Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core Ultra 5 225 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title, shows remarkably scalable performance with this Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER pairing. The measured data reveals a system that transitions from a GPU-bound experience at 4K to a more balanced configuration at 1440p, with the CPU's 10 cores and 4.90 GHz boost clock becoming increasingly relevant as resolution drops. Across twelve measured configurations, average frame rates span from 68 FPS at 4K Ultra to 307 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating a wide performance envelope that accommodates both visual fidelity and competitive play. The combination ranks 273rd out of 2828 tested combos, placing it in the top 10% of all configurations evaluated for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling curve for this combo reveals a classic GPU-limited pattern at higher resolutions, but with some unexpected nuances at lower settings. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by roughly 27-32% across settings: High falls from 191 to 140 FPS, Medium from 218 to 160, and Ultra from 143 to 105. This consistent proportional decline suggests the GPU remains the primary bottleneck even at 1440p, with the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 672.3 GB/s memory bandwidth and 44.10 TFLOPS compute capacity being taxed by the increased pixel workload.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is steeper in relative terms. High settings drop from 140 to 90 FPS (a 36% reduction), while Medium falls from 160 to 103 (36% reduction). Ultra sees the largest relative decline, dropping from 105 to 68 FPS — a 35% decrease. Interestingly, Low settings show the smallest absolute drop from 225 to 145 FPS (36% reduction), suggesting that even at minimal graphical fidelity, the 4K pixel throughput demands significant GPU resources. The consistent ~35% scaling penalty across all settings at 4K strongly implies the GPU's rendering pipeline — not CPU limitations — governs performance at this resolution.

What stands out is the non-linear relationship between settings and resolution. At 1080p, the gap between Low (307 FPS) and Ultra (143 FPS) is 164 FPS, but at 4K, this gap narrows to just 77 FPS (145 vs 68). This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU's raw throughput becomes the limiting factor regardless of settings, while at 1080p, the settings-driven workload differences create much wider performance gaps. The data implies that players targeting 4K have less headroom to gain FPS by lowering settings compared to 1080p users — a crucial insight for optimizing this specific configuration.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus with 672.3 GB/s bandwidth appears well-suited to Lockdown Protocol's demands. At 4K Ultra, the combo delivers 68 FPS average, suggesting the game's texture and geometry loads at maximum settings consume substantial memory bandwidth. The GPU's 2340 MHz base and 2610 MHz boost clocks, combined with 8448 shading units and 96 ROPs, provide the compute foundation for the measured frame rates.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5569 and Passmark G3D score of 31811 place this GPU at the 76th percentile of all tested GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 (delta -0.4%), GRID M60-1Q (delta -0.4%), RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell (delta -1.4%), and TITAN RTX (delta -1.9%). These comparisons highlight that while the 4070 Ti SUPER is not the absolute fastest GPU available, its performance envelope is tightly clustered with several professional and older flagship cards — yet the Lockdown Protocol results show it delivering playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's ray tracing capabilities (66 RT cores) and tensor cores (264) suggest headroom for future title updates that might leverage these features. However, the measured data shows no ray-traced configurations, so the impact of these cores on Lockdown Protocol remains unquantified. The GPU's 285 W TDP and PCIe 4.0 x16 interface are consistent with the performance observed, with the triple-slot cooler and 16-pin power connector indicating a power-hungry design that sustains boost clocks under sustained gaming loads.

At 1080p Low, the 307 FPS average approaches the practical ceiling for many displays, indicating the GPU easily handles minimal settings at this resolution. The 225 FPS at 1440p Low suggests similar headroom. The GPU's Passmark DirectX 12 score of 119 (a low absolute number, but the benchmark methodology differs from gaming) and Geekbench Vulkan score of 53683 provide synthetic context, but the measured FPS data offers more relevant real-world performance insight for this specific title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 presents an interesting case with its 10 cores and 10 threads — a configuration that lacks Hyper-Threading. With a base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost of 4.90 GHz, this Arrow Lake-S processor (3 nm TSMC process, 17,800 million transistors) delivers strong single-threaded performance as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 and Passmark single-thread score of 4412. These scores place the CPU at the 85th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (delta 0%), Ryzen 5 5500X3D (delta -0.2%), Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (delta -0.4%), and Intel Core i9-12900T (delta -0.5%).

The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB L2 per core provide the memory hierarchy for game logic and physics computations. Its Passmark physics score of 2342 and multithread score of 30459 suggest competent multi-core performance, though the 10-thread limit (no SMT) could theoretically bottleneck heavily threaded workloads. In Lockdown Protocol, however, the data shows no evidence of CPU limitation — even at 1080p Low where frame rates hit 307 FPS, the CPU keeps pace.

The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 25891 places this CPU in a competitive position against its rivals. The Ryzen 5 5600F's average score of 36945 (delta 0%) indicates parity, while the Ryzen 5 5500X3D's 37018 (delta -0.2%) shows the Core Ultra 5 225 trailing by a negligible margin. The Intel Core i9-12900T's 37112 (delta -0.5%) suggests the older flagship still holds a slight edge in synthetic benchmarks, yet in Lockdown Protocol, the measured FPS data shows no game-specific CPU bottleneck.

At 1080p, the FPS ceiling appears GPU-limited rather than CPU-limited. The jump from Low (307 FPS) to Medium (218 FPS) to High (191 FPS) to Ultra (143 FPS) shows a clear settings-driven progression, with the CPU maintaining frame delivery even at the highest rates. The CPU's 65 W TDP and DDR5 dual-channel memory support (102.4 GB/s bandwidth) provide adequate memory throughput for the game's data streaming requirements. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 16EU is irrelevant for this dGPU configuration but confirms the chip's desktop segment positioning.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 307 FPS average, Medium 218 FPS (with a min of 186 and max of 251), High 191 FPS, and Ultra 143 FPS. The 186 FPS minimum at Medium indicates that even in demanding scenes, the system maintains well above 144 Hz refresh rates, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh competitive play.

Moving to 1440p, performance remains strong but shows the GPU's growing workload. Low settings yield 225 FPS average, Medium 160 FPS (min 136, max 184), High 140 FPS, and Ultra 105 FPS. The Medium setting's 136 FPS minimum still clears 120 Hz thresholds, while Ultra's 105 FPS average provides smooth gameplay on 100 Hz displays. The 84 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p illustrates the settings' impact on GPU load at this resolution.

At 4K, the system's performance becomes more modest. Low settings average 145 FPS, Medium 103 FPS (min 88, max 119), High 90 FPS, and Ultra 68 FPS. The Medium setting's 88 FPS minimum approaches but doesn't breach 60 FPS territory, suggesting playable but not high-refresh experiences. Ultra's 68 FPS average is the only configuration that dips below 70 FPS, indicating that maximum visual quality at 4K requires accepting standard 60 Hz-class performance.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each settings tier (Low to Medium to High to Ultra) imposes roughly a 25-30% FPS penalty at any given resolution. This linear scaling suggests Lockdown Protocol's settings modify GPU workload uniformly rather than introducing specific bottlenecks. The Medium settings at all resolutions include min/max data, showing frame time consistency — at 1080p Medium, the 186-251 FPS range indicates tight frame pacing, while 4K Medium's 88-119 FPS range shows slightly more variance but remains within playable bounds.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play with this combo?

A: At 1080p Low, the system achieves 307 FPS average, while 1080p Medium delivers 218 FPS (min 186). Both comfortably exceed 144 Hz refresh rates, making 1080p the clear choice for competitive settings. Even 1440p Low at 225 FPS offers high-refresh competitive viability.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 68, which is playable on 60 Hz displays. For smoother 4K experiences, Medium settings at 103 FPS (min 88) provide a better balance, while Low settings reach 145 FPS for higher refresh 4K monitors.

Q: How does the CPU's 10-core/10-thread configuration affect performance?

A: The Core Ultra 5 225's lack of Hyper-Threading doesn't appear to bottleneck Lockdown Protocol. Even at 1080p Low with 307 FPS, the CPU keeps up, and its 85th percentile ranking with Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 indicates strong per-thread performance for game logic.

Q: What settings provide the best frame pacing?

A: Medium settings at all resolutions include min/max data showing consistent performance: 1080p Medium (186-251 FPS), 1440p Medium (136-184 FPS), and 4K Medium (88-119 FPS). The narrower ranges at Medium suggest more predictable frame delivery compared to extrapolated values at other settings.

Q: How does this combo rank among tested configurations?

A: The combination ranks 273rd out of 2828 tested combos, placing it in the top 9.7% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the strong balance between the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's GPU capabilities and the Core Ultra 5 225's CPU performance.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates GPU limitation dominates. Resolution scaling shows consistent ~35% FPS drops from 1440p to 4K across all settings, while the CPU's rival comparisons (all within 0.5% delta in synthetic benchmarks) show no game-specific bottleneck. At 1080p Low with 307 FPS, the GPU still appears to be the primary constraint.

Settings Recommendations

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the 1080p Low preset at 307 FPS represents the ceiling of this combo's performance. This configuration suits competitive FPS play where reaction time trumps visual fidelity. The 1440p Low setting at 225 FPS offers a middle ground — higher resolution with still-excellent frame rates, appropriate for users with 1440p 240 Hz displays.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, Medium settings at 1440p (160 FPS average, 136 FPS minimum) provide the most compelling experience. The 136 FPS minimum ensures no drops below 120 Hz, while the visual uplift from Low to Medium is typically significant in FPS titles. At 4K, Medium settings (103 FPS average, 88 FPS minimum) represent the recommended choice for users with 4K displays, as the 88 FPS floor maintains smoothness on standard 60 Hz panels with headroom for VRR displays.

High settings offer diminishing returns — 140 FPS at 1440p and 90 FPS at 4K — making them suitable for users who prioritize visual quality but still want 90+ FPS. Ultra settings should be reserved for 1080p (143 FPS) or 1440p (105 FPS) where frame rates remain playable; at 4K Ultra, the 68 FPS average is the only configuration that drops below 70 FPS, making it suitable only for 60 Hz display owners who accept the visual quality trade-off.

How This Combo Ranks

The 273rd rank out of 2828 tested combos places this configuration in the top 9.7% of all tested systems for Lockdown Protocol. This positioning reflects the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 76th percentile GPU ranking and the Core Ultra 5 225's 85th percentile CPU ranking working in concert. The GPU's nearest rivals — the Quadro M5000, GRID M60-1Q, RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell, and TITAN RTX — all score within 1.9% of the 4070 Ti SUPER in synthetic benchmarks, yet the measured FPS data shows this combo delivering strong real-world performance.

The CPU's percentile ranking (85th) actually exceeds the GPU's (76th), suggesting the processor has more headroom relative to its peers than the graphics card. However, the game's scaling behavior indicates the GPU is the primary performance determinant. The 2828-combo pool includes configurations ranging from budget to enthusiast, and the 273rd rank indicates this combo outperforms 90.3% of all tested systems — a strong showing that aligns with the 16 GB VRAM capacity and 44.10 TFLOPS compute of the GPU.

The rank also contextualizes the performance ceiling. While this combo handles 1080p and 1440p exceptionally well, the 4K Ultra result of 68 FPS suggests that higher-ranked combos likely feature more powerful GPUs (such as the RTX 4090-class cards) that push 4K Ultra past 100 FPS. The data implies this combo's optimal sweet spot is 1440p, where it delivers 105-225 FPS depending on settings, making it a versatile configuration for both competitive and visually demanding play. The 273rd rank reflects this balance — not the absolute fastest, but firmly in the upper echelon of tested systems for Lockdown Protocol.