Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination delivers a playable but not exceptional Lockdown Protocol experience, ranking 1800th out of 2828 tested combos. The pairing places the system in the lower-middle tier of the benchmark database, with the CPU holding its own against similarly priced silicon while the GPU's 60th percentile standing among all tested graphics cards becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system that excels at 1080p, remains viable at 1440p, and struggles to maintain smooth gameplay at 4K Ultra.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process at TSMC. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz can boost up to 5.10 GHz, and it carries 24 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 3 MB of L2 cache per core. This is a desktop part with a 65W TDP, designed for the Intel Socket 1851 platform with DDR5 memory support and PCIe Gen 5 connectivity (20 CPU-only lanes). The processor's benchmark profile shows a 90th percentile standing among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48995.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p Low, the system produces 167 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all configurations. This suggests that at lower resolutions and settings, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames to reach high refresh rates. The processor's single-thread performance, reflected in a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648, appears sufficient for the game's logic and physics at these settings. However, the 14-thread configuration with no hyperthreading means the CPU relies on physical cores only, which can be a limitation in heavily threaded scenarios.

The nearest rivals to this CPU in the benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (average score 49196, -0.4% delta), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228, -0.5%), the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698, +0.6%), and the Intel Core i5-14600K (48618, +0.8%). All four rivals are within one percent of the Core Ultra 5 245's average score, indicating that this processor sits in a tightly contested performance band. The Xeon Gold 5318H and Core i5-14600K actually outperform it by 0.6% and 0.8% respectively, which is notable given the Core Ultra 5 245's newer architecture.

The multi-core performance of this CPU, as measured by Cinebench R23 at 32924 points, provides substantial headroom for background tasks while gaming. The PassMark multithread score of 38706 and floating point math score of 120548 further corroborate strong compute capabilities. In Lockdown Protocol, this translates to consistent frame delivery in CPU-bound scenarios, particularly at 1080p where the GPU is not the limiting factor. The data shows that at 1080p Ultra, the system still manages 78 FPS, indicating that the CPU can sustain high frame rates even when the GPU is working harder.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the optimal balance of visual quality and performance for this combination. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 104 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 119 FPS, with a minimum of 101 FPS and maximum of 136 FPS, making it the best choice for competitive play where frame consistency matters. The Low preset reaches 167 FPS, but the visual fidelity trade-off is substantial for a marginal benefit in most gaming scenarios.

At 1440p, the High preset produces 76 FPS average, which remains playable but approaches the edge of what many users would consider smooth. The Medium preset at 1440p offers 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS, providing a solid experience for users who want higher resolution without sacrificing too much performance. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 57 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for fast-paced FPS gameplay.

For 4K, the situation becomes more constrained. The High preset at 3840x2160 yields 49 FPS, which is borderline playable but not ideal for a competitive shooter. The Medium preset at 4K achieves 56 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 65 FPS, making it the only 4K option that approaches acceptable performance. The Ultra preset at 4K falls to 37 FPS, which is not recommended for any serious gameplay.

The data suggests that the Medium preset provides the best overall experience across all resolutions. It consistently outperforms High by 14-15% while maintaining the only measured minimum FPS values in the dataset, indicating better frame pacing. The Medium preset also offers the highest maximum FPS at each resolution, suggesting that the settings configuration allows for occasional performance headroom. For users prioritizing competitive performance, 1080p Medium delivers 119 FPS average with a 101 FPS minimum, which is the safest choice for maintaining high frame rates in intense firefights.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data reveals a clear pattern of GPU limitation as resolution increases. Starting from 1080p, the system delivers 167 FPS at Low, 119 FPS at Medium, 104 FPS at High, and 78 FPS at Ultra. Moving to 1440p, these figures drop to 123, 87, 76, and 57 FPS respectively. At 4K, the performance falls to 79, 56, 49, and 37 FPS. The percentage drops from 1080p to 4K are substantial: Low falls by 52.7%, Medium by 52.9%, High by 52.9%, and Ultra by 52.6%.

This consistent ~53% reduction across all settings when moving from 1080p to 4K strongly indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component. The Radeon RX 7600 XT, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivering 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, is simply not equipped to handle the pixel throughput demanded by 4K rendering. The GPU's 22.57 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 176.3 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient for 4K at high settings in a modern FPS title.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a more moderate decline of approximately 26-27% across all settings, which is consistent with the pixel count increase from 2.07 million to 3.69 million (a 78% increase) but tempered by the GPU's ability to maintain some efficiency at intermediate resolutions. The fact that all settings show nearly identical percentage drops suggests that the GPU is uniformly saturated at each resolution, with no single setting causing disproportionate performance loss.

The CPU's role in this scaling becomes evident when examining the 1080p results. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 167 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame delivery capability. If the CPU were the bottleneck at 1080p, we would expect to see diminishing returns when lowering settings, but the jump from Medium (119 FPS) to Low (167 FPS) represents a 40% improvement, indicating that the GPU is still the primary constraint even at 1080p. Only at the absolute lowest settings does the CPU begin to approach its limit.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination ranks 1800th out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 36th percentile of all tested systems. This ranking is notably lower than the individual component percentiles would suggest: the CPU sits at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU is at the 60th percentile among all GPUs. The discrepancy between component standings and the combo ranking highlights the GPU's role as the performance limiter in this game.

The combo ranking of 1800/2828 means that approximately 64% of tested systems outperform this configuration in Lockdown Protocol. This is a significant underperformance relative to the CPU's capabilities, suggesting that pairing this processor with a stronger GPU would yield substantially better results. The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (average score 17037, +0.3% delta), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019, +0.4%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (17208, -0.7%), and the NVIDIA Tesla M4 (16932, +0.9%). The RTX 3070's slight edge over the RX 7600 XT in average benchmark score (-0.7% delta) is particularly notable, as the RTX 3070 is an older but higher-tier card.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 17132 and average benchmark score of 17083 place it in a competitive band with these rivals, but its 60th percentile standing among all GPUs indicates that it is a mid-range performer. In the context of Lockdown Protocol, this mid-range positioning translates to the measured FPS results, which are acceptable for 1080p and 1440p gaming but fall short at 4K. The combo's 1800th rank reflects this reality, positioning it below the median in a database that includes many high-end configurations.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1080p Medium provides the best experience with 119 FPS average and a 101 FPS minimum. At 1440p Medium, the system achieves 87 FPS average, which is still playable. 4K is only viable at Medium settings with 56 FPS average and 48 FPS minimum.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, placing it within 1% of four rivals: the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49196, -0.4%), AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228, -0.5%), Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698, +0.6%), and Intel Core i5-14600K (48618, +0.8%). The Xeon Gold and i5-14600K marginally outperform it.

Q: Is the Radeon RX 7600 XT sufficient for 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: At 4K, the RX 7600 XT delivers 79 FPS at Low, 56 FPS at Medium, 49 FPS at High, and 37 FPS at Ultra. Only the Medium preset approaches acceptable playability, and even then the 48 FPS minimum may cause noticeable stutter in fast-paced scenarios.

Q: What is the CPU's performance percentile and what does it indicate?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 sits at the 90th percentile among all CPUs in the database, indicating it outperforms 90% of tested processors. Its average benchmark score of 48995 reflects strong multi-core and single-core capabilities that are not fully utilized in this game due to GPU limitations.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: The measured data shows a consistent approximately 53% reduction in average FPS across all settings when moving from 1080p to 4K. For example, Medium drops from 119 FPS to 56 FPS, and High drops from 104 FPS to 49 FPS.

Q: Does the combo ranking accurately reflect the system's gaming performance?

A: The combo ranks 1800th out of 2828, which places it below the median. This ranking aligns with the measured FPS data showing that while the system is capable at 1080p and 1440p, it struggles at 4K and is outperformed by a majority of tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol with this combo is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 167 FPS average. The Medium preset produces 119 FPS average with a minimum of 101 FPS and maximum of 136 FPS. The High preset achieves 104 FPS average, and the Ultra preset yields 78 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 89 FPS, indicating significant performance scaling with settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 123 FPS average. The Medium preset produces 87 FPS average with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS. The High preset achieves 76 FPS average, and the Ultra preset yields 57 FPS average. The spread at 1440p is 66 FPS, showing a similar scaling pattern but with reduced absolute values.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 79 FPS average. The Medium preset produces 56 FPS average with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 65 FPS. The High preset achieves 49 FPS average, and the Ultra preset yields 37 FPS average. The spread at 4K is 42 FPS, indicating that settings have a proportionally similar impact but the baseline performance is much lower.

The Medium preset is the only configuration with measured minimum and maximum FPS values at all three resolutions, providing the most complete data on frame consistency. At 1080p Medium, the system maintains a minimum of 101 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play. At 1440p Medium, the 74 FPS minimum is still acceptable. At 4K Medium, the 48 FPS minimum approaches the edge of playability.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, manufactured on a 6 nm process at TSMC. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is a substantial capacity for a mid-range card. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1980 MHz with a boost clock of 2755 MHz and a game clock of 2470 MHz. Its 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units deliver 22.57 TFLOPS FP32 performance.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity is notable for a card in this performance class. In Lockdown Protocol, the memory capacity does not appear to be a limiting factor at any resolution or setting, as the game's requirements are clearly within the card's memory budget. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, however, becomes a constraint at 4K where the demand for texture and pixel data exceeds what this 128-bit bus can efficiently deliver. This is reflected in the 4K performance figures, where even Low settings only achieve 79 FPS.

The GPU's benchmark results place it at the 60th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17083. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037, +0.3%), AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019, +0.4%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (17208, -0.7%), and NVIDIA Tesla M4 (16932, +0.9%). The RTX 3070's slight benchmark advantage translates to better performance in many games, including potentially Lockdown Protocol.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 17132 and DirectX 12 score of 65 indicate moderate DirectX 12 performance, which is directly relevant to Lockdown Protocol's rendering requirements. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2348 provides additional context for the GPU's DirectX 12 capabilities. The GPU's 190W TDP and dual-slot design with a single 8-pin power connector position it as an efficient mid-range solution that should not present installation challenges for most systems.

The 4K performance data makes it clear that the RX 7600 XT is the limiting component in this combo for Lockdown Protocol. The consistent ~53% performance drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings, combined with the GPU's 60th percentile standing, indicates that this card is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming. The 16 GB VRAM provides future-proofing for texture-heavy titles, but the underlying compute and bandwidth limitations prevent it from delivering high frame rates at 4K in demanding FPS games.