Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol places the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination at rank 1275 out of 2828 tested combos. This position places the pairing in the 55th percentile of all configurations tested, meaning it outperforms a slim majority of systems while remaining firmly in the mid-pack. The data indicates a balanced pairing where neither component dramatically boosts the overall standing, but the combination is far from a bottom-tier performer. In practical terms, this rank suggests the system handles the game’s FPS demands competently, though it does not threaten the upper echelons of the leaderboard where high-end GPUs dominate.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1275 out of 2828 represents a median-tier outcome for Lockdown Protocol. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 sits at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs tested, indicating strong processing capability, while the AMD Radeon RX 7700 holds the 58th percentile among all GPUs. This disparity suggests the graphics card is the limiting factor in the pairing’s overall game rank, as the CPU’s headroom is not fully utilized at most settings. The measured FPS data supports this, showing that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 200 FPS, but this drops to 93 FPS at 1080p Ultra—a performance scaling pattern typical of GPU-bound scenarios.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the CPU’s average benchmark score of 64640 places it within 0.7% of the AMD EPYC 7343 and 0.3% of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F. The GPU’s average score of 15852 sits 1.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and 1% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9060. These deltas are minor, meaning that swapping to any of these near-identical components would yield negligible changes in Lockdown Protocol’s frame rates. The combination’s rank is therefore stable, not fragile—small hardware variations do not push it into a different performance tier.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimal settings based on resolution. At 3840x2160, High settings deliver 59 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold many players consider smooth. Medium settings at 4K yield 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS, offering a more consistent experience with only a slight visual trade-off. Ultra at 4K drops to 44 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less fluid, making Medium the best balance for 4K.

At 2560x1440, High settings produce 91 FPS, while Medium hits 104 FPS with a minimum of 88 FPS. The difference between these two is small enough that High is the recommended preset for visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. Low at 1440p reaches 147 FPS, but the jump from Medium to Low is not worth the graphical downgrade for most users. Ultra at 1440p at 68 FPS remains viable but offers diminishing returns over High.

For 1920x1080, Medium delivers 142 FPS with a minimum of 121 FPS, which is the sweet spot for competitive play. High reaches 124 FPS, still above the 120 FPS threshold, but Medium’s higher minimum frame rate reduces stutter risk. Low at 1080p hits 200 FPS, ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, but the visual compromise is substantial. The data shows that Medium at 1080p is the strongest recommendation, offering 142 FPS average with the best combination of smoothness and quality across all presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the strongest resolution, with Medium settings achieving 142 FPS average and a 121 FPS minimum. At 2560x1440, Medium drops to 104 FPS, and at 3840x2160, Medium falls to 67 FPS, making 1080p the only resolution where the system comfortably exceeds 120 FPS.

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

A: The Intel 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%, indicating near-identical performance across all four processors.

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck in this system for Lockdown Protocol?

A: Yes. The GPU ranks at the 58th percentile (avg score 15852) while the CPU ranks at the 93rd percentile (avg score 64640). The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent drop, with 1080p High at 124 FPS falling to 59 FPS at 4K High, which is a 52% reduction, indicating GPU-bound behavior rather than CPU limitations.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded in the data is 57 FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 88 FPS, and at 1920x1080 Medium, it is 121 FPS. No minimum values are provided for other settings.

Q: How does the GPU’s performance compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15852, which is 1.7% lower than the RTX 3060 Ti’s 16129. This translates to a negligible difference in Lockdown Protocol, meaning the two GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in practice.

Q: Does the combo support high refresh rate gaming?

A: At 1080p, yes. Low settings reach 200 FPS, Medium reaches 142 FPS, and High reaches 124 FPS, all exceeding 120 Hz. At 1440p, only Low surpasses 144 Hz at 147 FPS. At 4K, no settings exceed 100 FPS, with the maximum being 95 FPS at Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its most robust performance. Low settings produce 200 FPS average, the highest recorded value across all resolutions. Medium settings yield 142 FPS with a 121 FPS minimum and 163 FPS maximum. High settings achieve 124 FPS, and Ultra drops to 93 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 107 FPS difference, with each preset tier costing roughly 25-30 FPS. This scaling is steep but consistent, indicating the GPU handles the load well at lower presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are notable but manageable. Low settings hit 147 FPS, a 26% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium reaches 104 FPS with an 88 FPS minimum and 120 FPS maximum. High settings produce 91 FPS, and Ultra falls to 68 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 79 FPS, narrower than at 1080p, suggesting that resolution scaling begins to compress the settings range as the GPU works harder.

At 3840x2160, the system’s limits become apparent. Low settings reach 95 FPS, Medium yields 67 FPS with a 57 FPS minimum and 77 FPS maximum, High drops to 59 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 44 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 51 FPS, indicating that the GPU is saturated at this resolution, and settings changes have less impact than at lower resolutions. The 4K Medium setting is the only one with a recorded minimum, suggesting it is the most stable preset at this resolution.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is substantial for Lockdown Protocol, which does not appear to be VRAM-limited based on the measured FPS. The GPU’s clock speeds are 1900 MHz base, 2041 MHz game, and 2459 MHz boost, with the game clock representing the typical sustained frequency under load. The RDNA 3.0 architecture with 2560 shading units and 96 ROPs delivers a 25.18 TFLOPS FP32 rating, which the data shows is sufficient for 1080p gaming but struggles at 4K Ultra.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reveal its positioning: the Passmark G3D score of 20974 is its strongest result, while the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2865 indicates moderate DirectX 12 performance. The nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9060, scores 16014, just 1% higher, confirming that the RX 7700 sits at a specific performance tier. The GPU’s 58th percentile ranking means it outperforms the majority of GPUs tested, but in Lockdown Protocol, the 4K Ultra result of 44 FPS shows that it cannot maintain high frame rates at maximum settings and resolution simultaneously.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 provides 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This configuration is powerful for a desktop processor, and the benchmark results confirm its strength: the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 is exceptionally high, while the single-core score of 5960 shows solid per-thread performance. The 30 MB shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data storage for game logic, though Lockdown Protocol’s FPS data does not suggest CPU bottlenecks at any resolution.

The CPU’s 93rd percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 64640 place it well above the GPU’s relative standing. In Lockdown Protocol, this means the CPU is rarely the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 200 FPS, and even at 1080p Ultra, it maintains 93 FPS—both results indicate that the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently at all settings. The nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 4464P, scores 64823, just 0.3% higher, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F scores 64438, 0.3% lower, confirming the CPU’s position in the market. The 20-thread design ensures that any background tasks or game engine threads do not starve the main rendering pipeline.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a clear pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, 1080p produces 124 FPS, 1440p produces 91 FPS, and 4K produces 59 FPS. This represents a 27% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 52% drop from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is not linear—the jump from 1440p to 4K costs 32 FPS, while the jump from 1080p to 1440p costs 33 FPS, showing that the GPU’s workload increases disproportionately at higher resolutions.

At Low settings, the pattern is similar but steeper: 1080p yields 200 FPS, 1440p yields 147 FPS (a 27% drop), and 4K yields 95 FPS (a 53% drop from 1080p). This consistent percentage drop across settings indicates that the GPU is the primary limiter throughout, as the CPU’s performance headroom is not exhausted even at 1080p Low. The Medium settings data, which includes minimum and maximum values, shows a 58 FPS reduction from 1080p (142 FPS) to 4K (67 FPS), reinforcing this conclusion.

The resolution scaling analysis points to a GPU-bound system. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, but the data shows a steady decline. The CPU’s 93rd percentile ranking versus the GPU’s 58th percentile supports this, as the processor has ample capability to handle the game’s logic at any resolution, while the GPU’s pixel-pushing capacity diminishes as pixel count increases. For players seeking higher FPS at 4K, lowering settings from High to Medium provides a 8 FPS gain (59 to 67 FPS), but the most effective strategy is to reduce resolution to 1440p, which yields 91 FPS at High settings—a 54% improvement over 4K High.