Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a demanding FPS title, and the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and Intel Arc B390 produces very specific results depending on where you set the resolution and visual quality. The data shows a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics processor, especially as resolution scales upward. For anyone building with this pairing, the practical takeaway is that 1080p is the only resolution where you have meaningful room to adjust settings, and even then, you are working within a narrow band of playable presets.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the recorded data shows no playable settings. Every preset, from Low to Ultra, fails to reach the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best case scenario at 4K is the Low preset, which delivers an average of 42 FPS, but that is still well below the target. The database verdict for this resolution returns an empty list of playable settings, meaning you should not expect a smooth experience at any quality level.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves slightly but remains limited. The only preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold is Low, which produces an average of 65 FPS. This is the best setting for this resolution, as it is the sole configuration that maintains playable performance. The Medium preset drops to 46 FPS, and High falls to 40 FPS, so there is no headroom to increase quality while staying at or above 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the system finally has some flexibility. The data shows two playable presets: Low at 88 FPS and Medium at 63 FPS. The best setting here is Medium, as it is the most demanding preset that still stays above the 60 FPS threshold. With an average of 63 FPS, it offers a meaningful visual upgrade over Low while remaining playable. High and Ultra both fall short, with 55 FPS and 41 FPS respectively.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 4K?

A: No. The benchmark data shows no playable settings at 3840x2160. The best result is the Low preset at 42 FPS average, which is far below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Low is the only playable option at 2560x1440, delivering an average of 65 FPS. Medium drops to 46 FPS, so it does not meet the playable threshold.

Q: Is 1080p a good resolution for this system?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, the Low preset runs at 88 FPS and Medium runs at 63 FPS. Both are above the 60 FPS threshold, making Medium the recommended choice for the best balance of quality and performance.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: At the Medium preset, the average FPS drops from 63 at 1920x1080 to 46 at 2560x1440. That is a significant reduction of 17 FPS, showing the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest recorded average is 88 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Does the Ultra preset ever hit 60 FPS?

A: No. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 41 FPS. At 2560x1440, it averages 30 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it averages 19 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, though only the Medium preset includes full min and max FPS readings. Low, High, and Ultra entries record only the average FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are consistently below playable levels. The Low preset averages 42 FPS. Medium averages 30 FPS, with a minimum of 25 FPS and a maximum of 34 FPS. High averages 26 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS. The narrow range between min and max on Medium, just 9 FPS, suggests the frame pacing is stable but the overall performance is simply too low.

At 2560x1440, performance improves but still limits options. Low averages 65 FPS, which is the only playable result at this resolution. Medium averages 46 FPS, with a minimum of 39 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. High averages 40 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. The Medium preset shows a 14 FPS spread between min and max, indicating more variance than at 4K, but still a consistent experience overall.

At 1920x1080, the system reaches its best performance. Low averages 88 FPS. Medium averages 63 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 72 FPS. High averages 55 FPS, and Ultra averages 41 FPS. The Medium preset has a 19 FPS range between its minimum and maximum, which is the widest spread recorded for any preset at any resolution, showing that 1080p Medium is where the hardware is most stressed while still remaining playable.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU side, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K sits in a strong position. Its average benchmark score of 70879 places it at the 94th percentile among all CPUs. The nearest rivals are extremely close in performance. The Intel Xeon 6511P scores 71051, which is just 0.2% higher. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 scores 71370, 0.7% higher. The Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70163, 1% lower. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 69996, 1.3% lower. For this game, any of these processors would likely behave nearly identically, as the performance differences are within a couple of percent. The Core Ultra 7 265K is not the bottleneck in this system, so swapping to one of these rivals would not meaningfully change the frame rates.

The GPU situation is very different. The Intel Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482, which puts it at only the 9th percentile among all GPUs. This is an extremely low position, and the nearest rivals confirm its performance class. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, which is 1.3% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7% lower. These are all entry-level or legacy graphics solutions, and the data indicates the Arc B390 performs in the same category. When comparing to these rivals, the Arc B390 is slightly faster, but the gap is small enough that any of these GPUs would produce very similar, and equally limited, results in Lockdown Protocol.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results make it clear that the GPU is the dominant factor in this game. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a high-end processor with a 94th percentile ranking, and its nearest rivals are all within 1.3% of its score. The GPU, by contrast, sits at the 9th percentile, and its rivals are all within 2.7%. This massive gap in relative performance means the graphics card is almost certainly the limiting component at every resolution.

The scaling between resolutions supports this conclusion. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at the Medium preset drops the average FPS from 63 to 46, a reduction of 27%. Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at Medium drops the average from 46 to 30, a further reduction of 35%. This steep decline as pixel count increases is classic GPU-bound behavior. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate would remain more consistent across resolutions.

The preset scaling also points to the GPU as the bottleneck. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra is 47 FPS, from 88 down to 41. At 2560x1440, the difference between Low and Ultra is 35 FPS, from 65 down to 30. At 3840x2160, the difference is 23 FPS, from 42 down to 19. The fact that raising settings has a large impact on performance, even at lower resolutions, indicates the graphics hardware is saturated. The CPU has the headroom to feed the GPU, but the GPU cannot keep up with the demands of the game.

The Verdict

This system can run Lockdown Protocol, but only under specific conditions. At 3840x2160, the answer is no. No preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold, and the best result is 42 FPS on Low. At 2560x1440, the answer is yes, but only on Low settings, which delivers 65 FPS. There is no room to raise quality without falling below playable levels. At 1920x1080, the answer is a qualified yes. The Low preset runs at 88 FPS and Medium runs at 63 FPS, so you can choose between maximum performance or a better visual experience while staying above 60 FPS. The overall picture is that the Intel Arc B390 is a severe limitation for this title. The Core Ultra 7 265K is more than capable, but the graphics card holds the system back, and users should plan to play at 1080p with Medium settings as the realistic ceiling for a smooth experience.