Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS, presents an interesting stress profile for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT. The measured data reveals a configuration that scales predictably with resolution and settings, but with specific bottlenecks that dictate the optimal user experience. The benchmark results indicate that while the GPU handles the graphical load capably, the interplay between the 14-core Intel processor and the RDNA 4 architecture creates a performance curve that favors specific configurations over others.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows for Lockdown Protocol show a clear hierarchy across presets, but the optimal choice depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1080p, the data shows that the Low preset achieves an average of 260 FPS, which is significantly higher than the 161 FPS average at High settings. However, the jump from Low to Medium is substantial, with the Medium preset delivering 185 FPS average. Given that the data shows diminishing returns between Medium and High (a drop from 185 to 161 FPS), the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance for high-refresh-rate displays, providing a 185 FPS average while still maintaining visual fidelity above the Low preset.

For 1440p, the High preset emerges as the most compelling option. The measured average of 118 FPS at High is notably close to the 135 FPS average at Medium, representing only a 12.6% performance penalty for a significant visual upgrade. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 89 FPS, which is still playable but begins to approach the threshold where frame pacing becomes more noticeable. The data suggests that High at 1440p is the sweet spot, as it keeps the frame rate comfortably above 100 FPS while avoiding the steep performance cliff observed between High and Ultra.

At 4K, the situation becomes more constrained. The Medium preset at 3840x2160 delivers an average of 87 FPS, with a measured minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS. This range indicates that Medium at 4K is the most viable preset for maintaining a consistent experience, as High drops to 76 FPS average and Ultra falls to 57 FPS. The Low preset at 4K does achieve 123 FPS, but the visual compromise is likely too severe for a game of this genre. The 87 FPS average at Medium 4K, with the minimum staying above 70 FPS, suggests this is the recommended configuration for 4K displays.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT brings substantial memory resources to Lockdown Protocol, with 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus providing 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective), which is paired with a boost clock of 2970 MHz and a game clock of 2400 MHz. For a fast-paced FPS, the 16 GB frame buffer is more than sufficient for the textures and geometry that Lockdown Protocol presents, even at 4K Ultra settings.

The GPU's architectural capabilities are reflected in its benchmark scores, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 65879. These numbers indicate strong rasterization performance, which aligns with the measured FPS data. At 1080p Low, the GPU is clearly not the limiting factor, as the 260 FPS average far exceeds what the CPU can sustain in frame generation. However, as resolution increases to 4K, the GPU's workload scales appropriately, and the data shows the frame rate dropping from 260 FPS at 1080p Low to 123 FPS at 4K Low, a 52.7% reduction that reflects the increased pixel throughput demands.

The GPU's percentile rank of 55 versus all GPUs is notable, but the nearest rivals in the benchmark database are significantly older architectures (AMD Radeon HD 7770M, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570). This suggests that while the RX 9070 XT's average benchmark score of 13543 places it in the middle of the database, its real-world performance in Lockdown Protocol is dictated by the game's specific engine optimizations rather than raw compute throughput. The 48.66 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 380.2 GPixel/s pixel rate are theoretical maximums that the measured FPS data shows are not fully utilized at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT holds the 639th rank out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the configuration in the 77.4th percentile of all tested pairings, indicating that it outperforms the majority of systems in the database. The rank suggests that this is a competitive mid-to-upper tier combination for this specific game, though not at the absolute top of the charts.

The CPU's benchmark performance provides context for this ranking. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 achieves an average benchmark score of 46062, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (deltaPct 0.1), Intel Core i9-13900HX (deltaPct -0.1), and AMD EPYC 4364P (deltaPct 0.2). These tight deltas indicate that the Ultra 5 235 is performing at a level very close to these other processors, with less than 0.2% separating them in average score. This consistency suggests that the CPU is not introducing significant variability into the Lockdown Protocol results.

The GPU's rank of 55th percentile, however, is more modest. The RX 9070 XT's nearest rivals are much older cards, with the AMD Radeon HD 7770M (deltaPct 0.1) being the closest match. This is an anomaly in the data, as the RX 9070 XT's measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol clearly demonstrates superior performance to those legacy cards. The combination's overall rank of 639 suggests that the CPU's strong percentile ranking compensates for the GPU's lower benchmark percentile, resulting in a system that performs well above the median for this game.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for the highest frame rates with this combo?

A: The data shows that 1080p with the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 260, but the Medium preset at 1080p (185 FPS average) provides a better balance of visual quality and performance. The frame rate drops significantly at higher resolutions, with 1440p High averaging 118 FPS and 4K Medium averaging 87 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score of 46062 places it within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, Intel Core i9-13900HX, and AMD EPYC 4364P. This indicates near-identical synthetic performance, with the Ultra 5 235 sitting in the 89th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM of the RX 9070 XT sufficient for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The 16 GB GDDR6 memory, paired with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth, appears more than adequate for this game. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (57 FPS average) suggests that the GPU's compute capabilities, not VRAM capacity, are the limiting factor at extreme settings.

Q: What causes the significant FPS drop from 1080p to 4K?

A: The data shows a 52.7% reduction in FPS at Low settings (260 to 123 FPS) and a 52.8% reduction at High settings (161 to 76 FPS) when moving from 1080p to 4K. This consistent ratio indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the CPU workload remains constant.

Q: How does the combo rank against all tested systems in this game?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combination ranks 639th out of 2828 tested combos, placing it in the top 22.6% of all configurations tested for Lockdown Protocol.

Q: Does the CPU's 14-core configuration impact gaming performance?

A: The 14 cores and 14 threads, running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz, provide sufficient processing power for Lockdown Protocol. The data shows no CPU-bound limitations at lower resolutions, as the frame rates scale consistently with GPU load.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent scaling pattern across resolutions that points to the GPU as the primary limiting component. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 260 FPS at 1080p to 191 FPS at 1440p (a 26.5% reduction) and then to 123 FPS at 4K (a further 35.6% reduction). This progressive decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames but the GPU cannot maintain the same output as pixel count increases.

At High settings, the scaling is more aggressive. The 161 FPS average at 1080p drops to 118 FPS at 1440p (26.7% reduction) and then to 76 FPS at 4K (35.6% reduction). The consistency of these percentage reductions across both Low and High presets suggests that the GPU's architecture scales predictably with resolution, with the 4K workload representing approximately 2.1 times the pixel throughput of 1080p.

The Medium preset, which has the most complete data (including minimum and maximum FPS), shows a similar pattern. The 185 FPS average at 1080p (with a range of 157-212 FPS) drops to 135 FPS at 1440p (range 115-156 FPS) and then to 87 FPS at 4K (range 74-100 FPS). The narrowing of the FPS range at higher resolutions (from a 55 FPS spread at 1080p to a 26 FPS spread at 4K) indicates that the GPU becomes more consistently loaded as resolution increases, reducing frame time variance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process at TSMC. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz provide the single-thread performance necessary for gaming workloads. The CPU's Cinebench R23 scores of 2085 single-core and 14769 multi-core indicate strong per-thread performance, which is critical for Lockdown Protocol's game logic and physics calculations.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, delivered through dual-channel DDR5 support, ensures that the processor can feed data to the GPU without creating a bottleneck. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache provides a substantial buffer for game assets that are frequently accessed, reducing the need to fetch data from system memory. The Passmark single-thread score of 4516, combined with the multi-thread score of 37816, demonstrates that the CPU excels in both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded scenarios.

However, the data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in Lockdown Protocol. At 1080p Low, the 260 FPS average is likely approaching the CPU's frame generation limit, but the consistent scaling to 1440p and 4K indicates that the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases. The CPU's percentile rank of 89 versus all CPUs, with a deltaPct of less than 0.2% compared to its nearest rivals, confirms that it is performing at a high level relative to the broader processor market.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete FPS dataset for Lockdown Protocol with this configuration is as follows:

At 3840x2160 (4K), the Ultra preset delivers an average of 57 FPS. The High preset improves to 76 FPS average, while Medium provides 87 FPS average with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS. The Low preset achieves 123 FPS average, demonstrating that even at 4K, the CPU is not a limiting factor.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the Ultra preset averages 89 FPS. The High preset reaches 118 FPS, while Medium delivers 135 FPS average with a range of 115-156 FPS. The Low preset achieves 191 FPS, showing that 1440p provides a strong balance between visual quality and performance for this GPU.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the Ultra preset averages 121 FPS. The High preset reaches 161 FPS, while Medium delivers 185 FPS with a minimum of 157 FPS and maximum of 212 FPS. The Low preset achieves 260 FPS, which is the highest measured average across all configurations. The data shows that at 1080p, the Medium preset's minimum FPS of 157 still exceeds the 4K Ultra average of 57 FPS, highlighting the significant performance headroom available at lower resolutions.