Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination delivers a highly playable Lockdown Protocol experience at 1080p and 1440p, though 4K demands significant settings compromises. This pairing, ranking 2014th out of 2828 tested combos, shows a clear performance hierarchy where the CPU provides ample headroom while the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking for Lockdown Protocol?

A: This pairing ranks 2014th out of 2828 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems. This indicates that while the combo is functional, many other configurations deliver higher frame rates in this title.

Q: What is the best resolution for 60+ FPS gameplay?

A: At 1920x1080, all four tested presets exceed 60 FPS, with even Ultra averaging 74 FPS. At 2560x1440, High and Medium presets average 72 and 83 FPS respectively, while Ultra drops to 54 FPS. For 3840x2160, only the Low preset averages above 60 FPS at 75 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265 has an average benchmark score of 64640, placing it 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F and 0.7% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7343. It trails the AMD EPYC 4464P by 0.3% and the AMD EPYC 9124 by 0.7%.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile?

A: The RX 6600 XT sits in the 70th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24442. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, scores slightly lower at 24277, making the RX 6600 XT 0.7% faster.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo averages 83 FPS with a minimum of 70 FPS and maximum of 95 FPS. This provides a smooth experience for most competitive FPS scenarios.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM limit performance at 4K?

A: The data suggests a significant drop between Low and Ultra at 3840x2160, with averages falling from 75 FPS to 35 FPS. This 40 FPS gap indicates that higher settings at 4K strain the GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core Ultra 7 265 and RX 6600 XT achieves a rank of 2014 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the pairing in the 71st percentile of tested systems, meaning roughly 29% of configurations deliver worse performance. The ranking reflects a system that can handle the game but is far from top-tier hardware.

The CPU's strong benchmark position—93rd percentile among all processors—does not translate into a similarly high combo ranking. This disparity highlights the GPU's role as the performance bottleneck in this pairing. The RX 6600 XT's 70th percentile standing among GPUs more closely aligns with the combo's overall rank.

Comparing the CPU's average benchmark score of 64640 against its nearest rivals shows tight competition. The AMD EPYC 4464P leads with a score of 64823, just 0.3% ahead. The Core Ultra 7 265F trails by a mere 0.3% with a score of 64438. These marginal differences suggest the CPU is well-matched against alternatives in its class.

The GPU's benchmark position shows similar clustering. The RX 6600 XT's score of 24442 sits between the Intel Arc A350M (24647, 0.8% faster) and the GTX 1630 (24277, 0.7% slower). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER trails by 1.1% at 24170, making the RX 6600 XT competitive within its immediate performance bracket.

Measured FPS data confirms the combo's mid-tier positioning. At 1080p, average frame rates range from 159 FPS on Low to 74 FPS on Ultra. These numbers place the system comfortably in playable territory for most users, though not at the level of high-end configurations that would push well beyond 200 FPS at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 brings substantial processing power to this pairing. With 20 cores and 20 threads, the Arrow Lake-S architecture chip provides the multi-threaded capacity that modern FPS titles can leverage. The base clock of 2.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz offer a wide dynamic range for varying workloads.

The CPU's benchmark results demonstrate strong all-around performance. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and single-core score of 5960 indicate robust capabilities for both heavily threaded and lightly threaded tasks. PassMark's multi-thread score of 49682 and single-thread score of 4689 reinforce this assessment.

For Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache helps maintain stable frame pacing during intense gameplay sequences. The 3 MB L2 cache per core and 192 KB L1 cache per core provide fast access to frequently used data. With a 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, the processor exceeds the demands of this title at all tested resolutions.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 support ensures the GPU receives data without starvation. This is particularly relevant at lower resolutions where CPU performance can limit maximum frame rates. The 1080p Low preset's 159 FPS average suggests the CPU handles even high-throughput scenarios without becoming a bottleneck.

The 65 W TDP and 3 nm TSMC process node indicate efficient operation. The processor's production status remains active, and it was released on January 6, 2025. Its launch MSRP is $394. The benchmark data shows the CPU's nearest rival is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F, which scores nearly identically at 64438 versus 64640 for the standard 265.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 159 FPS, while Medium averages 113 FPS with a minimum of 96 FPS and maximum of 130 FPS. High settings yield 99 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 74 FPS. All presets remain above the 60 FPS threshold, making 1080p the most flexible resolution for this pairing.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains respectable but shows clearer differentiation between presets. Low settings produce 117 FPS average, while Medium averages 83 FPS with a range of 70 to 95 FPS. High settings deliver 72 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 54 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution spans 63 FPS, indicating significant scaling demands.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Low settings still manage 75 FPS average, but Medium drops to 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS and maximum of 61 FPS. High settings average 47 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 35 FPS. Only the Low preset maintains playable frame rates above 60 FPS at this resolution.

The scaling patterns across resolutions show expected behavior. At 1080p, the step from Low to Ultra costs 85 FPS (159 to 74), representing a 53% reduction. At 1440p, the same preset transition costs 63 FPS (117 to 54), a 54% reduction. At 4K, the drop is 40 FPS (75 to 35), a 53% reduction. This consistency suggests the GPU hits similar relative limits across resolutions.

The Medium preset at each resolution provides the only complete data set with minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p, the 96-130 FPS range shows tight frame pacing. At 1440p, the 70-95 FPS range demonstrates slightly wider variance. At 4K, the 45-61 FPS range indicates more pronounced frame time fluctuations, likely due to VRAM pressure.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT serves as the primary performance limiter in this pairing. Built on the Navi 23 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, this GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs handle rendering tasks, while 32 ray tracing cores provide hardware acceleration for supported effects.

The GPU's clock speeds show a boost clock of 2589 MHz and a game clock of 2359 MHz. The base clock runs at 1968 MHz. These frequencies, combined with the 10.60 TFLOPS FP32 performance, provide adequate compute for Lockdown Protocol at most settings. The 160 W TDP suggests moderate power requirements.

In benchmark tests, the RX 6600 XT achieves a PassMark G3D score of 16461 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1804. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 72417 and OpenCL score of 80503 demonstrate solid API performance. These numbers place the GPU in the 70th percentile among all graphics cards.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity becomes a critical factor at higher resolutions and settings. The 4K Ultra preset's 35 FPS average, compared to 75 FPS at Low, indicates that memory bandwidth and capacity constraints significantly impact performance. The 256.0 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but struggles to feed the GPU at 4K with higher-quality textures.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A350M, which scores 0.8% higher at 24647, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, which scores 0.7% lower at 24277. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER trails by 1.1% at 24170. These close margins suggest the RX 6600 XT sits in a densely populated performance tier.

The GPU's production status is end-of-life, with a release date of July 29, 2021. Its launch MSRP is 379 USD. The card uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, which provides sufficient bandwidth for most gaming workloads. Display outputs include 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, supporting modern monitors.

Settings Recommendations

For 1920x1080 gaming, the Ultra preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance at 74 FPS average. Players seeking maximum frame rates can use Low settings to reach 159 FPS, but the Medium preset at 113 FPS provides a strong middle ground with a 96 FPS minimum ensuring consistent gameplay.

At 2560x1440, High settings deliver 72 FPS average, which suits most players. The Medium preset at 83 FPS offers smoother performance with a 70 FPS minimum, making it the recommended choice for competitive play. Ultra at 54 FPS remains playable but may feel less responsive during fast-paced action sequences.

For 3840x2160, the Low preset at 75 FPS is the only option that maintains 60+ FPS gameplay. Medium at 53 FPS with a 45 FPS minimum introduces noticeable frame drops, while High at 47 FPS and Ultra at 35 FPS fail to provide consistently smooth experiences. Players prioritizing 4K should stick to Low settings or consider lowering the resolution.

The data shows that Medium settings at 1440p (83 FPS) outperform High settings at 4K (47 FPS) by a significant margin. Similarly, High at 1080p (99 FPS) beats Ultra at 1440p (54 FPS). These comparisons suggest that resolution scaling has a greater impact on performance than preset changes within this GPU's capabilities.

For the best overall experience, the 1440p Medium preset stands out as the optimal configuration. The 83 FPS average with 70 FPS minimum provides smooth gameplay while maintaining visual fidelity above Low settings. The 95 FPS maximum indicates headroom for less demanding scenes, ensuring consistent performance throughout matches.

Players with 1080p monitors can comfortably use Ultra settings at 74 FPS, while those with 1440p displays should favor Medium or High. The 4K resolution should be reserved for Low settings or avoided entirely unless frame rates below 60 FPS are acceptable. The measured data from all resolution and settings combinations supports these recommendations.