Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol pairs the 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with the 6 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, a combination that lands in the lower half of the database’s tested configurations. The CPU is a top-tier desktop part with a 3.70 GHz base clock and 5.80 GHz boost, built on a 3 nm process with 36 MB of shared L3 cache. The GPU, by contrast, is an older Turing-architecture part from the GeForce 20-series, running at a 1365 MHz base and 1680 MHz boost with 1920 shading units. This pairing creates a significant bottleneck: the processor is capable of far higher frame rates than the graphics card can deliver, especially at higher resolutions. The measured data confirms this, showing that Lockdown Protocol’s performance scales more with GPU settings and resolution than with CPU headroom.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread desktop processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, codenamed Arrow Lake Refresh. Its 3.70 GHz base clock and 5.80 GHz boost clock are among the highest in the database, and the chip posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303. In Passmark’s multi-thread test it scores 60860, with a single-thread score of 4823. These numbers place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 96% of processors tested, with an average benchmark score of 84003.

In Lockdown Protocol, however, the CPU’s role is largely preparatory. The game’s frame rates at 1920x1080 with Low settings reach 145 FPS average, but that is the ceiling for this combo; at the same resolution with Ultra settings, the average drops to 67 FPS. The CPU is not the limiting factor in any measured row. For example, at 2560x1440 with Low settings, the combo produces 106 FPS average, while at 3840x2160 with Low settings it drops to 69 FPS. The delta between these results is driven by GPU load, not CPU throughput. The processor’s 24 threads and high boost clock ensure that even the most demanding scenes at 1080p do not starve the GPU of draw calls, but the data shows the RTX 2060 saturates well before the 290K Plus reaches its limit.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the 290K Plus sits 0.2% above the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K in average benchmark score, and 1.1% above the AMD EPYC 4584PX. It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3%. These deltas are small, indicating that swapping to any of these CPUs would not materially change Lockdown Protocol’s frame rates given the same GPU. The CPU’s 125 W TDP and DDR5 memory support (dual-channel, 115.2 GB/s bandwidth) provide ample bandwidth for the game’s engine, but the measured FPS data shows no scenario where CPU bandwidth becomes a constraint.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific configuration — the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 — ranks 2234 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. That puts it in the bottom 21% of all combinations, a surprisingly low position given the CPU’s 96th-percentile standing. The reason is clear: the GPU’s 58th percentile ranking (average benchmark score of 15290) drags the combo down. The RTX 2060’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (0% delta), AMD Radeon 680M (0.1% delta), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (0.6% delta), and AMD Radeon RX 7600 (0.8% delta). All of these GPUs perform within 1% of the RTX 2060 on average, meaning the combo’s rank is essentially a function of GPU class, not the CPU.

In practical terms, the combo rank of 2234 means that 594 other CPU+GPU pairings produce higher frame rates in Lockdown Protocol. The data shows that the 290K Plus is overkill for this GPU tier. For example, the same GPU paired with a mid-range CPU would likely produce nearly identical FPS, because the bottleneck is the GPU’s 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 1920x1080 Medium result (103 FPS average) and 2560x1440 High result (66 FPS average) illustrate that the RTX 2060 is the performance ceiling. The CPU’s high single-thread score (4823 Passmark) does help maintain minimum frame rates in CPU-bound sections, but the measured data does not include a scenario where the CPU is the primary constraint. Thus, the combo rank reflects a GPU-limited system with an unnecessarily powerful processor.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Lockdown Protocol with this combo?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the most playable. At Low settings the average FPS is 145, at Medium it is 103, and at High it is 90. At 2560x1440, only Low settings exceed 100 FPS (106 average), while High drops to 66 FPS. At 3840x2160, even Low settings only reach 69 FPS, and Ultra falls to 32 FPS.

Q: Does the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus bottleneck the RTX 2060?

A: No. The CPU is far more powerful than the GPU. The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290 (58th percentile), while the 290K Plus scores 84003 (96th percentile). The measured FPS scales with GPU settings, not CPU clock speed, so the GPU is the limiting factor in every row.

Q: How does this combo compare to using a different GPU with the same CPU?

A: The combo ranks 2234 out of 2828. Since the CPU is in the 96th percentile, the low rank is due to the GPU. Swapping the RTX 2060 for a GPU with a higher average benchmark score would improve FPS, but the data provided does not include alternative GPU pairings for this CPU.

Q: Is the RTX 2060’s 6 GB VRAM sufficient for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The measured results suggest it is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but not for 4K. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 32 (Ultra) to 69 (Low), with the Medium preset showing a minimum of 41 FPS. The GPU’s 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus provide 336.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: What settings should be avoided for a smooth experience?

A: Ultra settings at any resolution are problematic. At 1920x1080 Ultra averages 67 FPS, at 2560x1440 Ultra averages 49 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Ultra averages 32 FPS. The data indicates that High settings at 1440p (66 FPS) are borderline, while Medium at 1080p (103 FPS) is the best balance of quality and speed.

Q: How does the RTX 2060’s performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 scores 15290 on average, which is 0% different from the GTX 580, 0.1% above the Radeon 680M, 0.6% above the RTX 3050 OEM, and 0.8% above the RX 7600. This means all five GPUs are virtually interchangeable in Lockdown Protocol, so the combo rank would not change with those swaps.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 145 FPS, making this the only configuration in the dataset to exceed 140 FPS. Medium settings drop to 103 FPS average, with a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 119 FPS — a tight band that suggests stable frame pacing. High settings average 90 FPS, and Ultra settings average 67 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 78 FPS, a 54% reduction, indicating that the RTX 2060’s shading units and 6 GB VRAM are heavily taxed by higher quality presets.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops are consistent. Low settings average 106 FPS, which is still smooth for competitive play. Medium settings average 76 FPS (minimum 64, maximum 87), High averages 66 FPS, and Ultra averages 49 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 57 FPS, or 54% of the Low score. Notably, the 1440p Medium minimum of 64 FPS is higher than the 1080p Ultra minimum (not provided, but the average is 67), suggesting that resolution scaling is not linear — the GPU hits a memory bandwidth wall above 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles. Low settings average 69 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced FPS. Medium settings average 49 FPS (minimum 41, maximum 56), High averages 43 FPS, and Ultra averages 32 FPS. The Ultra result at 4K is the worst measured, with an average below 33 FPS, which would be noticeably choppy. The data shows a clear pattern: each resolution step halves the effective headroom, and the RTX 2060 cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K on any preset. The best 4K result (Low, 69 FPS) is only 2 FPS higher than the worst 1080p result (Ultra, 67 FPS), highlighting the GPU’s resolution bottleneck.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides the most stable frame times, as evidenced by the only min/max data in the dataset. At 1080p Medium, the range is 88–119 FPS (31 FPS spread); at 1440p Medium, 64–87 FPS (23 FPS spread); at 4K Medium, 41–56 FPS (15 FPS spread). The narrowing spread at higher resolutions suggests the GPU is becoming more consistently saturated, with less variance from scene complexity.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a Turing-architecture GPU with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1365 MHz, boosting to 1680 MHz, with 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The card also includes 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, though Lockdown Protocol’s measured results do not indicate any ray tracing or DLSS usage — the FPS numbers are raw rasterization performance. The GPU’s 12 nm process and 160 W TDP place it as an entry-level card by modern standards, and its 58th percentile ranking (average benchmark score 15290) confirms its mid-low position.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU is the dominant performance factor. The 6 GB VRAM is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but at 3840x2160 the memory bus becomes a constraint. The 4K Low result (69 FPS) versus the 1440p Low result (106 FPS) shows a 37 FPS drop from a single resolution increase, while the 1080p Low (145 FPS) to 1440p Low (106 FPS) drop is 39 FPS. These deltas are similar, indicating that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are equally stressed across resolutions. The measured data shows no scenario where the CPU compensates for GPU limitations; the RTX 2060’s 6.451 TFLOPS FP32 performance is the hard ceiling.

The GPU’s nearest rivals (GTX 580, Radeon 680M, RTX 3050 OEM, RX 7600) all score within 0.8% of the RTX 2060’s average, so swapping to any of them would produce nearly identical Lockdown Protocol results. The GPU’s 12 nm process and 445 mm² die size are large for its performance class, but the data does not show thermal throttling as a factor — the only measured values are average FPS and occasionally min/max. The RTX 2060’s 14 Gbps effective memory speed is the same across all settings, so the FPS variance is purely from shading workload and VRAM allocation.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is the optimal configuration for this combo. It delivers an average of 103 FPS with a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 119 FPS, providing a stable, high-refresh experience without the visual degradation of Low settings. The 88 FPS minimum is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the 31 FPS spread between min and max indicates consistent frame delivery. Low settings at 1080p (145 FPS) are only recommended for competitive play where maximum frame rate matters more than visual fidelity, but the jump from Low to Medium costs only 42 FPS (29% reduction) for a significant visual upgrade.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset (76 FPS average, 64 FPS minimum) is the best balance, though the 64 FPS minimum is close to the edge of comfort for a fast-paced FPS. High settings at 1440p (66 FPS average) are playable but leave no headroom for demanding scenes. Low settings at 1440p (106 FPS) are the smoothest option if resolution is non-negotiable, but the visual quality is poor for a modern game. For most players, sticking to 1080p Medium is the recommendation.

At 3840x2160, no preset is ideal. Low settings (69 FPS) are the only option that approaches playable, but the average is below 70 FPS, and the Medium preset’s minimum of 41 FPS makes it unsuitable. Ultra at 4K (32 FPS) is not recommended under any circumstances. The data suggests that this combo is not viable for 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol, and users should either drop to 1440p or reduce the resolution scale if 4K is required. The High preset at 1080p (90 FPS) is a reasonable alternative to Medium if the user prefers higher visual quality, but the 13 FPS difference (103 vs 90) is less impactful than the 21 FPS difference between Medium and Low at 4K (49 vs 69). Ultimately, the measured rows show that Medium at 1080p or 1440p offers the most consistent frame times, as evidenced by the only min/max data points in the dataset.