Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core Ultra 5 225 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti delivers a playable but constrained experience in Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title that clearly favors GPU throughput at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates across 12 resolution/settings combinations show a system where the GTX 1660 Ti—a Turing-based card that sits at the 41st percentile among all GPUs—becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution climbs, while the Core Ultra 5 225, a 10-core Arrow Lake processor at the 85th CPU percentile, has sufficient headroom to keep pace at lower settings. The combo ranks 2441 out of 2828 tested combinations, placing it in the lower tier of systems for this game, but the data reveals specific settings and resolutions where the experience remains fluid.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K exposes a steep performance cliff that is characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 122 FPS at 1920x1080 to 90 FPS at 2560x1440, a 26% reduction, and then to 58 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 36% drop from 1440p. This trajectory confirms that the GTX 1660 Ti's 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus, with 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, cannot sustain pixel throughput as the resolution scales. The Ultra preset tells an even harsher story: 57 FPS at 1080p falls to 42 FPS at 1440p (26% loss) and then to 27 FPS at 4K (36% loss again), with the 4K Ultra result dipping below the threshold of comfortable playability.

Interestingly, the scaling pattern between 1080p and 1440p is nearly identical to the scaling between 1440p and 4K when expressed as a percentage, suggesting a consistent memory-bandwidth ceiling rather than a compute limitation. At Medium settings, the only preset with min/max data, the frame rate ranges from 74-100 FPS at 1080p, 54-73 FPS at 1440p, and 35-47 FPS at 4K—the min FPS at 4K drops to 35, which will produce noticeable stutter in a fast-paced FPS. The data indicates that at 1080p, the Core Ultra 5 225's 10 threads and 4.90 GHz boost clock are adequate to feed the GPU, as the 122 FPS Low result is a strong indicator of CPU headroom. However, at 4K even the Low preset (58 FPS) struggles to maintain 60, and the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K (58 vs 27 FPS) is a 53% performance spread that underscores how settings choices become critical at high resolution.

The limiting component is unambiguous: the GTX 1660 Ti, which has a PassMark G3D score of 12871 and ranks at the 41st percentile, cannot overcome the pixel fill requirements of 4K. The CPU's PassMark multithread score of 30459 and single-thread score of 4412 are far above what Lockdown Protocol demands at these frame rates, so the resolution scaling curve is a pure reflection of GPU capability.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p displays, the High preset at 76 FPS average is the sweet spot, providing a smooth experience without the frame rate sacrifice of Ultra (57 FPS). The Low preset at 122 FPS is excessive for most 60 Hz monitors and suggests that players with high-refresh displays could benefit from Medium (87 FPS) as a balanced choice. The Medium preset's min FPS of 74 at 1080p ensures that even intense firefights remain fluid, whereas High has no reported min FPS but the 76 FPS average leaves less margin for dips.

At 1440p, Low (90 FPS) is the only preset that clears 60 FPS comfortably, but Medium (64 FPS) is viable for players who accept occasional dips to 54 FPS as shown in the min data. High at 56 FPS average is borderline, and Ultra at 42 FPS is not recommended for competitive play. The 4K resolution is problematic across all settings: Low (58 FPS) is the only option approaching playability, while Medium (41 FPS), High (36 FPS), and Ultra (27 FPS) all fall below acceptable thresholds. For 4K users, the data suggests dropping to 1440p or accepting Low settings as the only viable path.

The measured rows indicate that Medium settings at 1080p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with an 87 FPS average and a tight 74-100 FPS range. This preset outperforms High at both 1440p (56 FPS) and 4K (36 FPS), making it the most consistent choice across the board. The 35 FPS minimum at 4K Medium is a warning sign that even the mid-tier preset cannot mask the GPU's limitations at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti ranks 2441 out of 2828 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 14th percentile of tested configurations—a low position that reflects the GPU's age and tier. The GTX 1660 Ti's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the AMD Radeon 540 (0.7% higher average score), AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 (1.9% higher), AMD Radeon R7 250 (2.2% higher), and Intel Arc A310 (2.3% higher), all of which are similarly modest performers. This grouping confirms that the 1660 Ti is not competitive with modern mid-range GPUs, and the 41st GPU percentile score of 12871 in PassMark G3D puts it well below the median.

The CPU side is considerably stronger: the Core Ultra 5 225 averages a benchmark score of 36938, placing it at the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (0% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (-0.2%), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (-0.4%), and Intel Core i9-12900T (-0.5%), indicating the CPU is a near-peer to these established mid-range parts. The stark contrast between the CPU's 85th percentile ranking and the GPU's 41st percentile ranking explains the overall combo position: the processor has substantial unused headroom, while the graphics card drags the system down. In Lockdown Protocol specifically, this imbalance is evident in the resolution scaling data—the CPU never becomes the limiting factor, even at 1080p Low where 122 FPS is achieved.

The 2441st rank out of 2828 combos suggests that for this game, most tested systems outperform this pairing, particularly at higher resolutions where the GTX 1660 Ti's 6 GB VRAM and 5.437 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are insufficient. However, the rank is not a blanket condemnation: at 1080p Low, the combo delivers 122 FPS, which is competitive for esports-style play.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a full settings ladder with clear separation between presets. Low delivers 122 FPS average, Medium 87 FPS (74-100 range), High 76 FPS, and Ultra 57 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 65 FPS, representing a 53% performance penalty for maximum visual quality. The Medium preset's min FPS of 74 is notably higher than the Ultra average of 57, reinforcing that medium settings provide a safer experience for maintaining high frame rates.

The 2560x1440 results show a compressed range: Low 90 FPS, Medium 64 FPS (54-73 range), High 56 FPS, and Ultra 42 FPS. The performance delta between Low and Ultra is 48 FPS (53% loss), matching the 1080p percentage, which suggests a consistent scaling factor regardless of resolution. The Medium preset's min FPS of 54 is close to the High average of 56, meaning that at 1440p, the settings ladder offers diminishing returns—players gain only 8 FPS by dropping from Medium to Low, while losing substantial visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly low: Low 58 FPS, Medium 41 FPS (35-47 range), High 36 FPS, and Ultra 27 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K produces a 27 FPS average, which is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered the absolute minimum for playability in a first-person shooter. The Medium preset's min FPS of 35 is only 8 FPS above the Ultra average, indicating that even the mid-tier settings are straining the GPU at 4K. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 31 FPS (53% loss), again consistent with the other resolutions, confirming that the GTX 1660 Ti's scaling behavior is predictable across the resolution spectrum.

The data across all resolutions shows that the Medium preset is the only setting with complete min/max measurements, providing a reliable reference point: at 1080p it ranges 74-100 FPS, at 1440p 54-73 FPS, and at 4K 35-47 FPS. These ranges indicate that the GPU's performance variance is proportionally consistent, with the 4K minimum (35 FPS) representing the worst-case scenario for this combo.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle Lockdown Protocol at 1080p?

A: Yes, at 1080p the combo delivers 122 FPS on Low, 87 FPS on Medium, 76 FPS on High, and 57 FPS on Ultra, making all presets playable with Medium or High being the recommended choices for balanced performance.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the only resolution where all settings presets exceed 55 FPS average. At 2560x1440, only Low (90 FPS) and Medium (64 FPS) are consistently above 60 FPS, while 3840x2160 struggles even on Low (58 FPS).

Q: How does the GTX 1660 Ti compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 Ti's average benchmark score of 7723 places it just below the AMD Radeon 540 (0.7% higher), and slightly above the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 (1.9% lower), AMD Radeon R7 250 (2.2% lower), and Intel Arc A310 (2.3% lower). All are within 2.3% of each other, indicating a tight performance cluster.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Core Ultra 5 225 ranks at the 85th CPU percentile with a 4412 single-thread PassMark score, while the GTX 1660 Ti ranks at the 41st GPU percentile. The resolution scaling data confirms the GPU limits performance, as frame rates drop consistently with increasing resolution.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K with this combo?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 58 FPS on Low, 41 FPS on Medium, 36 FPS on High, and 27 FPS on Ultra. Only the Low preset approaches playable levels, and the Medium preset's minimum of 35 FPS indicates potential stuttering.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The combo ranks 2441 out of 2828 tested combinations, placing it in the lower 14% of systems for this game. This reflects the GPU's age and tier, as the CPU is comparatively strong.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC with 17,800 million transistors. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz, combined with 20 MB of shared L3 cache, provide substantial compute headroom for Lockdown Protocol. The CPU's benchmark results are strong across the board: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and single-core score of 3655, a PassMark single-thread score of 4412, and a PassMark multithread score of 30459. These figures place the CPU at the 85th percentile, with an average benchmark score of 36938 that nearly matches the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (0% delta) and slightly exceeds the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (-0.2%).

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The data shows that even at 1080p Low with 122 FPS, the CPU is not the limiting factor—if it were, we would see frame rates plateau or drop at low settings. Instead, the consistent 53% performance penalty from Low to Ultra settings across all three resolutions indicates a GPU-bound scenario. The 10 cores and 10 threads (no hyperthreading) are sufficient for this FPS title, which typically scales well with high single-thread performance; the 3655 Cinebench R23 single-core score and 4.90 GHz boost clock are more than adequate.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s over dual-channel DDR5 ensures that data transfer between the processor and system memory does not bottleneck the GPU. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes provides ample bandwidth for the GTX 1660 Ti, which uses PCIe 3.0 x16—the newer CPU can handle the older GPU without issue. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 16EU is not relevant for gaming with a discrete GPU, but the CPU's overall architecture ensures that Lockdown Protocol's single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads are handled without introducing frame pacing issues. The benchmark results indicate that upgrading the GPU would yield immediate performance gains in this game, as the CPU has demonstrated it can support frame rates well above what the GTX 1660 Ti delivers at higher resolutions.