Lockdown Protocol

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, this combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 580 is firmly below playable performance across every preset. The recorded data shows a High preset average of 25 FPS, Medium at 29 FPS, Low at 40 FPS, and Ultra dropping to 19 FPS. The only frame range captured at this resolution is Medium, which spans from a minimum of 24 FPS to a maximum of 33 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K gaming is not viable for Lockdown Protocol with this hardware, as every setting falls far short of the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation improves but remains limited. The Low preset reaches an average of 62 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold, though barely. High averages 39 FPS, Medium averages 44 FPS with a recorded range of 38 to 51 FPS, and Ultra falls to 29 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at this resolution is 18 FPS, which is substantial. Players at 1440p will need to commit to the Low preset for acceptable smoothness, as every other option sits well below the playable mark.

At 1920x1080, the data shows a much more usable experience. Low averages 85 FPS, Medium averages exactly 60 FPS with a range of 51 to 69 FPS, and High averages 53 FPS. Ultra drops to 40 FPS. The Medium preset's average of 60 FPS is right at the threshold, but its minimum of 51 FPS means frame drops will be noticeable during intense scenes. Low is the only preset with a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The scaling from High to Ultra at 1080p is a 13 FPS loss, while dropping from High to Low gains 32 FPS, showing how sensitive this game is to preset changes on this GPU.

Resolution scaling reveals the RX 580's 256-bit memory interface and 8 GB of GDDR5 are stretched thin at higher resolutions. From 1080p Low at 85 FPS to 1440p Low at 62 FPS is a 23 FPS drop, and from 1080p Low to 4K Low at 40 FPS is a 45 FPS loss. The same pattern appears on High: 53 FPS at 1080p, 39 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K. The RX 580's 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 256.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth are simply not enough to feed higher pixel counts at playable frame rates in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The database ranks this specific CPU and GPU pairing at 3384 out of 3714 tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol. That places it in the bottom 9 percent of all recorded configs, a clear indicator that this is a low-tier setup for this particular game. The combination of a top-end 2024 CPU with a 2017 GPU creates a severe bottleneck, and the ranking reflects that imbalance.

The CPU itself is exceptionally strong in synthetic benchmarks. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores 51731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7303 in single-core, with an average benchmark score of 84003. It sits at the 96th percentile among all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, trails by only 0.2 percent. That is essentially a tie at the top of the CPU hierarchy. The AMD EPYC 4584PX is 1.1 percent behind, and the AMD EPYC 9135 is 1.2 percent behind. The AMD EPYC 7F72 is actually 1.3 percent ahead.

The GPU tells a very different story. The AMD Radeon RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 12928 and sits at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all within a single percentage point: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is 0.1 percent behind, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is 0.4 percent behind, the AMD Radeon 740M is 0.5 percent ahead, and the AMD FirePro W5100 is 0.6 percent ahead. This is a mid-pack GPU from 2017 that was already modest when new, and it is now paired with one of the fastest desktop CPUs available.

The result in Lockdown Protocol is a combo rank that reflects the GPU's limitations rather than the CPU's strengths. A 24-core, 24-thread Arrow Lake Refresh processor with a 5.80 GHz boost clock cannot compensate for a GPU that delivers only 8813 in Passmark G3D and 43 in Passmark DirectX 12. The ranking of 3384 out of 3714 is consistent with the measured FPS data: playable only at 1080p on Low or Medium, and barely at 1440p on Low.

FAQ

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

A: No. Every preset at 3840x2160 falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The best result is Low at 40 FPS, while Ultra averages just 19 FPS. The verdict data lists no playable settings at this resolution.

Q: What is the best setting at 2560x1440?

A: Low is the only playable option at 1440p, averaging 62 FPS. Medium averages 44 FPS, High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS, all below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus ranks at the 96th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 84003, while the RX 580 sits at the 53rd percentile with an average score of 12928. The measured FPS scaling across resolutions matches the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute limits, not the CPU's capabilities.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus compare to its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K trails by 0.2 percent in average benchmark score, making the 290K Plus effectively tied with it. The AMD EPYC 4584PX is 1.1 percent behind, and the AMD EPYC 9135 is 1.2 percent behind, while the AMD EPYC 7F72 leads by 1.3 percent.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p on Medium?

A: The average is 60 FPS, with a recorded range from 51 FPS minimum to 69 FPS maximum. This meets the playable threshold on average, but dips below 60 FPS during demanding moments.

Q: Is the RX 580 competitive with other GPUs in its class?

A: The database shows the RX 580 is effectively tied with several rivals. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is 0.1 percent behind, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is 0.4 percent behind, the AMD Radeon 740M is 0.5 percent ahead, and the AMD FirePro W5100 is 0.6 percent ahead.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but only under specific conditions. The verdict data is clear: at 3840x2160 there are no playable settings, meaning no preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the sole playable option, averaging 62 FPS. At 1920x1080, both Low and Medium qualify as playable, with Medium being the best playable preset at exactly 60 FPS average.

For anyone using this exact combination, 1080p is the practical resolution. Low at 85 FPS offers the smoothest experience with plenty of headroom above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium at 60 FPS is technically playable but sits right at the edge, and the 51 FPS minimum means it will not hold 60 consistently. High at 53 FPS and Ultra at 40 FPS are not recommended for competitive play.

At 1440p, the situation is marginal. Low at 62 FPS clears the threshold by only 2 FPS, which leaves little room for frame time spikes or heavy combat scenes. This is a usable configuration for casual play, but not ideal for fast-paced FPS action where consistent frame delivery matters. The RX 580's age shows clearly here, as it cannot maintain comfortable margins above the playable line at any resolution above 1080p.

The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is not the limiting factor in any of these results. Its 96th percentile CPU ranking and 84003 average benchmark score mean it has ample headroom for this game. The RX 580, with its 53rd percentile GPU ranking and 12928 average score, is what holds this combo back. Players should treat this as a 1080p machine for Lockdown Protocol, with 1440p Low as a stretch goal and 4K entirely off the table.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the RX 580 changes with resolution, but the GPU dominates the performance ceiling in every scenario. At 3840x2160, the frame rate collapses to 19 to 40 FPS depending on preset, a range that is entirely consistent with the RX 580's 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 6.175 TFLOPS FP32 throughput. The 24-core CPU has nothing to do with these numbers, as Lockdown Protocol is not heavily threaded enough to stress a processor with 51731 Cinebench R23 multi-core points.

The scaling between resolutions confirms the GPU's role. At Low settings, the RX 580 delivers 85 FPS at 1080p, 62 FPS at 1440p, and 40 FPS at 4K. That is a 72 percent reduction from 1080p to 4K, which tracks closely with the pixel count increase. The GPU is being asked to fill four times as many pixels at 4K compared to 1080p, and its 256-bit bus and 8 GB GDDR5 simply cannot deliver. The CPU's 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and PCIe Gen 5 support are irrelevant when the GPU is the one rendering frames.

At 1080p, the CPU starts to matter more relative to the GPU, but the data still points to the GPU as the constraint. The Ultra preset averages 40 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold, despite the CPU being among the fastest available. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the Ultra preset would show smaller gaps between resolutions. Instead, the 13 FPS drop from High to Ultra at 1080p and the 20 FPS drop from Medium to Ultra indicate the GPU is running out of pixel and texture throughput, not that the CPU is starved for instructions.

The RX 580's Passmark scores reinforce this interpretation. Its DirectX 12 score of 43 and DirectX 11 score of 60 are low even by mid-range standards, and its 8813 G3D score places it in the middle of the GPU pack. The CPU, by contrast, has a Passmark multithread score of 60860 and a single-thread score of 4823. In a game like Lockdown Protocol, which is an FPS title that depends on consistent frame pacing, the GPU's weak DirectX 12 performance is the decisive factor at every resolution tested.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS, so there is no recommended setting. The best recorded average is Low at 40 FPS, which is 20 FPS below the playable threshold. Players should avoid 4K entirely with this combination.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only option that clears the playable threshold, averaging 62 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at this resolution, and it is also the only playable one. Medium averages 44 FPS, High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS, all below the threshold.

At 1920x1080, the Medium preset is the best playable option, averaging exactly 60 FPS with a range of 51 to 69 FPS. Low averages 85 FPS and is also playable, but Medium offers higher visual quality while still meeting the average threshold. High at 53 FPS and Ultra at 40 FPS both fall below the 60 FPS mark and are not recommended.

The practical takeaway is straightforward: 1080p Medium is the best visual quality this combo can deliver while maintaining playable average frame rates, and 1440p Low is a viable but tight alternative. The 8 GB GDDR5 frame buffer and GCN 4.0 architecture of the RX 580 are the limiting factors, and the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has more than enough headroom to support any future GPU upgrade without being a bottleneck.