Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a demanding FPS, and the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and the AMD Radeon RX 570 produces a narrow range of playable configurations. The data indicates that this pairing is heavily constrained by the graphics card, particularly at higher resolutions. Benchmark results show that the only path to a consistently fluid experience is to prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, making a specific settings and resolution choice the clear standout.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data clearly indicates that the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only configuration that provides a reliable and responsive experience for this hardware combination. At this setting, the average frame rate reaches 77 FPS, which is more than double the 36 FPS average seen at the Ultra preset at the same resolution. This substantial performance headroom suggests that the Low preset is the only tier where the system can consistently maintain frame times suitable for a fast-paced FPS title, where reaction time is critical.

While the Medium preset at 1920x1080 offers a more balanced visual experience with an average of 54 FPS, it represents a significant compromise. The data shows a 30% performance drop from the Low preset, which can be the difference between a smooth and a slightly stutter-prone experience in intense firefights. The minimum FPS recorded for Medium at 1080p is 46, a figure that dips below the 60 FPS threshold often considered ideal for competitive shooters. For users who can tolerate lower graphical details, the Low preset is the only option that consistently stays well clear of that boundary.

Stepping up to higher resolutions only exacerbates the problem. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 56 FPS, which is playable but less fluid than the 1080p Low experience. The Ultra preset at 1440p is effectively unplayable, averaging just 26 FPS. The situation becomes even more dire at 3840x2160, where even the Low preset yields an average of only 36 FPS. The data suggests that for this specific combo, sacrificing resolution and visual quality is not just a recommendation but a necessity. The best experience per the measured rows is unequivocally the Low preset at 1920x1080, as it is the only configuration that delivers performance in a range suitable for the game's genre without significant compromises to playability.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the primary bottleneck in this pairing, a fact made evident by the sharp decline in performance as resolution increases. The GPU's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, appears insufficient for the demands of Lockdown Protocol at higher settings. The frame rate collapse from 1080p to 4K is a classic symptom of a GPU that is running out of memory bandwidth and capacity, forcing the system to swap data and causing severe frame pacing issues.

The card's core clocks, with a base of 1168 MHz and a boost of 1244 MHz, are modest by modern standards. This, combined with its 2048 shading units and 32 ROPs, results in a raw compute throughput of 5.095 TFLOPS. This level of processing power is simply not enough to handle the pixel and shader complexity of Lockdown Protocol at higher detail levels. The benchmark scores reflect this, with the GPU achieving a 74th percentile ranking among all GPUs, placing it in the lower half of the performance spectrum. Its average benchmark score of 28766 places it in close competition with the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, which is only 0.4% faster, and the AMD Radeon RX 470, which is 0.8% faster.

The data strongly suggests that the RX 570's architecture, GCN 4.0 on a 14 nm process, is struggling with the modern rendering techniques used in the game. The transition from the Low preset at 1080p (77 FPS) to the High preset at 1080p (47 FPS) represents a 39% drop in performance, indicating that the GPU is heavily taxed by even moderate increases in graphical features like texture quality and shadow detail. At 4K, the situation is terminal; the GPU can only manage 22 FPS on High and a dismal 17 FPS on Ultra. The GPU's role is that of a limiting factor, and any attempt to push it beyond its capabilities results in a sub-30 FPS slideshow. Its end-of-life production status and 2017 release date further contextualize its inability to keep pace with a 2024 title at high resolutions.

CPU Role

In contrast to the GPU, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 appears to have ample headroom to feed the Radeon RX 570. The CPU's benchmark data suggests it is a far more capable component than the graphics card, meaning it is unlikely to be the primary cause of the low frame rates seen in the game. With 14 cores and 14 threads, its multi-threaded performance is robust, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769. This processing power is more than sufficient to handle the game's physics, AI, and game logic, even when the GPU is struggling to render frames.

The CPU's single-thread performance is also strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085. This is crucial for FPS games, which often rely heavily on a single thread for main game loop processing. This strength is corroborated by the PassMark single-thread score of 4516. The Core Ultra 5 235's high boost clock of 5.00 GHz likely contributes to this strong single-core showing. With an 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, it is clear that this processor is a high-end part whose capabilities far exceed those of the RX 570.

The data supports the conclusion that the CPU is not a bottleneck. When comparing the performance deltas, the Core Ultra 5 235 sits just 0.1% above the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and 0.1% below the Intel Core i9-13900HX in average benchmark score. This places it in the same performance tier as other high-end processors. The fact that frame rates plummet at higher resolutions, regardless of CPU load, points directly to the GPU as the limiting component. The CPU is essentially waiting on the GPU to finish its rendering tasks, a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The 3 nm process node and TSMC foundry also indicate a modern, efficient design that is not holding the system back.

How This Combo Ranks

The overall ranking for this combination in Lockdown Protocol is quite low, reflecting the GPU's age and the game's demanding nature. The combo is ranked 2723rd out of 2828 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 4% of all systems. This is a stark indicator that, while the CPU is a strong performer, the pairing with the RX 570 creates a system that is fundamentally mismatched for this particular title. The data shows that the GPU is so far behind the CPU in capability that it negates the processor's strengths.

This low rank is not due to the CPU, which is a top-tier part, but rather due to the GPU's inability to keep up. The average benchmark score for the GPU is 28766, while the CPU's average is 46062, a significant gulf that highlights the imbalance. This combination would be analogous to pairing a modern, high-performance engine with a severely worn-out drivetrain; the engine has the power, but the drivetrain cannot transfer it to the wheels effectively. The benchmark results confirm this, as the system's performance in-game is almost entirely dictated by the GPU's frame rendering limits.

The implications for the user are clear: this is a combination that will not provide a satisfactory experience in Lockdown Protocol at any settings other than the absolute lowest. While the CPU has the potential to support a much more powerful graphics card in the future, as it stands, this specific combo is severely hamstrung. The ranking is a clear warning that this setup is not suitable for modern, graphically intensive FPS games, and any expectation of high-fidelity gaming should be tempered. The data shows that the system is closer in performance to the bottom of the list than to the top, indicating a fundamental hardware deficiency.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data across the three tested resolutions reveals a clear and predictable pattern of scaling that confirms the GPU-bound nature of this system. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on the Low preset results in a 27% drop in average FPS, from 77 to 56. This is a significant decrease, but the game remains playable. However, the next step is catastrophic. Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 on the Low preset results in a 36% drop in FPS, from 56 to 36. This demonstrates that the GPU's performance degrades non-linearly as the pixel count increases, a sign of a system that is running out of memory bandwidth.

The trend is even more pronounced at higher settings. At High settings, the FPS drops from 47 at 1080p to 35 at 1440p (a 26% drop), and then to 22 at 4K (a 37% drop from 1440p). At Ultra settings, the situation is dire: 36 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K at Ultra represents a 35% reduction in performance. These consistent drops of around 30-37% when moving from 1440p to 4K, regardless of the settings preset, strongly suggest that the GPU's memory system is the primary bottleneck.

This scaling behavior is a textbook example of a graphics-card-limited scenario. The CPU's performance is not affected by resolution, so if the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar FPS numbers across all resolutions. Instead, the data shows a clear and consistent degradation with each resolution increase. This indicates that the RX 570 is unable to fill the frame buffer fast enough at higher resolutions, and its 4 GB frame buffer is likely being exceeded, leading to severe performance penalties. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that the limiting component is the GPU, and any attempt to play at 4K will result in an unplayable experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete breakdown of the measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 570.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Ultra: The average frame rate is a mere 17 FPS, rendering the game completely unplayable.
• High: The average FPS is 22, which is still a slideshow and far from any acceptable level of performance.
• Medium: The average FPS is 26, with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 30. This shows that even the minimum performance is critically low.
• Low: The average FPS improves to 36, but this is still well below the 60 FPS target for a smooth experience.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Ultra: The average FPS is 26, which is still in unplayable territory for an FPS.
• High: The average FPS is 35. This is a marginal improvement but still too low for competitive play.
• Medium: The average FPS is 40, with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46. While better than 4K, this range is still not ideal.
• Low: The average FPS reaches 56. This is a playable frame rate, though it may not be perfectly smooth in all situations.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Ultra: The average FPS is 36. This is the same as the 4K Low preset, highlighting the performance cost of high graphics settings.
• High: The average FPS is 47. This is a playable frame rate, but it is still below the 60 FPS threshold.
• Medium: The average FPS is 54, with a minimum of 46 and a maximum of 63. This is the most balanced preset, but the minimum FPS is a concern.
• Low: The average FPS is 77. This is the only setting that provides a consistently high frame rate, making it the definitive choice for this hardware combo.