Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core Ultra 7 265K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers a top-tier Lockdown Protocol experience, ranking 2nd out of 2,828 tested CPU/GPU combinations in this game. This configuration produces playable frame rates at every resolution and preset combination measured, with the data showing a clear pattern: the RTX 5090 D's immense rasterization power keeps the system GPU-bound through 1440p, while 4K Ultra is the only setting that approaches the limits of what this hardware can sustain. The measured FPS ranges from 88 at 4K Ultra to 387 at 1080p Low, indicating a system with substantial headroom across the board.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K follows an expected curve, but the magnitude of the scaling reveals important characteristics about this pairing. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 249 at 1920x1080 to 183 at 2560x1440 — a 26.5% reduction — and then to 118 at 3840x2160, a further 35.5% drop from 1440p. This steep decline from 1440p to 4K indicates that the RTX 5090 D's rendering workload scales heavily with pixel count, which is typical for a game that stresses fill-rate and memory bandwidth as resolution increases.

The Low preset shows even more dramatic scaling. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 387 FPS, which drops to 295 at 1440p (a 23.8% reduction) and then to 190 at 4K (a 35.6% reduction from 1440p). The fact that 1080p Low produces nearly 400 FPS while 4K Low still exceeds 190 FPS demonstrates that the GPU maintains a strong performance lead even when pixel throughput demands are at their peak. However, the proportional drop from 1440p to 4K remains consistent across all presets, suggesting that resolution scaling is the dominant factor rather than preset-specific effects.

Ultra settings amplify the scaling effect. The 4K Ultra result of 88 FPS is 52.9% lower than the 1080p Ultra figure of 187 FPS. This compression of performance at the highest quality settings and resolution indicates that the game's Ultra preset introduces shading and post-processing workloads that disproportionately impact 4K output. The data suggests that at 4K Ultra, the RTX 5090 D is approaching the limits of its 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, whereas at lower resolutions the scaling is more linear and less constrained.

The Medium preset provides the only rows with min/max FPS data, offering a window into frame time consistency. At 4K Medium, the average is 135 FPS with a minimum of 115 and maximum of 155, showing a 29.6% spread between minimum and maximum. At 1440p Medium, the average rises to 209 with a range of 178 to 241 (a 35.4% spread), while 1080p Medium averages 285 with a range of 243 to 328 (a 35.0% spread). This consistent variance across resolutions indicates that frame pacing is stable regardless of pixel count, with the CPU maintaining adequate headroom even at lower resolutions where GPU load diminishes.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the primary driver of Lockdown Protocol's performance, and its measured results confirm a GPU-bound scenario across most settings. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, the card has more than enough memory capacity and throughput for this game at any resolution. The 4K Ultra result of 88 FPS, while playable, suggests that the GPU's 176 ROPs and 680 TMUs are fully utilized at that setting, with the 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate determining the ceiling.

The GPU's clock behavior reinforces its role. The base clock of 2017 MHz and boost clock of 2407 MHz provide the raw frequency headroom needed to sustain high frame rates, and the data shows that the card maintains strong performance even when thermal and power constraints might otherwise limit boost behavior. The 575 W TDP and 950 W suggested PSU requirement indicate a power-hungry part, but the measured FPS results show no evidence of throttling or performance regression across the resolution spectrum.

The RTX 5090 D's benchmark standing further contextualizes its in-game performance. Its PassMark G3D score of 44,065 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 place it in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712. The nearest rivals in aggregate performance — the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (1.1% faster), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (1.6% slower), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (2.1% slower), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (2.4% slower) — are all within a narrow band, but the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB memory capacity and Blackwell 2.0 architecture give it advantages in modern titles that aggregate benchmarks may not fully capture.

In Lockdown Protocol specifically, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions and presets. The transition from 1080p High (249 FPS) to 4K High (118 FPS) represents a 52.6% reduction, which aligns with the 4x pixel count increase from 1080p to 4K being partially offset by the card's bandwidth and compute resources. At 4K Ultra, the 88 FPS result indicates that the game's Ultra preset adds computational load that the GPU cannot fully compensate for at that pixel density, even with 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance available.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K plays a supporting but essential role in this configuration, and the measured FPS data shows that it does not bottleneck the RTX 5090 D at any tested setting. With 20 cores and 20 threads across a 3.90 GHz base clock and 5.50 GHz boost clock, this Arrow Lake-S processor provides ample compute headroom for Lockdown Protocol's game logic and physics. The 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache help maintain low latency access to frequently used data, which is critical in a fast-paced FPS where frame time consistency matters.

The CPU's benchmark results support its capability profile. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 35,850 and single-core score of 2,020 place it in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70,879. The nearest rivals — Intel Xeon 6511P (0.2% slower), Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 (0.7% slower), Intel Core i7-14700KF (1.0% faster), and AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (1.3% faster) — are all within a tight performance band, indicating that the 265K sits at a competitive level for both synthetic workloads and gaming.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's influence is most evident at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. The 1080p Low result of 387 FPS demonstrates that the 265K can feed frames at a very high rate, but the fact that this is only 30.9% higher than the 1080p High result of 249 FPS suggests that GPU rendering still limits performance even at the lowest preset. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,928 and multithread score of 58,594 indicate strong per-core performance, which is what matters most for a game that likely relies on a few primary threads for simulation.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s over dual-channel DDR5 provides sufficient data throughput for the game's asset streaming and entity management. The 17,800 million transistors on a 3 nm TSMC process node, combined with a 125 W TDP, show that the 265K balances power efficiency with performance, though the measured FPS results suggest that the CPU is rarely the limiting factor in this pairing. Even at 4K Ultra where the GPU is most stressed, the 88 FPS result indicates that the CPU maintains frame delivery without introducing stalls or hitches.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this CPU/GPU combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest measured average is 387 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 295 FPS at 2560x1440 Low, followed by 285 FPS at 1920x1080 Medium.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D or the Core Ultra 7 265K the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component at 4K Ultra. The 88 FPS result is the lowest measured across all settings and resolutions, and the steep performance drop from 4K High (118 FPS) to 4K Ultra suggests the GPU's rendering workload is the primary constraint.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested configurations in Lockdown Protocol?

A: This combination ranks 2nd out of 2,828 tested CPU/GPU combos in the game, placing it in the top 0.1% of all configurations tested.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 249 at 1920x1080 to 118 at 3840x2160, a 52.6% reduction. The 1440p High result of 183 FPS sits between these values.

Q: Does the 32 GB VRAM on the RTX 5090 D provide enough memory for Lockdown Protocol at 4K?

A: Yes, the 32 GB GDDR7 memory with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient. The measured results show no evidence of memory capacity or bandwidth limitation at any resolution or preset.

Q: What is the lowest playable frame rate recorded for this configuration?

A: The lowest measured average is 88 FPS at 4K Ultra, which remains above common playability thresholds. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum FPS of 115, providing additional consistency data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for this configuration covers three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 387 FPS average, Medium reaches 285 FPS with a range of 243 to 328, High delivers 249 FPS, and Ultra produces 187 FPS. This represents a 51.7% reduction from Low to Ultra at 1080p, showing that preset selection has a substantial impact even at the lowest resolution.

At 2560x1440, the scaling shifts. Low delivers 295 FPS, Medium averages 209 FPS with a range of 178 to 241, High reaches 183 FPS, and Ultra produces 137 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p is 23.8% at Low, 26.7% at Medium, 26.5% at High, and 26.7% at Ultra — a remarkably consistent resolution penalty across all presets.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low averages 190 FPS, Medium averages 135 FPS with a range of 115 to 155, High delivers 118 FPS, and Ultra produces 88 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 35.6% at Low, 35.4% at Medium, 35.5% at High, and 35.8% at Ultra. This consistency across presets indicates that resolution scaling is the dominant factor, with the 4K pixel count imposing a near-uniform penalty regardless of quality settings.

The Medium preset is the only one with full min/max data, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the 243 to 328 FPS range shows a 85 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the 178 to 241 FPS range shows a 63 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the 115 to 155 FPS range shows a 40 FPS spread. The narrowing absolute spread at higher resolutions suggests that GPU-bound scenarios produce more stable frame delivery, while CPU-bound scenarios at lower resolutions introduce more variance.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing maximum frame rate, the 1080p Low preset delivers 387 FPS, which is 98 FPS higher than 1080p Medium and 200 FPS higher than 1080p Ultra. However, the data suggests that Low settings may not be necessary given the hardware's capability. At 1080p Medium, the 285 FPS average with a minimum of 243 FPS provides a strong experience with better visual quality while maintaining frame rates well above typical high-refresh displays.

The High preset represents the sweet spot for this configuration at most resolutions. At 1080p High, the 249 FPS average offers excellent visual fidelity with substantial headroom. At 1440p High, the 183 FPS average remains above 144 Hz refresh rates, making it suitable for high-refresh monitors. At 4K High, the 118 FPS average is playable on 120 Hz displays, though it does not fully saturate higher refresh panels.

For 4K Ultra enthusiasts, the 88 FPS average is the only measured result that dips below 100 FPS. This remains playable, but the 30 FPS gap between 4K High and 4K Ultra suggests that High settings provide a more balanced experience at 4K, sacrificing some visual quality for a 25.4% frame rate improvement. Players with G-SYNC or VRR displays may find 4K Ultra acceptable, but those prioritizing smoothness should choose High.

The Medium preset offers the most consistent frame pacing based on the min/max data. At 4K Medium, the 115 FPS minimum ensures that even demanding scenes stay above common VRR thresholds. At 1440p Medium, the 178 FPS minimum provides similar guarantees for high-refresh displays. Players who value frame time stability over absolute maximum FPS should consider Medium, especially if they experience sensitivity to frame rate fluctuations.

Overall, the recommendation is to use High settings at 1080p or 1440p for the best balance of visual quality and performance, with 4K High providing a strong experience for 4K display owners. Ultra is viable at 1080p and 1440p for those who prioritize visual fidelity, while 4K Ultra is best reserved for scenarios where maximum quality outweighs the need for higher frame rates. The data shows no configuration in this dataset produces unplayable results, making this a versatile pairing for Lockdown Protocol.