Lockdown Protocol

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, where the recorded average is 83 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 59 FPS on average, just below the 60 FPS threshold, while High averages 51 FPS and Ultra averages 39 FPS. So at 4K, the data indicates that only Low settings provide a consistent 60+ FPS experience.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves substantially. The Ultra preset averages exactly 60 FPS, which clears the playable threshold. The Medium preset averages 91 FPS, High averages 80 FPS, and Low averages 129 FPS. Since Ultra is the most demanding preset and still hits 60 FPS, it is the best setting for this resolution.

At 1920x1080, all four presets clear 60 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 82 FPS, Medium averages 125 FPS, High averages 109 FPS, and Low averages 175 FPS. The best settings per resolution, therefore, are: Low at 4K (83 FPS), Ultra at 1440p (60 FPS), and Ultra at 1080p (82 FPS). The pattern is clear: this combo can push higher visual quality as resolution drops, but at 4K it is limited to the lowest preset for smooth gameplay.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results show how the balance shifts between the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER depending on resolution and preset. At 3840x2160, the GPU is the dominant constraint. The gap between Low (83 FPS) and Ultra (39 FPS) is 44 FPS, a reduction of 53%. This large spread across presets indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER's rendering capacity is the limiting factor at 4K, as the CPU has ample headroom with 24 cores and 24 threads.

At 2560x1440, the scaling is less severe but still GPU-bound. The drop from Low (129 FPS) to Ultra (60 FPS) is 69 FPS, or 53% reduction. The fact that Ultra lands exactly at 60 FPS suggests the GPU is near its limit, while the CPU continues to feed frames without becoming a bottleneck. The CPU's role is more visible at lower resolutions and higher presets, where frame rates climb high enough that per-thread performance matters.

At 1920x1080, the CPU begins to matter more. The Low preset hits 175 FPS, which is well above what the GPU alone would sustain if it were purely limited by pixel throughput. The Ultra preset still reaches 82 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is able to push the RTX 2070 SUPER to its limits, and the CPU's single-core performance, reflected in a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303, becomes more relevant for maintaining high frame rates.

The scaling between resolutions reinforces this. At Low settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces the average from 175 to 129 FPS, a 26% drop, and moving from 1440p to 4K reduces it from 129 to 83 FPS, a 36% drop. At Ultra settings, the drop from 1080p (82 FPS) to 1440p (60 FPS) is 27%, and from 1440p to 4K (39 FPS) is 35%. The consistent pattern is that resolution scaling has a larger impact at higher presets, which is typical for GPU-bound workloads. The CPU's contribution is most evident at 1080p Low, where the 175 FPS average exceeds what a weaker processor would allow.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database records that the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, placing it in the 96th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which scores 83807, a delta of 0.2% higher. The AMD EPYC 4584PX scores 83090, 1.1% lower, and the AMD EPYC 9135 scores 82980, 1.2% lower. The AMD EPYC 7F72 scores 85072, which is 1.3% higher than the 290K Plus. For gaming performance in Lockdown Protocol, any of these CPUs would behave similarly, as the differences are within 1.3% of each other. The Core Ultra 9 285K is the closest match, with a negligible 0.2% difference.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282, placing it in the 65th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, which scores 20480 (1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534 (1.2% higher), the Intel Arc B570 at 20556 (1.3% higher), and the Intel Arc A750 at 20582 (1.5% higher). These deltas are all within 1.5%, meaning that in Lockdown Protocol, swapping the RTX 2070 SUPER for any of these would yield nearly identical frame rates. The Quadro M4000M is the closest match, though it is a workstation part, while the RTX 3070 Mobile is a laptop GPU. The Intel Arc options are desktop parts and would provide similar performance in this title.

The Verdict

Based on the measured FPS data, this PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the experience depends heavily on resolution. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset is playable, with an average of 83 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below 60 FPS, with averages of 59, 51, and 39 FPS respectively. The verdict for 4K is that the system clears 60 FPS only on Low settings.

At 2560x1440, the verdict is more positive. All four presets are playable: Low averages 129 FPS, Medium averages 91 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS, High averages 80 FPS, and Ultra averages exactly 60 FPS. The best settings for 1440p are Ultra, as it maintains the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1920x1080, the system performs strongly across the board. Low averages 175 FPS, Medium averages 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS, High averages 109 FPS, and Ultra averages 82 FPS. The best settings for 1080p are Ultra, which delivers 82 FPS on average.

In summary, the system is fully playable at 1080p and 1440p with Ultra settings, but at 4K it is restricted to Low settings for a smooth 60 FPS experience. The playable threshold in the database is 60 FPS, and all three resolutions have at least one preset that meets or exceeds it.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data comes from direct measurements of the game running on the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination.

At 3840x2160, the recorded averages are: Low 83 FPS, Medium 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 68, High 51 FPS, and Ultra 39 FPS. Only Low exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset's minimum of 50 FPS indicates occasional dips below the average, but the average itself is still below the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the recorded averages are: Low 129 FPS, Medium 91 FPS with a minimum of 78 and a maximum of 105, High 80 FPS, and Ultra 60 FPS. All four presets clear 60 FPS on average. The Medium preset shows a healthy range from 78 to 105 FPS, meaning the game stays above 60 FPS even in the worst recorded frame.

At 1920x1080, the recorded averages are: Low 175 FPS, Medium 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 and a maximum of 143, High 109 FPS, and Ultra 82 FPS. Every preset clears 60 FPS, and even the Medium minimum of 106 FPS is well above the threshold. The Low preset at 175 FPS is the highest average recorded across all resolutions and settings.

The data shows a consistent pattern: higher resolutions reduce frame rates across all presets, and higher presets reduce frame rates within each resolution. The minimum and maximum values are only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution, so those are the only data points available for frame time variability. The Medium preset at 1080p has the tightest range relative to its average, with a spread of 37 FPS, while at 4K the spread is 18 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average is 175 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at Ultra settings in 4K?

A: No. At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 39 FPS, which is well below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: Ultra is the best playable setting at 1440p, with an average of 60 FPS exactly.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to the Intel Arc A750 in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282, while the Intel Arc A750 scores 20582, which is 1.5% higher.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1080p Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 1920x1080 Medium is 106 FPS, with an average of 125 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU matter more at 3840x2160?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The average FPS drops from 83 on Low to 39 on Ultra, a 53% reduction, indicating the RTX 2070 SUPER is the bottleneck rather than the CPU.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2165 out of 3714 total combos. This places it in the lower half of tested systems, at roughly the 58th percentile. The rank reflects the fact that while the CPU is very strong, scoring in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, the GPU is only in the 65th percentile among all GPUs. The GPU's relative weakness drags down the overall gaming performance, particularly at higher resolutions.

The rank of 2165 out of 3714 indicates that a majority of tested combos perform better in Lockdown Protocol. This is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows that the system struggles at 4K and only becomes fully playable at 1440p and 1080p. The CPU's high percentile ranking does not translate into top-tier gaming performance because the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting factor in most scenarios. For comparison, the nearest GPU rivals all score within 1.5% of the RTX 2070 SUPER, so swapping to a slightly stronger GPU would likely move this combo up the ranks, while a weaker GPU would push it lower. The combination is balanced in the sense that the CPU never bottlenecks the GPU at 1080p, but unbalanced in the sense that the GPU cannot fully exploit the CPU's capabilities at higher resolutions.