Lockdown Protocol

FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank for this CPU and GPU pairing in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT ranks 2105 out of 2828 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. That places it in the lower half of all tested hardware combos, suggesting the GPU is the primary constraint for this game's performance.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its closest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The RX 5700 XT has an average benchmark score of 16361. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, scores 16351, which is 0.1% lower. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell scores 16408, just 0.3% higher, and the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 scores 16415, also 0.3% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 leads the group at 16504, 0.9% ahead.

Q: What is the best average FPS achievable at 1080p with this hardware?

A: The highest average FPS recorded at 1920x1080 is 156, achieved with Low settings. Medium settings deliver 111 FPS average, High settings deliver 97 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 72 FPS average.

Q: Does the Core Ultra 7 265 outperform or underperform its nearest rivals in overall CPU benchmarks?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265 has an average benchmark score of 64640. It slightly trails the AMD EPYC 4464P, which scores 64823 (0.3% higher), and the AMD EPYC 9124, which scores 65104 (0.7% higher). It edges out the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F by 0.3% (64438) and the AMD EPYC 7343 by 0.7% (64202).

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 97 at 1920x1080 to 71 at 2560x1440, and then to 46 at 3840x2160. This represents a 52.6% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, indicating that resolution scaling heavily impacts the GPU workload.

Q: Is the CPU's performance percentile high compared to other CPUs?

A: Yes, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 ranks in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs. This indicates that the processor is far above average in overall compute performance, which is consistent with its strong multi-core and single-core benchmark scores.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture with the Navi 10 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It packs 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1605 MHz, a game clock of 1755 MHz, and a boost clock of 1905 MHz. Memory runs at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective speed across an 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer on a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

In Lockdown Protocol, the measured FPS results show that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 34, which is barely playable. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is relevant here because modern FPS games at 4K with high texture quality can push beyond that capacity, though the data does not explicitly show VRAM exhaustion. What the data does show is a clear scaling pattern: moving from Low to Ultra settings at any given resolution produces a substantial FPS penalty. At 1080p, the spread from Low (156 FPS) to Ultra (72 FPS) is 84 FPS. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 61 FPS (114 to 53). At 4K, the spread is 40 FPS (74 to 34).

The GPU's compute capabilities, rated at 9.754 TFLOPS FP32 and 19.51 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1), suggest it has enough raw throughput for 1080p gaming but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K. The texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s are modest by modern standards, which explains the significant performance drop at 3840x2160. The GPU's percentile ranking of 59 among all GPUs places it just above the midpoint, indicating it is an average performer in the broader GPU landscape. Its average benchmark score of 16361 sits within 0.9% of its nearest rivals, including the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell and RTX 5090 D V2, though those are clearly workstation and flagship parts respectively.

The Radeon RX 5700 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. These API compatibility levels are sufficient for Lockdown Protocol, which is an FPS title that likely benefits from modern draw call handling. The GPU's 225 W TDP and dual-slot cooler design indicate it is a power-hungry part that requires adequate cooling, though the measured FPS data does not include thermal throttling information.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 156 at 1080p to 114 at 1440p (a 26.9% drop), and then to 74 at 4K (a 35.1% drop from 1440p). The total reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 82 FPS, representing a 52.6% decrease.

At Medium settings, the progression is 111 FPS at 1080p, 81 FPS at 1440p (27.0% drop), and 52 FPS at 4K (35.8% drop from 1440p). The total drop is 59 FPS, or 53.2%. The min and max FPS values at Medium settings show that the frame time consistency also suffers at higher resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the range is 94 to 127 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 69 to 93 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range narrows to 44 to 60 FPS.

High settings show a similar trend: 97 FPS at 1080p, 71 FPS at 1440p (26.8% drop), and 46 FPS at 4K (35.2% drop from 1440p). The total drop is 51 FPS, or 52.6%. Ultra settings produce 72 FPS at 1080p, 53 FPS at 1440p (26.4% drop), and 34 FPS at 4K (35.8% drop from 1440p). The total drop is 38 FPS, or 52.8%.

The consistent percentage drops across all settings presets indicate that the scaling is resolution-bound rather than settings-bound. This is a classic sign that the GPU is the limiting component. The RX 5700 XT's 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 8 GB VRAM are sufficient for 1080p but become strained as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K. The fill rate requirements at 4K exceed what the GPU's 64 ROPs and 121.9 GPixel/s pixel rate can comfortably deliver.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for the best experience. At 1920x1080, Low settings deliver 156 FPS average, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on gaming monitors. Medium settings still provide 111 FPS average with a minimum of 94 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. High settings reduce the average to 97 FPS, and Ultra drops to 72 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Low settings are the only preset that maintains a triple-digit average at 114 FPS. Medium settings fall to 81 FPS average with a minimum of 69 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal for competitive FPS play. High settings produce 71 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 53 FPS.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves a 60 FPS average. Low settings come closest at 74 FPS average, but Medium drops to 52 FPS average with a minimum of 44 FPS. High and Ultra produce 46 and 34 FPS averages respectively, which are borderline unplayable for a fast-paced FPS.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, Medium settings at 1080p are the recommended choice. The 111 FPS average with a 94 FPS minimum provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while offering improved visuals over Low. At 1440p, Low settings are the only viable option for competitive play, delivering 114 FPS average. For players prioritizing visual fidelity at 1440p, Medium settings at 81 FPS average are acceptable for casual play.

At 4K, players should stick to Low settings to achieve 74 FPS average, as any higher preset falls below 60 FPS. The data shows that the RX 5700 XT is not a 4K-capable GPU for Lockdown Protocol at high visual quality. The combination rank of 2105 out of 2828 confirms that this hardware pairing is better suited to 1080p or 1440p gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RX 5700 XT with the Core Ultra 7 265 delivers the following average FPS: Low settings produce 156 FPS, Medium settings produce 111 FPS with a minimum of 94 FPS and maximum of 127 FPS, High settings produce 97 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 72 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 84 FPS, showing that the GPU has headroom at this resolution but that Ultra settings impose a significant penalty.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low settings deliver 114 FPS average, Medium settings deliver 81 FPS average with a minimum of 69 FPS and maximum of 93 FPS, High settings deliver 71 FPS average, and Ultra settings deliver 53 FPS average. The spread narrows to 61 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low settings deliver 74 FPS average, Medium settings deliver 52 FPS average with a minimum of 44 FPS and maximum of 60 FPS, High settings deliver 46 FPS average, and Ultra settings deliver 34 FPS average. The spread narrows further to 40 FPS, confirming that the GPU is fully saturated at 4K and that settings changes have diminishing returns.

The Medium settings rows are the only ones with min and max FPS data. At 1080p, the 94 to 127 FPS range indicates a 33 FPS variance. At 1440p, the 69 to 93 FPS range shows a 24 FPS variance. At 4K, the 44 to 60 FPS range shows a 16 FPS variance. This suggests that frame pacing becomes more consistent at higher resolutions, likely because the GPU is consistently bottlenecked rather than fluctuating between CPU and GPU limits.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with 102.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

In CPU benchmarks, the Core Ultra 7 265 scores 42216 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5960 in single-core. The PassMark multithread score is 49682, and the single-thread score is 4689. These numbers indicate a strong processor that should not bottleneck the RX 5700 XT in Lockdown Protocol, especially at lower resolutions where CPU overhead is more significant. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs reinforces this assessment.

The nearest rivals in CPU benchmark scores include the AMD EPYC 4464P at 64823 (0.3% higher), the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F at 64438 (0.3% lower), the AMD EPYC 7343 at 64202 (0.7% lower), and the AMD EPYC 9124 at 65104 (0.7% higher). These deltas are minimal, indicating that the Core Ultra 7 265 performs on par with these server-class chips in aggregate benchmarks.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's 20 cores and 20 threads are more than sufficient for the game's threading model. The high boost clock of 5.30 GHz benefits single-threaded game logic, while the 30 MB L3 cache helps with data locality. The CPU's 65 W TDP suggests efficient power delivery, though the measured FPS data does not include power consumption metrics.

The PassMark physics score of 2923 and floating-point math score of 172776 indicate strong computational throughput. The data encryption score of 40456 and data compression score of 522983 further demonstrate the CPU's versatility. These scores are not directly tied to game performance, but they suggest that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this pairing.

Given that the combo rank is 2105 out of 2828, the data strongly suggests that the RX 5700 XT is the bottleneck in this system for Lockdown Protocol. The CPU has ample headroom, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1080p Low (156 FPS) where CPU overhead is typically highest. If the CPU were limiting performance, we would expect to see smaller FPS gains from lowering resolution, but the consistent 52-53% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings presets points squarely at the GPU as the performance ceiling.