Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 presents a clear performance profile for Lockdown Protocol. The data shows a system that can handle the game comfortably at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K requiring significant settings compromises. This analysis walks through the measured FPS values, settings recommendations, and the roles each component plays.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination delivers consistently high frame rates across all presets. The Low preset produces an average of 146 FPS, which is the highest measured value for this system. Medium settings drop to an average of 103 FPS, with a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 119 FPS. High settings yield 90 FPS on average, while the Ultra preset still maintains a solid 68 FPS average. These numbers indicate that the system has substantial headroom at 1080p, making even the most demanding preset entirely viable.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scaling follows a predictable pattern but remains strong. The Low preset averages 107 FPS, which is only a 39 FPS drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings produce an average of 76 FPS, with a minimum of 64 FPS and a maximum of 87 FPS. The High preset maintains a 66 FPS average, staying above the critical 60 FPS threshold. Ultra settings, however, fall to an average of 50 FPS, marking the first preset at this resolution that fails to reach playable levels.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The Low preset averages 69 FPS, which is the only setting that clears the 60 FPS bar. Medium settings drop to an average of 49 FPS, with a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS. High settings average 43 FPS, and Ultra falls to 32 FPS. The data shows a steep decline from 1440p to 4K, particularly at higher presets, indicating that the RX 6600's 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus are insufficient for 4K rendering at demanding quality levels.

The frame rate deltas between resolutions are notable. At Low settings, 1080p to 1440p shows a 39 FPS drop, and 1440p to 4K shows a 38 FPS drop. At Medium settings, the drops are 27 FPS and 27 FPS respectively. These consistent declines suggest a balanced load between CPU and GPU at lower presets, but the data changes at higher settings. The 1440p High to 4K High drop is 23 FPS, while 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra drops by 18 FPS, showing that the GPU saturates earlier at higher quality levels.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low, which produces an average of 69 FPS. This is the recommended setting for 4K, as it is the only one that stays at or above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings fall short at 49 FPS, and High and Ultra are considerably lower at 43 and 32 FPS respectively.

For 2560x1440, the best preset that maintains 60 FPS is High, with an average of 66 FPS. This is a significant finding because it means the system can run the game at a visually appealing quality level without sacrificing smoothness. Medium settings also clear the bar at 76 FPS, but High offers better visual fidelity while still remaining playable. Ultra is not recommended at this resolution, as its 50 FPS average falls below the playable threshold.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice, averaging 68 FPS. This is the most demanding setting available, and the system handles it comfortably. High settings at 90 FPS and Medium at 103 FPS are also viable, but Ultra provides the highest quality without any frame rate concerns. The data shows that 1080p is the resolution where this combination fully unlocks its potential.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this system at 1080p?

A: The Low preset at 1920x1080 produces the highest average at 146 FPS.

Q: Is 4K playable with this combination?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which averages 69 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra presets all fall below the 60 FPS threshold at 3840x2160.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 Medium is 64 FPS, with a maximum of 87 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at 1080p compared to 1440p?

A: At 1080p, Ultra averages 68 FPS. At 1440p, the same preset averages 50 FPS, a drop of 18 FPS.

Q: Which resolution offers the best balance of quality and playability?

A: 2560x1440 at High settings averages 66 FPS, providing good visual quality while staying above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Does the system maintain 60 FPS at 4K High settings?

A: No. The 4K High preset averages 43 FPS, which is well below the playable threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD EPYC 4464P, which scores 64823 compared to the Core Ultra 7 265's 64640 average, a delta of -0.3%. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265F is essentially identical, with a score of 64438 and a 0.3% delta. The AMD EPYC 7343 scores 64202 (0.7% delta), and the AMD EPYC 9124 scores 65104 (-0.7% delta). These rivals would deliver nearly identical gaming performance in Lockdown Protocol, as the CPU is not the bottleneck at most settings.

On the GPU side, the RX 6600's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K6000, which scores 19030 versus the RX 6600's 19036 average, a 0% delta. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile scores 19049 (-0.1% delta), the NVIDIA Tesla K20m scores 19089 (-0.3% delta), and the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation scores 18954 (0.4% delta). These GPUs would produce very similar frame rates in this game, meaning users with any of these cards can expect comparable results at each resolution and preset.

The data indicates that swapping the CPU for any of its nearest rivals would have minimal impact on Lockdown Protocol performance, since the GPU handles most of the rendering workload. Similarly, replacing the GPU with one of its benchmark neighbors would yield nearly identical FPS values. The combination of the Core Ultra 7 265 and RX 6600 sits in a performance tier where these alternatives would behave almost indistinguishably.

CPU and GPU Roles

The CPU and GPU roles become clear when examining scaling across resolutions and presets. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 146 FPS, which drops to 107 FPS at 1440p Low and 69 FPS at 4K Low. This 53% reduction from 1080p to 4K indicates that the GPU is heavily involved even at low settings, but the CPU still has ample headroom.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 68 FPS, dropping to 50 FPS at 1440p Ultra and 32 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p Ultra score, showing that the GPU saturates rapidly as resolution increases. The RX 6600's 8 GB memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors at higher resolutions and quality settings.

At lower presets, the CPU provides enough throughput to keep the GPU fed. The Core Ultra 7 265's 20 cores and 30 MB L3 cache handle the game's physics and AI calculations without bottlenecking. However, at 4K with High or Ultra settings, the GPU's pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s are insufficient to maintain playable frame rates. The data shows that the GPU is the primary constraint at 1440p Ultra and above, while the CPU becomes less relevant as resolution increases.

The scaling between Medium presets illustrates this balance. From 1080p to 1440p Medium, the drop is 27 FPS (103 to 76), and from 1440p to 4K Medium, the drop is another 27 FPS (76 to 49). This linear decline suggests that both components are working in concert, but the GPU's limitations become more pronounced at 4K. At 1440p High, the 66 FPS average shows the GPU still has capacity, but the 4K High result of 43 FPS confirms the GPU is the limiting factor.

The Verdict

This system can run Lockdown Protocol across all three tested resolutions, but the quality ceiling varies significantly. At 1920x1080, the combination clears 60 FPS on every preset, with Ultra averaging 68 FPS. This is the resolution where the system performs best, offering maximum visual quality without compromise.

At 2560x1440, the system remains playable at High settings (66 FPS average), Low (107 FPS), and Medium (76 FPS). Ultra falls short at 50 FPS. For users prioritizing resolution over settings, 1440p High is the recommended configuration.

At 3840x2160, only Low settings achieve playable performance, averaging 69 FPS. Medium (49 FPS), High (43 FPS), and Ultra (32 FPS) all fall below the 60 FPS threshold. The verdict by resolution confirms this: 1080p Ultra is the best setting, 1440p High is the best setting, and 4K Low is the only playable option.

The data supports the conclusion that this PC is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K available only at reduced settings. The RX 6600's performance ceiling prevents higher-quality 4K play, while the Core Ultra 7 265 provides sufficient processing power to avoid CPU bottlenecks.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 2901 out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the lower 22% of all tested systems, which is consistent with the GPU's mid-range positioning. The CPU ranks in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs.

The rank reflects the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions. While the CPU is a top-tier performer, the RX 6600's modest specifications — 1792 shading units, 8 GB GDDR6 memory, and 8.928 TFLOPS FP32 performance — hold the system back in demanding scenarios. The 3714 total combos include many systems with more powerful GPUs, which explains the low rank despite the strong CPU.

The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this pairing. The Core Ultra 7 265's benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42216 and a PassMark multithread score of 49682, place it well above average. The RX 6600's PassMark G3D score of 15096 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1492 indicate a GPU that is adequate for 1080p gaming but struggles at higher resolutions. For users considering this combination, the rank suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield the most significant performance gains in Lockdown Protocol.