Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a fast-paced FPS that puts both the CPU and GPU under significant load. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti across three resolutions and four quality presets. The data indicates a pairing that is well-balanced for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming, but which requires careful settings management to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo reveals a classic pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, but the rate of that degradation is heavily influenced by the graphics preset. At the Low preset, the system delivers 196 FPS at 1920x1080, 144 FPS at 2560x1440, and 93 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 26.5% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 35.4% drop when moving to 4K. This steep decline indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU is becoming a limiting factor as pixel count increases, though the absolute numbers remain high.

The scaling pattern shifts significantly when looking at the High preset. Here, the system produces 121 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and 57 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 26.4%, nearly identical to the Low preset’s drop. However, the drop from 1440p to 4K is 35.9%, showing that the higher graphical workload compounds the resolution burden. The fact that the 1080p-to-1440p drop is consistent across presets suggests that at these two resolutions, the CPU is still able to feed the GPU adequately, and the primary bottleneck is the graphics card’s fill rate and memory bandwidth.

At the Ultra preset, the pattern becomes even more pronounced. The system manages 91 FPS at 1080p, 67 FPS at 1440p, and just 43 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 26.4%, again consistent, but the performance at 4K falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for a smooth experience. The data strongly suggests that at 4K Ultra, the RTX 3060 Ti is thoroughly saturated, and the game’s visual effects are taxing the GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM and its compute resources. The scaling behavior indicates that the CPU is not the primary constraint; the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rates as resolution climbs.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture and features 4864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. Its memory configuration consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The card’s boost clock is rated at 1665 MHz. These specifications directly correlate with the measured results. At 1080p, the card has enough raw throughput to push 196 FPS on Low and 139 FPS on Medium, showing that its 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is sufficient for less demanding visual loads.

However, the 8 GB VRAM capacity appears to be a limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. The jump from Low to Medium at 1440p costs 42 FPS (144 to 102), and the jump from High to Ultra at 1440p costs 22 FPS (89 to 67). This disproportionate penalty for Ultra settings points to the card struggling with memory capacity and bandwidth when texture quality and effects are maxed out. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while respectable, is insufficient to feed the GPU’s compute units efficiently at 4K Ultra, where the average frame rate drops to 43 FPS.

The GPU’s performance percentile of 59 among all tested GPUs places it in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9060, has an average score of 16014, which is a 0.7% delta. The RTX 3060 Ti’s average benchmark score of 16129 shows it is competitive with this class of hardware. For Lockdown Protocol, the data shows the GPU is the clear bottleneck at 4K, as raising settings from Low to Ultra at that resolution only yields a 50 FPS difference in the average, but the quality of the experience drops off dramatically. The card’s 200 W TDP and dual-slot cooler are appropriate for the power draw, but the 8 GB memory allocation is the primary architectural weakness for this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the High preset is the sweet spot, delivering 121 FPS average. This provides a smooth, responsive experience for a competitive FPS while maintaining visual quality. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 91 FPS, which is still playable, but the 30 FPS cost for the additional visual fidelity may not be worth it for players prioritizing frame rate. The Low preset at 1080p hits 196 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, but the visual compromise is significant.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset emerges as the best balance. It produces 102 FPS average with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS, indicating a stable frame time. The High preset at 1440p drops to 89 FPS, which is still acceptable, but the Medium preset’s 102 FPS average provides more headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 67 FPS, which is below the ideal range for a fast-paced shooter. For 4K gaming, the data shows that only the Low preset (93 FPS) and Medium preset (66 FPS) are viable options. The High preset at 57 FPS and Ultra at 43 FPS are below the 60 FPS target.

The measured rows suggest a clear strategy: use High at 1080p, Medium at 1440p, and Low at 4K for the best combination of visual fidelity and playable frame rates. The Medium preset at 4K, with its 66 FPS average, is an acceptable alternative if the player can tolerate slightly lower visual quality. The data indicates that the Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution for this GPU, as the performance cost is too high relative to the visual gains.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combination ranks 1402 out of 2828 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the 50th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it performs better than half of the configurations tested but worse than the top half. This ranking is consistent with the mid-range positioning of both components. The CPU has a percentile rank of 89 among all CPUs, while the GPU has a percentile rank of 59 among all GPUs. The disparity between these two numbers suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing.

The combo’s rank of 1402 out of 2828 indicates that there is substantial room for improvement. Systems with higher-end GPUs would likely rank significantly better, as the CPU has headroom to support a more powerful graphics card. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate drops that track with GPU load. The GPU’s mid-range standing, combined with the CPU’s high percentile, means that this combo is unbalanced for the game, with the GPU holding back the system’s potential.

For context, the CPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 with a delta of 0.1% and the Intel Core i9-13900HX with a delta of -0.1%. These are comparable in overall benchmark scores. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT with a delta of -1.4%, show that the RTX 3060 Ti is in a tight competitive cluster. The ranking data suggests that users of this combo should focus on GPU-bound settings, as the CPU will not be the limiting factor in most scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 features 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It is built on the Arrow Lake architecture using a 3 nm process from TSMC. The processor has 24 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 14769 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2085 in single-core, with a Passmark multithread score of 37816 and a single-thread score of 4516.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic. The measured data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is less stressed, the system achieves 196 FPS. This high frame rate indicates that the CPU is capable of delivering frames quickly enough to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions. The fact that the 1080p-to-1440p FPS drop is consistent across all presets (around 26%) further supports the conclusion that the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the GPU’s workload scales with resolution.

The CPU’s 14 threads are sufficient for a modern FPS, which typically uses 4-8 threads for gameplay. The high boost clock of 5.00 GHz is particularly important for single-threaded performance, which is critical for game physics and frame pacing. The Passmark single-thread score of 4516 places it in a strong position for gaming. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 46062, with a percentile of 89, confirms that it is a high-performing processor. The data shows that this CPU will not be the source of frame rate drops in Lockdown Protocol; instead, the GPU’s capabilities will dictate the final FPS numbers.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers a wide range of performance depending on settings. On Low, the average FPS is 196. On Medium, it drops to 139, with a minimum of 118 and a maximum of 160. The High preset produces 121 FPS average, and Ultra is the lowest at 91 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 105 FPS, showing that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution for players who prefer maximum frame rates over visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. The Low preset averages 144 FPS. Medium averages 102 FPS, with a minimum of 87 and a maximum of 117. High averages 89 FPS, and Ultra drops to 67 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 77 FPS, which is a smaller absolute difference than at 1080p but still substantial. The minimum frame rates for Medium at 1440p (87 FPS) are higher than the average frame rates for High (89 FPS) and Ultra (67 FPS), indicating that the Medium preset provides a more stable experience.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become more constrained. Low averages 93 FPS, Medium averages 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 and a maximum of 76, High averages 57 FPS, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. The data shows that the Medium preset is the only setting that maintains a minimum above 60 FPS, albeit just barely. The High preset’s 57 FPS average and Ultra’s 43 FPS average are both below the 60 FPS target, making them less desirable for a fast-paced FPS. The 4K results clearly show the GPU’s limitations, with the 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth struggling to keep up with the increased pixel load. The measured FPS data across all resolutions confirms that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for lower settings or less demanding titles.