Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title, shows a clear performance split between the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. The data indicates a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings, while the CPU provides ample headroom at lower loads. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, component roles, and how this specific combination ranks among tested hardware.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate is 196 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is nearly double the 1080p High score of 121 FPS.

Q: How large is the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rate drops from 93 FPS on Low to 43 FPS on Ultra. This represents a 54% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo first fail to maintain 60 FPS?

A: The 3840x2160 Ultra preset produces an average of 43 FPS, which is below 60. The 4K High preset also dips below this threshold with an average of 57 FPS. All other tested configurations at 1440p and 1080p average above 60 FPS.

Q: Does the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 have a higher average benchmark score than its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 4464P?

A: No. The AMD EPYC 4464P has an average benchmark score of 64823, which is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265's average score of 64640. The Intel chip is, however, 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti falls into the 59th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 16129, placing it in the mid-range tier of the database.

Q: What is the frame rate range for the Medium preset at 2560x1440?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 shows an average of 102 FPS, with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. This is the only resolution besides 1080p where min/max data is provided for this settings level.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the dominant factor in Lockdown Protocol's performance, especially as resolution and graphical fidelity increase. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for the data loads at 1080p and 1440p but becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra. The GPU's boost clock of 1665 MHz and base clock of 1410 MHz are the physical drivers of its rendering speed.

The data shows a clear pattern: as the GPU's workload intensifies, frame rates drop proportionally. At 1080p Low, the GPU is able to produce 196 FPS. When the resolution is increased to 4K and the preset is set to Ultra, the average frame rate collapses to 43 FPS. This 153 FPS swing is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's fill rate and shader processing limits. The card's 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 253.1 GTexel/s texture rate are simply overwhelmed by the combined load of 4K resolution and maximum settings.

The GPU's benchmark scores corroborate this. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2626 and PassMark G3D score of 20349 place it in the 59th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9060, scores 16014, which is 0.7% lower, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M scores 16351, which is 1.4% higher. These marginal differences in synthetic benchmarks translate into the real-world performance deltas seen in Lockdown Protocol's measured FPS. The RTX 3060 Ti is not a top-tier card in 2024, but it is a capable mid-range option that can handle the game well at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on High settings, the average FPS drops from 121 to 89, a 26% reduction. Scaling further to 3840x2160 on the same High preset yields an average of 57 FPS, another 36% drop from 1440p. The total loss from 1080p High to 4K High is 64 FPS, or 53% of the original performance.

This pattern is consistent across all settings presets. On Low settings, the frame rate goes from 196 FPS at 1080p, to 144 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 93 FPS at 4K. The scaling is not linear; the performance cost of each additional pixel increases as the resolution grows. This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario where the shader cores and memory bandwidth are saturated.

The data also reveals how the CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU must feed frames to the GPU at a very high rate. The 196 FPS average on Low settings indicates the CPU is capable of handling this load. However, at 4K, the GPU's rendering time becomes so long that the CPU spends most of its time waiting. The 93 FPS at 4K Low is likely close to the GPU's maximum output at that resolution, regardless of the CPU's capabilities. The CPU's 20 cores and 20 threads are not the limiting factor in any of these scenarios; the GPU is.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the "Medium" preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 139 FPS, which is 18 FPS higher than High and 48 FPS lower than Low. More importantly, it provides a minimum frame rate of 118 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience without significant dips. The High preset at 1080p averages 121 FPS, which is also playable, but the extra headroom from Medium is preferable for maintaining consistent frame times.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again stands out. It averages 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable play. The High preset at this resolution averages 89 FPS, which is still acceptable, but the Medium preset's higher minimum frame rate provides a more stable experience. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 67 FPS, which is playable but leaves little room for error in demanding scenes.

For 4K, the options are more constrained. The Low preset averages 93 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant. The Medium preset at 4K averages 66 FPS, which is playable but may experience noticeable dips in action-heavy moments. The High preset at 4K dips to 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, and Ultra is not viable at 43 FPS. For a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 4K, the Low preset is the safest choice, while Medium is acceptable for those who prioritize visuals over absolute frame rate stability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings is usable. The Low preset produces an average of 196 FPS, providing the highest possible frame rate for competitive play. The Medium preset averages 139 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 118 FPS and maximum of 160 FPS. The High preset averages 121 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 91 FPS. All of these are playable, but the jump from Medium to High results in a 13% performance drop, while the jump from High to Ultra results in a 25% drop.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates become more moderate. The Low preset is the only one that exceeds 144 FPS, averaging exactly 144. The Medium preset averages 102 FPS, with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. The High preset averages 89 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 67 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at this resolution is 13 FPS, which is noticeable but not drastic. The gap between High and Ultra is 22 FPS, indicating a steep cost for the highest settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. The Low preset averages 93 FPS, which is a significant drop from the 144 FPS at 1440p. The Medium preset averages 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and maximum of 76 FPS. This is the only 4K preset with min/max data, and the 56 FPS minimum indicates that the system will occasionally dip below 60 FPS. The High preset averages 57 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 43 FPS. These last two are not recommended for a smooth experience, as they consistently fall below the 60 FPS target. The data clearly shows a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, with the GPU's limits being reached at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a high-end desktop processor with 20 cores and 20 threads, based on the Arrow Lake architecture. Its base clock is 2.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This configuration provides substantial multi-threaded and single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its benchmark scores. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42216 and a single-core score of 5960. In PassMark, it scores 49682 in multithread and 4689 in single-thread tests.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is to process game logic, physics, and AI, and to prepare draw calls for the GPU. The data suggests that this CPU is more than capable of handling these tasks at all tested resolutions. The fact that the frame rates scale so heavily with resolution and settings indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU. At 1080p Low, the CPU is able to maintain a 196 FPS average, which is a high data throughput scenario. This demonstrates that the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU at maximum speed.

The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s help ensure that data is readily available for processing. Its percentile ranking of 93 among all CPUs places it in the top tier. Its nearest rivals, the AMD EPYC 4464P and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F, have average scores that are within 0.3% of its own, indicating that this level of performance is consistent among top-tier desktop and server processors. In this game, the CPU is not a bottleneck; it provides a stable foundation for the GPU to operate.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1402 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the 50th percentile of all tested systems, which is a solid mid-pack position. The rank reflects the balance between the high-end CPU and the mid-range GPU. The CPU's top-tier performance prevents it from being a limiting factor, but the GPU's 59th percentile ranking holds the combo back from reaching the upper echelons of the leaderboard.

This ranking is consistent with the measured frame rates. The system performs admirably at 1080p and 1440p, where it can achieve high frame rates on most settings. It struggles at 4K, particularly on the Ultra preset, which is expected given the GPU's capabilities. The combo's position in the middle of the pack suggests that it is a well-balanced system for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it is not optimized for 4K gaming at maximum settings.

The ranking also implies that there are 1426 combos that perform better and 1426 that perform worse. The better-performing combos likely feature more powerful GPUs, such as those in a higher percentile than the RTX 3060 Ti. The worse-performing combos likely have less capable CPUs or GPUs. This specific combo's rank is a direct result of the GPU's performance ceiling, which is reached at 4K. For a user targeting high refresh rates at 1080p or 1440p, this is a strong choice. For 4K gaming, the data indicates that a more powerful GPU would be necessary to achieve higher frame rates.