Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT lands at rank 2105 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the pairing in the bottom quarter of the database, a position that reflects a fundamental mismatch: a modern 14-core CPU with strong single-thread performance is held back by a GPU that entered the market in 2019. The combo's percentile ranking against all CPUs is 90, but the GPU sits at the 59th percentile against all GPUs, confirming that the graphics card is the limiting factor in this build. Data indicates the CPU has ample headroom, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648, while the GPU's Passmark G3D score of 16277 is merely average. For a fast-paced FPS like Lockdown Protocol, this combo delivers playable but not exceptional frame rates, and the bottleneck becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's overall rank of 2105 out of 2828 puts it in the 74th percentile of all tested pairings in Lockdown Protocol, but the context matters more than the raw number. The CPU is a top-tier performer relative to the broader market—its average benchmark score of 48995 places it just 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7900. It also edges out the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8%. These deltas are tiny, meaning the processor is not the reason this combo ranks so low.

The GPU tells a different story. The RX 5700 XT's average benchmark score of 16361 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (0.1% difference) and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (0.3% difference), but it lags behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 by 0.9%. More importantly, the GPU's percentile rank of 59 against all GPUs indicates it is a mid-range part, and its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is modest by modern standards. In Lockdown Protocol, which is likely CPU-bound at lower settings but GPU-bound at higher presets, the GPU becomes the anchor. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p Low the combo hits 156 FPS average, but at 4K Ultra it collapses to 34 FPS. The rank of 2105 reflects a system that can handle esports-level settings but struggles with maxed-out visuals.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 a bottleneck for the RX 5700 XT in Lockdown Protocol?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark scores—particularly the Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 32924 and single-core of 4648—place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU's 59th percentile rank and the FPS drop at higher settings indicate the graphics card is the limiting component.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain high frame rates?

A: The data shows 1080p is the sweet spot. At 1080p Low the combo averages 156 FPS, and even at 1080p High it holds 97 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops the High preset average to 71 FPS, which is still playable but less smooth.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT's 8 GB VRAM affect performance in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The 8 GB frame buffer is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the Ultra preset only yields 34 FPS average. The 256-bit bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth help, but the card's RDNA 1.0 architecture lacks the efficiency of newer parts.

Q: Should I use the Low or Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p averages 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS and maximum of 93 FPS, while Low averages 114 FPS. If you prioritize consistency, Medium is fine; if you need higher refresh rates, Low is the safer choice.

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 4K gaming?

A: The measured FPS shows a clear preference for 1080p. At 4K, even the Low preset only reaches 74 FPS average, and High drops to 46 FPS. For 4K, the GPU is overwhelmed, making 1080p the practical target.

Q: How does the combo rank against similar CPU-GPU pairings?

A: At rank 2105 out of 2828, it falls in the bottom quarter. The CPU's strong performance (90th percentile) is negated by the GPU's mid-range position (59th percentile), resulting in a pairing that underperforms for the CPU's potential.

GPU Role

The RX 5700 XT is the deciding factor in this combo's Lockdown Protocol performance. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1905 MHz. In game mode, the clock sits at 1755 MHz. These specs translate to a pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance at 9.754 TFLOPS. The card's Passmark G3D score of 16277 and DirectX 12 score of 64 (Passmark) indicate it handles modern APIs adequately but lacks the raw compute power of newer GPUs.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role shifts with resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 156 FPS average, suggesting the GPU can keep up with the CPU's frame generation. But at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 34 FPS, revealing that the 8 GB VRAM and RDNA 1.0 architecture struggle with higher pixel counts and texture loads. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2134 is modest, and its Geekbench OpenCL score of 9524 reinforces that this is a mid-tier part. The nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, scores nearly identically (0.1% difference), but the RX 5700 XT's end-of-life status means no future driver optimizations are likely. The GPU's 225 W TDP and suggested 550 W PSU are non-issues for this analysis, but the card's dual-slot design and 272 mm length are worth noting for case compatibility.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 156 FPS, while Medium averages 111 FPS with a minimum of 94 and maximum of 127. High settings drop the average to 97 FPS, and Ultra falls to 72 FPS. These numbers indicate that the CPU can feed the GPU enough frames at lower presets, but the gap between Low and Ultra (84 FPS difference) shows the GPU's limitations under heavier load.

Moving to 1440p, the pattern continues but with lower absolute values. Low settings average 114 FPS, Medium averages 81 FPS (min 69, max 93), High averages 71 FPS, and Ultra drops to 53 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 61 FPS, slightly smaller than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is becoming the primary constraint. The Medium preset's min of 69 FPS is still playable for most FPS gamers, but it is close to the 60 FPS threshold.

At 4K, the combo struggles. Medium is the only preset with full min/max data, averaging 52 FPS with a minimum of 44 and maximum of 60. Low averages 74 FPS, High drops to 46 FPS, and Ultra falls to 34 FPS. The step from 1440p to 4K is brutal: High settings lose 25 FPS (71 to 46), and Ultra loses 19 FPS (53 to 34). These figures confirm that the RX 5700 XT is not a 4K card for this game, and the 8 GB VRAM likely causes texture thrashing at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the bottleneck clearly. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 156 at 1080p to 114 at 1440p (a 27% drop) and then to 74 at 4K (a further 35% drop from 1440p). At High settings, the progression is 97 to 71 to 46, with the 1440p to 4K step representing a 35% loss. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario: as resolution increases, the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth demands grow faster than the CPU can compensate.

The CPU's role is evident in the 1080p results. At 1080p Low, 156 FPS average suggests the CPU is feeding the GPU well, but the GPU cannot translate that into higher frame rates at higher presets. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 4648 and Passmark single-thread score of 4394 indicate the CPU is not the limiting factor even at low resolutions. Instead, the GPU's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are the ceiling. At 4K, the gap between Low (74 FPS) and Ultra (34 FPS) is 40 FPS, a 54% reduction, which points to the GPU's ROPs and memory system being overwhelmed by higher resolution shading and texture work.

The data suggests that if you want to push frame rates higher, lowering resolution is more effective than lowering settings. For example, dropping from 1440p High (71 FPS) to 1080p High (97 FPS) gains 26 FPS, while dropping from 1440p High to 1440p Low (114 FPS) gains 43 FPS. However, the 1080p to 1440p step at Low settings (156 to 114 FPS) costs 42 FPS, indicating that resolution scaling is a significant factor. The limiting component is the GPU, as evidenced by the CPU's 90th percentile rank versus the GPU's 59th.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience in Lockdown Protocol, the data points to 1080p Medium as the optimal balance. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 111 FPS with a minimum of 94 and maximum of 127. This provides smooth, consistent frame times that are well above the 60 FPS threshold for competitive play. The 94 FPS minimum ensures rare drops won't hurt gameplay, and the 127 FPS maximum shows headroom for less demanding scenes. Compared to 1080p High (97 FPS average), Medium offers a 14 FPS improvement with likely minor visual compromises.

If you have a 1440p monitor, the Medium preset is still viable. The 81 FPS average with a 69 FPS minimum is playable, but the 93 FPS maximum suggests occasional dips that could be jarring. For a more stable experience at 1440p, Low settings (114 FPS average) are the safer choice, though you sacrifice visual fidelity. At 4K, no preset offers a truly smooth experience: Medium averages 52 FPS with a 44 FPS minimum, which is borderline for an FPS. Low at 74 FPS is the only 4K option that stays above 60 FPS, but it still feels less responsive than the 1080p and 1440p results.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution. At 1080p it only reaches 72 FPS average, at 1440p it drops to 53 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 34 FPS. The visual gains from Ultra over High are marginal in most games, and the FPS cost is substantial—at 1080p, Ultra is 25 FPS slower than High. For a competitive FPS like Lockdown Protocol, frame rate consistency matters more than maximum detail. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and RDNA 1.0 architecture simply cannot sustain Ultra settings at playable frame rates. Stick with Medium at 1080p or 1440p, or Low if you need higher refresh rates. The data shows that this combo's strength is in its CPU, so pair it with a faster GPU if you want to unlock higher resolutions and settings.