Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX + AMD Radeon 8050S

This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and AMD Radeon 8050S ranks 2092nd out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is consistently capable of playable performance at 1080p, but struggles to maintain smooth gameplay at higher resolutions, with the data indicating a clear GPU-bound scenario at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2092 out of 2828 places this pairing in the 26th percentile of all tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol. This is a modest position, reflecting a system that delivers acceptable but not exceptional performance in this FPS title. The ranking suggests that while the components are competent, they are not optimized for high-refresh-rate gaming at demanding resolutions.

Benchmark results indicate that the AMD Radeon 8050S, with an average benchmark score of 62108, sits at the 89th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M, which scores 61896 (a 0.3% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 at 63693 (a -2.5% delta). The Radeon 8050S is also within 2.6% of the AMD Radeon RX 7600M and 2.7% of the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP. These tight margins indicate that the GPU is competitive with mid-range mobile offerings, but it is not a high-end performer.

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX, meanwhile, achieves an average benchmark score of 52073, placing it at the 91st percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD EPYC 8124P (52121, -0.1% delta), the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (51947, 0.2% delta), the Intel Core i7-14700 (52301, -0.4% delta), and the Intel Core i9-13900F (51730, 0.7% delta). This places the CPU in strong company, with performance nearly identical to several well-regarded desktop processors from previous generations.

The disparity between the CPU's high percentile ranking (91st) and the GPU's slightly lower ranking (89th) suggests that the processor is not the limiting factor in most scenarios. The data shows that the system's overall ranking is dragged down by the GPU's performance ceiling, particularly at higher resolutions where frame rates drop significantly.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Lockdown Protocol with this combo?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 provides the most consistent frame rates, with the Low preset achieving 156 FPS and the Ultra preset reaching 73 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset drops to 114 FPS, while 3840x2160 sees the Low preset fall to 74 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform across different resolutions?

A: At 1080p, the Ultra preset averages 73 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 53 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 34 FPS. The progression shows a steep decline, indicating that Ultra settings are only viable at 1080p for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is there a significant difference between Low and Medium settings?

A: At 1080p, Low averages 156 FPS while Medium averages 111 FPS, a difference of 45 FPS. At 1440p, Low hits 114 FPS and Medium 81 FPS, a 33 FPS gap. At 4K, Low achieves 74 FPS and Medium 52 FPS, a 22 FPS difference. The gap narrows as resolution increases.

Q: What are the minimum frame rates recorded for Medium settings?

A: The measured data includes min FPS values for Medium settings only. At 1080p, the minimum is 94 FPS; at 1440p, it is 69 FPS; and at 4K, it is 45 FPS. These values suggest that Medium settings maintain playable frame rates even during demanding scenes.

Q: How does this combo compare to its nearest GPU rivals in terms of overall score?

A: The AMD Radeon 8050S scores 62108 on average. This is 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61896), 2.5% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (63693), 2.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 7600M (63775), and 2.7% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP (63830). Performance is closely clustered.

Q: Does the CPU's benchmark performance suggest it can handle Lockdown Protocol?

A: The Core Ultra 5 235HX scores 34731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4903 in single-core, placing it at the 91st percentile. Given that its nearest rivals include the Ryzen 9 5950X and Core i9-13900F, the CPU is more than capable of feeding the GPU in this game.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. From 1080p to 1440p, the average frame rate drops by approximately 27-28% across all settings. For instance, High settings fall from 97 FPS at 1080p to 71 FPS at 1440p, while Low settings drop from 156 FPS to 114 FPS. This consistent percentage decline indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component, as the CPU has sufficient headroom to handle the increased pixel count without bottlenecking.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is even more pronounced. High settings drop from 71 FPS to 46 FPS, a 35% reduction. Low settings fall from 114 FPS to 74 FPS, a 35% decline. Medium settings go from 81 FPS to 52 FPS, and Ultra from 53 FPS to 34 FPS. This steeper drop at higher resolutions further confirms that the Radeon 8050S is struggling to maintain fill rates as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

The data suggests that the limiting component is unequivocally the GPU. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 24 MB of L3 cache, shows no signs of bottlenecking in this title, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate scaling that tracks closely with resolution. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see less variation between resolutions, as the processing load per frame would remain relatively constant. Instead, the steep decline in FPS with each resolution increase points to the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading capabilities being saturated.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. Low settings achieve an average of 156 FPS, which is well above the threshold for high-refresh-rate displays. Medium settings average 111 FPS, with minimums of 94 FPS and maximums of 127 FPS, indicating smooth and consistent gameplay. High settings average 97 FPS, while Ultra drops to 73 FPS. Even at Ultra, the frame rate remains playable, though it falls below the 100 FPS mark that many competitive FPS players prefer.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance declines noticeably. Low settings average 114 FPS, which is still smooth but represents a 27% drop from 1080p. Medium settings average 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS. High settings fall to 71 FPS, and Ultra drops to 53 FPS. At this resolution, the Ultra preset begins to feel marginal for fast-paced gameplay, with average frame rates dipping below 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings average 74 FPS, which is the only preset that remains comfortably above 60 FPS. Medium settings average 52 FPS, with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 60 FPS. High settings drop to 46 FPS, and Ultra falls to 34 FPS. At 4K, the GPU is clearly overburdened, and only the Low preset offers a consistently playable experience.

The measured data includes min and max FPS only for Medium settings across all resolutions. This suggests that the Medium preset is considered the baseline for stability testing, and the recorded minimums (94 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p, 45 FPS at 4K) provide useful guidance for users seeking a consistent experience without frame rate dips.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 8050S is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture with a 4 nm process node and features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. It operates at a base clock of 1295 MHz and a boost clock of 2800 MHz. The GPU includes 32 ray tracing cores and delivers 11.47 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. Its pixel rate is 179.2 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 358.4 GTexel/s.

The memory configuration is notable for being entirely system shared, meaning the GPU relies on the CPU's DDR5 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory bandwidth is listed as system dependent, which means performance can vary based on the system's memory configuration. This shared memory arrangement is likely a contributing factor to the GPU's performance ceiling in Lockdown Protocol, as the game's texture and geometry data must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 62108 places it at the 89th percentile, with its nearest rivals being the Radeon Pro W6600M (61896, +0.3%), Radeon Pro Vega 56 (63693, -2.5%), Radeon RX 7600M (63775, -2.6%), and Radeon RX 9060 XT LP (63830, -2.7%). This clustering indicates that the 8050S performs similarly to these mid-range mobile GPUs, and the measured frame rates in Lockdown Protocol align with this positioning.

The boost clock of 2800 MHz suggests the GPU can sustain high frequencies under load, but the 55 W TDP limits its sustained performance. The 4K results, where even Low settings only achieve 74 FPS, indicate that the GPU lacks the raw fill rate and memory bandwidth needed for high-resolution gaming in this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process node by TSMC. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a 55 W TDP. The CPU features 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache.

The processor's benchmark results are impressive. It scores 34731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4903 in single-core. In Cinebench R20, it achieves 14587 multi-core and 2059 single-core. PassMark results show a multi-thread score of 40849 and a single-thread score of 4683. These scores place the CPU at the 91st percentile, with its nearest rivals being the AMD EPYC 8124P (52121, -0.1%), Ryzen 9 5950X (51947, +0.2%), Core i7-14700 (52301, -0.4%), and Core i9-13900F (51730, +0.7%).

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling patterns. The 14 cores and 24 MB of L3 cache provide ample computational headroom for the game's physics and AI systems. The high boost clock of 5.10 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance, which is often critical for FPS titles that rely on a primary game thread.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 is sufficient for feeding both the processor and the GPU's system shared memory. However, the shared memory architecture means that the CPU and GPU are competing for the same bandwidth pool, which could explain some of the performance degradation at higher resolutions where memory demands increase.

The processor's PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes provides ample bandwidth for the GPU connection, ensuring that data transfer between the CPU and GPU is not a bottleneck. Overall, the CPU is clearly not the limiting factor in this combination, as its performance is significantly higher than what the GPU can utilize in this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and the user's preference for frame rate versus visual fidelity.

At 1920x1080, the High preset offers the best balance, averaging 97 FPS while providing improved visual quality over Medium (111 FPS) and Low (156 FPS). The Ultra preset, at 73 FPS, is also viable for users who prioritize visual fidelity, but the 24 FPS drop from High may not be worth the marginal graphical improvements. For competitive play, the Low preset at 156 FPS provides the highest frame rate, but the Medium preset at 111 FPS with a minimum of 94 FPS offers a better combination of smoothness and visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, averaging 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS. This provides a smooth experience that stays above 60 FPS even during demanding scenes. The High preset at 71 FPS is acceptable, but the 10 FPS penalty compared to Medium may be noticeable. The Ultra preset at 53 FPS and Low at 114 FPS represent opposite extremes, with Ultra sacrificing too much frame rate and Low sacrificing too much visual quality.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset at 74 FPS provides a consistently playable experience. The Medium preset at 52 FPS, with a minimum of 45 FPS, is borderline, and users may experience noticeable stuttering during intense gameplay. High at 46 FPS and Ultra at 34 FPS are not recommended for this resolution, as the frame rates fall below acceptable thresholds for a fast-paced FPS.

For the best overall experience, the data suggests using the Medium preset at 1080p or 1440p. At 1080p, Medium delivers 111 FPS with a minimum of 94 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay without significant visual compromises. At 1440p, Medium at 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS remains above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the highest resolution at which this combo can deliver a consistently smooth experience. Users seeking maximum visual quality should stick to 1080p with the Ultra preset, while those prioritizing frame rate should use the Low preset at 1080p for 156 FPS.