Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combination delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Lockdown Protocol, but the data shows that the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions and settings. This analysis is based strictly on the measured FPS data, focusing on how the CPU's 10 cores and the GPU's 8 GB of VRAM interact with the game's demands.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across four presets. For players prioritizing a consistently smooth experience, the Medium preset is the optimal choice. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers an average of 139 FPS, which is 18 FPS higher than High (121 FPS) and only 57 FPS lower than the maximum Low preset (196 FPS). The Medium preset also provides the only complete dataset with min and max FPS values, showing a range of 118 to 160 FPS at 1080p, which suggests a more stable frame time distribution compared to the other presets where only averages are recorded.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset remains the most balanced option, producing 102 FPS average. This is a significant 13 FPS advantage over High (89 FPS) and a 35 FPS advantage over Ultra (67 FPS). The 1440p Medium data also includes a min FPS of 87 and max of 117, indicating that the frame pacing is consistent enough for competitive play. While Low at 1440p reaches 144 FPS, it does so by sacrificing visual fidelity, which is not necessary given that Medium provides a strong 102 FPS baseline.

For 4K (3840x2160), the situation changes. The Medium preset drops to 66 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced FPS action. The High preset at 4K (57 FPS) and Ultra (43 FPS) are increasingly less viable. The data suggests that for the best experience at 4K, users should stick with Medium or drop to Low (93 FPS). However, the recommended configuration for most users is the Medium preset at 1440p, as it offers the best balance between visual quality and frame rate headroom, with a 102 FPS average that can be pushed higher by lowering settings if needed.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS recorded at 1920x1080 is 196 FPS with the Low preset. The Medium preset follows at 139 FPS, High at 121 FPS, and Ultra at 91 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo achieves an average of 43 FPS. This is the lowest performance tier measured, suggesting that the GPU is heavily taxed at this resolution and preset combination.

Q: Is there a significant performance drop between 1080p and 1440p?

A: Yes. For the Medium preset, the average FPS drops from 139 at 1080p to 102 at 1440p, a decrease of 37 FPS. For the High preset, the drop is from 121 to 89 FPS, a difference of 32 FPS.

Q: Which preset provides the most stable frame rate according to the data?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max FPS data across all three resolutions. At 1080p, it ranges from 118 to 160 FPS; at 1440p, from 87 to 117 FPS; and at 4K, from 56 to 76 FPS. This data indicates that Medium has the most predictable performance envelope.

Q: Can this combo handle 1440p High settings?

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 89 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings. This is above the 60 FPS threshold and should provide a responsive experience, though the Medium preset offers a more comfortable margin.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset yields 91 FPS average, which is 30 FPS lower than High (121 FPS). The performance cost of moving from High to Ultra is substantial, making High a more efficient choice for higher refresh rate displays.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage game logic. The benchmark data shows that at lower resolutions like 1080p, the CPU is capable of pushing frame rates high enough to reach 196 FPS on Low settings, indicating that it is not a bottleneck in this scenario.

However, the CPU's performance ceiling becomes apparent when considering the scaling from 1080p to 1440p. For the Low preset, the frame rate drops from 196 to 144 FPS, a 52 FPS reduction. This is a 26.5% decrease, which suggests that the GPU is starting to become more of a limiting factor, but the CPU is still keeping up. The processor's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (102.4 GB/s bandwidth) provide sufficient data throughput for the game's requirements.

The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and a single-core score of 3655, place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. This indicates strong overall processing power. In the context of Lockdown Protocol, which is an FPS title, the single-core performance is often more critical than multi-core. The single-core score of 3655 suggests that the CPU can handle the primary game thread efficiently, allowing the GPU to work without waiting on the CPU. The data reflects this: the 1080p Medium preset (139 FPS) and High preset (121 FPS) are high enough that the CPU is not the primary constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1402nd out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the combo in the top half of all tested configurations, specifically in the 50.4th percentile (1402/2828). This ranking suggests that while this is not a top-tier enthusiast setup, it performs above the median for the game.

The CPU alone is in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, which is a strong position. The GPU, however, is in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, which is more modest. The disparity between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's lower percentile indicates that the GPU is likely the limiting factor in this combo's overall ranking. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (0% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (-0.2%), and AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (-0.4%), showing that the CPU is closely matched with these alternatives. The GPU's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (0.7% delta), suggesting that the RTX 3060 Ti is competitive with that card.

The combo's rank of 1402 out of 2828 means that 1426 combos perform better and 1426 perform worse. This middle-of-the-pack placement is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows excellent 1080p performance but more limited 4K capabilities. For a 1440p gaming setup, this rank is appropriate; for 4K enthusiasts, the rank would be considered low.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. This scaling behavior reveals important information about which component is the limiting factor at different resolutions.

For the Low preset, the frame rates are: 196 FPS at 1080p, 144 FPS at 1440p, and 93 FPS at 4K. This represents a 26.5% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 35.4% drop from 1440p to 4K. The relatively smaller drop from 1440p to 4K (51 FPS) compared to the drop from 1080p to 1440p (52 FPS) is notable. This suggests that at Low settings, the game is less demanding on the GPU, and the CPU can still feed frames efficiently up to 1440p. The 4K Low performance of 93 FPS is still very playable, indicating that the combo can handle 4K when graphical fidelity is not a priority.

For the Medium preset, the frame rates are: 139 FPS at 1080p, 102 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 26.6%, which is nearly identical to the Low preset's drop. However, the drop from 1440p to 4K is 35.3%, which is also similar. This consistency across settings suggests that the scaling is primarily resolution-driven, not settings-driven. The 4K Medium performance of 66 FPS is acceptable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

The High preset shows: 121 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and 57 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 26.4%, and the 1440p to 4K drop is 36.0%. The 4K High result of 57 FPS is borderline for a smooth experience.

The Ultra preset shows the steepest decline: 91 FPS at 1080p, 67 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 26.4%, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 35.8%. The 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold, making it unsuitable for competitive play.

The pattern across all presets is that the percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistently around 26-27%, and the drop from 1440p to 4K is consistently around 35-36%. This uniform scaling suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at all resolutions, as the CPU's performance does not change with resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the frame rate to remain constant as resolution increases, because the CPU workload would be the same. Instead, the frame rates drop significantly, which is a clear indicator that the RTX 3060 Ti's rendering capabilities are being exhausted.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: Average 196 FPS
• Medium: Average 139 FPS, Min 118, Max 160
• High: Average 121 FPS
• Ultra: Average 91 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: Average 144 FPS
• Medium: Average 102 FPS, Min 87, Max 117
• High: Average 89 FPS
• Ultra: Average 67 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: Average 93 FPS
• Medium: Average 66 FPS, Min 56, Max 76
• High: Average 57 FPS
• Ultra: Average 43 FPS

At 1080p, the combo delivers excellent performance across all presets. The Low preset achieves 196 FPS, which is ideal for 144Hz or 165Hz monitors. The Medium preset at 139 FPS is also outstanding, providing a high frame rate with better visual quality. The High preset at 121 FPS is still very smooth, and even the Ultra preset at 91 FPS is above the 60 FPS standard.

At 1440p, the performance remains strong. The Low preset at 144 FPS is excellent for high refresh rate gaming. The Medium preset at 102 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a balance of visuals and speed. The High preset at 89 FPS is playable, and the Ultra preset at 67 FPS is still above 60 FPS, making it viable for those who prioritize image quality.

At 4K, the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates. The Low preset at 93 FPS is the only preset that provides a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset at 66 FPS is borderline, and the High (57 FPS) and Ultra (43 FPS) presets fall below the ideal threshold for fast-paced FPS gameplay. The data shows that for 4K gaming, users must compromise on settings to achieve playable frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is based on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has 4864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. Its base clock is 1410 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and the memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective).

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role is to render the 3D scene, handle textures, and execute pixel and vertex shaders. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor, as the game's texture requirements at higher resolutions and settings can approach or exceed this limit. The measured data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as evidenced by the significant frame rate drops when resolution increases.

The GPU's benchmark scores include a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2626 and a Passmark G3D score of 20349. These scores place the GPU in the 59th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (0.7% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (-1.4% delta), indicating that the RTX 3060 Ti is competitively positioned.

The 4K Ultra performance of 43 FPS is a clear indication that the GPU is overburdened at this resolution and preset. The 8 GB VRAM may be insufficient for Ultra textures at 4K, causing the GPU to rely on slower memory access or texture streaming. The scaling data shows that moving from High to Ultra at 4K results in a 14 FPS drop (57 to 43), which is a 24.6% reduction. This is a larger percentage drop than the 1080p High to Ultra transition (121 to 91, a 24.8% reduction), suggesting that the GPU is hitting a memory or compute wall at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K data shows its limitations. The combo's overall performance in Lockdown Protocol is therefore determined almost entirely by the GPU's capabilities, as the CPU is more than capable of keeping up with the GPU's output.