Lockdown Protocol

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the Intel Arc B370 lands at rank 3427 out of 3714 tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol. This places the combo in the bottom 8 percent of the database, a position driven almost entirely by the graphics side of the pairing. The CPU itself sits in the 89th percentile among all processors, but the Arc B370 ranks in only the 5th percentile among all GPUs. That massive gap between component tiers defines the entire performance profile of this system.

Benchmark results show a system that can handle the game at lower demands but falls apart quickly as settings and resolution increase. The recorded data shows no configuration in this test reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold except for the 1080p Low preset. Every other measured combination, from 1080p Medium through 4K Ultra, lands below that line. The ranking reflects this: a combo in the bottom 8 percent of all tested pairs is one that most users would find insufficient for smooth play beyond the most modest settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Arc B370 is the limiting factor in this pairing, and the scaling data makes this clear. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra drops average FPS from 80 to 37, a reduction of more than half. At 1440p, the same settings change drops from 58 to 27. At 4K, it falls from 38 to 18. These are steep declines that point to a GPU struggling to feed the renderer as pixel count and shading load rise.

The CPU's role is comparatively minor in this game. The Core Ultra 5 235 has 14 cores, 14 threads, and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a PassMark single-thread score of 4516 and a multithread score of 37816. Those numbers place it far above the GPU in relative capability. The evidence shows that resolution scaling is harsh, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. Going from 1080p High at 49 FPS to 1440p High at 36 FPS is a 27 percent drop. Going from 1440p High to 4K High drops from 36 to 23 FPS, another 36 percent reduction. The CPU is not the bottleneck here; the Arc B370 with its 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 20 ROPs simply cannot keep pace with the game's demands as resolution climbs.

Preset scaling also points to GPU dominance. At 1080p, Low yields 80 FPS, Medium drops to 57, High to 49, and Ultra to 37. The step from Low to Medium alone costs 23 FPS. Such sensitivity to preset changes is characteristic of a GPU-limited system, where each increment in shading quality, texture detail, and post-processing directly taxes the renderer. The CPU has headroom; the GPU does not.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the strongest result comes from the Low preset, which averages 80 FPS. Medium drops to 57 FPS with a minimum of 48 and a maximum of 65. High averages 49 FPS. Ultra averages 37 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 43 FPS, and only the Low preset clears the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 58 FPS, just under the playable line. Medium averages 42 FPS with a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 48. High averages 36 FPS. Ultra averages 27 FPS. No preset at this resolution reaches 60 FPS, and the Medium preset's minimum of 35 FPS indicates noticeable frame drops during intense scenes.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 38 FPS. Medium averages 27 FPS with a minimum of 23 and a maximum of 31. High averages 23 FPS. Ultra averages 18 FPS. This resolution is effectively unplayable across all settings, with even the lowest preset delivering less than two-thirds of the required frame rate.

The data shows a clear pattern: each resolution step costs roughly 20 to 30 percent of the average FPS at the same preset. From 1080p Low to 1440p Low, the drop is from 80 to 58 FPS, a 28 percent reduction. From 1440p Low to 4K Low, it falls from 58 to 38 FPS, another 34 percent reduction. The GPU's shared memory architecture and system-dependent bandwidth contribute to these steep declines, as the integrated design competes with the CPU for memory resources.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but only under a narrow set of conditions. The verdict by resolution is clear: 1920x1080 with the Low preset is the sole playable configuration, averaging 80 FPS. At 2560x1440, no settings achieve 60 FPS; the closest is Low at 58 FPS, which is playable in a technical sense but fails the strict threshold. At 3840x2160, all presets fall far below playable, with the best result being Low at 38 FPS.

The 1080p Low result of 80 FPS provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS line, leaving room for occasional dips without dropping below playability. The 1080p Medium result of 57 FPS is close but misses the mark, and its minimum of 48 FPS suggests stutter during demanding moments. Users who prioritize frame rate consistency should stick with Low at 1080p. Those who want higher visual quality will need to accept frame rates in the 37 to 57 FPS range, which many players would find too choppy for a fast-paced FPS.

At higher resolutions, the system is not viable for competitive play. The 1440p Low result of 58 FPS is borderline, but the 1440p Medium and above results drop into the 27 to 42 FPS range, which is clearly insufficient. The 4K results, ranging from 18 to 38 FPS, are below any reasonable playability standard for this genre.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database are closely matched. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 scores 46030, a 0.1 percent difference from the Core Ultra 5 235's 46062 average. The Intel Core i9-13900HX scores 46098, also 0.1 percent away. The AMD EPYC 4364P scores 45970, 0.2 percent lower, and the AMD EPYC 7303 scores 45960, 0.2 percent lower. For this game, swapping the CPU to any of these would produce nearly identical frame rates, as the GPU remains the bottleneck.

The GPU's nearest rivals paint a different picture. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186, just 0.2 percent above the Arc B370's 1184. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190, 0.5 percent higher. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192, 0.7 percent higher. The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, 1.4 percent lower. These are all older discrete and mobile parts, and their performance in Lockdown Protocol would be virtually indistinguishable from the Arc B370. The data suggests that the Arc B370 behaves like a legacy-class GPU despite its modern architecture, and any of these rivals would deliver similar playability limits.

For users considering alternatives, the CPU side offers flexibility without meaningful performance changes. The GPU side offers no better options within this performance class; the nearest rivals are all within 1.4 percent of the Arc B370's score. Upgrading the GPU to something outside this immediate cluster would be necessary to change the playability picture, but the database records only these nearby matches.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, which averages 80 FPS. The Medium preset averages 57 FPS, just below the threshold, so it cannot be recommended for strict 60 FPS play. The Low preset at 1080p is the only configuration in the entire test matrix that meets the playable standard.

At 2560x1440, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The best option is Low at 58 FPS, which is 2 FPS short of the threshold. The data shows no playable settings at this resolution, and the verdict confirms an empty list of playable presets. Users at 1440p would need to reduce resolution or accept sub-60 FPS performance.

At 3840x2160, the best result is Low at 38 FPS, less than two-thirds of the required frame rate. No settings at 4K are playable, and the verdict lists no playable presets. The Ultra preset at this resolution drops to 18 FPS, which is effectively a slideshow.

The overall picture is simple: this combo delivers one playable configuration, 1080p Low at 80 FPS, and everything else falls short. The GPU's low percentile ranking and the steep resolution scaling confirm that this is a system for light or older titles, not for running Lockdown Protocol at high fidelity. Users seeking 60 FPS at Medium or higher settings would need a substantially stronger GPU, as the CPU is not the constraint.