Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a fast-paced FPS released on 2024-03-11, places significant demands on both CPU and GPU depending on the resolution and quality preset. Based on measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination, this system delivers a highly capable experience, though 4K Ultra remains the sole stumbling block. The data indicates a clear hierarchy: 1080p and 1440p are thoroughly conquered, while 4K requires a slight settings compromise to maintain a fluid frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured average frame rates show a steep penalty as visual fidelity climbs. The Low preset yields an average of 121 FPS, which is more than double the 60 FPS playability threshold. Moving to Medium drops the average to 85.6 FPS, still comfortably smooth. High settings produce an average of 77.9 FPS, maintaining a solid margin above 60 FPS. However, the Ultra preset falls to an average of 55 FPS, which is below the playable threshold of 60 FPS. This represents a significant 22.9 FPS drop from High to Ultra, indicating that the Ultra preset at 4K is too demanding for this hardware pair.

Stepping down to 2560x1440, the story improves substantially. The Low preset averages 193.4 FPS, a massive 72.4 FPS increase over the 4K Low result, which highlights the pixel-count advantage of 1440p. Medium delivers an average of 138.9 FPS, while High reaches 119.4 FPS. Even the most demanding Ultra preset at this resolution maintains a strong 87.7 FPS average, which is 27.7 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold. The scaling from 4K to 1440p at Ultra shows a 32.7 FPS gain, demonstrating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 105.7 FPS, showing that the settings menu provides a wide range of performance tuning.

At 1920x1080, the combination is overwhelming. The Low preset averages 262.2 FPS, which is an extraordinarily high frame rate. Medium averages 187.2 FPS, High averages 164.1 FPS, and even Ultra sustains an average of 121.7 FPS. The difference between 1440p Ultra (87.7 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (121.7 FPS) is 34 FPS, indicating that the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU at this resolution. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 140.5 FPS, showing that the game scales well with settings even at lower pixel counts. Every preset at 1080p clears the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin, with the lowest average (Ultra) being more than double the playable threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, provide context for its compute performance. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K has an average benchmark score of 70879, which is nearly identical to the Intel Xeon 6511P, which scores 71051 and trails by only 0.2%. Similarly, the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 scores 71370, a 0.7% margin. On the other side, the Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70163, which is 1% behind, and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 69996, which is 1.3% behind. These deltaPct values are minimal, meaning that swapping to any of these four CPUs would yield virtually indistinguishable frame rates in Lockdown Protocol. The data suggests that the 265K sits in a very tight performance cluster, with no single rival offering a meaningful advantage or disadvantage.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070's nearest rivals show a similar pattern of tight clustering. The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37648. The NVIDIA Tesla P4 scores 37628, a negligible 0.1% difference. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37507, which is 0.4% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135, which is 1.3% higher, while the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 scores 37157, which is 1.3% lower. All four alternatives fall within a 1.3% deltaPct band, meaning that in practice, they would produce nearly the same frame rates as the RTX 4070 in this game. The closest match is the Tesla P4, which is within 0.1% of the RTX 4070's average score, suggesting that users with that GPU could expect almost identical measured performance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals a clear division of labor between the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 depending on resolution. At 3840x2160, the GPU is the dominant factor. The average frame rates drop sharply as settings increase, from 121 FPS at Low to 55 FPS at Ultra, a 66 FPS swing. This indicates that the RTX 4070's fill rate and shading capabilities are the primary limiters at 4K. The CPU, with its 20 cores and 20 threads and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, has ample headroom to feed the GPU at this resolution; the bottleneck is purely graphical.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts slightly. The average FPS ranges from 193.4 at Low to 87.7 at Ultra, a 105.7 FPS swing. The fact that 1440p Ultra (87.7 FPS) is much closer to 4K High (77.9 FPS) than to 4K Low (121 FPS) suggests that the GPU is still heavily loaded, but the CPU is beginning to contribute. The 265K's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 2713, is sufficient to maintain high frame rates even at lower settings, but the GPU's workload still dictates the overall performance.

At 1920x1080, the CPU's role becomes more pronounced. The Low preset reaches 262.2 FPS, which is a massive 68.8 FPS higher than the 4K Low result. This indicates that at 1080p, the GPU is no longer the sole bottleneck; the CPU's ability to process game logic and draw calls becomes more relevant. The 265K's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35850 and single-core score of 2020 support this, as the processor can handle the high frame rate demands of esports-level play. However, even at 1080p Ultra (121.7 FPS), the GPU still has enough headroom to deliver a smooth experience. The scaling between 1440p Ultra and 1080p Ultra is 34 FPS, which is less than the scaling between 4K Ultra and 1440p Ultra (32.7 FPS), showing that the CPU starts to level off the performance curve at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 819 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the top 22% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing. The percentileVsAllCpus of 94 and percentileVsAllGpus of 81 further underscore the hardware's capability; the CPU outperforms 94% of all tested processors, while the GPU outperforms 81% of all tested graphics cards. The combo rank is heavily influenced by the GPU, as the 4070's 81st percentile is the lower of the two, meaning that the graphics card is the limiting factor in the overall ranking. However, the high CPU percentile ensures that the processor is not holding back performance in most scenarios. The rank of 819 suggests that there are 818 faster combos, but many of those likely feature higher-end GPUs like the RTX 4080 or 4090, which would be expected to outperform the 4070. For a single-GPU system with a mid-range to high-end card, this ranking indicates a well-balanced configuration for Lockdown Protocol.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol? The answer is a definitive yes, with conditions. At 1920x1080, every preset—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—delivers an average frame rate above 60 FPS. The lowest average is 121.7 FPS at Ultra, which is more than double the playable threshold. At 2560x1440, all four presets also clear 60 FPS, with the most demanding Ultra preset averaging 87.7 FPS. This makes 1440p a fully playable resolution for this game, even at maximum settings. At 3840x2160, three of the four presets are playable: High (77.9 FPS), Medium (85.6 FPS), and Low (121 FPS). The Ultra preset at 4K falls short at 55 FPS, so users must drop to High settings to maintain a smooth experience. The data shows that this combo is more than sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, and it is capable of 4K gaming with a minor settings adjustment.

Best Settings per Resolution

For the best visual fidelity while maintaining at least 60 FPS average, the data recommends specific presets for each resolution. At 3840x2160, the best playable preset is High, which produces an average of 77.9 FPS. This provides a significant margin above the 60 FPS threshold while offering better image quality than Medium (85.6 FPS) or Low (121 FPS). At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is fully playable with an average of 87.7 FPS, making it the best choice for maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is also the best option, averaging 121.7 FPS. This gives users the highest fidelity settings with a frame rate that is well above the playable threshold, leaving ample headroom for competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors. In summary, gamers can run the game at Ultra settings for 1080p and 1440p, and must step down to High for 4K to stay above 60 FPS.