Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, an FPS released in March 2024, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and preset. This analysis examines the performance of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, using measured data to determine the balance between CPU and GPU limitations across different settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and RTX 4070 combination produces an average of 260 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which is the highest frame rate recorded in the dataset for this combo.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This specific CPU-GPU pairing holds the rank of 639 out of 2828 total tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it within the top quarter of all configurations.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 118 FPS average, while the Ultra preset drops to 89 FPS average, representing a 29 FPS decrease for the higher visual fidelity.

Q: Does the GPU support modern API features?

A: The RTX 4070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, with dedicated ray tracing cores and tensor cores built into its Ada Lovelace architecture.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-core performance relative to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 scores 42216 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, which places it 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F and 0.7% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7343 in average benchmark scores.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the system records a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS, with an average of 87 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC, featuring the AD104 chip with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, paired with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory runs at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed, providing ample bandwidth for Lockdown Protocol's texture streaming and geometry processing demands.

In terms of compute capabilities, the RTX 4070 houses 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. The GPU achieves a pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 29.15 TFLOPS. These specifications translate directly to the measured frame rates: the GPU's rendering throughput becomes the primary constraint as resolution increases, particularly visible in the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K.

The GPU's 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for advanced rendering techniques, though Lockdown Protocol's performance scaling suggests traditional rasterization remains the primary workload. The RTX 4070's percentile ranking of 81 among all GPUs positions it as a high-end performer, and the benchmark results confirm this, with the card maintaining playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra settings. The GPU's 200 W power draw and dual-slot design make it a capable solution for this title, with the 16-pin power connector and 550 W suggested PSU providing adequate headroom for sustained operation.

Resolution Scaling

The benchmark data reveals a clear pattern of frame rate degradation as resolution increases, indicating the GPU becomes progressively more limiting. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 260 FPS average, but this drops to 191 FPS at 1440p Low and further to 123 FPS at 4K Low. This represents a 53% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, demonstrating significant GPU dependency even at minimal visual quality.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced at higher presets. With High settings, the average frame rate falls from 161 FPS at 1080p to 118 FPS at 1440p and 76 FPS at 4K, a 53% decrease from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the transition from 185 FPS at 1080p to 135 FPS at 1440p and 87 FPS at 4K shows a 53% reduction, while Ultra settings experience a similar proportional decline from 121 FPS at 1080p to 89 FPS at 1440p and 57 FPS at 4K.

These consistent percentage drops across all settings suggest the RTX 4070's memory bandwidth and shading throughput are the limiting factors at higher resolutions. The 504.2 GB/s bandwidth and 158.4 GPixel/s fill rate must process increasingly larger frame buffers as resolution climbs. The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU's 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock can feed the GPU sufficiently, but at 4K, the GPU's rendering pipeline becomes fully saturated, as evidenced by the frame rate falling below 60 FPS at Ultra settings. The 4K Medium preset, with its 87 FPS average, represents the practical ceiling for smooth gameplay at this resolution, while 1440p offers a better balance of visual quality and performance across all presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and RTX 4070 combination ranks 639 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 77th percentile of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's 81st percentile among all GPUs and the CPU's 93rd percentile among all CPUs, though the game's performance is clearly more dependent on graphics processing than processor capability.

When examining the CPU's competitive position, the Core Ultra 7 265's average benchmark score of 64640 places it in close competition with its nearest rivals. The AMD EPYC 4464P scores 64823, just 0.3% higher, while the AMD EPYC 9124 scores 65104, 0.7% higher. Interestingly, the Core Ultra 7 265F scores 64438, which is 0.3% lower, and the AMD EPYC 7343 scores 64202, 0.7% lower. This clustering suggests the CPU is well-matched to its peers, though the game's ranking indicates the GPU plays a more significant role in determining overall performance.

The RTX 4070's own competitive position shows similar tight grouping. The NVIDIA Tesla P4 scores 37628, a 0.1% difference, and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37507, 0.4% lower. The RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135, 1.3% higher, while the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 scores 37157, 1.3% lower. This narrow spread around the RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37648 suggests the GPU is well-positioned among its contemporaries, and the in-game ranking of 639 reflects this balanced performance profile.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its highest performance ceiling. Low settings produce an average of 260 FPS, Medium settings yield 185 FPS with a minimum of 157 and maximum of 213, High settings deliver 161 FPS, and Ultra settings maintain 121 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 54% reduction in frame rate, with each preset step costing approximately 40-50 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings average 191 FPS, Medium settings average 135 FPS with a range of 115 to 156, High settings reach 118 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 89 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 102 FPS, representing a 53% reduction. The Medium preset's minimum of 115 FPS indicates the system maintains smooth performance even during demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings average 123 FPS, Medium settings average 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and maximum of 101, High settings fall to 76 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 57 FPS. The 4K Ultra result falls below the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay, while the Medium preset's 74 FPS minimum suggests occasional frame dips during intense action sequences. The data shows a consistent 53% performance reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings, confirming the resolution scaling pattern.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, the 1080p Low preset delivers 260 FPS, which far exceeds the refresh rate capabilities of most displays. This setting is ideal for competitive play where response time takes precedence over visual fidelity. At 1080p Medium, the 185 FPS average with a 157 FPS minimum still provides excellent responsiveness while offering improved visual quality.

At 1440p, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance, with 135 FPS average and a 115 FPS minimum ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenarios. The High preset at 1440p maintains 118 FPS, which remains playable, but the 29 FPS difference between High and Ultra suggests diminishing returns at the highest settings. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset's 87 FPS average provides the most consistent experience, though the 74 FPS minimum indicates some scenes may cause noticeable frame drops. The 4K High preset at 76 FPS remains playable but approaches the threshold where frame pacing becomes noticeable, while 4K Ultra at 57 FPS falls below ideal smoothness standards.

The data indicates that the Medium preset represents the optimal compromise across all resolutions, delivering frame rates that are at least 87% of the High preset's performance while providing significantly better visuals than Low. At 1440p, which likely represents the sweet spot for this hardware combination, the Medium preset's 135 FPS average provides headroom for demanding scenes while maintaining excellent visual quality.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 features 20 cores and 20 threads based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process at TSMC. The processor operates at a base clock of 2.40 GHz and boosts to 5.30 GHz, with 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth, which provides sufficient memory throughput for feeding the GPU's 504.2 GB/s bandwidth requirement.

The CPU's benchmark results demonstrate strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and a single-core score of 5960. In PassMark tests, the processor achieves 49682 in multi-thread performance and 4689 in single-thread performance, with particularly strong results in floating-point math at 172776 and integer math at 134773. The 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates this processor outperforms the vast majority of available options.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate scaling across resolutions. The 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock provide ample processing power for game logic, physics calculations, and AI routines, with the high single-thread performance of 5960 in Cinebench R23 ensuring responsive frame pacing. The data suggests that at 1080p, where CPU overhead is more likely to surface, the system still achieves 260 FPS at Low settings, indicating the processor is not a bottleneck even at high frame rates. The 65 W TDP and 20 lanes of PCIe Gen 5 connectivity provide efficient power delivery and data transfer, supporting the GPU's needs without introducing performance limitations.