Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile combination delivers a clearly tiered performance profile in Lockdown Protocol, with the data showing a steep drop-off as resolution climbs from 1080p to 4K. The benchmark results indicate that this laptop pairing is highly capable at mainstream resolutions, but it hits a hard wall at 4K Ultra settings, where average frame rates fall well below the playable threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its strongest performance across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 168 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure in the entire dataset. Medium settings drop to 119 FPS average, with the measured range spanning 102 FPS minimum to 137 FPS maximum. High settings yield 104 FPS average, while Ultra settings still maintain a robust 78 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 90 FPS, indicating that the GPU has substantial headroom even at the most demanding preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down noticeably but remains strong. Low settings average 123 FPS, a 45 FPS reduction compared to the same preset at 1080p. Medium settings average 88 FPS, with a range of 74 FPS minimum to 101 FPS maximum. High settings deliver 76 FPS average, while Ultra settings fall to 57 FPS average. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 66 FPS, showing that the resolution increase compresses the preset range.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low settings average 80 FPS, which is the only preset at this resolution that clears the 60 FPS threshold comfortably. Medium settings average 57 FPS, with a range of 48 FPS minimum to 65 FPS maximum, meaning the frame rate dips below playable levels even if the average is close. High settings fall to 49 FPS average, and Ultra settings bottom out at 37 FPS average. The gap from Low to Ultra at 4K is 43 FPS, a narrower spread than at lower resolutions, which suggests the GPU is becoming the limiting factor across all presets.

The min/max data provided only for Medium settings at each resolution reveals consistency in frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the 102 FPS minimum and 137 FPS maximum indicate a 35 FPS swing. At 1440p Medium, the 74 FPS minimum and 101 FPS maximum show a 27 FPS swing. At 4K Medium, the 48 FPS minimum and 65 FPS maximum show a 17 FPS swing. The shrinking variance at higher resolutions points to the GPU being more consistently saturated as pixel count increases.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 78 FPS. This is a clear win, as the combo can run the game at maximum settings with comfortable margin above the playable threshold. The 78 FPS average at Ultra also indicates there is room for occasional dips without falling below 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are High, which averages 76 FPS. Ultra falls to 57 FPS average, just below the 60 FPS threshold, so High is the maximum preset that maintains playability. The 76 FPS average at High provides a decent buffer, though not as large as the 1080p Ultra figure.

At 3840x2160, the best settings are Low, which averages 80 FPS. Medium averages 57 FPS, falling short of the 60 FPS mark, so Low is the only playable preset at this resolution. The 80 FPS average at Low is respectable, but it means the user must sacrifice visual quality to achieve smooth gameplay at 4K.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear pattern where the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the CPU has more influence, as evidenced by the large frame rate spread across presets. The 90 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p suggests that the RTX 4060 Mobile is not fully saturated even at Ultra, allowing the Ryzen 9 8945HX's 16 cores and 32 threads to feed frames efficiently. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42713 and PassMark multithread score of 51405 support this interpretation, as the processor has ample headroom to handle game logic and draw calls.

At 2560x1440, the GPU starts to assert more influence. The spread between Low and Ultra narrows to 66 FPS, indicating that the RTX 4060 Mobile is becoming the bottleneck. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 17469 and its 67th percentile ranking among all GPUs suggest it is a mid-range part, and the increased pixel count at 1440p begins to tax its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU's role diminishes, though it still contributes to maintaining the 76 FPS average at High settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The spread between Low and Ultra narrows further to 43 FPS, and even Low settings only produce 80 FPS average. The RTX 4060 Mobile's 11.61 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 90.72 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply not sufficient for 4K rendering at high quality. The CPU's influence is minimal here, as the frame rates are bound by the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at the same preset illustrates this: Low settings drop from 168 FPS to 123 FPS to 80 FPS, a 52% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is consistent with the GPU being the primary constraint.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 78 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the best settings configuration for that resolution according to the verdict data.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 1440p?

A: High settings at 2560x1440 produce an average of 76 FPS, making it the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. Ultra settings at this resolution average only 57 FPS, which falls short of the playable threshold.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware?

A: Only at Low settings, which average 80 FPS at 3840x2160. Medium settings average 57 FPS and dip to 48 FPS minimum, so they are not reliably playable. High and Ultra settings average 49 FPS and 37 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 Mobile compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 22729 is 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, 0.8% above the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, 1.3% below the Intel Arc B580, and 1.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile. These deltas are all within a narrow band, indicating similar performance levels.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 8945HX compare to its closest competitors?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score of 76212 is 0.1% above the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, 0.4% below the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P, 0.4% below the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX, and 0.6% above the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D. The CPU ranks in the 95th percentile among all CPUs.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1080p Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 119 FPS, with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 137 FPS. This provides a strong experience with minimal frame time variance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 2276th out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the lower half of the database, which is notable given the individual component rankings. The CPU sits in the 95th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 67th percentile among all GPUs. The discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's mid-tier ranking suggests that the RTX 4060 Mobile is the limiting factor in this pairing. The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 2080, shows a benchmark score that is 0.7% higher, and the RTX 5060 Mobile trails by 1.3%, meaning the 4060 Mobile is competitive with recent mid-range parts but not exceptional.

The rank of 2276 out of 3714 indicates that many other combinations deliver better performance in this specific game. This is likely due to the GPU's 8 GB memory capacity and 128-bit bus width, which become constraints at higher resolutions and quality settings. The CPU's strong multi-threaded performance, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42713, does not compensate for the GPU's limitations in a GPU-bound title like Lockdown Protocol at 4K.

The Verdict

The data clearly answers whether this PC can run Lockdown Protocol: yes, but with important caveats depending on resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo clears 60 FPS at every preset, including Ultra at 78 FPS average. This makes 1080p gaming fully viable with maximum quality settings. At 2560x1440, High settings average 76 FPS, which is playable, but Ultra drops to 57 FPS, so users must settle for High or lower to maintain smooth gameplay. At 3840x2160, only Low settings are playable, averaging 80 FPS, while Medium falls to 57 FPS average with dips to 48 FPS minimum.

The verdict data confirms this hierarchy: the playable settings list for 4K includes only Low, while 1440p includes High, Low, and Medium, and 1080p includes all four presets. The best settings at each resolution are Low (80 FPS), High (76 FPS), and Ultra (78 FPS) for 4K, 1440p, and 1080p respectively. This is a capable combo for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but 4K requires significant compromises in visual quality. The GPU is the clear bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU's performance headroom means it is not the limiting factor in any scenario. For users targeting high refresh rates at 1080p or solid 60 FPS at 1440p with High settings, this system delivers. For 4K enthusiasts, the RTX 4060 Mobile simply lacks the raw throughput needed for anything beyond Low presets.