Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core Ultra 5 225 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER produces a thoroughly playable Lockdown Protocol experience across most resolution and settings combinations, though the data reveals a system where the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as resolution climbs. The combination ranks 1634 out of 2828 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the field, and the measured FPS rows show a predictable but steep scaling curve from 1080p to 4K. The RTX 2070 SUPER, a Turing-generation card from 2019, still delivers respectable frame rates at 1440p, but the 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors at 4K Ultra, where the average drops to 39 FPS. The Core Ultra 5 225, with its 10 cores and 10 threads, provides sufficient headroom at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the 175 FPS average at 1080p Low, but the frame rate ceiling at higher settings is clearly set by the graphics card.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a consistent and steep decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, with the magnitude of the drop varying significantly by settings preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 175 FPS at 1080p to 129 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 46 FPS, and then to 83 FPS at 4K, representing a cumulative drop of 92 FPS from the starting point. This scaling pattern indicates that at Low settings, the system retains enough GPU headroom to mitigate some of the pixel-count penalty, but the 52.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K still demonstrates the RTX 2070 SUPER's limitations when pushing over 8 million pixels.

The Medium preset shows a similar trajectory but with lower absolute values: 125 FPS at 1080p, 91 FPS at 1440p, and 59 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is 34 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 32 FPS, showing a nearly linear degradation per resolution step. This linearity suggests that the GPU's fill-rate and bandwidth constraints are being exercised uniformly, with the 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 113.3 GPixel/s pixel rate serving as the primary bottlenecks. At 4K Medium, the minimum FPS of 50 and maximum of 68 indicate frame-time variance that could be noticeable during intense combat sequences.

High settings produce averages of 109 FPS at 1080p, 80 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K, with the 4K figure dipping below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the baseline for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding 82 FPS at 1080p, 60 FPS at 1440p, and only 39 FPS at 4K. The 39 FPS average at 4K Ultra represents a 52.4% drop from the 1080p Ultra score, and this is the only configuration in the measured data that falls below 40 FPS. The resolution scaling data collectively indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting component at 4K and even at 1440p with higher presets, while the CPU's influence becomes more apparent at 1080p where frame rates exceed 100 FPS across all settings except Ultra.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread desktop processor built on the Arrow Lake architecture with a 3 nm process node from TSMC. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz provide solid single-thread performance, as reflected in the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 and the PassMark single-thread score of 4412. The processor's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache contribute to its responsiveness in gaming workloads, though Lockdown Protocol's demands appear to be more GPU-bound at higher resolutions.

The CPU's benchmark scores show it performing in the 85th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36938. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F at 36945 (0% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D at 37018 (-0.2% delta), and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 at 37093 (-0.4% delta), indicating that the Core Ultra 5 225 sits in a highly competitive performance tier. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 25891 and PassMark multithread score of 30459 demonstrate that the 10 threads are sufficient for the game's CPU overhead, particularly at 1080p where the GPU can produce high frame rates without the CPU becoming a bottleneck.

The measured FPS data supports the interpretation that the Core Ultra 5 225 is not the primary constraint in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 175 FPS, which is a demanding scenario for CPU-bound workloads, and the fact that the frame rate remains high suggests the processor can handle the game's simulation and draw-call overhead. However, the drop to 82 FPS at 1080p Ultra (a 53.1% reduction from Low) is primarily attributable to the GPU's inability to process the increased graphical load at the same rate. The 10-core, 10-thread configuration without hyperthreading is adequate for this game, and the 65 W TDP indicates efficient power delivery that allows sustained boost operation during extended gaming sessions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear picture of which settings preset delivers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset at 125 FPS average (with a minimum of 106 FPS and maximum of 143 FPS) offers a robust experience that exceeds the 100 FPS threshold, while the High preset at 109 FPS remains playable but with less headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 82 FPS is still above 60 FPS, but the 43 FPS gap between Medium and Ultra suggests diminishing returns in visual fidelity for the performance cost.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 91 FPS (minimum 78, maximum 105) is the recommended choice, as it maintains frame rates above 75 FPS even at the minimum reading. The High preset at 80 FPS is acceptable for players who prioritize visual quality, but the Medium preset's 11 FPS advantage provides a more consistent experience during fast-paced gameplay. The Ultra preset at 60 FPS sits exactly at the 60 FPS threshold, which may be borderline for players sensitive to frame drops, especially given that the minimum FPS was not recorded for this configuration.

At 3840x2160, the High preset at 51 FPS is the highest quality option that remains playable, though it falls below the 60 FPS ideal. The Medium preset at 59 FPS (minimum 50, maximum 68) offers a marginal improvement but still cannot consistently hold 60 FPS. The Low preset at 83 FPS is the only 4K configuration that provides a comfortable frame rate, but it requires significant visual compromises. The data suggests that for this combo, 1440p Medium is the optimal balance, delivering 91 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS, which provides enough headroom to avoid stuttering during heavy combat sequences while maintaining acceptable visual quality.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1634 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 57.8th percentile of all tested systems. This positioning indicates that the combo performs slightly below the median of the tested field, which is consistent with the RTX 2070 SUPER's aging Turing architecture and its 65th percentile ranking against all GPUs. The GPU's average benchmark score of 20282 places it near rivals like the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M at 20480 (-1% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534 (-1.2% delta), and the Intel Arc B570 at 20556 (-1.3% delta), showing that the RTX 2070 SUPER is competitive with mid-range modern offerings but not with current high-end cards.

The CPU's 85th percentile ranking is notably higher than the GPU's 65th percentile, suggesting that the processor has more headroom than the graphics card in this pairing. This imbalance is reflected in the game's measured FPS, where the GPU becomes the limiting factor at resolutions above 1080p. The combo's rank of 1634 out of 2828 means there are 1194 tested combinations that perform better in this specific game, which is a meaningful portion of the field but not a catastrophic result for a system based on a 2019 GPU. The rank also implies that the combo outperforms a significant number of alternatives, likely including systems with older or lower-tier GPUs paired with similar or weaker CPUs.

In the context of the nearest rival components, the Core Ultra 5 225's performance is nearly indistinguishable from the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (-0.2% delta), meaning that swapping the CPU for one of these alternatives would produce essentially identical frame rates in this game. The RTX 2070 SUPER's nearest rivals, including the Intel Arc B570 and Arc A750, are within 1.5% of its average benchmark score, suggesting that the GPU's performance class is well established and that the combo's rank is primarily determined by the GPU rather than the CPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a 12 nm process node from TSMC, featuring 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output pipelines. Its base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz, combined with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, deliver a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The card's compute capabilities include 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 18.12 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1), along with 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores for ray tracing and AI workloads. The 215 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this performance class, and the PCIe 3.0 x16 interface does not appear to be a bottleneck given the measured frame rates.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role is decisive across all resolution and settings combinations. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at all settings, but at 4K Ultra, the combination of high-resolution textures and advanced effects likely approaches the memory limit, contributing to the 39 FPS average. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is a critical resource at 4K, where the pixel fill rate of 113.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s are heavily taxed. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at each settings preset shows that the GPU's performance drops by approximately half, which is consistent with the 4x increase in pixel count requiring significantly more memory bandwidth and shading throughput.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning: the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1651 and PassMark G3D score of 18169 indicate solid DirectX 12 performance, while the Geekbench Vulkan score of 90637 shows strong API utilization. The card's 65th percentile ranking against all GPUs places it above the majority of graphics cards, but its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are all within 1.5% of its average score, indicating a crowded performance tier. The measured FPS at 1080p High (109 FPS) and 1440p High (80 FPS) suggest that the GPU can handle competitive gaming at these settings, but the 4K results (51 FPS at High, 39 FPS at Ultra) make it clear that 4K gaming requires either reduced settings or a more powerful GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 Medium at 91 FPS average (minimum 78, maximum 105) provides the best balance. At 1080p, Medium achieves 125 FPS, while 4K Medium drops to 59 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 20282 is 1% below the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480), 1.2% below the RTX 3070 Mobile (20534), and 1.3% below the Intel Arc B570 (20556), showing near-identical performance.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system achieves 175 FPS, indicating the CPU can handle high frame rates. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 suggest it is not the limiting component in this game.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average is 83 FPS. Medium produces 59 FPS (minimum 50), High produces 51 FPS, and Ultra produces 39 FPS, so 60 FPS at 4K is not reliably achievable at higher presets.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems in this game?

A: The combo ranks 1634 out of 2828 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the field. This is consistent with the GPU's 65th percentile ranking versus the CPU's 85th percentile.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 125 at 1080p to 91 at 1440p and then to 59 at 4K, representing a total reduction of 66 FPS (52.8%) from the starting point.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are 175 at Low, 125 at Medium (with a minimum of 106 and maximum of 143), 109 at High, and 82 at Ultra. The spread between Low and Ultra is 93 FPS, showing a substantial performance cost for higher visual quality. The Medium preset's minimum of 106 FPS indicates that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate remains above 100 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play. The High preset at 109 FPS is also viable, though the 16 FPS gap between High and Medium suggests that Medium provides better value in terms of performance per settings increment.

At 2560x1440, the measured averages are 129 at Low, 91 at Medium (minimum 78, maximum 105), 80 at High, and 60 at Ultra. The 1440p results show a more pronounced performance cliff at Ultra, which drops 31 FPS below Medium. The Low preset at 129 FPS demonstrates that the GPU can still produce high frame rates at this resolution when visual effects are minimized, but the 38 FPS gap between Low and Medium indicates that even moderate settings increases have a significant impact. The Ultra preset's 60 FPS average is exactly at the 60 FPS threshold, but without a recorded minimum, it is unclear how much it drops during intense gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the measured averages are 83 at Low, 59 at Medium (minimum 50, maximum 68), 51 at High, and 39 at Ultra. The 4K results are the most constrained, with only the Low preset achieving an average above 60 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 50 FPS and maximum of 68 FPS show a wide variance, indicating that the GPU is struggling to maintain consistent frame delivery at this resolution. The Ultra preset at 39 FPS is below playable thresholds for most users, and the High preset at 51 FPS is marginal. The 4K data demonstrates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is not suited for high-quality 4K gaming in this title, and the 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to handle the demands of Ultra settings at this resolution.