Lockdown Protocol

This combo pairs Intel’s top-tier Arrow Lake Refresh desktop processor with NVIDIA’s Ampere-generation mid-range GPU, and in Lockdown Protocol the data shows a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions while remaining comfortably playable at lower ones. The measured results are actual in-game data, not projections, and they reveal a clear pattern: the CPU has ample headroom, but the RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB frame buffer and Ampere architecture set the ceiling for what this build can deliver at 4K.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains an average at or above the 60 FPS playable threshold is Medium, delivering 66 FPS average. The data shows High dips to 57 FPS average, which falls below the playable threshold, and Ultra drops further to 43 FPS. Low runs at 93 FPS but sacrifices too much visual fidelity when Medium already clears the bar with a 66 FPS average and a recorded minimum of 56 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the system can push all the way to Ultra settings while staying above 60 FPS. The average at Ultra is 67 FPS, which is just barely over the threshold, but it is playable. High runs at 89 FPS, Medium at 102 FPS, and Low at 144 FPS. For the best balance of image quality and smoothness at this resolution, Ultra is the pick, though the 67 FPS average leaves little margin for demanding scenes.

At 1920x1080, the story is much simpler: Ultra settings run at 91 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. High runs at 121 FPS, Medium at 139 FPS, and Low at 196 FPS. Since even the most demanding preset clears 90 FPS, there is no reason to drop below Ultra for a competitive edge in this FPS title.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but only on Medium settings, which produces a 66 FPS average with a 56 FPS minimum. High settings drop to 57 FPS average, which fails the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best preset at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings run at 67 FPS average, making it the highest quality option that stays above the 60 FPS threshold. All four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable at 1440p.

Q: Does the RTX 3060 Ti bottleneck this CPU at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor even at 1080p. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, yet the frame rates at 1080p scale with GPU load, with Ultra running at 91 FPS versus Low at 196 FPS.

Q: What is the lowest frame rate recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 56 FPS, which occurs at 4K with Medium settings. The 1080p Medium preset has a minimum of 118 FPS, and 1440p Medium has a minimum of 87 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combination ranks 1854th out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it just below the median of the database.

Q: Is the RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB memory a problem at 4K?

A: The measured data shows a steep drop from Medium (66 FPS) to High (57 FPS) at 4K, which is consistent with the GPU running into memory or bandwidth limits. The GPU’s 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 8 GB GDDR6 capacity appear to be the ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the data shows four presets with uneven coverage. Low runs at a 93 FPS average with no min/max recorded. Medium runs at 66 FPS average, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS. High drops to 57 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 43 FPS average, with no min/max for the latter two. The gap between Medium and High—9 FPS—is the largest single-step drop in the 4K data, and it pushes High below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the pattern is more consistent. Low runs at 144 FPS average. Medium runs at 102 FPS average, with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. High runs at 89 FPS average. Ultra runs at 67 FPS average. Every preset clears 60 FPS, but Ultra’s 67 FPS average is only 7 FPS above the threshold, leaving less headroom than the 22 FPS margin at Medium.

At 1920x1080, the data shows the widest spread. Low runs at 196 FPS average. Medium runs at 139 FPS average, with a minimum of 118 FPS and a maximum of 160 FPS. High runs at 121 FPS average. Ultra runs at 91 FPS average. The step from Medium to High is 18 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 30 FPS, which indicates the GPU is increasingly the binding constraint as settings rise.

Comparing across resolutions, the scaling is steep. At Ultra, 1080p runs at 91 FPS, 1440p at 67 FPS, and 4K at 43 FPS. That is a 48 FPS drop from 1080p to 4K, or roughly a 53% reduction. At Medium, the same comparison shows 139 FPS at 1080p, 102 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K—a 73 FPS drop, or roughly 53% as well. The consistent percentage drop suggests the GPU is the primary limiter across all resolutions, with the CPU contributing little to the variance.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU pairing ranks 1854th out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. That places it at the 50th percentile of all tested combos, meaning roughly half of the configurations in the database perform better and half perform worse. Given that the CPU sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs and the GPU sits in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, the ranking is dragged down almost entirely by the graphics card. The data indicates the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is overkill for this game when paired with an RTX 3060 Ti; the frame rates are consistent with a GPU-bound system at every resolution and preset.

The rank is also informative relative to the game’s genre. As an FPS, Lockdown Protocol benefits from high and consistent frame rates, and this combo’s 1080p Ultra performance at 91 FPS is respectable but not exceptional. The 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS is firmly in unplayable territory, and the 4K High result of 57 FPS is just under the threshold. The overall ranking reflects this mixed performance: strong at 1080p and 1440p, weak at 4K.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU’s nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, are all extremely close in performance. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K scores 83807 on average, which is 0.2% lower than the 290K Plus’s 84003. The AMD EPYC 4584PX scores 83090, 1.1% lower. The AMD EPYC 9135 scores 82980, 1.2% lower. The AMD EPYC 7F72 scores 85072, which is 1.3% higher. In practical terms, any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, since the game is clearly GPU-bound with this graphics card. The differences between these processors are within the margin of benchmark noise and would not move the measured FPS numbers meaningfully.

The GPU’s nearest rivals are similarly close. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 16014 on average, 0.7% lower than the RTX 3060 Ti’s 16129. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M scores 16351, 1.4% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT scores 16361, 1.4% higher. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15862, 1.7% lower. For Lockdown Protocol, swapping the RTX 3060 Ti for any of these would yield frame rates within a few percent of the measured values. The RX 5700 XT, being 1.4% faster on average, might push 4K High from 57 FPS to roughly 58 FPS—still under the threshold. The R9 370X, being 1.7% slower, would likely drop 4K Medium from 66 FPS to around 65 FPS, keeping it playable but with less margin.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the playable range depends heavily on resolution. At 3840x2160, the verdict is playable on Low and Medium settings only. Medium is the best choice, running at 66 FPS average with a 56 FPS minimum, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. High and Ultra are not playable, with averages of 57 FPS and 43 FPS respectively. At 2560x1440, the verdict is playable on all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. Ultra runs at 67 FPS average, which is the best visual setting that stays above 60 FPS. At 1920x1080, the verdict is playable on all presets, with Ultra at 91 FPS average. This is the resolution where the combo is most comfortable, with every preset clearing 60 FPS by a wide margin.

The overall picture is that this is a solid 1080p and 1440p machine for Lockdown Protocol, but a weak 4K machine. If the target is 4K, the GPU must be upgraded; the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution. If the target is 1080p or 1440p, the current combo delivers well above the playable threshold on the highest settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear division of labor: the GPU is the dominant factor at every resolution, and the CPU’s contribution is effectively constant. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with 24 cores and a 5.80 GHz boost clock, sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its benchmark scores—51731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7303 in single-core—indicate massive headroom for a game like Lockdown Protocol, which is an FPS and not a heavily threaded workload. At no point in the measured data does the CPU appear to limit frame rates.

The GPU, by contrast, shows clear scaling limitations. The RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are the likely constraints at 4K, where the step from Medium (66 FPS) to High (57 FPS) suggests the memory subsystem is saturated. At 1080p, the GPU still limits performance: Ultra runs at 91 FPS while Low runs at 196 FPS, a 105 FPS spread that is entirely attributable to GPU load. The CPU would produce the same frame rates at both settings if it were the bottleneck.

The scaling between resolutions confirms this. From 1080p to 1440p at Ultra, the frame rate drops from 91 FPS to 67 FPS—a 26% reduction. From 1440p to 4K at Ultra, it drops from 67 FPS to 43 FPS—a 36% reduction. These are GPU-bound scaling patterns. If the CPU were the limiter, the frame rates would stay flat as resolution increases. Instead, they fall steadily, and the percentage drops grow larger at higher resolutions, which is the signature of a GPU that is running out of memory bandwidth or pixel throughput.

For this game, the practical takeaway is that the CPU is a non-factor. Upgrading the GPU would yield direct frame rate gains at every resolution, while upgrading the CPU would change nothing in the measured data. At 4K, even the CPU’s 96th-percentile standing cannot rescue the GPU’s 59th-percentile performance. The bottleneck is unambiguous.