Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, an FPS released on 2024-03-11, presents a demanding workload for the tested configuration of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 processor paired with the Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics. Analyzing the measured frame rates reveals a combination that is severely constrained by its graphics subsystem, particularly at higher resolutions and quality settings. The data indicates that while the CPU holds a strong position in general processing benchmarks, the GPU's performance places it near the bottom of the hardware hierarchy, resulting in a gaming experience that is only viable at the lowest settings and resolutions. This analysis will break down the measured FPS data, contextualize the component roles, and provide a methodical assessment of this pairing's capabilities in Lockdown Protocol.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combination for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The combo ranks 2512 out of 2828 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 11% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo can achieve at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS recorded at 1920x1080 is 88, which is achieved with the Low settings preset.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers an average of 65 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers an average of 30 FPS. This represents a 54% reduction in average frame rate when moving to Ultra settings.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 1482 is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, and 2.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM. It ranks in the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS recorded is 25, with a maximum of 34 and an average of 30 FPS.

Q: What are the CPU's core and thread counts?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 has 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark data places the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and Intel Arc B390 combination at rank 2512 out of 2828 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This position, within the bottom 11% of all configurations, clearly indicates that this is not a high-performance gaming setup for this title. The ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's capabilities, as the Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) rather than a discrete solution. Its performance percentile of 9 versus all GPUs underscores its position in the lower echelon of graphics hardware.

The CPU, in contrast, is a high-end desktop processor. Its percentile of 93 versus all CPUs demonstrates that it outperforms the vast majority of processors in general compute benchmarks. The data shows the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 has an average benchmark score of 64640, which is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F and 0.7% higher than the AMD EPYC 7343, while being 0.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 4464P and 0.7% lower than the AMD EPYC 9124. This indicates that the processor is not a bottleneck in this system, and the low gaming rank is almost entirely attributable to the graphics solution. The measured FPS data supports this conclusion; even at 1080p Low, the average frame rate is 88, which is playable but not exceptional, and it drops off rapidly with increased graphical demands.

The combination's rank is a reflection of the severe imbalance between a top-tier CPU and a bottom-tier GPU. In the context of Lockdown Protocol, this pairing is unable to leverage the CPU's substantial processing power for high frame rates due to the GPU's limited fill rate and shading capabilities. The data suggests that this configuration would be more suited for productivity tasks or light gaming at very low resolutions and settings, but it is not competitive for a smooth gaming experience in this specific FPS title at higher quality presets.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience for this combination is achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset. This is the only configuration that consistently delivers an average frame rate above 60 FPS, coming in at 88 FPS. This provides a playable, though not high-refresh-rate, experience. The Medium preset at 1080p yields an average of 63 FPS, which is also technically playable, but its minimum FPS of 53 suggests potential for noticeable stuttering in demanding scenes. The 1440p Low preset is the only other configuration that breaks the 60 FPS mark, averaging 65 FPS, but the jump to 1080p Low offers a higher average.

For users prioritizing smoothness over visual fidelity, 1080p Low is the clear choice. If a slightly higher visual quality is desired and the user can tolerate occasional frame drops, 1080p Medium is a viable alternative. The Ultra presets at any resolution are not recommended, as they all result in average frame rates at or below 41 FPS, which is below the threshold for a smooth competitive FPS experience. The 4K resolution, regardless of settings, is not suitable for this game with this hardware, with the best average FPS at that resolution being 42 on Low. The data indicates that the performance cost of higher settings far outweighs the visual benefit for this GPU, making Low and Medium the only practical presets for Lockdown Protocol.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution and settings increase. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 88 FPS. Moving to Medium reduces this to 63 FPS, with a minimum of 53 and a maximum of 72. The High preset at 1080p yields 55 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 41 FPS. This shows a clear correlation between settings and frame rate at this resolution, with a 47 FPS difference between the Low and Ultra presets.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 65 FPS, which is a 26% decrease from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 46 FPS, with a minimum of 39 and a maximum of 53. High settings at 1440p produce an average of 40 FPS, while Ultra settings fall to 30 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 35 FPS. The data shows that 1440p is only playable at Low settings, with the 65 FPS average being the only result above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal at best. The Low preset is the only one that achieves an average above 30 FPS, coming in at 42 FPS. The Medium preset averages 30 FPS, with a minimum of 25 and a maximum of 34, indicating significant frame pacing issues. High settings at 4K drop the average to 26 FPS, and Ultra settings bring it down to 19 FPS. These numbers are well below playable levels for an FPS, confirming that 4K is not a viable resolution for this hardware in Lockdown Protocol. The data shows a steep performance cliff when moving from 1440p to 4K, regardless of the settings preset.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, specifically from the Arc Graphics-M (Panther Lake) generation. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it uses a portion of the system's main DDR5 memory, with its bandwidth being "System Dependent." This is a fundamental limitation compared to discrete GPUs with dedicated VRAM, as the memory bandwidth is shared with the CPU and is dependent on the system's overall memory configuration.

The GPU's compute specifications are modest. It features 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. It also includes 12 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, and FP16 performance is 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1). In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, it scored 1482 points. This score places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all older, low-end NVIDIA discrete GPUs, such as the GeForce GT 520MX and the GeForce GT 710. This data paints a clear picture of a GPU that is designed for basic graphical output and light workloads, not for demanding 3D gaming.

These specifications directly explain the measured FPS results in Lockdown Protocol. The low number of shading units and the shared memory interface create a bottleneck that caps performance. The GPU's limited fill rate is evident in the significant frame rate drops when moving from Low to High settings, which typically increase the resolution of textures and the complexity of shaders. The data shows that the GPU is the definitive limiting factor in this configuration, as its performance is insufficient to keep up with the CPU's ability to feed it frames. The high boost clock of 2500 MHz cannot compensate for the lack of raw compute throughput and memory bandwidth.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread desktop processor from the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It features a 30 MB shared L3 cache and a 3 MB per-core L2 cache. Memory support is DDR5, with a dual-channel bus providing a theoretical bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. The CPU's robust specifications are reflected in its benchmark scores, which include a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and a single-core score of 5960. Its average benchmark score is 64640, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and AI, and to prepare draw calls for the GPU. The benchmark data suggests that the Core Ultra 7 265 is more than capable of handling these tasks. Its high multi-threaded performance ensures that it will not be a bottleneck in most gaming scenarios. The nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score—the AMD EPYC 4464P and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F—are all server or high-end desktop parts, confirming the CPU's high level of performance.

However, this processing power is largely wasted in this particular configuration. The measured FPS data shows that performance is consistently low, even at 1080p Low. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a significant difference in performance between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution, as the CPU load would increase with more complex scenes. While there is a difference, it is not as pronounced as what would be seen with a more capable GPU. The frame rate drop from 88 FPS at 1080p Low to 41 FPS at 1080p Ultra is substantial, but it is more indicative of the GPU struggling with the increased rendering load than the CPU failing to keep up. The CPU's high boost clock of 5.30 GHz and 20 cores provide ample headroom for the game's logic, meaning the system is heavily GPU-bound. The data demonstrates that the CPU is a high-performance component that is being held back by the integrated graphics, making it a poor pairing for gaming.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data across resolutions reveals a predictable pattern of performance degradation that is characteristic of a GPU-bound system. When comparing the Low settings preset, the average FPS drops from 88 at 1920x1080 to 65 at 2560x1440, a 26% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 65 to 42, a 35% decrease. This trend is consistent across all settings. For Medium settings, the averages are 63 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. The High preset shows a similar pattern: 55 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with averages of 41, 30, and 19 FPS across the three resolutions.

The percentage drop in FPS from 1080p to 4K is substantial. For the Low preset, the drop from 88 to 42 FPS represents a 52% reduction in average performance. For Medium, it is a 52% reduction (63 to 30 FPS). The High preset sees a 53% reduction (55 to 26 FPS), and Ultra sees a 54% reduction (41 to 19 FPS). The consistency of this reduction across all settings is a key indicator of the limiting component. The number of pixels being rendered increases by a factor of four from 1080p to 4K. The fact that the frame rate only drops by roughly half, rather than a quarter, suggests that the GPU is not purely fill-rate limited, but is also constrained by other factors, such as memory bandwidth and shading throughput.

This scaling behavior points directly to the Intel Arc B390 as the bottleneck. The CPU's performance is resolution-independent; its workload in terms of game logic does not change with resolution. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively constant across resolutions. Instead, the FPS scales inversely with resolution, which is the classic signature of a GPU-limited scenario. The data shows that the GPU's processing capabilities are saturated even at 1080p, and every additional pixel rendered at higher resolutions increases the GPU's workload, leading to lower frame rates. The system is firmly limited by the integrated graphics, and the CPU's substantial processing power is left underutilized in this gaming workload.