Lockdown Protocol

The data shows a clear verdict for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the Intel Arc B570 in Lockdown Protocol: this is a 1080p and 1440p machine, with 4K only viable at the lowest settings. At 1920x1080, the combo clears the 60 FPS threshold on every preset, including Ultra. At 2560x1440, it drops to High as the maximum playable setting, and at 3840x2160, only Low settings remain viable. The benchmark results indicate a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, particularly beyond 1440p, where the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS data shows a strong performance envelope. With Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 136 FPS, which is more than double the playable threshold of 60 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 96 FPS, with a minimum of 82 FPS and a maximum of 111 FPS, indicating consistent frame pacing. High settings drop the average to 84 FPS, still comfortably above the threshold. Ultra settings yield an average of 63 FPS, which just clears the 60 FPS line, making it the most demanding playable preset at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades predictably but remains playable for the majority of presets. Low settings show an average of 100 FPS, which is a 26.5% drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 71 FPS, with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 81 FPS, meaning the floor exactly meets the playable threshold. High settings average 62 FPS, which is barely above the 60 FPS line, while Ultra falls to an average of 46 FPS, clearly unplayable.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. The GPU struggles to maintain playable frame rates except at Low settings, where the average is 64 FPS. Medium settings average 46 FPS, with a minimum of 39 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS, showing significant frame dips. High settings average 40 FPS, and Ultra settings average only 30 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is harsh: Medium drops from 71 FPS to 46 FPS, a 35% reduction, while High drops from 62 FPS to 40 FPS, a 35% reduction as well.

The minimum FPS data, where available, reveals the stability characteristics. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 82 FPS is 85% of the average, indicating good consistency. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 60 FPS exactly matches the playable threshold, meaning any scene complexity spike could push it below 60. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 39 FPS is 85% of the average, but the absolute value is too low for smooth gameplay.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearestRivals data for the CPU, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 sits in a tight cluster of comparable processors. Its average benchmark score is 46062, and the closest rival is the Intel Core i9-13900HX with an average score of 46098, which is a 0.1% delta. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 trails by 0.1% with a score of 46030, while the AMD EPYC 4364P is 0.2% ahead at 45970 and the AMD EPYC 7303 is 0.2% ahead at 45960. In practical terms, these deltas are negligible, meaning any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol when paired with the same GPU.

For the GPU, the Intel Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556. Its closest rival is the Intel Arc A750, which scores 20582, a delta of -0.1%, meaning the Arc B570 is effectively tied with its predecessor. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is 0.1% ahead at 20534, while the AMD Radeon R9 M390X is 0.5% behind at 20662 and the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M is 0.4% ahead at 20480. The Arc B570 and Arc A750 are so close in average score that users upgrading from the A750 would see no measurable difference in Lockdown Protocol performance. Similarly, the RTX 3070 Mobile, despite being a mobile part, would behave almost identically to the Arc B570 in this game.

The combination of a CPU that is within 0.2% of several high-end desktop and mobile processors, paired with a GPU that is within 0.5% of its nearest rivals, suggests that the measured FPS numbers are representative of a broad range of hardware. A system with an Intel Core i9-13900HX and an Intel Arc A750 would likely produce frame rates within a few percent of this combo at every resolution and preset.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in Lockdown Protocol, especially at higher resolutions. The evidence lies in the scaling between resolutions. When moving from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 96 to 71, a 26% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings drops the average from 71 to 46, a 35% reduction. This steep degradation pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering load increases with pixel count and the GPU cannot keep up.

At 1080p, the CPU has more headroom. The difference between Low and Ultra settings is 136 FPS versus 63 FPS, a 73 FPS spread, which shows that the GPU is still the limiting factor even at the lowest resolution, but the CPU is clearly capable of feeding the GPU enough data to reach high frame rates. The CPU's single-thread performance, as indicated by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085, is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the Arc B570 at 1080p.

At 4K, the CPU's role diminishes further. The FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 64 FPS versus 30 FPS, a 34 FPS spread, which is smaller than the 73 FPS spread at 1080p. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily saturated that even dropping to Low settings cannot fully compensate for the pixel count, and the CPU has little influence on the outcome. The CPU's multi-threaded score of 14769 in Cinebench R23 is more than adequate for this game, which is unlikely to use all 14 threads, but the data confirms that the GPU is the deciding factor for playability at 1440p and above.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2987 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the bottom 19.6% of all tested configurations, which is a surprisingly low position given that the individual components sit at the 89th percentile for CPUs and the 65th percentile for GPUs.

The discrepancy between component percentiles and the combo rank suggests that Lockdown Protocol is particularly demanding on the GPU relative to other games, or that the game favors NVIDIA and AMD GPUs over Intel's Arc architecture. The Arc B570's percentile of 65 means it outperforms 65% of all tested GPUs, yet the combo still lands in the bottom fifth. This implies that many of the 3714 tested combos include higher-tier GPUs, even if paired with weaker CPUs, and those GPU-heavy configurations outperform this setup in this specific title.

For context, the combo rank of 2987 means that 727 other combinations perform worse. These would likely be pairings of low-end GPUs with mid-range CPUs. The data suggests that to improve the rank in Lockdown Protocol, a GPU upgrade would be more effective than a CPU upgrade, reinforcing the GPU-bound nature of the game.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but with significant caveats depending on resolution. At 1920x1080, the system is fully capable, clearing 60 FPS on all four presets: Low at 136 FPS, Medium at 96 FPS, High at 84 FPS, and Ultra at 63 FPS. This makes 1080p the definitive resolution for this combo, with Ultra settings providing a playable experience.

At 2560x1440, the system remains viable but with fewer options. Low, Medium, and High settings all clear 60 FPS, with averages of 100, 71, and 62 FPS respectively. Ultra settings fall to 46 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. The Medium preset's minimum of 60 FPS is a concern, as any demanding scene could cause dips below 60.

At 3840x2160, the system is only playable on Low settings, which average 64 FPS. Medium settings average 46 FPS, High averages 40 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS, all of which fail the 60 FPS threshold. For 4K gaming, this combo is not recommended beyond the lowest preset.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Low, which produces an average of 64 FPS. This is the only preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall short, with averages of 46, 40, and 30 FPS respectively. The 4 FPS margin above the threshold at Low settings is slim, but the data confirms it is playable.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is High, with an average of 62 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. Medium also clears the threshold at 71 FPS, but High offers better visual quality while still maintaining playability. Low is also viable at 100 FPS, but it is not the best quality option. Ultra is unplayable at 46 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is Ultra, with an average of 63 FPS. This is the highest quality preset available and it clears the 60 FPS threshold, albeit with a narrow 3 FPS margin. High at 84 FPS, Medium at 96 FPS, and Low at 136 FPS are all also playable, but Ultra provides the best visual experience while remaining above the playable line. The Ultra preset's 63 FPS average is the decisive data point for recommending it as the optimal choice at this resolution.