Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a high-refresh-rate experience in Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title. Measured data across three resolutions and four settings presets shows this combo ranking 58th out of 2,828 tested combinations, placing it in the top 2% of systems. The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, a 24-core Arrow Lake Refresh desktop processor, and the RTX 4090, an Ada Lovelace flagship with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, combine to produce frame rates ranging from 81 FPS at 4K Ultra to 368 FPS at 1080p Low.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall ranking of this CPU-GPU combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 58th out of 2,828 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 98th percentile of all tested systems.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has an average benchmark score of 93,785, which is essentially tied with the Intel Xeon 6520P (93,786, 0% delta). It trails the AMD EPYC 4564P by 1.5%, the AMD EPYC 9175F by 1.9%, and the AMD EPYC 4565P by 2.1% in average scores.

Q: What is the maximum measured frame rate for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 368 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution, Medium settings deliver 261 FPS, High delivers 228 FPS, and Ultra delivers 171 FPS.

Q: What is the lowest measured frame rate for this combo?

A: The lowest average FPS recorded is 81 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. At 4K High, the average rises to 108 FPS, and at 4K Medium it reaches 124 FPS.

Q: What are the key specifications of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus?

A: This processor features 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. It has 36 MB of shared L3 cache, supports DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration, and has a TDP of 125 W.

Q: What are the memory specifications of the RTX 4090?

A: The RTX 4090 comes with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a rank of 58 out of 2,828 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This places the system firmly in the top tier of performance, outperforming approximately 98% of all recorded configurations. The ranking reflects the synergy between a high-end desktop processor and a flagship graphics card, both of which are designed for maximum throughput in gaming workloads.

Looking at the CPU's synthetic benchmark standing, the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus scores 93,785 on average, which is statistically indistinguishable from the Intel Xeon 6520P at 93,786 (0% delta). The processor's nearest competitors are all server-class EPYC parts: the AMD EPYC 4564P scores 95,183 (-1.5%), the AMD EPYC 9175F scores 95,615 (-1.9%), and the AMD EPYC 4565P scores 95,764 (-2.1%). This indicates that while the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is not the absolute fastest in raw compute, it is within a narrow 2% band of much larger server processors, which speaks to its efficiency for a desktop part.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4090 posts an average benchmark score of 60,347, with its nearest rival being the Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60,326 (0% delta). The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 is 0.3% behind, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is 2.5% ahead, and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 is 2.9% behind. These rival comparisons are based on aggregate benchmark averages rather than Lockdown Protocol-specific results, so the in-game ranking of 58th provides a more direct measure of gaming performance.

The percentile rankings reinforce this picture: the CPU sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. The discrepancy between these percentiles and the top-2% game ranking suggests that Lockdown Protocol is particularly well-suited to this hardware combination, likely benefiting from both the high single-thread performance of the CPU and the massive memory bandwidth of the GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is built on the AD102 chip using TSMC's 5 nm process, packing 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. Its 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output pipelines provide the raw compute necessary for high-resolution rendering. The card's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores handle ray tracing and AI-accelerated features respectively, though Lockdown Protocol's measured results do not specify whether these features are enabled in the tested presets.

The GPU's memory subsystem is a defining characteristic: 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus yields 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. This is critical for Lockdown Protocol at higher resolutions, where texture data and frame buffers grow substantially. The measured data shows that at 4K, the RTX 4090 maintains playable frame rates across all settings, with the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K being 93 FPS (174 vs 81). This suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth is sufficient to keep the card from being bottlenecked by data transfer even at 4K Ultra.

Clock speeds are 2235 MHz base and 2520 MHz boost, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The boost clock of 2520 MHz allows the GPU to reach a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s. In practical terms, these figures translate to the card's ability to fill pixels and sample textures at rates that exceed what most games can demand at 4K, which is consistent with the measured 108 FPS average at 4K High.

The RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is identical to its FP16 throughput (1:1 ratio), indicating that the card does not rely on reduced precision for its peak compute. This is relevant for Lockdown Protocol if the game uses any compute shaders for effects or physics, as the card can sustain maximum throughput across different precision formats. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures compatibility with modern rendering features, while its OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4 support cover alternative API paths.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 368 FPS, Medium yields 261 FPS with a minimum of 222 and maximum of 301, High reaches 228 FPS, and Ultra drops to 171 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 197 FPS, demonstrating that the RTX 4090 has substantial headroom even at the highest quality preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decrease but remain firmly in high-refresh territory. Low settings average 270 FPS, Medium averages 192 FPS (min 163, max 220), High averages 167 FPS, and Ultra averages 125 FPS. The relative scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 26.6% reduction at Low (368 to 270), a 26.4% reduction at Medium (261 to 192), a 26.8% reduction at High (228 to 167), and a 26.9% reduction at Ultra (171 to 125). This consistent ~27% drop across all settings indicates that the resolution increase imposes a uniform load increase on the GPU, with no setting-specific bottleneck emerging.

At 3840x2160, the averages become more moderate. Low settings still achieve 174 FPS, Medium averages 124 FPS (min 105, max 142), High averages 108 FPS, and Ultra averages 81 FPS. The 4K results show that even at the highest resolution with Ultra settings, the combo maintains an average above 60 FPS, with only the minimum frame rate at Medium (105 FPS) dipping below the average. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows reductions of 35.6% at Low (270 to 174), 35.4% at Medium (192 to 124), 35.3% at High (167 to 108), and 35.2% at Ultra (125 to 81). This tighter percentage spread suggests that the GPU is becoming the primary limiter at 4K, as the resolution increase affects the pixel workload more than the CPU-bound aspects of the game.

The only preset with recorded minimum and maximum frame rates is Medium across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 222 FPS and maximum of 301 FPS indicate a stable frame delivery with a 79 FPS range. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 57 FPS (163 to 220), and at 4K Medium, the range is 37 FPS (105 to 142). This decreasing variance with increasing resolution suggests that the CPU-side frame pacing becomes less of a factor as the GPU takes longer to render each frame.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the bottleneck in this system. At Low settings, the 1080p average of 368 FPS drops to 270 at 1440p and 174 at 4K, representing a cumulative 52.7% reduction from 1080p to 4K. If the GPU were perfectly scaling with pixel count, one would expect a 4x reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K, assuming no other bottlenecks. The fact that the actual reduction is only about half of that indicates that at 1080p Low, the system is heavily CPU-limited.

At Ultra settings, the 1080p average of 171 FPS drops to 125 at 1440p and 81 at 4K, a cumulative 52.6% reduction. This near-identical percentage scaling across Low and Ultra settings suggests that the CPU limitation is consistent regardless of graphics load. The CPU, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, is evidently not overwhelmed by Lockdown Protocol's workload at any resolution, but the frame rate ceiling at 1080p is capped by the processor's single-thread performance.

The data points to the RTX 4090 becoming the limiting component at 4K, particularly at Ultra settings where the 81 FPS average is far below the 1080p Low result of 368 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is rendering 8.3 million pixels per frame (3840x2160) with full-quality effects, which taxes its 16,384 shading units and 128 RT cores. The 81 FPS result at 4K Ultra is still respectable for a demanding title, but it represents a 78% reduction from the best-case 1080p Low scenario.

The frame rate differences between consecutive resolutions are consistent: moving from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 26-27% of the frame rate, while moving from 1440p to 4K costs roughly 35%. This increasing marginal cost indicates that the GPU's pixel throughput becomes more strained as resolution climbs, with the 4K step imposing a heavier relative load than the 1440p step.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus provides the computational foundation for this system. With 24 cores and 24 threads, it offers substantial parallel processing capability, but its 3.70 GHz base and 5.50 GHz boost clocks are the more relevant specifications for gaming performance. The processor's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 192 KB L1 cache per core help reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for the frame-time consistency seen in the measured results.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44,253 and single-core score of 2,439 indicate strong performance in both threaded and single-threaded workloads. The Passmark single-thread score of 5,068 and multithread score of 68,574 further confirm this balance. For Lockdown Protocol, which is a competitive FPS title, single-thread performance often dictates the maximum achievable frame rate, and the 5.50 GHz boost clock is likely the reason the system can reach 368 FPS at 1080p Low.

The processor's memory support includes DDR5 in dual-channel configuration with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth. This memory bandwidth is shared with the integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU, though the discrete RTX 4090 handles all gaming rendering. The 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die (using TSMC's 3 nm process) highlight the efficiency of the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, which allows high clock speeds without excessive power draw.

The CPU's benchmark percentile of 96th among all CPUs, with an average score of 93,785, places it just behind server-class EPYC and Xeon parts. However, those server processors are optimized for throughput rather than latency-sensitive workloads like gaming. The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus's nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6520P, has an identical average score (93,786, 0% delta), but the Xeon's architecture prioritizes multi-socket scalability over single-thread responsiveness.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is evident in the 1080p Low result of 368 FPS. At this resolution and setting, the GPU is underutilized, and the frame rate is likely limited by the CPU's ability to process game logic and issue draw calls. The 24 threads provide ample parallelism for background tasks, but the game's main thread benefits most from the 5.50 GHz boost clock. The fact that the 1080p Low result is more than double the 4K Ultra result (368 vs 81) confirms that the CPU can push far more frames than the GPU can render at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, all four presets deliver frame rates well above 144 Hz, with Low at 368 FPS, Medium at 261 FPS, High at 228 FPS, and Ultra at 171 FPS. For competitive play where maximum frame rate is paramount, Low settings provide the highest headroom for high-refresh displays. However, the jump from Low to Medium costs 107 FPS (368 to 261), while the jump from Medium to High costs 33 FPS (261 to 228), and from High to Ultra costs 57 FPS (228 to 171). The Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate at 1080p, with a minimum of 222 FPS ensuring no drops below 200 FPS.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again provides a compelling option with 192 FPS average and a minimum of 163 FPS. High settings at 167 FPS are also excellent for high-refresh monitors, while Ultra at 125 FPS remains above 120 FPS. For gamers with 144 Hz displays, High settings at 1440p deliver a 167 FPS average that comfortably exceeds the refresh rate, with Ultra still maintaining 125 FPS. Low settings at 270 FPS are unnecessary unless targeting 240 Hz-plus displays with esports-oriented settings.

At 4K, the choices become more constrained. Ultra settings average 81 FPS, which is above 60 FPS but may not satisfy gamers with 120 Hz displays. High settings at 108 FPS are better suited for 4K 120 Hz panels, while Medium at 124 FPS provides additional margin. Low settings at 174 FPS are overkill for most 4K displays (which typically cap at 60-144 Hz) and would sacrifice visual quality unnecessarily. The Medium preset at 4K, with a minimum of 105 FPS, offers the best combination of visual fidelity and frame rate stability for 120 Hz displays.

The measured data shows that the Medium preset consistently provides the most stable frame delivery, as it is the only preset with recorded minimum and maximum values across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the 222-301 FPS range indicates a variance of 79 FPS, which is a 30% spread around the 261 FPS average. At 1440p, the range narrows to 57 FPS (163-220), and at 4K, it narrows to 37 FPS (105-142). This decreasing variance with resolution suggests that Medium settings interact well with the hardware at any resolution, providing predictable performance without the extreme frame rate spikes seen at Low or the potential stutters at Ultra.

For the best overall experience across all resolutions, the High preset offers a strong middle ground: 228 FPS at 1080p, 167 FPS at 1440p, and 108 FPS at 4K. These figures are all comfortably above 100 FPS, making High a safe recommendation for gamers who prioritize smoothness without maxing out every visual option. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, drops below 100 FPS at 4K (81 FPS) and may not be worth the 25% frame rate cost over High at that resolution.