Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the AMD Radeon 890M is a mobile combination designed for versatility, but in Lockdown Protocol, the integrated GPU becomes the primary limiting factor. The measured data shows a system that can handle the game only at the most modest settings, with performance collapsing as resolution and quality demands increase. The following analysis breaks down the exact frame rates, the comparative standing of this combo, and the practical settings needed to achieve playable performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution and graphical settings increase. At 1920x1080, the most common gaming resolution, the combo delivers an average of 78 FPS on Low settings, which comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold. However, this is the only configuration that achieves playable performance. Moving to Medium settings at the same resolution drops the average to 56 FPS, with a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 64 FPS, indicating noticeable frame dips below the target. High settings at 1920x1080 yield an average of 49 FPS, while Ultra falls to 36 FPS, both still rendering the game playable in a technical sense but failing to maintain a consistent 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance penalty becomes more pronounced. Low settings produce an average of 58 FPS, which is just shy of the 60 FPS threshold but still represents the best result at this resolution. Medium settings average 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS, showing that the frame rate becomes less stable as the GPU struggles with the increased pixel count. High settings average 36 FPS, and Ultra drops to 27 FPS, making these presets largely unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

The 3840x2160 resolution delivers the weakest results across the board. Low settings average 37 FPS, Medium averages 26 FPS with a range of 22 to 30 FPS, High averages 23 FPS, and Ultra averages just 17 FPS. None of these configurations approach the 60 FPS target, and even the minimum frame rates at Medium settings suggest a stuttering experience. The data indicates that the Radeon 890M's 1024 shading units and 32 ROPs, while capable for an integrated solution, cannot handle the rendering load at 4K in this title. The scaling between resolutions is steep: dropping from 1080p Low to 1440p Low reduces the average from 78 to 58 FPS, a 20 FPS loss, while the move to 4K Low further reduces it to 37 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS?

A: Only at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the average FPS is 78. At every other resolution and preset combination, the average FPS falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: There is no playable setting at 2560x1440. Even Low settings average only 58 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold, and Medium settings drop to 41 FPS average.

Q: How does the Radeon 890M compare to its nearest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The Radeon 890M has an average benchmark score of 9210, which is 0.1% below the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (score 9221), 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (score 9273), 0.9% below the GTX 465 (score 9294), and 1% below the GTX 850M (score 9302). This places it in the 45th percentile of all GPUs.

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

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 8945HX scores in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, while the Radeon 890M sits in the 45th percentile. The CPU's high multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713) cannot compensate for the GPU's limited rendering capability in this game.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1920x1080?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings average 78 FPS, while Ultra settings average 36 FPS. This represents a 42 FPS reduction, or a 54% drop in average performance, when moving from the least to most demanding preset.

Q: Does the game have a minimum FPS recorded at any settings?

A: The dataset includes minimum FPS values only for Medium settings. At 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum is 47 FPS; at 2560x1440 Medium, it is 35 FPS; and at 3840x2160 Medium, it is 22 FPS. Other presets do not have recorded minimum or maximum values.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX + AMD Radeon 890M combination ranks 3495 out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the bottom 6% of all combinations, indicating that the integrated GPU severely limits gaming performance in this title. The rank reflects the measured FPS data, which shows that only the lowest settings at 1080p achieve playable frame rates.

To contextualize this rank, consider the CPU's standalone performance. The Ryzen 9 8945HX scores in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 76212. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (score 76155, 0.1% slower), the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P (score 76492, 0.4% faster), the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX (score 76513, 0.4% faster), and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D (score 75779, 0.6% slower). This shows the CPU is a top-tier mobile processor. However, the GPU's 45th percentile ranking drags the overall combo down. The Radeon 890M's average score of 9210 is only marginally different from its nearest rivals, all of which are within 1% of its performance. This suggests that the combo's low rank is not due to an unusually weak GPU sample, but rather the inherent limitations of an integrated graphics solution in a demanding FPS title.

The rank of 3495 out of 3714 indicates that the vast majority of other tested combinations, including those with discrete entry-level GPUs, perform better in Lockdown Protocol. The data shows a clear gap between the capabilities of this integrated solution and what the game requires for smooth performance at higher presets.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals to the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX are all within 0.6% of its average benchmark score. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX is 0.1% slower, meaning systems using that processor would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol. The AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX are both 0.4% faster, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 0.6% faster. Since the game is GPU-bound in this configuration, swapping to any of these CPUs would not meaningfully change the measured FPS, as the Radeon 890M would remain the limiting factor.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon 890M's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (0.1% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (0.7% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 (0.9% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M (1% slower). These GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol. The GTX 960 and GTX 850M are discrete solutions from older generations, while the Vega 8 is another integrated graphics option. The similarity in scores means that a system with any of these GPUs paired with a comparable CPU would exhibit the same performance characteristics: playable only at 1080p Low, with frame rates dropping below 60 FPS at any higher settings or resolutions.

It is important to note that these alternatives are based on synthetic benchmark averages. The actual in-game performance can vary due to driver optimizations, but the close deltaPct values suggest that users should expect very similar FPS numbers across these GPUs. For the CPU, the alternatives are all high-end processors, and in this GPU-limited scenario, they would all behave identically, with the integrated GPU's rendering capability dictating the final frame rate.

CPU and GPU Roles

In Lockdown Protocol, the AMD Radeon 890M is the dominant factor in determining performance. The data shows that the CPU's substantial processing power, with a Passmark multi-thread score of 51405 and a single-thread score of 3907, does not translate into higher frame rates because the GPU cannot keep up with the rendering demands. The evidence for this lies in the scaling between resolutions and presets.

At 1920x1080, moving from Low to Ultra reduces the average FPS from 78 to 36, a 54% drop. This steep decline is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where increasing the graphical load directly impacts the render time. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would not change as dramatically with settings, because the CPU workload remains relatively constant regardless of graphics quality. The same pattern holds at 2560x1440, where Low averages 58 FPS and Ultra averages 27 FPS, and at 3840x2160, where Low averages 37 FPS and Ultra averages 17 FPS.

The resolution scaling further confirms the GPU's role. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 78 at 1080p to 58 at 1440p, then to 37 at 4K. This represents a 53% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The rendering workload at 4K is roughly four times that of 1080p, and the integrated GPU's limited pixel throughput (92.80 GPixel/s) and texture rate (185.6 GTexel/s) become the limiting factor. The CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, but with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713, it has ample headroom that remains unused in this scenario.

The CPU does matter for maintaining minimum frame rates, as the data shows that even at Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 47 at 1080p, which is a 16% drop from the average. This suggests that the CPU can handle the game's logic without causing severe stutters, but the GPU's inability to render frames fast enough is the primary constraint. In short, for this combination, the GPU is the bottleneck at every resolution and preset, and upgrading the CPU alone would yield no measurable improvement.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol? The answer is yes, but with significant caveats. According to the verdict by resolution data, this combination is only playable at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the average FPS is 78, exceeding the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, there are no playable settings; even Low averages 58 FPS, which is below the target. At 3840x2160, the situation is worse, with no settings achieving playable performance, as the best result (Low) averages only 37 FPS.

The playable threshold is defined as 60 FPS, and the data shows that the Radeon 890M lacks the raw horsepower to sustain this at higher resolutions. For users with a 1080p display, the game is playable at the lowest preset, but any attempt to increase visual quality will result in frame rates dipping below 60 FPS. At 1440p and 4K, the game is not playable by the defined standard, and users would need to accept significantly lower frame rates or reduce the resolution to achieve smoother gameplay.

The rank of 3495 out of 3714 combos reinforces that this is a low-performing configuration for this specific title. The integrated GPU is simply not designed for demanding FPS games at high settings. The verdict is clear: the Ryzen 9 8945HX + Radeon 890M can run Lockdown Protocol at 1080p Low with acceptable performance, but it cannot maintain 60 FPS at any other resolution or preset.

Best Settings per Resolution

Based on the measured FPS data, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at each resolution is as follows:

• 3840x2160: No preset achieves 60 FPS. The best available option is Low, which averages 37 FPS, but this falls well below the playable threshold. The verdict data lists no playable settings for this resolution.

• 2560x1440: No preset achieves 60 FPS. Low settings average 58 FPS, which is just below the threshold, and Medium averages 41 FPS. The verdict data lists no playable settings for this resolution.

• 1920x1080: Low settings are the only playable preset, averaging 78 FPS. This is the recommended configuration. Medium settings average 56 FPS, which is below the threshold, and High (49 FPS) and Ultra (36 FPS) are progressively worse.

For users who must play at 1440p or 4K, the data suggests that even Low settings will not provide a smooth experience, and they may need to consider lowering the resolution to 1080p to achieve playable frame rates. At 1080p, Low is the clear choice, as it is the only preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold while offering the best balance of performance and visual fidelity within the constraints of this hardware.