Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a remarkably consistent high-refresh-rate experience in Lockdown Protocol. Across all three tested resolutions, the combination clears the 60 FPS playability threshold at every preset, including the most demanding Ultra settings. The data indicates a system that is not merely playable but offers substantial headroom for competitive play, with the performance ceiling extending well above 200 FPS at lower resolutions and settings. The measured FPS values, derived from actual testing, show a clear scaling pattern from 1080p through 1440p to 4K, with the largest performance delta appearing between the two lower resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 63.7 FPS. This is the only resolution where the Ultra preset dips below 90 FPS, but it still clears the playable threshold with a small margin. For users prioritizing visual fidelity over raw frame rate, High settings average 84.7 FPS, offering a more comfortable buffer, while Medium reaches 91.4 FPS and Low scales to 134 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 95.1 FPS, making it the best choice for combining maximum visual quality with a frame rate that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. High settings improve to 128 FPS, Medium to 145.2 FPS, and Low reaches 203.6 FPS. The jump from 4K to 1440p yields a substantial 49.3% performance increase at Ultra settings, demonstrating that the resolution reduction significantly alleviates GPU load.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings average 130.2 FPS, which is more than double the 60 FPS threshold. This makes Ultra the clear recommendation for 1080p gaming. High settings push to 171.9 FPS, Medium to 201.8 FPS, and Low peaks at 277.5 FPS. The 1080p results indicate that the CPU-GPU combination has considerable headroom; even at the highest preset, the system is unlikely to be the bottleneck in most gameplay scenarios. For competitive play where maximum frame rates matter, Low settings at 277.5 FPS provide a significant advantage.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions reveals the GPU's dominant role in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the system produces 277.5 FPS, while at 4K Low it drops to 134 FPS — a 51.7% reduction. This dramatic falloff with increasing resolution is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload, where the RX 7900 XT's rendering capabilities become the limiting factor as pixel count rises. Conversely, the CPU's influence is more apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU can render frames faster than the processor can feed it.

The Ultra preset scaling provides further insight. From 1080p Ultra (130.2 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (95.1 FPS) is a 26.9% drop, and from 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra (63.7 FPS) is a 33% drop. These percentages are relatively consistent, suggesting that the workload scales predictably with resolution and that neither component becomes a sudden bottleneck at any specific point. The Core Ultra 7 265K, with its 20 cores and 20 threads, provides sufficient single-thread performance to avoid limiting the GPU at 1080p, where the system reaches 277.5 FPS on Low settings.

The data also shows that the CPU's role becomes more significant when comparing settings at the same resolution. At 4K, the difference between Low (134 FPS) and Ultra (63.7 FPS) is 70.3 FPS, while at 1080p the same comparison yields a 147.3 FPS difference. This larger absolute gap at 1080p indicates that the GPU has more headroom at lower resolutions, making CPU performance relatively more important for achieving the highest possible frame rates. However, even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains 63.7 FPS, suggesting the CPU is not a limiting factor at any tested configuration.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low settings produce 134 FPS, Medium 91.4 FPS, High 84.7 FPS, and Ultra 63.7 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 52.5% reduction in performance, with the largest single-step drop occurring between Low and Medium (42.6 FPS). The step from Medium to High is 6.7 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 21 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces significantly more rendering work than High, likely due to increased shadow quality, post-processing, and texture filtering demands.

For 2560x1440, the measured values are: Low 203.6 FPS, Medium 145.2 FPS, High 128 FPS, and Ultra 95.1 FPS. The relative scaling mirrors the 4K results, with Low to Medium showing a 58.4 FPS drop, Medium to High a 17.2 FPS drop, and High to Ultra a 32.9 FPS drop. The performance at 1440p Ultra (95.1 FPS) is remarkably close to the 4K High result (84.7 FPS), indicating that users can achieve similar frame rates with better visual quality by choosing 1440p Ultra over 4K High.

At 1920x1080, the system achieves: Low 277.5 FPS, Medium 201.8 FPS, High 171.9 FPS, and Ultra 130.2 FPS. The absolute differences between presets are larger here, with a 75.7 FPS gap between Low and Medium, a 29.9 FPS gap between Medium and High, and a 41.7 FPS gap between High and Ultra. Notably, 1080p Ultra (130.2 FPS) outperforms 1440p High (128 FPS) by only 2.2 FPS, while 1080p High (171.9 FPS) is faster than 1440p Low (203.6 FPS) is not — the 1440p Low result is actually 31.7 FPS higher. This indicates that resolution has a more significant impact on performance than preset selection within these tested configurations.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Xeon 6511P with a delta of -0.2%, the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 at -0.7%, the Intel Core i7-14700KF at +1%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F at +1.3%. This places the Core Ultra 7 265K in a tight performance cluster; the i7-14700KF is marginally faster, while the two Xeon processors are slightly slower. In gaming scenarios like Lockdown Protocol, the i7-14700KF would likely produce nearly identical FPS results, while the Xeon parts may show minor dips in CPU-bound situations at lower resolutions.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon 660M (-0.5%), NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (-0.5%), AMD Radeon RX 570X (-0.9%), and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (+1.5%). The first three are significantly lower-tier parts; the RX 9070 XT is the only comparable rival, being 1.5% faster. In practical terms, the RX 9070 XT would deliver slightly higher frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, perhaps 1-2 FPS on average, while the 660M and RTX A2000 Mobile are integrated or mobile GPUs that would perform far worse in this desktop-oriented workload. The RX 570X is also a much older architecture and would not approach the RX 7900 XT's performance.

Given the CPU's percentile ranking of 94 among all processors and the GPU's 55th percentile, the CPU is the stronger component relative to its peers. This means that in CPU-light titles like Lockdown Protocol, the GPU will be the primary performance driver, and swapping the 265K for a rival like the i7-14700KF would yield negligible FPS changes. Conversely, upgrading to an RX 9070 XT would provide a small but measurable improvement, while downgrading to any of the other listed GPUs would result in substantial performance losses.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS or higher across all tested resolutions and presets. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 63.7 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold, making 4K Ultra a viable option. The High and Medium presets provide even more headroom at 84.7 and 91.4 FPS respectively, while Low reaches 134 FPS. The verdict data confirms that all four settings at 4K are playable.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 95.1 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Every preset at this resolution is well above the threshold, with Low reaching 203.6 FPS. This makes 1440p the sweet spot for the combination, offering high visual quality with frame rates suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. The 1920x1080 results are even more decisive, with Ultra at 130.2 FPS and all other presets ranging from 171.9 to 277.5 FPS. Players with 1080p displays can run the game at maximum settings and still enjoy frame rates that exceed most monitors' refresh rates.

The overall verdict is unambiguous: this system is fully capable of running Lockdown Protocol at any resolution and preset combination tested, with the only caveat being that 4K Ultra offers the smallest safety margin above 60 FPS. For users who prefer a strict 60 FPS minimum with no dips, choosing 4K High (84.7 FPS) or 1440p Ultra (95.1 FPS) would provide a more comfortable buffer.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested combinations in the database, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT ranks 710th out of 3714 combinations. This places it in the top 19.1% of all tested systems, indicating that it outperforms roughly four out of every five other configurations. The rank reflects the combination's overall capability across a wide range of games and settings, not just Lockdown Protocol.

The relatively high rank is attributable to the CPU's strong 94th percentile score, which compensates for the GPU's more modest 55th percentile ranking. In a game like Lockdown Protocol that appears to scale well with GPU power, the actual in-game performance is better than the GPU's percentile might suggest, thanks to the CPU's ability to keep up with the GPU's frame output. The rank of 710 means that while there are many faster combinations, this system is firmly in the upper tier and would handle most modern titles with ease.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gaming?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 63.7 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings average 84.7 FPS, Medium 91.4 FPS, and Low 134 FPS.

Q: Can this system run the game at 1440p with maximum settings?

A: Yes, at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 95.1, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is 1% slower than the Intel Core i7-14700KF and 1.3% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, but 0.2% faster than the Intel Xeon 6511P.

Q: What is the GPU's performance relative to its nearest rival?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is 1.5% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, but at least 0.5% faster than the AMD Radeon 660M and NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average FPS at 1920x1080 is 277.5 FPS with Low settings. Ultra settings produce 130.2 FPS.

Q: How does the system rank among all tested combos?

A: This combination ranks 710th out of 3714 tested configurations, placing it in the top 19.1% of all systems.