Lockdown Protocol

Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 9060 is a pairing that lands in the lower-middle tier of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol. The data places this combo at rank 1647 out of 2828 tested configurations, meaning roughly 58% of other combos deliver higher frame rates. It is not a top-tier pairing, but it is far from the bottom; the ranking reflects a balanced system that can play the game, though not at maximum competitive settings when aiming for high refresh rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1647 out of 2828 in Lockdown Protocol suggests a middle-of-the-pack experience. This is a position where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck in most scenarios, as the CPU has significant headroom. The data indicates that this pairing is better suited for 1440p gaming at medium-to-high settings than for chasing extreme frame rates at 1080p. The ranking is not a criticism of either component in isolation; it is a reflection of how they interact in this specific title. For context, the CPU’s average benchmark score places it in the 96th percentile among all tested processors, while the GPU sits in the 59th percentile among all tested graphics cards. This mismatch — a top-tier CPU paired with a mid-range GPU — naturally drags the combo’s overall ranking down.

When examining the CPU’s nearest rivals, the performance delta is narrow. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores an average of 84003, which is only 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807), and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090). The data shows this CPU is competitive at the top of its class, but that raw compute power does not translate into a high combo rank when the GPU is the limiting factor. The GPU’s position is more telling: the RX 9060 scores an average of 16014, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129) and roughly 1% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862) and RX 7700 (15852). This places the RX 9060 in a performance tier where it trades blows with previous-generation mid-range cards, which explains the combo’s overall ranking.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the defining component for this combo’s performance in Lockdown Protocol. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is adequate for the game at 1080p and 1440p, but the 8 GB capacity can become a constraint at 4K with higher texture quality settings. The GPU’s boost clock of 2990 MHz and game clock of 2400 MHz are relatively high, which helps maintain performance in lighter scenes. The base clock sits at 1700 MHz.

In terms of compute, the RX 9060 has 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. It also includes 28 ray tracing cores. The pixel rate is 191.4 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 334.9 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is listed at 21.43 TFLOPS. These specifications put the card in a position where it can handle Lockdown Protocol’s FPS gameplay, but the measured FPS data shows it struggles to maintain high frame rates at Ultra settings across all resolutions.

The GPU’s benchmark results are modest. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 3322. The Geekbench OpenCL score is 88183, and the Vulkan score is 39476. The Passmark G3D score is 17631, with a GPU compute score of 9919. These numbers confirm that the RX 9060 is a mid-range performer. When compared to its nearest rivals, the RX 9060 is essentially tied with the RTX 3060 Ti, which is a notable point since the RTX 3060 Ti is an older card. The deltaPct values show the RX 9060 is 0.7% slower than the RTX 3060 Ti, 1% faster than the R9 370X and RX 7700, and 2.1% faster than the Radeon Pro W5500. This suggests that the RX 9060 is a competent card for its class, but it does not punch above its weight.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combo performs well, with average FPS ranging from 175 at Low settings to 81 at Ultra. Dropping to 1440p, the average FPS falls to 128 at Low and 60 at Ultra. At 4K, the numbers drop further to 83 at Low and 39 at Ultra. This scaling indicates that the GPU is the limiting component; the CPU has enough headroom to feed frames at lower resolutions, but the GPU cannot keep up as pixel count increases.

The relative drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 109 at 1080p to 80 at 1440p and 51 at 4K. This represents a 53% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the drop is from 175 to 128 to 83, a 53% reduction as well. This consistent scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, but the data shows a steep decline, confirming that the RX 9060 is the constraining factor.

The data also shows how settings impact performance at each resolution. At 4K, moving from Low to Ultra reduces the average FPS by more than half, from 83 to 39. This is a significant penalty for visual quality, suggesting that players should stick to Medium or High settings at 4K to maintain playable frame rates. At 1440p, the Ultra setting still manages 60 FPS average, which is playable, but the Medium setting at 91 FPS provides a better balance. At 1080p, the Ultra setting at 81 FPS is acceptable for most players, though competitive players might prefer the Medium setting at 124 FPS for higher refresh rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings levels.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the combo achieves an average FPS of 51 at High settings. The Low setting improves this to 83 FPS. The Medium setting delivers 59 FPS average, with a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 68. The Ultra setting is the most demanding, dropping the average to 39 FPS. None of the 4K results are ideal for a fast-paced FPS, but the Low setting is playable.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance is more reasonable. High settings yield an average of 80 FPS. Low settings jump to 128 FPS. Medium settings provide a solid 91 FPS average, with a range of 77 to 105. Ultra settings drop to 60 FPS average. For 1440p gaming, the Medium setting appears to be the sweet spot, offering a good balance between visual quality and frame rate.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the combo performs best. High settings average 109 FPS. Low settings reach 175 FPS. Medium settings average 124 FPS, with a minimum of 106 and a maximum of 143. Ultra settings still manage 81 FPS. At 1080p, the combo can handle Ultra settings for a smooth experience, but the Medium setting at 124 FPS is better suited for high-refresh-rate monitors.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data shows 1440p at Medium settings is a strong choice, with an average FPS of 91. At 1080p, the Medium setting averages 124 FPS, which is better for high-refresh displays. The 4K results are playable only at Low settings (83 FPS average).

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 3060 Ti?

A: The RX 9060 scores an average of 16014, which is 0.7% lower than the RTX 3060 Ti’s 16129. In real-world terms, this means the two cards perform nearly identically in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this combo?

A: The FPS scaling across resolutions indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU is in the 96th percentile of all processors, while the GPU is in the 59th percentile. As resolution increases, FPS drops significantly, which is a sign of GPU limitation.

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

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The average FPS at 4K is 39 at Ultra, 51 at High, 59 at Medium, and 83 at Low. For a playable experience, Low or Medium settings are recommended.

Q: What is the combo’s ranking among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1647 out of 2828 tested combos. This places it in the lower-middle tier, indicating that while it can play the game, many other configurations offer higher performance.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its immediate rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores an average of 84003, which is 0.2% higher than the Core Ultra 9 285K and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX. It is 1.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 7F72, which scores 85072.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a powerhouse processor that is not fully utilized in this pairing. With 24 cores and 24 threads, it offers substantial multi-threaded performance. The base clock is 3.70 GHz, and the boost clock reaches 5.80 GHz. This high boost clock is beneficial for single-threaded tasks, which are common in FPS games like Lockdown Protocol. The CPU’s cache configuration includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. This large cache helps with game data access.

In terms of benchmark performance, the CPU excels. It scores 51731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7303 in single-core. The Passmark multi-thread score is 60860, and the single-thread score is 4823. These numbers place the CPU in the 96th percentile of all tested processors. The memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s provides ample data throughput. The CPU also supports PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes, which is more than enough for the RX 9060’s PCIe 5.0 x16 interface.

Given this CPU’s capability, it is clear that the RX 9060 is the limiting factor in this combo. The CPU can push far more frames than the GPU can render, especially at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data supports this: the performance drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent with a GPU bottleneck. For a player considering this combo, the CPU provides a solid foundation for future GPU upgrades, but with the RX 9060, the system’s performance is capped by the graphics card.