Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a fast-paced FPS that stresses both the CPU and GPU depending on the resolution and settings chosen. The measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti reveals a system that is highly capable at 1080p and 1440p, but begins to show its limits at 4K, particularly with higher graphical presets. This analysis will break down the measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings, interpret the scaling patterns, and contextualize the performance against the component's known benchmarks and rivals.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear and predictable pattern: average frame rates decline steadily as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 196 at 1080p to 144 at 1440p, a 26.5% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K Low brings the average down to 93 FPS, another 35.4% reduction. This steep decline from 1440p to 4K is a strong indicator that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

The trend is even more pronounced at the High preset. The average FPS at 1080p High is 121, which falls to 89 at 1440p High (a 26.4% drop) and then plummets to 57 at 4K High (a 36.0% drop from 1440p). The scaling from 1440p to 4K is consistently severe, suggesting that the 8 GB frame buffer and the raw compute power of the RTX 3060 Ti are being saturated.

The Medium preset provides the most complete data, including minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the average is 139 FPS with a minimum of 118 and a maximum of 160. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 102 FPS (a 26.6% decrease), with a minimum of 87 and a maximum of 117. At 4K Medium, the average is 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 and a maximum of 76. The min-to-max spread narrows as resolution increases, from a 42 FPS spread at 1080p to a 20 FPS spread at 4K. This tightening of frame times at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU is working closer to its maximum capacity, leaving less headroom for variance.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling. The average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 91. This drops to 67 at 1440p Ultra (a 26.4% reduction) and falls to 43 at 4K Ultra (a 35.8% reduction from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS is the lowest in the entire dataset, indicating that this setting combination is too demanding for the GPU to maintain a smooth experience. The consistent ~26% drop from 1080p to 1440p and the ~36% drop from 1440p to 4K across all presets point to a system where the GPU's workload scales almost linearly with the pixel count, with no evidence of a CPU bottleneck at any measured setting.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For competitive play at 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an exceptional average of 196 FPS, ensuring maximum responsiveness. However, the Medium preset offers a significant visual upgrade while still maintaining a high average of 139 FPS, with a minimum of 118 FPS that keeps the experience well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 1080p, with an average of 121 FPS, is also a strong choice for a balance of visuals and performance.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 144 FPS, ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset is the sweet spot, delivering an average of 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS, which provides a smooth and visually detailed experience. The High preset at 1440p, with an average of 89 FPS, is also viable, but the Medium preset's higher minimum frame rate suggests more consistent performance.

The 3840x2160 resolution presents a challenge for this combination. The Low preset is the only option that consistently clears 60 FPS, with an average of 93 FPS. The Medium preset produces an average of 66 FPS, which is playable but with a minimum of 56 FPS that could lead to noticeable stutters in intense scenes. The High preset at 57 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 43 FPS is not recommended for a smooth experience. For a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 4K, the Low preset is the only reliable choice. For users willing to accept some frame rate dips, the Medium preset is the highest visual quality that remains mostly playable.

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 the Low preset.

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

A: Yes, at 4K with the Low preset, the system averages 93 FPS. With the Medium preset, it averages 66 FPS, but the minimum FPS of 56 suggests occasional dips below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at 1440p compared to 1080p?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 91. At 1440p Ultra, the average FPS drops by 26.4% to 67 FPS.

Q: Is there a large difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: Yes. The Low preset averages 196 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 91 FPS. This represents a performance difference of over 50%.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate in the entire measurement set?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 43 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra preset.

Q: Based on the data, is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The large frame rate drops when moving from 1440p to 4K, coupled with the narrowing of the min-max FPS spread at higher resolutions, points to the GPU being fully saturated.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates for this combination is as follows:

• 1920x1080 (1080p):
• Low: Average FPS of 196.
• Medium: Average FPS of 139, with a minimum of 118 and a maximum of 160.
• High: Average FPS of 121.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 91.

• 2560x1440 (1440p):
• Low: Average FPS of 144.
• Medium: Average FPS of 102, with a minimum of 87 and a maximum of 117.
• High: Average FPS of 89.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 67.

• 3840x2160 (4K):
• Low: Average FPS of 93.
• Medium: Average FPS of 66, with a minimum of 56 and a maximum of 76.
• High: Average FPS of 57.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 43.

This data reveals a consistent progression: for any given preset, the average FPS decreases by roughly 26% when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and by another 35-36% when moving from 1440p to 4K. The Medium preset is the only setting that provides min/max data for all resolutions, showing a clear trend of decreasing variance as resolution increases. At 1080p, the frame rate can swing by 42 FPS, but at 4K, the swing is only 20 FPS, illustrating the GPU's inability to deliver bursts of higher performance when it is already at its limit.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is a mid-range Ampere architecture card with 4864 shading units and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its benchmark scores place it at the 59th percentile of all GPUs, with a Passmark G3D score of 20349. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 9060, which scores 0.7% higher, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, which scores 1.4% lower. This puts the RTX 3060 Ti in a competitive position for its class.

The GPU's role in Lockdown Protocol is clearly the dominant factor at higher resolutions. The steep performance drop from 1080p to 4K is the primary evidence. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is likely a limiting factor at 4K with higher presets, as the game's texture and geometry data can easily exceed that capacity, forcing the GPU to manage memory more aggressively and causing the significant frame rate dips observed. The card's boost clock is rated at 1665 MHz, and its 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but is stretched at 4K. The benchmark data shows that the card can deliver very high frame rates at lower resolutions, but its performance ceiling is reached when the pixel count and graphical fidelity are maxed out. The 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS is a clear indicator that this GPU is not designed for that workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a high-end desktop processor with 24 cores and 24 threads, based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. It has a boost clock of 5.50 GHz and a substantial 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are impressive, placing it at the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 93785 is nearly identical to the Intel Xeon 6520P, which has a delta of 0%. It is 1.5% faster than the AMD EPYC 4564P and 1.9% faster than the AMD EPYC 9175F. This performance class makes it more than capable of handling the demands of a modern FPS game.

In the context of Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The frame rate scaling with resolution is very consistent, with no signs of a CPU bottleneck at any resolution. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS at lower resolutions, where the GPU has less work to do. Instead, the FPS continues to rise significantly from 1440p to 1080p, indicating that the CPU is able to feed the GPU with data faster than the GPU can render at those lower resolutions. The high single-thread performance, evidenced by a Passmark single-thread score of 5068, is crucial for game logic and physics, and the multi-thread power, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44253, ensures there is plenty of headroom for background tasks and complex game scenes. The processor's performance is sufficient to allow the RTX 3060 Ti to operate at its full potential.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti holds the rank of 1402 out of 2828 total combos. This places it in the top half of all systems tested, which is a solid result considering the GPU is from the previous generation.

The ranking suggests that while the CPU is a top-tier performer, the overall system performance is moderated by the GPU. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs is far higher than the GPU's 59th percentile ranking. This means that the combination is likely held back by the RTX 3060 Ti, especially at higher resolutions. The system is ranked higher than combinations with weaker CPUs but similar or slightly better GPUs, but it is likely outranked by systems that pair this CPU with a more powerful GPU. The rank of 1402 out of 2828 indicates a mid-field position, reflecting a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p gaming but is not optimized for high-refresh 4K play. The data confirms that this is a balanced system for mainstream gaming, where the CPU's strength ensures no bottleneck, but the GPU is the definitive factor in determining the final frame rate output.