Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

The measured frame-rate data for Lockdown Protocol on this Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 shows a configuration that scales predictably across resolutions and settings, with the GPU becoming the dominant constraint at 4K and the CPU demonstrating ample headroom at lower resolutions. This combo ranks 2058th out of 3714 tested configurations in the database, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all measured systems for this game, yet the absolute FPS figures reveal a playable experience at most settings, particularly at 1440p and 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 at High settings produces a dramatic FPS drop from 115 to 54, a reduction of 53%. This substantial decline indicates that the rendering load at 4K nearly doubles the per-frame work, and the RTX 5070's 12 GB GDDR7 memory and 192-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, are being pushed hard at the higher pixel count. The scaling pattern across all settings is consistent: moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings drops FPS from 115 to 84 (a 27% decrease), while moving from 1440p to 4K drops from 84 to 54 (a 36% decrease). The non-linear scaling suggests that at 1080p, the CPU and GPU have more balanced workloads, but as resolution climbs, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become the limiting factors.

At Low settings, the resolution scaling is even more pronounced. The 1080p Low result of 186 FPS falls to 136 FPS at 1440p (a 27% drop) and then to 88 FPS at 4K (a 35% drop from 1440p). This steeper drop at 4K Low, compared to the High setting's 36% drop from 1440p to 4K, suggests that at Low settings the GPU is still the bottleneck, but the reduced shading complexity allows the GPU to work faster, making memory bandwidth relatively more important. The 4K Low result of 88 FPS is actually higher than the 1080p Ultra result of 86 FPS, which underscores how much headroom the GPU has when settings are lowered.

The Medium settings row provides the only complete min/max FPS data in the measured results. At 1080p Medium, the average is 132 FPS with a minimum of 112 and maximum of 152, representing a 30% spread between min and max. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 97 FPS with min 82 and max 111, a 35% spread. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 62 FPS with min 53 and max 72, a 31% spread. The consistency of this min/max spread across resolutions indicates that frame-time variance scales proportionally with the average, meaning the game's internal pacing remains stable even as the GPU load increases.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on Arrow Lake architecture, built on TSMC's 3 nm process node. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 5.10 GHz, combined with a 24 MB shared L3 cache, provide the computational foundation for this game's physics and AI systems. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 34,731 and a single-core score of 4,903, placing it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs tested. Its PassMark multi-thread score of 40,849 and single-thread score of 4,683 further confirm strong multi-threading capability.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes evident when comparing FPS at 1080p across settings. At Low settings, the CPU achieves 186 FPS, which drops to 132 FPS at Medium, 115 FPS at High, and 86 FPS at Ultra. This 100 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p indicates that the game's CPU-bound logic — likely including enemy AI pathfinding and physics calculations — scales with graphical settings, likely due to the increased number of draw calls and object interactions at higher settings. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 186 FPS while 4K Low only reaches 88 FPS suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU still becomes the constraint at 4K, but at 1080p the CPU has enough headroom to push beyond 180 FPS.

The nearest rivals in CPU benchmark scores provide context for the 235HX's capability. The AMD EPYC 8124P scores 52,121 (0.1% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X scores 51,947 (0.2% lower), and the Intel Core i7-14700 scores 52,301 (0.4% higher). These are all desktop or server processors, yet the mobile 235HX keeps pace within 0.7% of these chips, indicating that its Arrow Lake architecture and high boost clock compensate for any thermal or power constraints. The 235HX's 14 cores and 14 threads (no hyperthreading) are sufficient for this game, as the data shows no core-count bottleneck at 1080p Low where the CPU is most exposed.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable at 1080p with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 186 at 1080p with Low settings. The Medium setting yields 132 FPS, High yields 115 FPS, and Ultra yields 86 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combo ranks 2058th out of 3714 tested configurations, placing it in the 55th percentile of all measured systems.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 41, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. However, 4K High achieves 54 FPS, 4K Medium achieves 62 FPS, and 4K Low achieves 88 FPS, indicating that 4K is playable if settings are adjusted.

Q: What is the difference between 1080p and 4K performance at High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 115 at 1080p High to 54 at 4K High, a 53% reduction. This indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K due to the increased pixel fill rate demand.

Q: Does the CPU hold back performance at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Low, the CPU achieves 186 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all resolutions and settings. The fact that this FPS is not higher suggests the CPU may be near its limit at this setting, but it still delivers excellent frame rates.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 112. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 82, and at 4K Medium, the minimum is 53. These minimums represent the worst-case frame times during demanding scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2058 out of 3714 places this system in the 45th percentile from the top, meaning roughly 55% of tested configurations outperform it in Lockdown Protocol. This ranking is notable because the RTX 5070 is a high-end GPU (82nd percentile among all GPUs), and the 235HX is a strong mobile CPU (91st percentile among all CPUs). The combination should theoretically perform better, but the game's optimization and the specific demands of Lockdown Protocol may not fully leverage the hardware's synthetic benchmark strengths.

The GPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% higher score), AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (0.8% higher), and AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (1.2% lower). These are all older, workstation-oriented GPUs with significantly lower gaming performance, yet the RTX 5070's score of 40,377 puts it in their company, suggesting that the PassMark G3D score may not fully capture the 5070's gaming capabilities. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and Intel Core i9-13900F, both desktop parts with higher power envelopes, yet the 235HX stays within 0.7% of their scores.

The rank of 2058 suggests that many systems with older or lower-spec GPUs still achieve better FPS in this game, possibly due to driver optimizations or game-specific settings. The data shows that the RTX 5070's 12 GB VRAM is adequate for 4K High (54 FPS) but insufficient for 4K Ultra (41 FPS), indicating that the game's Ultra preset may exceed the memory capacity or bandwidth at 4K. The 672.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 192-bit bus are the likely constraints at 4K, as the GPU's compute capabilities (30.87 TFLOPS FP32) are more than sufficient.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p, High settings at 115 FPS offer the best balance of visual quality and performance, as Ultra drops to 86 FPS (a 25% reduction) without a proportional visual improvement. The Medium setting at 132 FPS provides a 15% FPS increase over High, but the visual downgrade may not be worth it for users with 120 Hz displays.

At 1440p, High settings at 84 FPS are the recommended starting point, as this exceeds the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium at 97 FPS offers a 15% improvement, which is beneficial for users with 144 Hz monitors. Ultra at 63 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes, as the minimum FPS data (not provided for Ultra) could dip below 60. Low at 136 FPS is an option for competitive play, but the visual quality degradation is significant.

At 4K, the recommendation is Medium settings at 62 FPS, which is the only setting that clears the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution. High at 54 FPS is borderline playable, but the minimum FPS (not provided) could drop below 50 during intense combat. Low at 88 FPS is the best choice for 4K gaming if visual fidelity is less important, as it provides a 42% FPS improvement over Medium. Ultra at 41 FPS is not recommended for 4K, as it falls well below the 60 FPS standard.

For users with high-refresh-rate displays (144 Hz or higher), 1080p Low at 186 FPS or Medium at 132 FPS are the only settings that fully utilize such displays. At 1440p, Low at 136 FPS is the only setting that approaches 144 Hz. At 4K, no setting reaches 144 FPS, with Low at 88 FPS being the maximum.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low settings achieve 186 FPS, Medium achieves 132 FPS with a minimum of 112 and maximum of 152, High achieves 115 FPS, and Ultra achieves 86 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 54% reduction in FPS, with the largest single drop occurring between Low and Medium (54 FPS, a 29% reduction). The drop from Medium to High is 17 FPS (13%), and from High to Ultra is 29 FPS (25%).

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low at 136 FPS, Medium at 97 FPS with a minimum of 82 and maximum of 111, High at 84 FPS, and Ultra at 63 FPS. The Low to Ultra reduction is 54%, identical to the 1080p scaling. The Medium to High drop is 13 FPS (13%), and High to Ultra is 21 FPS (25%), mirroring the 1080p percentage drops. This consistency indicates that the game's settings scale uniformly across resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low at 88 FPS, Medium at 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 and maximum of 72, High at 54 FPS, and Ultra at 41 FPS. The Low to Ultra reduction is 53%, nearly identical to the 1080p and 1440p scaling. The Medium to High drop is 8 FPS (13%), and High to Ultra is 13 FPS (24%). The absolute FPS values at 4K are roughly half of the 1080p values at each setting, confirming that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K.

The medium settings data provides the only min/max FPS values across all resolutions. At 1080p, the spread is 40 FPS (112 to 152). At 1440p, the spread is 29 FPS (82 to 111). At 4K, the spread is 19 FPS (53 to 72). This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that frame-time variance decreases as the GPU becomes more heavily loaded, which is counterintuitive but suggests that the game's CPU-side frame pacing becomes more consistent when the GPU is the bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a GB205 chip on TSMC's 5 nm process. It features 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units, with 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores. The GPU's base clock is 2325 MHz with a boost clock of 2512 MHz, and its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a 250 W TDP and is a dual-slot card measuring 245 mm in length.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role is most evident at 4K, where the FPS values at all settings are less than half of the 1080p equivalents. The 4K Low result of 88 FPS versus 1080p Low of 186 FPS represents a 53% reduction, which is consistent with the pixel count increase from 1080p (2.07 million pixels) to 4K (8.29 million pixels). This linear scaling indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors at 4K, as the CPU has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU.

The GPU's 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at all settings, as evidenced by the FPS values not collapsing at Ultra settings. However, at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 41, which may be partially due to memory capacity or bandwidth limitations. The 672.0 GB/s bandwidth is likely the constraint at 4K Ultra, as the game's textures and effects at that setting require more memory throughput than the 192-bit bus can provide. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 29,137 places it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5,077 confirms strong DirectX 12 performance.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark score are the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% higher), AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (0.8% higher), and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (2% lower). These comparisons are misleading for gaming purposes, as the Pro 580 and WX 7100 are older workstation cards with lower gaming performance. The RTX 5070's actual gaming capability is better represented by its 1080p High score of 115 FPS and 1440p High score of 84 FPS, which are strong results for a mobile GPU. The GPU's boost clock of 2512 MHz and FP32 throughput of 30.87 TFLOPS provide ample compute power for this game's rendering requirements, with the memory subsystem being the more likely bottleneck at 4K.