Lockdown Protocol

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Lockdown Protocol on the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination covers three resolutions and four settings tiers. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 189 FPS, which drops to 134 FPS at Medium with a minimum of 114 FPS and a maximum of 154 FPS. High settings produce 117 FPS on average, while Ultra still maintains 88 FPS, comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the scaling pattern shows a predictable decline. Low settings average 138 FPS. Medium drops to 98 FPS, with recorded minimums of 83 FPS and maximums of 113 FPS. High settings average 86 FPS, and Ultra falls to 64 FPS. This means even at the most demanding preset at 1440p, the system remains playable, though the margin over 60 FPS is slim.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes significantly. Low settings produce an average of 89 FPS, while Medium averages 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS. The minimum frame time at Medium dips below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating occasional stutter during intense scenes. High settings average 55 FPS, already below the playability line. Ultra averages just 41 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

The data shows a clear trend: the gap between Low and Medium is roughly 30 FPS at 1080p and 40 FPS at 1440p, but narrows to 26 FPS at 4K. The jump from Medium to High costs about 17 FPS at 1080p, 12 FPS at 1440p, and 8 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings exact a heavy toll at every resolution, but most severely at 4K where the average drops by 14 FPS from High.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is a 24-core, 24-thread Arrow Lake-HX processor with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark profile shows a PassMark multithread score of 55,759 and a single-thread score of 4,713, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, carries 5,888 shading units and 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, with a PassMark G3D score of 26,927 and an 81st percentile ranking among GPUs.

The frame rate scaling between resolutions reveals which component constrains performance in Lockdown Protocol. At 1920x1080, the CPU has ample headroom; the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates. The 189 FPS at Low settings suggests the CPU can feed the GPU far more work than the GPU can render, since the RTX 4070's compute limits cap performance. At this resolution, even the 24-core processor's single-thread performance, reflected in a Geekbench single-core score of 2,458, is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts slightly. The average FPS at Low falls to 138, a 27% reduction from 1080p. This drop is steeper than the pixel count increase (77% more pixels), which indicates the GPU is becoming the limiting factor. The CPU's role diminishes as resolution climbs, because the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck. The RTX 4070's 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate define the ceiling here.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unambiguously the constraint. Low settings average 89 FPS, a 36% drop from 1440p. The CPU's contribution at 4K is minimal; even the strongest desktop processors would see similar frame rates with this GPU. The 55 FPS average at High settings and 41 FPS at Ultra confirm that the RTX 4070's 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 throughput cannot sustain high frame rates at 4K with demanding presets.

The scaling between presets at each resolution reinforces this. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra costs 101 FPS (from 189 to 88). At 1440p, the same move costs 74 FPS (from 138 to 64). At 4K, it costs only 48 FPS (from 89 to 41). The diminishing penalty at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU's raw shading capacity, not the CPU, determines the frame rate floor. The CPU's 36 MB L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth are more than adequate for Lockdown Protocol's demands.

FAQ

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with any settings?

A: Yes, at Low settings the average is 89 FPS, and at Medium settings the average is 63 FPS. However, Medium records a minimum of 54 FPS, so frame pacing dips below 60 during heavy scenes.

Q: What is the highest preset that stays above 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings average 64 FPS at 2560x1440, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. This is the most demanding preset at this resolution that remains playable.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in raw compute?

A: The RTX 4070's average benchmark score is 37,648. The NVIDIA Tesla P4 scores 37,628, a 0.1% difference. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37,507, 0.4% lower. The RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38,135, which is 1.3% higher, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 scores 37,157, 1.3% lower.

Q: Does the CPU's single-thread performance matter for this game?

A: The Core Ultra 9 275HX scores 4,713 on PassMark single-thread and 2,204 on Cinebench R23 single-core. Given the frame rates observed, especially the 189 FPS at 1080p Low, the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p Ultra?

A: The average is 88 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playability threshold. This makes Ultra settings fully viable at 1920x1080.

Q: Is the 4K High preset playable?

A: No. The average of 55 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold. For smooth 4K gameplay, Medium or Low settings are required.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Xeon w5-3525 with a score of 67,673, which is 0.3% lower than the Core Ultra 9 275HX's 67,469 average. The AMD EPYC 4484PX scores 67,822, 0.5% higher. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX scores 67,868, 0.6% higher. The Intel Xeon 6515P scores 67,006, 0.7% lower. These processors would deliver statistically indistinguishable performance in Lockdown Protocol, meaning the 24-core Ultra 9's advantage is negligible in practice.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4070's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (0.1% lower average score), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.4% lower), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (1.3% higher), and AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (1.3% lower). The RTX 4080 Mobile, despite being a laptop part, edges out the desktop RTX 4070 by a small margin in aggregate benchmarks. In Lockdown Protocol, frame rates could be expected to differ by roughly 1% between these GPUs, meaning the RTX 4070's measured results at each resolution and preset would be nearly identical on any of these alternatives.

Systems pairing the Core Ultra 9 275HX with a GPU like the RTX 4080 Mobile or RX Vega 56 would see essentially the same FPS numbers. The 94th percentile CPU ranking and 81st percentile GPU ranking suggest this combination sits in the upper-middle tier of the database's 3,714 tested combinations, ranked 2,043rd overall.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is Medium, with a recorded average of 63 FPS. However, the minimum of 54 FPS means occasional dips below the threshold. Low settings, averaging 89 FPS, provide a safer margin for consistent frame pacing.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings are viable with an average of 64 FPS. This is the highest quality preset that clears 60 FPS. High settings average 86 FPS, offering more headroom if frame dips concern the player, but Ultra is technically playable.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings average 88 FPS, making them the best choice. The system has enough performance headroom that even the most demanding preset leaves 28 FPS of margin above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings at 134 FPS and High at 117 FPS are available for players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity.

The data indicates a clear hierarchy: 1080p Ultra is the sweet spot, 1440p Ultra is borderline but playable, and 4K requires Medium or lower.

The Verdict

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination can run Lockdown Protocol, but the experience depends heavily on resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets clear 60 FPS, with Ultra averaging 88 FPS. This is the resolution where the system performs best, offering smooth gameplay at maximum settings.

At 2560x1440, all presets also remain above 60 FPS, but Ultra averages only 64 FPS. This is playable, yet the margin is thin. Players who want consistent frame pacing might prefer High settings at 86 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot maintain 60 FPS at High or Ultra settings. High averages 55 FPS and Ultra averages 41 FPS. Medium settings average 63 FPS but dip to 54 FPS on the minimum, meaning occasional stutter. Low settings average 89 FPS and provide the most consistent 4K experience.

The verdict by resolution confirms: 1080p is fully playable at any preset, 1440p is playable at any preset with Ultra being borderline, and 4K is only playable at Low or Medium. The RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for this game's demands, and the Core Ultra 9 275HX's processing power is never the bottleneck. For players targeting 1440p or below, this system delivers a strong experience. For 4K, compromises are necessary.