Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol presents a demanding workload for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, with the data showing that the 6 GB GDDR6 frame buffer and TU106 chip are the primary bottlenecks across all tested settings. The combination with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 delivers a playable but not exceptional experience, landing at rank 2234 out of 2828 tested combinations in this title. The measured results reveal a system where the CPU has ample headroom, while the GPU consistently limits frame rates, especially as resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, which is a clear indicator of GPU-bound rendering. At 1080p with Low settings, the RTX 2060 produces an average of 145 FPS. This drops to 106 FPS at 1440p and further to 69 FPS at 4K. This scaling pattern, where a move from 1080p to 4K at Low settings cuts performance by more than half (from 145 to 69 FPS), points directly to the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth as the limiting factors.

The trend becomes even more pronounced at higher graphical presets. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate falls from 67 FPS at 1080p to 49 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 32 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result, which is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset, represents a 52% performance drop compared to the 1080p Ultra result. This suggests that the combination of high resolution and maximum settings overwhelms the 6 GB VRAM capacity and the 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, forcing the card into a state where it cannot maintain fluid frame delivery.

Interestingly, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less punishing than the scaling from 1440p to 4K at every comparable setting. For instance, at High settings, moving from 1080p (90 FPS) to 1440p (66 FPS) results in a 27% drop, while moving from 1440p to 4K (43 FPS) results in a 35% drop. This non-linear behavior is typical of a GPU that is running out of memory bandwidth or capacity at higher resolutions, as the cost of texture fetching and frame buffer operations increases disproportionately beyond a certain point.

The data indicates that the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is not the constraining component in this scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see the FPS gap between 1080p and 4K to be much smaller, as the GPU would have more time to render frames at lower resolutions, but the CPU would still be maxed out. Instead, the significant FPS reduction at 4K demonstrates that the RTX 2060 is saturated, leaving the CPU with spare capacity. This is further supported by the fact that even at 1080p Low (145 FPS), the system is likely still GPU-limited to some degree, as the RTX 2060's compute capabilities are modest by modern standards.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Lockdown Protocol with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings achieve playable frame rates above 60 FPS on average. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset falls to 49 FPS, while at 3840x2160, even the Low preset only manages 69 FPS, indicating that 1080p is the sweet spot for consistent performance.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The measured results show a significant gap. At 1080p, the Low preset averages 145 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 67 FPS. This represents a 78 FPS difference, or a performance reduction of over 50% when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: Does the RTX 2060 have enough VRAM for Lockdown Protocol at 4K?

A: The data suggests the 6 GB frame buffer is a limiting factor. At 4K, the average frame rate drops to 43 FPS on High and 32 FPS on Ultra. The steep decline from 69 FPS on Low to 32 FPS on Ultra indicates that higher settings likely exceed the VRAM capacity, causing significant performance penalties.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 a bottleneck for the RTX 2060 in this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate no. The CPU's average benchmark score of 36938 places it in the 85th percentile, with Cinebench R23 multi-core and single-core scores of 25891 and 3655 respectively. The FPS scaling pattern between resolutions shows the GPU is the primary limiter, as performance drops consistently with increasing resolution.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 76 FPS at 2560x1440 on Medium settings. The minimum FPS recorded was 64, and the maximum was 87, indicating that this setting provides a mostly smooth experience with some minor frame dips.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in terms of raw GPU score?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, which places it at the 58th percentile. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, scores 15283, showing a delta of 0%. The AMD Radeon 680M is also close at 15270 with a 0.1% delta, indicating the RTX 2060 is firmly in a mid-range performance tier.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, built on the 12 nm Turing architecture, is the clear performance anchor in this configuration. With a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, its processing power is defined by 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs. The card's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications are directly reflected in the game's performance, where the card's average benchmark score of 15290 places it at the 58th percentile among all GPUs.

The 6 GB VRAM capacity appears to be a critical factor in the 4K results. The data shows a pronounced drop in performance between Medium and High settings at 3840x2160. The Medium preset averages 49 FPS, while High averages 43 FPS, and Ultra averages just 32 FPS. This suggests that texture data at 4K resolution with high-quality assets may be exceeding the available memory, causing the GPU to rely on slower memory management techniques. The card's memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s, while adequate for 1080p, becomes a limiting factor when pushing millions of pixels at 4K.

The GPU's compute capabilities, measured at 6.451 TFLOPS FP32, are modest. This is evidenced by its Passmark G3D score of 14111, which is nearly identical to the GTX 580's score of 15283 (0% delta). The fact that the RTX 2060 performs on par with much older hardware in synthetic tests indicates that its raw power is not exceptional. In Lockdown Protocol, this translates to a GPU that can handle 1080p gaming well but struggles to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions, particularly with settings that demand more from the shading units and memory subsystem. The card's DirectX 12 Passmark score of 53 further underscores its limitations in modern API workloads.

The thermal and power design of the RTX 2060, with a TDP of 160 W and a dual-slot form factor, provides a stable platform for sustained gaming, but it does not offer headroom for significant overclocking beyond its factory boost clock. The data shows that the GPU is consistently the bottleneck, as even at 1080p Low, the CPU is not able to push frame rates beyond 145 FPS, suggesting the GPU's pixel fill rate and texture processing are maxed out.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this hardware is at 1920x1080 with the High preset. This configuration yields an average of 90 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset provides a good balance between visual fidelity and performance, as it offers a significant improvement over the Low preset's 145 FPS while still maintaining a high frame rate. The Medium preset at 1080p also performs well at 103 FPS, but High offers better visuals for only a 13 FPS reduction.

For users who prioritize maximum frame rates, the 1080p Low preset is the best choice, delivering 145 FPS. This is ideal for competitive play where response time is critical. However, the visual quality reduction is substantial, and the data indicates that the game is still GPU-bound at this setting, meaning the CPU is not the limiting factor.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the highest recommendation, with an average of 76 FPS. The High preset at 1440p drops to 66 FPS, which is still playable but approaches the edge of smoothness. The Ultra preset at 1440p, at 49 FPS, is not recommended for consistent gameplay, as it falls below the 60 FPS target and may result in noticeable stuttering. The minimum FPS of 64 for the Medium preset at 1440p suggests that even this setting can experience dips, but the average remains acceptable.

The 3840x2160 resolution is not recommended for this GPU. The Low preset at 4K averages 69 FPS, which is technically playable, but the visual quality is severely compromised. The Medium preset at 4K averages 49 FPS, with a minimum of 41 FPS, indicating frame pacing issues. The High and Ultra presets at 4K, at 43 and 32 FPS respectively, are not suitable for a smooth gaming experience. The data clearly shows that the RTX 2060 is out of its element at 4K, and users should stick to 1080p or 1440p for Lockdown Protocol.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a clear picture of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 145 FPS. The Medium preset averages 103 FPS, with a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 119 FPS. The High preset averages 90 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 67 FPS. This shows a clear progression of performance loss as settings increase, with the Ultra preset being 54% slower than Low.

At 2560x1440, performance drops across the board. The Low preset averages 106 FPS, which is still very smooth. The Medium preset averages 76 FPS, with a minimum of 64 FPS and a maximum of 87 FPS. The High preset averages 66 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 49 FPS. The 1440p results show that the GPU can handle high refresh rates on lower settings but begins to struggle with the Ultra preset.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 is clearly overmatched. The Low preset averages 69 FPS, which is the only playable option at this resolution. The Medium preset averages 49 FPS, with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS, indicating inconsistent frame delivery. The High preset averages 43 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 32 FPS. The 4K data shows a dramatic reduction in performance, with the Ultra preset being 54% slower than the Low preset at the same resolution.

The variance between minimum and maximum FPS, where available, reveals frame pacing characteristics. At 1080p Medium, the spread is 31 FPS (88 to 119), while at 1440p Medium, it is 23 FPS (64 to 87), and at 4K Medium, it is 15 FPS (41 to 56). This indicates that while average FPS decreases with resolution, the frame time variance also compresses, suggesting the GPU is working closer to its limits at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225, based on the Arrow Lake-S architecture, provides ample processing power for Lockdown Protocol. With 10 cores and 10 threads, running at a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, it offers strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. Its Cinebench R23 scores of 3655 (single-core) and 25891 (multi-core) place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36938.

The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent with GPU limitations, not CPU limitations. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar FPS at 1080p and 4K for the same settings, as the CPU would be maxed out. Instead, the FPS drops significantly with resolution, confirming that the RTX 2060 is the performance limiter.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, which has an average score of 36945 and a 0% delta, and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, which scores 37018 with a -0.2% delta. These comparisons show that the Ultra 5 225 is competitive with other mid-range CPUs, offering similar performance in synthetic benchmarks. The Passmark multi-thread score of 30459 and single-thread score of 4412 further demonstrate its capability to handle gaming workloads without issue.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth) provide sufficient data throughput for the game's logic and physics. The 3 nm process node from TSMC ensures efficient power consumption, with a TDP of 65 W, which is notably lower than the GPU's 160 W TDP. This indicates that the CPU has significant headroom, and any performance issues in this game are entirely attributable to the graphics card. The CPU's high boost clock of 4.90 GHz ensures fast response times for game logic, but the GPU's 6.451 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is the hard limit for frame generation.