Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a demanding modern FPS, and pairing it with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 alongside the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX produces one of the stronger showings in the database. The recorded data covers three resolutions and four presets, and the headline is simple: every combination tested clears the 60 FPS playability threshold, including 4K Ultra. The following analysis walks through what that means in context, where the bottleneck sits, and how this pairing ranks against the rest of the measured field.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX sits in the 91st percentile of all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 52073. Its nearest rivals cluster remarkably tightly around it. The AMD EPYC 8124P averages 52121, a difference of just 0.1 percent, while the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X averages 51947, effectively 0.2 percent behind. The Intel Core i7-14700 averages 52301, only 0.4 percent ahead, and the Intel Core i9-13900F averages 51730, 0.7 percent behind. Any of these processors would deliver near-identical CPU-side behavior in Lockdown Protocol, since the spread across all four is well under one percent.

On the graphics side, the RTX 5090 sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 79842. Its measured rivals are an unusual mix: the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB averages 79605 (0.3 percent behind), the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB averages 79396 (0.6 percent behind), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT averages 78940 (1.1 percent behind), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X averages 80959, which is 1.4 percent ahead of the 5090 in aggregate database terms. In aggregate synthetic scoring these parts land close together, but in Lockdown Protocol specifically the RTX 5090's modern Blackwell 2.0 architecture with DirectX 12 Ultimate support is what the game actually exercises, and the measured frame rates below reflect that.

The 235HX itself is an Arrow Lake-HX mobile part: 14 cores and 14 threads, a 2.90 GHz base clock boosting to 5.10 GHz, 24 MB of shared L3 cache, DDR5 dual-channel support with 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth, and PCI Express Gen 5 with 20 CPU lanes. A Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 34731 and single-core score of 4903 show a chip with strong per-thread throughput, which matters for a fast-paced FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling data makes the division of labor clear. At 1920x1080 the game runs between 274 FPS (Low) and 127 FPS (Ultra). At 2560x1440 that range compresses to 201 FPS down to 93 FPS. At 3840x2160 it narrows further, from 129 FPS at Low to 60 FPS at Ultra.

Two patterns emerge. First, frame rates drop substantially as resolution rises at every preset, which is the signature of GPU-bound behavior: the RTX 5090 is doing the heavy lifting, and the 235HX is feeding it without becoming the limiting factor. Moving from 1080p to 4K costs roughly half the frame rate at every preset (Ultra goes from 127 to 60, Medium from 194 to 92, Low from 274 to 129), a consistent multiplicative drop that points squarely at pixel-throughput limits rather than CPU limits.

Second, the gap between Low and Ultra presets is large but never catastrophic: 274 versus 127 at 1080p, 201 versus 93 at 1440p, 129 versus 60 at 4K. That means image-quality settings trade frame rate at a predictable rate, and there is headroom everywhere. At 1080p the CPU could become relevant at Low settings, where 274 FPS is high enough that even a 5.10 GHz boost clock with strong single-thread performance may approach engine limits, but the data shows no plateau that would confirm a hard CPU ceiling. For practical purposes, this game on this machine is GPU-limited at 1440p and 4K and likely close to balanced at 1080p Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded averages are 274 FPS on Low, 194 FPS on Medium, 170 FPS on High, and 127 FPS on Ultra. The Medium run also captured frame-time extremes: a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS. That minimum is well above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating stable frame delivery rather than an average propped up by occasional spikes.

At 2560x1440, averages land at 201 FPS on Low, 142 FPS on Medium, 124 FPS on High, and 93 FPS on Ultra. The Medium entry again includes distribution data, with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 164 FPS. Even the worst recorded frame at this preset and resolution sits at double the playability threshold.

At 3840x2160, averages are 129 FPS on Low, 92 FPS on Medium, 80 FPS on High, and 60 FPS on Ultra. The Medium run shows a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. The Ultra result of 60 FPS is exactly at the threshold, not above it, so 4K Ultra is the one configuration in the dataset without margin. Every other resolution and preset combination clears the threshold comfortably.

The preset ladder is orderly at every resolution, with each step from Low to Ultra costing a similar proportion of frame rate, which suggests no single setting (such as a heavy post-process effect) is responsible for a disproportionate loss.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC runs Lockdown Protocol, and it does so at every tested resolution and preset. The verdict data confirms that at 3840x2160 all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable, with Ultra as the best setting at an average of 60 FPS. At 2560x1440 all four presets are again playable, best represented by Ultra at 93 FPS. At 1920x1080 the same holds, with Ultra delivering 127 FPS.

The nuance worth flagging: 4K Ultra at exactly 60 FPS average is a pass, not a cushion. Since the minimum and maximum for that run were not recorded, dip behavior below the average is unknown, and players sensitive to intermittent drops may prefer 4K High at 80 FPS or 4K Medium at 92 FPS. At 1440p and 1080p, no such caution applies, since even the Ultra presets hold 93 and 127 FPS respectively.

Best Settings per Resolution

• 3840x2160: Ultra, at an average of 60 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at the 60 FPS threshold. High is the safer alternative at 80 FPS average if margin is desired.
• 2560x1440: Ultra, at an average of 93 FPS, a comfortable 55 percent above the threshold.
• 1920x1080: Ultra, at an average of 127 FPS, more than double the threshold.

In every case the maximum-quality preset is the correct choice; there is no resolution in the dataset where turning settings down is necessary to reach 60 FPS, only to exceed it with headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

Across the database, the Core Ultra 5 235HX plus RTX 5090 combination ranks 770th out of 3714 tested pairings in Lockdown Protocol. That places it in roughly the top fifth of all measured configurations for this game. Given that the ranking spans everything from entry-level laptops to flagship desktops, a mobile-class Hexacore-plus-tier CPU paired with a flagship GPU landing in the top 21 percent is a strong result, and it reinforces that Lockdown Protocol rewards GPU strength more than CPU strength on this hardware. The tight 1080p results (127 FPS at Ultra, where CPU influence is greatest) are what likely keep this combo from ranking even higher against pairings with heavier desktop processors.

FAQ

Q: Can the RTX 5090 run Lockdown Protocol at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes. The measured average is 60 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra, exactly meeting the 60 FPS playability threshold. It is the tightest result in the dataset, so 4K High at 80 FPS offers more headroom.

Q: How many FPS does this setup get at 1440p?

A: Averages of 201 FPS on Low, 142 FPS on Medium, 124 FPS on High, and 93 FPS on Ultra at 2560x1440.

Q: Is the Core Ultra 5 235HX a bottleneck for this game?

A: The data indicates no. Frame rates scale down consistently with resolution at every preset, which is GPU-bound behavior. Even at 1080p Ultra the combo averages 127 FPS.

Q: What is the frame rate stability like?

A: The Medium preset runs recorded min/max figures at all three resolutions: 165 to 223 FPS at 1080p, 121 to 164 FPS at 1440p, and 78 to 106 FPS at 4K. All minima are above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to alternatives?

A: Its database average score of 52073 sits within one percent of the AMD EPYC 8124P, AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, Intel Core i7-14700, and Intel Core i9-13900F, so CPU-side performance in this game would be effectively interchangeable with those parts.

Q: Where does this pairing rank among tested configurations for Lockdown Protocol?

A: Rank 770 out of 3714 combos, placing it in approximately the top fifth of the measured field.