Lockdown Protocol

Resolution Scaling

Lockdown Protocol's performance profile across resolutions reveals a system that scales predictably with pixel count, but with notable efficiency at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 167 FPS average, dropping to 123 FPS at 1440p Low (a 26.3% reduction) and further to 79 FPS at 4K Low (a 35.8% reduction from 1440p). This scaling pattern indicates that even at the lowest settings, the rendering load grows substantially with resolution, suggesting the GPU is the primary constraint even when visual complexity is minimal.

The High preset tells a similar story with slightly steeper drops: 104 FPS at 1080p, 76 FPS at 1440p (a 26.9% drop), and 49 FPS at 4K (a 35.5% drop from 1440p). Medium settings show 119 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p, and 56 FPS at 4K, with the 4K-to-1440p ratio being 64.4% — meaning 4K retains just under two-thirds of the 1440p performance. Ultra settings, the most demanding preset, yields 78 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K, with the 4K result being only 47.4% of the 1080p figure. This steeper decline at Ultra suggests that the combination of high-resolution pixel shading and the heavier per-pixel work of Ultra settings pushes the GPU into a region where its 128-bit memory interface and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly limiting.

The 4K-to-1080p ratios across settings are revealing. At Low, 4K delivers 47.3% of 1080p performance (79 vs 167 FPS). At High, that ratio is 47.1% (49 vs 104 FPS). At Medium, it is 47.1% (56 vs 119 FPS). At Ultra, it is 47.4% (37 vs 78 FPS). The consistency of these ratios — all hovering near 47% — indicates that Lockdown Protocol's rendering pipeline scales almost linearly with pixel count regardless of settings. There is no evidence of a CPU bottleneck emerging at lower resolutions; if the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus were limiting the frame rate at 1080p, we would expect the 4K-to-1080p ratio to be lower at High or Ultra settings where the GPU is more stressed, but the ratios remain uniform. This uniformity points to a purely GPU-limited scenario across all tested configurations.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 33 chip fabricated on TSMC's 6 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 1980 MHz, a game clock of 2470 MHz, and a boost clock of 2755 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units, along with 32 ray tracing cores. Its peak pixel rate is 176.3 GPixel/s and texture rate is 352.6 GTexel/s, with FP32 throughput rated at 22.57 TFLOPS.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role is clearly dominant. The measured FPS data shows that settings changes have a larger impact than resolution changes at any given configuration. For instance, moving from Low to Ultra at 1080p reduces performance from 167 to 78 FPS — a 53.3% drop — while moving from 1080p to 4K at Low reduces performance from 167 to 79 FPS — a 52.7% drop. These are nearly identical magnitudes, which is unusual and suggests that Lockdown Protocol's Ultra preset roughly doubles the per-pixel work compared to Low, matching the quadrupling of pixel count from 1080p to 4K.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity is ample for this title. At no point in the measured rows does the game appear to exceed memory capacity, as there are no anomalous collapses in frame rate at 4K Ultra (37 FPS) that would indicate swapping or texture streaming issues. The 128-bit memory bus, while narrow, is paired with GDDR6 at 18 Gbps effective, which provides sufficient bandwidth for the game's needs at the tested settings. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2348 and PassMark G3D score of 17132 place this GPU in the 60th percentile of all GPUs, indicating mid-pack rasterization performance that aligns with the observed Lockdown Protocol frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT ranks 1800 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the distribution, at roughly the 36th percentile. The ranking reflects the GPU's positioning more than the CPU's, as the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs in general benchmarks, while the RX 7600 XT sits in the 60th percentile of all GPUs. The combo rank of 1800 suggests that for Lockdown Protocol specifically, many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher average frame rates.

The CPU's nearest rivals in general benchmark scores include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% higher average score), the AMD EPYC 4584PX (1.1% higher), the AMD EPYC 9135 (1.2% higher), and the AMD EPYC 7F72 (1.3% lower). In all cases, the deltas are small — within 1.3% — indicating that the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is competitively positioned among high-end processors. However, these are general compute benchmarks, not gaming-specific results. For the GPU, nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (0.3% higher average score), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (0.4% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (0.7% lower), and the NVIDIA Tesla M4 (0.9% higher). The RX 7600 XT's average benchmark score of 17083 is remarkably close to the RTX 3070's 17208, a 0.7% gap, yet the RTX 3070 would likely outperform it in many modern games due to architectural differences. In Lockdown Protocol, the combo's rank of 1800 indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor in achieving higher frame rates, as the CPU has ample headroom.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results span a wide range depending on settings. Low settings produce 167 FPS average, which is a very playable frame rate for competitive FPS play. Medium settings reduce this to 119 FPS, with a minimum of 101 FPS and a maximum of 136 FPS. High settings deliver 104 FPS average. Ultra settings produce 78 FPS average. The spread from 167 to 78 FPS across presets at 1080p demonstrates a 53.3% performance penalty for the highest visual quality preset.

At 2560x1440, the results shift downward. Low settings yield 123 FPS, which remains above the 120 FPS threshold that many players consider ideal. Medium settings produce 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS. High settings deliver 76 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 57 FPS. The 1440p results show that Medium and Low are the only presets that maintain frame rates above 80 FPS, while High and Ultra fall below that mark.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes more constrained. Low settings produce 79 FPS, which is still playable but noticeably lower than the 1080p result. Medium settings yield 56 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 65 FPS. High settings deliver 49 FPS. Ultra settings produce 37 FPS, which is the lowest measured result in the entire dataset. The 4K Ultra result of 37 FPS is borderline for a smooth experience, and the 4K Medium result of 56 FPS with a 48 FPS minimum suggests occasional dips below 50 FPS.

Across all three resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides the only rows with both minimum and maximum FPS data. At 1080p Medium, the range from 101 to 136 FPS represents a 35 FPS spread, indicating some frame time variance. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 74 to 100 FPS, a 26 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 48 to 65 FPS, a 17 FPS spread. This pattern suggests that frame pacing becomes more consistent at higher resolutions, likely because the GPU is more uniformly saturated.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 119 FPS average with a 101 FPS minimum, which provides smooth gameplay with headroom for fast-paced FPS action. At 1440p, Medium produces 87 FPS with a 74 FPS minimum, which remains above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable play. At 4K, Medium yields 56 FPS with a 48 FPS minimum, which is acceptable for slower-paced play but may show noticeable dips during intense scenes.

For players prioritizing high frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 167 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. This would be the optimal choice for competitive play where frame rate matters more than visual fidelity. At 1440p, Low still provides 123 FPS, which is sufficient for high-refresh-rate displays. At 4K, Low drops to 79 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for twitch-based gameplay.

The High preset represents a middle ground that may disappoint users seeking consistency. At 1080p, it delivers 104 FPS, which is adequate but 15 FPS lower than Medium. At 1440p, it drops to 76 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 49 FPS. The Ultra preset is only recommended for users who prioritize visual quality over performance, as it delivers 78 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that falls below 40 FPS, making it the least advisable choice.

Given the data, Medium at 1080p or 1440p provides the best combination of visual quality and playable frame rates. At 4K, Low or Medium are the only viable options, with Low offering higher frame rates and Medium offering better visuals at a moderate performance cost.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 167, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that exceeds 160 FPS in the dataset.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which produces 79 FPS average. Medium settings at 4K produce 56 FPS average, which falls below 60 FPS, and High and Ultra produce 49 FPS and 37 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the Medium preset's frame consistency compare across resolutions?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p, it ranges from 101 to 136 FPS. At 1440p, it ranges from 74 to 100 FPS. At 4K, it ranges from 48 to 65 FPS. The minimum-to-average gap widens at higher resolutions, indicating more frame time variability.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: Low settings produce 123 FPS average at 1440p, while Ultra produces 57 FPS. This represents a 53.7% reduction in performance when switching from Low to Ultra at 1440p.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more limiting in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The resolution scaling ratios are nearly uniform across all settings (approximately 47% for 4K-to-1080p), which is consistent with GPU-bound performance. The CPU, with a 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs, has substantial headroom.

Q: Does the GPU's 16 GB VRAM cause any issues in Lockdown Protocol?

A: No measured data suggests VRAM capacity issues. The frame rates scale smoothly without anomalous collapses at high resolutions or settings, indicating that 16 GB is sufficient for this game's demands.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, built on Arrow Lake Refresh architecture using a 3 nm TSMC process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with 115.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. It features 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes and a 125 W TDP.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU limitation: the 1080p results are not disproportionately high relative to 1440p or 4K, which would indicate a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. If the CPU were constraining performance, we would expect the 1080p results to plateau at a similar level to 1440p, but instead the 1080p results are substantially higher across all settings. The 1080p Low result of 167 FPS versus the 1440p Low result of 123 FPS demonstrates that the CPU can drive frame rates well above 150 FPS, which is ample for this title.

The CPU's general benchmark scores support its capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 51731 in multi-core and 7303 in single-core. In PassMark, it achieves 60860 in multithreaded tests and 4823 in single-thread tests. Its percentile ranking of 96 indicates it outperforms 96% of all CPUs in general benchmarks. The nearest rivals in average benchmark score are all within 1.3% of its 84003 average score. For Lockdown Protocol specifically, this CPU provides more than enough processing power to avoid becoming the bottleneck, and the combo rank of 1800 out of 2828 is attributable to the GPU's mid-range positioning rather than any CPU deficiency. Players using this CPU with a more powerful GPU would likely see higher frame rates in this game, as the CPU's capabilities exceed the demands of Lockdown Protocol at all tested settings.