Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a thoroughly comfortable experience in Lockdown Protocol, with every tested preset at every resolution clearing the 60 FPS playability threshold. The data places this combination in the 727th position out of 3,714 tested combos, placing it in the upper echelon of gaming systems. Across the board, the results show a system that is far more likely to be limited by display refresh rate than by rendering headroom, particularly at 1080p and 1440p, where average frame rates frequently exceed 120 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution tested, the combo shows its most modest results, yet still maintains comfortable playability. With Ultra settings, the average frame rate lands at 61 FPS, which is just barely above the 60 FPS playable threshold. Stepping down to High settings yields a substantial improvement, with the average rising to 82 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 93 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 107 FPS, showing a notably tight frame time distribution. Dropping to Low settings unlocks significantly more performance, with the average jumping to 132 FPS. This range from 61 FPS at Ultra to 132 FPS at Low indicates that at 4K, the GPU is the primary constraint, and users targeting very high refresh rates will need to make preset compromises.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance picture improves markedly. The Ultra preset delivers an average of 95 FPS, which is a 34 FPS increase over the same preset at 4K. High settings produce an average of 126 FPS. Medium settings show an average of 145 FPS, with a minimum of 123 FPS and a maximum of 166 FPS, demonstrating very consistent frame delivery. The Low preset reaches an average of 204 FPS, which is high enough for most high-refresh-rate monitors. The scaling from 4K to 1440p is roughly linear across presets, with the average FPS increasing by about 55% to 70% depending on the preset, suggesting that the rendering pipeline is scaling as expected with pixel count.

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance. The Ultra preset averages 129 FPS, which is a healthy increase over the 95 FPS seen at 1440p. High settings reach 172 FPS on average. Medium settings deliver an average of 197 FPS, with a minimum of 168 FPS and a maximum of 227 FPS. The Low preset produces an astonishing average of 278 FPS, indicating that at this resolution and preset, the system is likely hitting engine-level or driver-level limits rather than hardware limits. The jump from Medium to Low at 1080p is particularly large, a 41% increase, which suggests that certain visual effects at Medium are not yet fully GPU-bound at this resolution.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear division of labor between the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 across the tested resolution range. At 3840x2160, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting factor. Evidence for this comes from the dramatic scaling between presets: moving from Ultra to Low at 4K doubles the average frame rate from 61 FPS to 132 FPS. This magnitude of scaling indicates that the GPU's shading, texture, and pixel throughput are the bottleneck, as reducing these workloads directly translates to higher frame rates, while the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames at these rates.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts slightly, but the GPU still dominates. The scaling from Ultra (95 FPS) to Low (204 FPS) remains steep, showing a 115% improvement. The CPU, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, is clearly capable of maintaining frame delivery at these rates, but the fact that preset changes still produce such significant FPS swings points to the GPU remaining the primary constraint. The Medium preset's minimum of 123 FPS at 1440p further suggests that even in heavier scenes, the CPU is not causing frame hitches.

At 1920x1080, the dynamic begins to change. The scaling from Ultra to Low is still substantial, going from 129 FPS to 278 FPS, but the absolute numbers are high enough that the CPU's role becomes more prominent. The 278 FPS average at Low settings is likely approaching the point where the CPU's per-core performance, with a single-core score of 3,067 in Cinebench R20, starts to matter for frame generation. The fact that the gap between Medium (197 FPS) and High (172 FPS) at 1080p is relatively smaller than at higher resolutions suggests that the system is beginning to balance CPU and GPU loads, with neither component being a definitive bottleneck at these extreme frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 achieves a rank of 727 out of 3,714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the system in roughly the top 20% of all configurations tested, which is a strong showing given that the database includes a wide range of hardware from entry-level to extreme enthusiast setups. The CPU itself ranks in the 96th percentile against all CPUs on average benchmark scores, while the GPU sits in the 82nd percentile against all GPUs. This discrepancy suggests that the combo's overall ranking in this game is likely tempered by the GPU's relative position rather than the CPU's, reinforcing the notion that the GeForce RTX 5070 is the performance ceiling for this pairing.

The rank of 727 implies that there are 726 other combos that deliver higher average frame rates in this game. Given the GPU's 82nd percentile standing, it is probable that many of those higher-ranked combos feature GPUs with greater raw compute throughput. However, the data also shows that this combo is far from the bottom of the pack, and the fact that all presets at all resolutions remain playable suggests that the rank is a measure of raw performance headroom rather than playability. For a user with a 60 Hz display, this rank is effectively irrelevant; for a user with a 240 Hz display at 1080p, the 278 FPS average at Low settings would still place this combo competitively.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo achieves an average frame rate of 61 FPS, which is exactly at the playable threshold of 60 FPS. It is playable, but there is very little headroom, so demanding scenes could potentially dip below 60 FPS.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the average frame rate is 126 FPS. This provides a substantial margin above the 60 FPS threshold, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors up to 120 Hz or even 144 Hz.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the balance shifts toward the CPU becoming more relevant, especially at Low settings where the average reaches 278 FPS. The GPU is still the primary constraint at higher presets, but the CPU's single-thread performance becomes more critical as frame rates push past 200 FPS.

Q: How does this combo compare to similar hardware?

A: The combo ranks 727th out of 3,714 tested combinations. The CPU is in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, indicating that the pairing is above average but not at the very top of the performance hierarchy.

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

A: The lowest recorded minimum frame rate is 79 FPS, observed at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The minimum for this setting at other resolutions is 123 FPS at 1440p and 168 FPS at 1080p, showing that the system maintains high minimums across the board.

Q: Can I use this system for competitive play at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average frame rate is 278 FPS, and even at Ultra settings it is 129 FPS. These numbers are sufficient for high-refresh-rate competitive monitors, with the Low preset providing the highest possible frame rates.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU individually, several alternative combinations would produce broadly similar performance in Lockdown Protocol. On the CPU side, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K is the closest match, with an average benchmark score of 83,807 compared to the 290K Plus's 84,003, a delta of just 0.2%. In practical terms, these two processors are nearly interchangeable for gaming, so a system pairing the 285K with the RTX 5070 would deliver frame rates within a rounding error of the tested combo.

The AMD EPYC 4584PX and AMD EPYC 9135 are also near matches on the CPU side, with deltas of 1.1% and 1.2% respectively. However, these are server-class chips, and their gaming performance characteristics may differ from the desktop-focused Core Ultra 9, particularly in latency-sensitive scenarios. The AMD EPYC 7F72 is slightly ahead of the 290K Plus, with a delta of -1.3% (indicating the EPYC's score is higher), but again, this is a server part.

On the GPU side, the nearest rivals are somewhat unexpected. The AMD Radeon Pro 580 (delta 0.1%), AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (delta 0.8%), AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (delta -1.2%), and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (delta 2%) all have average benchmark scores within 2% of the RTX 5070. These are professional or mobile workstation GPUs, which suggests that in terms of raw compute benchmarks, the RTX 5070 sits in a specific performance band. However, for gaming specifically, the RTX 5070's feature set, including its 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, would likely provide a different experience than these workstation cards, particularly if the game uses any ray tracing or DLSS features. That said, the benchmark data indicates that these alternatives would produce similar average frame rates in a purely rasterized workload.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains an average frame rate at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which produces an average of 61 FPS. This is right at the threshold, so users who prefer a safety margin might opt for High settings at 82 FPS for more consistent frame delivery, but strictly by the data, Ultra is playable.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 95 FPS, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. This is the recommended setting for this resolution, as it offers the highest visual quality while maintaining a large performance buffer. The 95 FPS average also means that the system can handle demanding scenes without dropping below 60 FPS, as evidenced by the Medium preset's minimum of 123 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset yields an average of 129 FPS, making it the clear choice for maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing playability. The 129 FPS average is more than double the 60 FPS threshold, and even the minimum frame rates at lower presets (168 FPS at Medium) suggest that the system is unlikely to experience noticeable stutters. For users with very high refresh rate monitors (240 Hz or above), dropping to Low settings at 278 FPS may be preferable, but for standard 144 Hz displays, Ultra provides the best balance of image quality and speed.