Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers a consistent 1080p and 1440p gaming experience in Lockdown Protocol, but the data indicates that 4K Ultra settings are beyond this combination's comfortable reach. The measured frame rates show a clear pattern: the graphics card is the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings, while the 20-core processor provides ample headroom at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the measured performance data to offer practical settings advice and contextualize the results against other tested combinations.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data shows that the Medium preset is the optimal choice for this CPU-GPU pairing, providing the best balance between visual fidelity and frame rate stability. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 124 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS, offering a smooth experience that remains well above the 60 FPS threshold even during demanding scenes. The frame time consistency, indicated by the spread between minimum and maximum values, is notably tighter at Medium than at other settings, suggesting fewer stutters and a more predictable performance profile.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset still holds up admirably with an average of 91 FPS, a minimum of 77 FPS, and a maximum of 105 FPS. This makes it the only settings tier at 1440p that maintains an average above 90 FPS while keeping the minimum above 75 FPS, which is critical for competitive FPS gameplay where frame drops can be the difference between winning and losing an engagement. The High preset at 1440p dips to 80 FPS average, which is playable but leaves less margin for demanding in-game moments.

For users who prioritize maximum visual quality, the Ultra preset is not recommended for this combination. At 1080p, Ultra yields an average of 81 FPS, which is acceptable, but at 1440p it drops to 60 FPS average, and at 4K it falls to 39 FPS—all of which are below the smoothness standard set by the Medium preset. The data suggests that the performance cost of Ultra settings is disproportionately high relative to the visual gains, particularly when compared to the solid 91 FPS average available at Medium 1440p.

The Low preset, while achieving high frame rates of 175 FPS at 1080p and 128 FPS at 1440p, sacrifices too much visual quality for the performance gain. Given that the Medium preset already delivers frame rates well above typical high-refresh monitor capabilities at both 1080p and 1440p, the Low preset's extra performance comes at the cost of visual fidelity that most players would find unnecessary. The sweet spot is clearly Medium, where the combination of average frame rates, minimum frame rates, and visual quality produces the most coherent experience across all tested resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth plays a defining role in Lockdown Protocol's performance characteristics. The GPU's memory configuration appears sufficient for the Medium preset across all resolutions, but the data suggests that Ultra settings stress the memory subsystem, as evidenced by the disproportionate frame rate drops when moving from High to Ultra. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 39, which is a 24% reduction from the 4K High result of 51 FPS—a performance cliff that indicates the GPU is running out of resources rather than raw compute power.

The clock speeds of the RX 9060—1700 MHz base, 2400 MHz game clock, and 2990 MHz boost—provide the compute throughput necessary for solid 1080p performance. The GPU's 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, combined with 21.43 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, deliver the raw processing power seen in the benchmark results. However, the 8 GB memory capacity becomes the bottleneck at higher settings, particularly at 4K where the frame rate drops precipitously regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

The PCIe 5.0 x16 interface and 132 W TDP suggest the card is designed for mainstream systems, and the benchmark data reflects this positioning. The GPU's percentile rank of 59 against all tested GPUs, combined with an average benchmark score of 16014, places it in the mid-range tier. The nearest rival data shows it performing 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and 1% above the AMD Radeon RX 7700, confirming that Lockdown Protocol's performance aligns with the card's general compute capabilities.

The 4K results across all settings—83 FPS at Low, 59 FPS at Medium, 51 FPS at High, and 39 FPS at Ultra—demonstrate that the RX 9060 can handle 4K only at reduced settings. The 288.0 GB/s memory bandwidth appears adequate for Low and Medium settings at 4K, but the Ultra preset's demands exceed what the 8 GB frame buffer can efficiently manage. This is a classic case where the GPU's memory capacity, not its compute capability, determines the ceiling for high-resolution performance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals where the performance bottleneck lies in this system. At Medium settings, the RX 9060 delivers 124 FPS at 1080p, 91 FPS at 1440p (a 27% drop), and 59 FPS at 4K (a 35% drop from 1440p). This progressive decline indicates that the GPU is the limiting component as resolution increases, which is expected given the RX 9060's mid-range positioning.

The High settings tier shows a similar pattern: 109 FPS at 1080p, 80 FPS at 1440p (a 27% drop), and 51 FPS at 4K (a 36% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings tiers suggests that resolution scaling is governed by the GPU's memory bandwidth and capacity rather than its compute units. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, while respectable for a 128-bit card, becomes increasingly strained as pixel count rises.

The Low settings tier exhibits the steepest absolute drop: 175 FPS at 1080p, 128 FPS at 1440p (a 27% drop), and 83 FPS at 4K (a 35% drop from 1440p). The fact that even at Low settings the 4K result falls below 100 FPS indicates that the GPU's raw fill rate, rated at 191.4 GPixel/s, is the primary constraint at 4K. The 175 FPS at 1080p Low suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions, as the Core Ultra 7 265's 20 threads and high single-thread performance can feed the GPU adequately.

The scaling pattern strongly suggests that the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is not limiting performance at any tested resolution. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and single-core score of 5960 indicate substantial processing headroom. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is most likely to be the bottleneck, the 175 FPS result is well below what the CPU could theoretically support, meaning the RX 9060 is the performance ceiling across the entire resolution range.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full spectrum of settings produces the following average frame rates: Low delivers 175 FPS, Medium delivers 124 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS and maximum of 143 FPS, High delivers 109 FPS, and Ultra delivers 81 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum frame rate of 106 FPS is particularly noteworthy, as it remains above 100 FPS even in demanding moments, ensuring a consistently smooth experience on standard 60 Hz and 144 Hz displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably: Low averages 128 FPS, Medium averages 91 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS and maximum of 105 FPS, High averages 80 FPS, and Ultra averages 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p maintains a minimum of 77 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS standard but leaves less headroom for high-refresh 1440p monitors. The Ultra preset's 60 FPS average exactly meets the 60 FPS baseline but offers no margin for frame drops.

At 3840x2160, the results demonstrate the GPU's limitations: Low averages 83 FPS, Medium averages 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS and maximum of 68 FPS, High averages 51 FPS, and Ultra averages 39 FPS. Only the Low preset at 4K achieves a playable average above 60 FPS, and even that comes with the visual compromises inherent to Low settings. The Medium preset's 59 FPS average and 50 FPS minimum indicate that 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings or with significant settings tweaks.

The data shows that the performance gap between Low and Medium is consistent across resolutions: approximately 51 FPS at 1080p, 37 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. This narrowing gap at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU's memory bandwidth becomes the limiting factor, as the incremental load from Medium settings is harder to sustain as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks 1647 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 58th percentile of all configurations. This mid-pack ranking is consistent with the component-level data: the CPU ranks in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 64640, while the GPU ranks in the 59th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 16014.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals shows it is well-matched within its tier. It scores 0.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 4464P, 0.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F, 0.7% higher than the AMD EPYC 7343, and 0.7% lower than the AMD EPYC 9124. These minuscule deltas indicate that the Core Ultra 7 265 is squarely in the middle of its performance class, offering no significant advantage or disadvantage over comparable server and desktop processors.

On the GPU side, the RX 9060's nearest rivals paint a similar picture. It scores 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, 1% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 370X, 1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7700, and 2.1% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5500. The tight clustering of these scores—spanning less than 3% total—suggests that the RX 9060 is extremely competitive within its performance bracket, with no clear winner among these comparable cards.

The combo rank of 1647 out of 2828 indicates that while this pairing is not a top-tier performer, it is far from the bottom. The combination's rank is dragged down by the GPU's mid-range positioning, as the CPU alone would place much higher. In practical terms, this means the Core Ultra 7 265 is overqualified for the RX 9060 in Lockdown Protocol, and users could achieve similar gaming performance with a less powerful CPU without sacrificing frame rates. The data suggests that future GPU upgrades would unlock the CPU's full gaming potential, as the Ultra 7 265's 20-core configuration and 5.30 GHz boost clock provide substantial headroom for more demanding graphics cards.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: The Medium preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 91 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS and a maximum of 105 FPS. The High preset drops to 80 FPS average, which is less stable, while Ultra falls to 60 FPS average with no margin for frame drops.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Only at Low settings, which achieves an average of 83 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS, which is borderline playable but risks noticeable stutters. High and Ultra presets at 4K are not recommended, averaging 51 FPS and 39 FPS respectively.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 or the AMD Radeon RX 9060 the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck across all tested resolutions. The RX 9060's 8 GB memory capacity and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth limit performance at higher settings, while the CPU's substantial compute power (Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42216) provides ample headroom that is never fully utilized.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: It ranks 1647 out of 2828 tested combos, placing it in the middle of the pack. The CPU ranks in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 59th percentile, indicating that the system's overall ranking is determined by the graphics card.

Q: What are the key differences between the Medium and High presets at 1080p?

A: Medium delivers 124 FPS average with a 106 FPS minimum, while High delivers 109 FPS average. The 15 FPS difference between presets may be noticeable on high-refresh monitors, and Medium's tighter frame pacing (106-143 FPS range versus High's unspecified variance) provides a more consistent experience.

Q: Does this GPU perform similarly to other cards in its class?

A: Yes, the RX 9060 scores within 1% of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 and within 0.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. Its average benchmark score of 16014 places it in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, confirming its mid-range status.