Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core Ultra 5 225 + AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT combination delivers a balanced 1080p and 1440p experience in Lockdown Protocol, with 4K performance that remains playable at reduced settings. The CPU, a 10-core/10-thread Arrow Lake part boosting to 4.90 GHz, sits at the 85th percentile among all tested CPUs, while the GPU, a Navi 32-based RDNA 3.0 card with 16 GB of GDDR6, lands at the 51st percentile among all GPUs. Measured data shows the pair achieving 235 FPS at 1080p Low, dropping to 52 FPS at 4K Ultra — a spread that reveals a system scaling predictably with resolution and settings.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Built on a 3 nm TSMC process with Arrow Lake architecture, it carries 20 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. Its Cinebench R23 scores are 25,891 multi-core and 3,655 single-core, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, scores 36,945 in average benchmark score — a 0% delta — while the Ryzen 5 5500X3D sits at 37,018 (-0.2%). These rival deltas are tiny, indicating the Ultra 5 225 performs essentially on par with those chips in synthetic tests.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's impact becomes visible when comparing 1080p Low to 1080p High settings. At Low, the average FPS is 235; at High, it drops to 146. This 89 FPS gap (a 38% reduction) suggests that at Low settings the CPU is capable of feeding frames at a very high rate, but the game's higher settings add enough GPU work to shift the bottleneck. The 10 threads are sufficient for this FPS title; the data does not show stutter or min-FPS anomalies at 1080p, as the Medium preset reports a minimum of 142 FPS. The boost clock of 4.90 GHz likely contributes to the strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R20 single-core: 891), which is relevant for a game that may rely on one or two primary threads for game logic.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s and 20 MB L3 cache are moderate figures, but they do not appear to bottleneck the GPU in any measured configuration. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 52, which is more indicative of GPU limits than CPU limits — the CPU is rarely the limiting factor at such high resolutions. The Passmark multithread score of 30,459 and single-thread score of 4,412 reinforce that this is a mid-to-upper tier CPU, but its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are older or lower-tier models, suggesting the Ultra 5 225 does not punch far above its weight class. For Lockdown Protocol specifically, the data indicates the CPU can sustain over 200 FPS at 1080p Low, which is more than adequate for high-refresh monitors.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 2430 MHz, with a game clock of 2124 MHz and a base clock of 1295 MHz. The GPU has 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, with 60 ray-tracing cores. Its Passmark G3D score is 24,176, and it lands at the 51st percentile of all GPUs — a middling position. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, scores 11,680 in average benchmark score, which is a -0.5% delta. This comparison is odd because the GTX 1660 is a much older, lower-tier card; nonetheless, the data places the RX 7800 XT's synthetic average at 11,627, nearly identical to that rival.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's 16 GB VRAM is not stressed at any tested resolution, as the game's highest preset (Ultra) at 4K still produces an average 52 FPS without reported VRAM-related issues. The memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s proves sufficient for 4K textures, as evidenced by the 69 FPS average at 4K High. The GPU's FP32 performance of 37.32 TFLOPS translates to strong raw throughput, but the game's engine seems to favor moderate settings for smooth gameplay. At 1440p, the GPU delivers 107 FPS on High and 172 FPS on Low, showing a wide performance envelope. The 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold many players target, but 4K High at 69 FPS is playable.

The RX 7800 XT's 51st percentile ranking among all GPUs is surprising given its modern architecture, but the data is what it is. The GPU's memory clock of 2438 MHz (19.5 Gbps effective) and 256-bit bus provide 624.1 GB/s, which is ample for this game. The pixel rate of 233.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 583.2 GTexel/s suggest the card can handle high fill rates, but the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (52) indicates that Lockdown Protocol's Ultra preset pushes the GPU harder than its synthetic scores might suggest. The 60 ray-tracing cores are not directly measured in this game's data, so their impact cannot be quantified here.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to run Lockdown Protocol with this combo for a 60 FPS experience?

A: At 4K High, the average FPS is 69, which exceeds 60 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 79 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 52 FPS. Therefore, 4K High or Medium is suitable for a 60 FPS target.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 has an average benchmark score of 36,938. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F scores 36,945 (0% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37,018 (-0.2%), and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37,093 (-0.4%). The Ultra 5 225 is essentially tied with these rivals.

Q: Is the GPU's 16 GB VRAM sufficient for Lockdown Protocol at 4K?

A: The data shows no VRAM-related performance drops at any resolution or setting. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 52, but this is due to GPU compute limits, not memory capacity. The 16 GB GDDR6 with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth is adequate.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the measured average FPS is 167, with a minimum of 142 FPS and a maximum of 192 FPS. This provides a smooth experience on high-refresh monitors.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The combo ranks 897 out of 2,828 tested combinations, placing it in the top 32% of all combos tested for this game.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p Low settings?

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 235, which is very high. The data does not show a CPU bottleneck, as the CPU's single-thread score of 4,412 in Passmark suggests it can handle high frame rates. The GPU is still the primary limiter at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimal settings based on resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 167 FPS with a minimum of 142 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh displays. The Low preset hits 235 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off may not be worth it for most users. The High preset at 146 FPS is also smooth, but Medium offers a better balance of fidelity and performance, especially given the minimum FPS of 142. The Ultra preset at 109 FPS is still playable, but the jump from Medium to Ultra costs 58 FPS (a 35% reduction) for marginal visual gains.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset yields 122 FPS with a minimum of 104 FPS, making it the recommended choice for a 100+ FPS experience. The High preset at 107 FPS is nearly as good, but Medium provides a higher minimum FPS (104 vs. no reported min for High). The Low preset at 172 FPS is excellent for competitive play, while Ultra at 80 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced sessions. The data suggests Medium is the sweet spot at 1440p, as it maintains a comfortable margin above 100 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset averages 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that consistently stays above 60 FPS. The High preset at 69 FPS is close, but its minimum FPS is not reported, making Medium the safer choice. The Low preset at 111 FPS is surprisingly high for 4K, indicating the game scales well with reduced settings. The Ultra preset at 52 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold, so it should be avoided for smooth gameplay. For 4K users, Medium is the recommended preset, as it provides a playable experience without dropping below 67 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 897 out of 2,828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the upper third of all combinations, though not in the elite tier. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs is higher than the GPU's 51st percentile, suggesting the processor is the stronger component in this pairing. However, the game's FPS results are more heavily influenced by the GPU at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the 4K Ultra average of 52 FPS.

The rank of 897 out of 2,828 means there are 1,931 combos that perform worse and 896 that perform better. This is a respectable position for a mid-range CPU paired with a mid-range GPU. The CPU's synthetic benchmark average of 36,938 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, but the GPU's average of 11,627 is comparable to much older cards like the GTX 1660, which is a concerning data point. Yet in actual game measurements, the combo delivers 235 FPS at 1080p Low, which is far beyond what a GTX 1660 system would likely achieve. The rank reflects the real-world game performance, not just synthetic scores, and the data shows this combo is well above average.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 235, Medium 167 (min 142, max 192), High 146, and Ultra 109. The Medium preset has the only reported min/max range, showing a 50 FPS spread between minimum and maximum. At 2560x1440, the values are: Low 172, Medium 122 (min 104, max 141), High 107, and Ultra 80. The Medium preset again shows a min/max range, with a 37 FPS spread. At 3840x2160, the values are: Low 111, Medium 79 (min 67, max 91), High 69, and Ultra 52. The Medium preset shows a 24 FPS spread.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: Medium settings always have reported min/max values, while other presets do not. This suggests the game's Medium preset may involve more variable scenes, or the measurement methodology captured a wider range. The 1080p Medium minimum of 142 FPS is still very high, indicating no problematic stutters. The 1440p Medium minimum of 104 FPS is also solid. The 4K Medium minimum of 67 FPS is the only sub-100 FPS minimum recorded, but it remains above the 60 FPS threshold.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and consistent across settings. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 235 at 1080p to 172 at 1440p (a 27% drop) and then to 111 at 4K (a 53% drop from 1080p). At Medium settings, the progression is 167 to 122 to 79, representing a 27% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 53% drop from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, it goes from 146 to 107 to 69, with a 27% drop and a 53% drop respectively. At Ultra settings, the values are 109, 80, and 52, showing a 27% drop and a 52% drop.

This scaling pattern is nearly uniform across all settings: moving from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 27% of performance, and moving from 1080p to 4K costs roughly 53%. This consistency indicates that the limiting component scales predictably with pixel count, which points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU's performance is likely sufficient at all resolutions, as the FPS drop percentages align closely with the increase in pixel count (1440p has 1.78x the pixels of 1080p, and 4K has 4x the pixels). The measured drops are less than linear, suggesting some headroom, but the pattern is clear: this is a GPU-bound system at 1440p and 4K. At 1080p Low, the 235 FPS result suggests the CPU can push frames very high, but the GPU still limits ultimate performance.