Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core Ultra 5 235 + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX combination delivers a high-refresh-rate experience across all tested settings in Lockdown Protocol, with the measured data showing average frame rates ranging from 67 FPS at 4K Ultra to 304 FPS at 1080p Low. This pairing places 313rd out of 2,828 tested combos in this game, putting it in the top 11% of all configurations, a strong result for a first-person shooter where frame pacing and headroom matter more than raw peak output. The CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads with a 5.00 GHz boost clock pair with the GPU's 24 GB of GDDR6 memory to create a system that appears GPU-limited at higher resolutions but increasingly CPU-bound as resolution drops and settings are lowered.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 brings 14 cores and 14 threads to the test bench, running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This is an Arrow Lake-S part built on a 3 nm process, and it carries 24 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 3 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU's benchmark profile shows a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14,769 and a single-core score of 2,085, while PassMark's multithread test yields 37,816 and the single-thread test produces 4,516. These figures place the processor in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms the vast majority of installed processors.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's contribution becomes most visible when comparing frame rates across settings at the same resolution. At 1080p, dropping from Ultra to Low increases average FPS from 141 to 304, a jump of 163 FPS that indicates the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower settings. The Cinebench R20 multicore score of 6,202 and single-core score of 875 suggest strong per-thread performance, which matters in an FPS where game logic and physics often run on a few threads. The PassMark physics score of 2,570 further supports the idea that this CPU can handle the simulation load without becoming the primary bottleneck at 1080p.

The nearest rival data for this CPU shows it sits in a tight performance cluster. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 scores 46,030 on average, just 0.1% lower than the Ultra 5 235's average benchmark score of 46,062. The Intel Core i9-13900HX scores 46,098, a 0.1% delta in the other direction. This means the CPU is essentially tied with these parts in synthetic workloads, and the measured FPS differences in games would come down to platform and memory rather than raw compute. The EPYC 4364P and EPYC 7303 both trail by 0.2%, further confirming that the Ultra 5 235 is a mid-pack performer in synthetic tests, though its real-world game performance is what the measured FPS data captures.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the dominant component in this pairing, built on the Navi 31 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture. It carries 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock sits at 1,929 MHz with a boost clock of 2,498 MHz, and the game clock is rated at 2,365 MHz. Memory runs at 2,500 MHz with 20 Gbps effective speed. The GPU has 6,144 shading units, 384 texture mapping units, 192 render output units, and 96 ray tracing cores. Its FP32 compute reaches 61.39 TFLOPS, and the pixel rate is 479.6 GPixel/s.

This GPU's benchmark results show a PassMark G3D score of 31,238 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 85,612, with the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score coming in at 6,841. The GPU sits in the 64th percentile of all GPUs, which is lower than its raw specifications might suggest, but the nearest rival data reveals why. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB scores 19,334 on average, just 0.4% below the 7900 XTX's average benchmark score of 19,410. The Quadro K5200, FirePro D300, and TITAN Xp all sit within 1.2% of the 7900 XTX in these synthetic averages. This clustering is unusual for a high-end part and suggests the benchmark average is being pulled down by results from less favorable test conditions, though the measured game data tells a different story.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's 24 GB VRAM and high bandwidth prevent any memory capacity or bandwidth constraints from appearing, even at 4K Ultra. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 67, while 4K High reaches 89 and 4K Medium hits 102. The fact that 4K Low reaches 144 FPS shows the GPU scales well with settings reductions. The GPU's 355 W TDP and 750 W suggested PSU requirement indicate this is a power-hungry part, but the measured frame rates justify the power draw for high-refresh gaming.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data shows clear resolution scaling patterns. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 188 at 1080p to 138 at 1440p to 89 at 4K. This represents a 26.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 52.7% drop from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the drop is from 304 at 1080p to 223 at 1440p to 144 at 4K, which is a 26.6% drop to 1440p and a 52.6% drop to 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across settings indicates that the GPU is the primary scaling factor; the CPU's performance headroom does not change the shape of the scaling curve.

At Medium settings, the pattern holds with 216 FPS at 1080p, 158 at 1440p, and 102 at 4K. The 1440p Medium result includes a measured min FPS of 134 and max of 182, while the 1080p Medium result shows a min of 183 and max of 248. These min/max values suggest frame pacing remains consistent, with no severe drops that would indicate CPU stalls. The 4K Medium result shows a min of 87 and max of 117, which is a tighter range relative to the average than the 1080p result, further supporting the GPU-limited interpretation at higher resolutions.

The data indicates that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 304 FPS, which is likely approaching the CPU's practical limit for this game engine. The fact that the CPU's nearest rivals all score within 0.2% in synthetic tests suggests that any of these processors would produce similar results in this scenario. At 4K Ultra, the 67 FPS result is clearly GPU-bound, as the CPU's 14 cores have plenty of headroom to handle the lower frame rate. The limiting component shifts from CPU at 1080p Low to GPU at 4K Ultra, with the crossover occurring somewhere between 1440p High and 4K Medium based on the measured data.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows that 1440p High produces 138 FPS average, which is a strong result for competitive play, while 4K High produces 89 FPS, which is still playable but less ideal for fast-paced FPS action. At 1080p, the system reaches 188 FPS at High settings, making it the best choice for maximum frame rates.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46,062, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375's 46,030, 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i9-13900HX's 46,098, and 0.2% higher than both the AMD EPYC 4364P and EPYC 7303 at 45,970 and 45,960 respectively.

Q: Does the GPU's 24 GB VRAM affect performance in this game?

A: The measured data shows no VRAM-related performance drops at any resolution or settings level. The 4K Ultra result of 67 FPS is consistent with what would be expected from GPU compute limitations, and the 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures the 24 GB capacity is fully utilized without bottlenecks.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Low settings produce 304 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 141 FPS average. This is a difference of 163 FPS, or a 115.6% increase from Ultra to Low, indicating significant headroom for players who prioritize frame rate over visual quality.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 313rd out of 2,828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 11.1% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the strong performance of both the CPU and GPU when paired together in this specific game.

Q: Is the system more CPU-limited or GPU-limited at 1440p?

A: At 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 158 with a min of 134 and max of 182. The consistent scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4K suggests the system is GPU-limited at 1440p, as the frame rate drops proportionally with resolution increases, which would not happen if the CPU were the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are 304 at Low settings, 216 at Medium, 188 at High, and 141 at Ultra. The Medium setting also recorded a min FPS of 183 and max of 248, providing a complete frame time picture. The spread from Low to Ultra is 163 FPS, which is the largest of any resolution in the dataset. This indicates that at 1080p, the system has enough CPU headroom to allow the GPU to scale fully with settings changes, and the lower settings allow the GPU to reach very high frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 223 at Low, 158 at Medium, 138 at High, and 103 at Ultra. The Medium setting shows a min of 134 and max of 182. The drop from Low to Ultra is 120 FPS, which is smaller than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is beginning to become more of a limiting factor as pixel count increases. The 1440p High result of 138 FPS is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are 144 at Low, 102 at Medium, 89 at High, and 67 at Ultra. The Medium setting shows a min of 87 and max of 117. The drop from Low to Ultra is 77 FPS, which is the smallest spread of any resolution. This confirms that at 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, as settings changes have less impact on frame rates when the pixel count is high. The 4K Ultra result of 67 FPS is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset.

Across all resolutions, the Medium settings provide the only complete min/max data points, with 1080p showing 183 min and 248 max, 1440p showing 134 min and 182 max, and 4K showing 87 min and 117 max. These ranges are consistent with stable performance, as the min values are all above 50% of the average FPS, indicating no severe frame time spikes.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data shows that Medium settings provide the best balance of frame rate and visual fidelity across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 216 FPS average with a min of 183, which is well above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors and provides a smooth experience with no frame drops below 180 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the 158 FPS average with a min of 134 keeps the experience above 120 FPS, which is the target for many competitive FPS players. At 4K Medium, the 102 FPS average with a min of 87 remains above 60 FPS, making it a viable option for players who want high resolution without sacrificing responsiveness.

High settings are the next best option, offering 188 FPS at 1080p, 138 FPS at 1440p, and 89 FPS at 4K. The 1440p High result of 138 FPS is particularly strong for players who want better visuals without dropping below 120 FPS. The 4K High result of 89 FPS is acceptable for single-player or slower-paced modes, but the 1080p High result is still excellent for competitive play.

Ultra settings are only recommended at 1080p, where the 141 FPS average remains high enough for smooth gameplay. At 1440p Ultra, the 103 FPS average is borderline for competitive play, and at 4K Ultra, the 67 FPS average is below the 70 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for responsive FPS action. Low settings offer the highest frame rates, with 304 FPS at 1080p and 144 FPS at 4K, but the visual quality reduction is likely too significant for most players.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo ranks 313rd out of 2,828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, which places it in the top 11.1% of all configurations tested. This ranking reflects the strong performance of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX pairing in this specific game, and it indicates that this combination outperforms the vast majority of alternative setups.

The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 64th percentile ranking among all GPUs might suggest that the combo would rank lower than 313th, but the measured game data shows that the combination works particularly well in Lockdown Protocol. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by the PassMark single-thread score of 4,516, likely contributes to the game's frame pacing, while the GPU's 24 GB VRAM and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth ensure no memory-related stutters.

The ranking is more impressive when considering that the GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are much older parts like the GTX 1060 3 GB and Quadro K5200, which score within 1.2% of the 7900 XTX in average benchmark scores. This suggests that the 7900 XTX's synthetic average is not representative of its game performance, and the measured FPS data in Lockdown Protocol shows the GPU performing at a level consistent with its high-end specifications. The combo's 313th rank out of 2,828 puts it ahead of 2,515 other tested combos, meaning it is in the top tier of configurations for this game.