Lockdown Protocol

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 compare to its closest rival in synthetic CPU benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 posts an average benchmark score of 36938, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945, deltaPct 0). It sits 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (37018) and 0.5% behind the Intel Core i9-12900T (37112).

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all tested graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER sits in the 62nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18093. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (18159, deltaPct -0.4%), showing near-parity in raw compute.

Q: What are the measured FPS results at 1080p with Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, this combo achieves an average of 159 FPS. This is the highest measured average across all resolution and settings combinations in the data.

Q: How much does the CPU's single-thread performance matter for this game?

A: The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score is 3655, and its Passmark single-thread score is 4412. The CPU overall ranks in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, suggesting strong per-core capability that helps drive high frame rates in FPS titles.

Q: Does this combo rank highly among all tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol?

A: No. This combo ranks 2014 out of 2828 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-mid tier for this specific game. The rank reflects that while the hardware is competent, many other pairings deliver better overall performance in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: What memory bandwidth does the GPU provide, and how does it relate to 4K performance?

A: The GPU offers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 256-bit bus with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. At 4K Ultra settings, the combo drops to 35 FPS average, indicating the GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth become limiting factors at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Its base clock runs at 1470 MHz with a boost clock of 1650 MHz, while the memory operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer across a 256-bit bus delivers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role shifts dramatically depending on resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 159 FPS average, showing that the Turing chip has ample headroom when pixel throughput demands are modest. The GPU's FP32 performance of 7.181 TFLOPS and texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s handle the game's rendering workload efficiently at lower resolutions.

However, the GPU's 62nd percentile ranking among all GPUs tells a more nuanced story. The RTX 2060 SUPER is end-of-life production status, and its 12 nm process node (with 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die) means it lacks the efficiency of newer architectures. The 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores provide some future-proofing for titles that leverage ray tracing or DLSS, but Lockdown Protocol's measured results show the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution climbs.

The memory subsystem deserves particular attention. The 8 GB capacity is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but at 3840x2160 Ultra settings, the combo manages only 35 FPS average. This suggests the game's high-resolution textures and effects are pushing against the VRAM ceiling, forcing the GPU to manage memory more conservatively. The 14 Gbps effective memory speed provides decent bandwidth, yet the 256-bit bus width limits aggregate transfer rates compared to wider implementations.

For competitive play at 1080p, the GPU's raw throughput is sufficient to push well past 144 Hz at Low settings (159 FPS), making it viable for high-refresh-rate monitors. The data shows that High settings at 1080p still deliver 99 FPS, which is playable for most users. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures compatibility with modern rendering features, though the game's actual utilization of those features is not detailed in the measurements.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. Starting at 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves 99 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 High drops this to 72 FPS, a reduction of approximately 27%. At 3840x2160 High, the average falls to 47 FPS, which is roughly 53% below the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the dominant limiting component as resolution increases.

The Low settings row provides the clearest view of pure resolution scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 159 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 117 FPS (26% lower), and at 4K Low, it reaches 75 FPS (53% lower than 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low, High, and Medium settings suggests a GPU-bound scenario where the CPU has sufficient headroom even at 1080p.

Medium settings show the most detailed data with min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 113 FPS with a range of 96-130 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 83 FPS (70-95 range), and at 4K Medium, it falls to 53 FPS (45-62 range). The narrowing of the FPS range at higher resolutions (from a 34 FPS spread at 1080p to a 17 FPS spread at 4K) indicates that the GPU is becoming more consistently saturated as pixel count increases.

Ultra settings reveal the steepest scaling curve. The 1080p Ultra average is 74 FPS, 1440p Ultra drops to 54 FPS (27% lower), and 4K Ultra falls to 35 FPS (53% lower than 1080p). This 53% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings presets strongly suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER's compute and memory resources are the binding constraint, rather than the CPU. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking and strong single-thread scores (3655 in Cinebench R23) indicate it can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them at higher resolutions.

The practical implication is that users targeting 4K should expect to use Low or Medium settings to maintain playable frame rates, while 1440p High offers a reasonable balance at 72 FPS. The 1080p resolution provides the most flexibility, with even Ultra settings staying above 70 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination ranks 2014 out of 2828 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places the pairing in the 29th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 71% of other combinations deliver better performance in this specific game.

This ranking seems underwhelming given the individual component percentiles. The CPU sits in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 62nd percentile among all GPUs. The discrepancy between component-level percentiles and the combo's in-game rank suggests that Lockdown Protocol is particularly demanding on GPU resources, and the RTX 2060 SUPER's relative weakness drags the overall pairing down.

The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the RTX 3060 Mobile (deltaPct -0.4%), Radeon Pro 5700 (deltaPct -0.5%), and Radeon RX 460 (deltaPct -1.5%). These close synthetic scores do not necessarily translate to identical in-game performance, but they provide context for where the GPU sits in the broader market. The fact that the RX 460, a much older and lower-tier card, scores within 1.5% in synthetic benchmarks highlights the RTX 2060 SUPER's age.

From a practical standpoint, the 2014 rank means users should not expect top-tier performance in Lockdown Protocol. However, the measured FPS data shows that the combo is entirely playable at 1080p and 1440p with appropriate settings. The rank is more informative for comparing against other potential upgrades rather than as a verdict on playability. For context, the combo outperforms roughly 814 other tested combinations, which is a meaningful portion of the database.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks — the Ryzen 5 5600F, Ryzen 5 5500X3D, Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, and Core i9-12900T — all score within 0.5% of the Ultra 5 225. This clustering suggests that CPU choice within this performance tier has minimal impact on Lockdown Protocol's frame rates, further confirming the GPU-limited nature of this pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 159 FPS average (highest measured result in the entire dataset)
• Medium: 113 FPS average, with a range of 96 to 130 FPS
• High: 99 FPS average
• Ultra: 74 FPS average

At 1080p, all settings presets remain above 70 FPS, making this resolution entirely viable for competitive play. The jump from Low to Medium costs 46 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 14 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 25 FPS. The diminishing returns pattern suggests that Medium offers the best performance-per-visual-fidelity tradeoff.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 117 FPS average
• Medium: 83 FPS average, with a range of 70 to 95 FPS
• High: 72 FPS average
• Ultra: 54 FPS average

At 1440p, the combo remains playable across all settings, though Ultra dips below 60 FPS. The scaling from 1080p shows a consistent 26-27% reduction across Low, Medium, High, and Ultra presets, reinforcing the GPU-bound nature. The Medium preset's 83 FPS average with a 70 FPS minimum provides a solid experience for 1440p monitors with adaptive sync.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 75 FPS average
• Medium: 53 FPS average, with a range of 45 to 62 FPS
• High: 47 FPS average
• Ultra: 35 FPS average

At 4K, only Low settings maintain a consistently smooth experience. Medium dips to 45 FPS minimums, which may cause noticeable stuttering in fast-paced FPS gameplay. High and Ultra are below 50 FPS averages, making them less suitable for twitch-based shooting mechanics. The 4K Low result of 75 FPS is surprisingly strong, indicating the GPU can handle the pixel count if visual effects are minimized.

The min/max data available only for Medium settings provides insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the 96-130 FPS range shows a 30% variance. At 1440p, the 70-95 range shows a 30% variance. At 4K, the 45-62 range shows a 32% variance. This consistent variance pattern suggests stable frame delivery rather than sporadic spikes.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p displays, the Medium preset at 113 FPS average offers the best balance of smoothness and visual quality. The 96 FPS minimum ensures that even demanding scenes remain fluid, and the 130 FPS maximum provides headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors. Users prioritizing competitive advantage can drop to Low for 159 FPS, but the visual compromise is substantial for only a 41% frame rate increase.

For 1440p displays, Medium settings at 83 FPS average are the recommended starting point. This preset maintains a 70 FPS minimum, which is sufficient for most gaming scenarios. High settings at 72 FPS are also viable, though the 11 FPS average reduction may be noticeable in fast-paced gameplay. Ultra settings at 54 FPS are borderline and not recommended for competitive play.

For 4K displays, Low settings at 75 FPS are the only reliably smooth option. Medium settings at 53 FPS average with 45 FPS minimums will produce visible frame drops during intense action sequences. Users with 4K displays should accept reduced visual fidelity to maintain playable frame rates, or consider hardware upgrades given the combo's 2014 rank out of 2828 tested combinations.

The data suggests a clear pattern: this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with medium-to-high settings, or 1440p gaming with medium settings. The 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for these scenarios but become limiting at 4K with higher presets. For users who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 1440p (117 FPS) or 1080p (159 FPS) provides a competitive edge.

Given the GPU's 62nd percentile ranking and the CPU's 85th percentile, the pairing is well-matched for 1080p but leaves CPU performance untapped at higher resolutions. The measured data indicates that Lockdown Protocol is GPU-bound in this configuration, so future upgrades should focus on the graphics card rather than the processor.