Users who want higher visual quality will need a stronger GPU, as the Core Ultra 5 235 has ample headroom to support it.