Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core Ultra 5 235 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER produces a combination that ranks 2425th out of 2828 tested configurations for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the lower-mid tier of the database. The CPU, built on TSMC's 3 nm process with 14 cores and 14 threads, posts an average benchmark score of 46062 and sits at the 89th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU, a Turing-architecture part on 12 nm, achieves a 53rd percentile ranking with an average score of 12986. Measured frame rates in this FPS title show a wide spread from 27 FPS at 4K Ultra to 123 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that settings and resolution choices dramatically alter the playability of this combo.

FAQ

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

A: At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings, ranging from 57 FPS at Ultra to 123 FPS at Low. At 2560x1440, frame rates drop to between 42 FPS (Ultra) and 90 FPS (Low), while 3840x2160 yields only 27 FPS (Ultra) to 58 FPS (Low), making 1080p the only resolution where all presets clear 57 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 12986, placing it 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and the AMD Radeon RX 580, 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon 740M, and 0.7% behind the NVIDIA Tesla M2090. This puts it in a tight cluster of comparable-performance GPUs.

Q: What is the CPU's standing relative to other processors?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 sits at the 89th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 46062. It trails the Intel Core i9-13900HX by 0.1%, leads the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 by 0.1%, and is 0.2% ahead of both the AMD EPYC 4364P and AMD EPYC 7303.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gameplay?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset produces 90 FPS, Medium produces 64 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS, High produces 56 FPS, and Ultra produces 42 FPS. Medium is the highest preset that maintains a minimum above 50 FPS, making it the most balanced choice for 1440p.

Q: Does the combo support modern graphics APIs?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which covers the API requirements of Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS release. The CPU supports DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes, providing a modern platform foundation.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset compare to 1080p Low?

A: The 4K Ultra preset averages 27 FPS, while 1080p Low averages 123 FPS, a difference of 96 FPS. The 4K Low preset averages 58 FPS, which is still below the 1080p Medium average of 87 FPS, illustrating the severe impact of resolution scaling on this GPU.

Settings Recommendations

For this combo in Lockdown Protocol, the measured data shows that the GTX 1660 SUPER becomes the limiting factor as resolution and settings increase. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, averaging 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS. This is a 30 FPS improvement over High (76 FPS) and only a 36 FPS drop from Low (123 FPS), while providing substantially better image quality than the Low preset.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the highest playable option, averaging 64 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS. The High preset drops to 56 FPS average, which approaches the threshold where fast-paced FPS gameplay becomes less fluid, and Ultra falls to 42 FPS. For users prioritizing frame rate over fidelity, the Low preset at 1440p delivers 90 FPS, which is smoother than any 1080p preset except Low, but the visual compromise is significant.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves a consistently smooth experience. The Low preset averages 58 FPS, but Medium drops to 41 FPS and High to 36 FPS, with Ultra at 27 FPS. The data indicates that 4K is only viable with the Low preset, and even then, the experience is marginal. The recommended approach is to use Medium at 1080p for the best overall experience, or Low at 1440p if higher resolution is preferred over visual effects.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 2425th out of 2828 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the bottom 15% of all configurations. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-tier position (53rd percentile) rather than the CPU's strong showing (89th percentile), indicating that the graphics card is the primary constraint in this pairing.

The CPU's nearest rivals — the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, Intel Core i9-13900HX, AMD EPYC 4364P, and AMD EPYC 7303 — all have average benchmark scores within 0.2% of the Core Ultra 5 235, meaning any performance difference in this game is attributable to the GPU. Similarly, the GPU's rivals, including the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and RX 580, are within 0.9% of the GTX 1660 SUPER's average score, so swapping to any of these cards would yield similar results.

Given the combo rank, users should expect this system to handle Lockdown Protocol at 1080p with medium settings comfortably, but it will struggle at higher resolutions or with ultra presets. The ranking also suggests that upgrading the GPU would provide a more substantial performance boost than upgrading the CPU, as the processor already outperforms its direct competitors in synthetic benchmarks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are 123 FPS (Low), 87 FPS (Medium), 76 FPS (High), and 57 FPS (Ultra). The Medium preset shows a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, while other presets do not report min/max values. The gap between Low and Ultra is 66 FPS, demonstrating that settings have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates drop to 90 FPS (Low), 64 FPS (Medium), 56 FPS (High), and 42 FPS (Ultra). The Medium preset again provides min/max data: 54 FPS minimum and 73 FPS maximum. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 48 FPS, a smaller absolute gap than at 1080p but a larger proportional drop, with Ultra delivering less than half of Low's frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 58 FPS (Low), 41 FPS (Medium), 36 FPS (High), and 27 FPS (Ultra). The Medium preset has a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. The scaling from 1080p Low (123 FPS) to 4K Low (58 FPS) represents a 53% reduction, while 1080p Ultra (57 FPS) to 4K Ultra (27 FPS) is a 53% reduction as well, showing consistent resolution scaling across settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, along with 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. Its base clock is 1530 MHz with a boost clock of 1785 MHz, and memory operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The GPU delivers 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, 85.68 GPixel/s pixel rate, and 157.1 GTexel/s texture rate.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth are likely limiting factors at higher resolutions. The 6 GB frame buffer is sufficient for 1080p, but at 1440p and 4K, the combination of higher resolution textures and effects can strain memory capacity, contributing to the significant frame rate drops observed. The boost clock of 1785 MHz is modest by modern standards, and the 12 nm process node means higher power consumption relative to newer parts.

The GPU's benchmark results show a passmark G3D score of 12699 and a passmark G2D score of 805, with DirectX 11 scoring 104 and DirectX 12 scoring 50. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1278, and Geekbench scores are 52490 (OpenCL) and 57102 (Vulkan). These scores align with the GPU's 53rd percentile ranking, confirming that it performs near the median of all GPUs in the database.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake-S architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 3 nm process with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14769 and single-core score of 2085, along with a Cinebench R20 multicore score of 6202 and single-core score of 875. Passmark results include a multithread score of 37816, single-thread score of 4516, and physics score of 2570. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking indicates it is a strong performer, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.2% in average score.

For Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's 14 cores and 5.00 GHz boost clock provide ample processing power for game logic and physics. The 24 MB L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, and the 3 nm process ensures efficient power delivery. However, since the combo ranks low overall, the CPU is clearly not the bottleneck; the GPU is. The CPU's high single-thread score (2085 in R23) suggests it can maintain high frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios, but the GTX 1660 SUPER cannot deliver frames fast enough at higher settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how this combo scales across resolutions. From 1080p to 1440p, the average frame rates decrease by approximately 27% across all settings: Low drops from 123 to 90 FPS (27% reduction), Medium from 87 to 64 FPS (26% reduction), High from 76 to 56 FPS (26% reduction), and Ultra from 57 to 42 FPS (26% reduction). This consistent proportional scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint, as resolution increases place more demand on pixel throughput.

From 1440p to 4K, the reductions are more severe: Low drops from 90 to 58 FPS (36% reduction), Medium from 64 to 41 FPS (36% reduction), High from 56 to 36 FPS (36% reduction), and Ultra from 42 to 27 FPS (36% reduction). The larger percentage drop at 4K suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth (336.0 GB/s) and 192-bit bus become increasingly strained as pixel count quadruples from 1440p to 4K.

The overall scaling from 1080p Low to 4K Low is a 53% reduction (123 to 58 FPS), and from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is also 53% (57 to 27 FPS). This uniform scaling pattern across all settings confirms that resolution is the dominant factor for this combo, and the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB memory capacity and 5.027 TFLOPS compute are insufficient for smooth 4K gameplay. The CPU's performance headroom is evident, as frame rates at 1080p Low reach 123 FPS, but the GPU cannot sustain similar performance at higher resolutions.