Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile delivers a dominant performance profile in Lockdown Protocol, positioning this combo among the top quartile of tested systems. With a combo rank of 806 out of 3714 tested configurations, this pairing places itself far ahead of the median system, and the measured frame rates confirm that the GPU is the overwhelming driver of performance across all resolutions. The data shows a system that is not merely playable but exceptionally capable, with the only notable limitation appearing at 4K Ultra settings, where the average frame rate dips below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination produces frame rates that range from excellent to extreme. On Low settings, the average FPS reaches 262, which is more than four times the playable threshold of 60 FPS. Stepping up to Medium settings, the average drops to 186 FPS, with a minimum of 158 FPS and a maximum of 214 FPS, indicating that even the lowest frame rates remain far above any point of concern. High settings yield an average of 162 FPS, and Ultra settings still deliver a robust 122 FPS average. Across all four presets at 1080p, the system never approaches the 60 FPS line, making this resolution entirely trivial for the hardware.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scaling is consistent and predictable. Low settings produce an average of 192 FPS, while Medium settings average 136 FPS with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 157 FPS. High settings maintain an average of 119 FPS, and Ultra settings still clear the playable threshold comfortably with an average of 89 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at this resolution is 17 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 30 FPS, showing that the cost of the highest preset becomes more pronounced as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show its first signs of strain, though only at the most demanding settings. Low settings average 124 FPS, which is still double the playable threshold. Medium settings average 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS, keeping the frame rate well above 60 FPS even in the worst case. High settings average 77 FPS, which remains playable but with less headroom. The Ultra preset is the only configuration that falls below the threshold, averaging 58 FPS, which is 2 FPS under the 60 FPS line. The delta between Medium and High at 4K is 11 FPS, and the delta between High and Ultra is 19 FPS, illustrating the increasing cost of the Ultra preset at higher pixel counts.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 806 out of 3714 tested combinations places this system in the 78th percentile of all tested pairings for Lockdown Protocol. This means that roughly 78% of tested combos perform worse, while 22% perform better. Given that the RTX 4090 Mobile sits in the 84th percentile among all GPUs and the Core Ultra 5 125H sits in the 79th percentile among all CPUs, the combined ranking is slightly lower than either individual component percentile, suggesting that the CPU may be a marginal limiting factor in certain scenes.

The GPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance tier. The RTX 4090 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 43667, which is 0.8% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (score 43301), 0.9% higher than the RTX 5050 Mobile (score 43268), and 0.9% higher than the Quadro M6000 24 GB (score 43262). It trails the NVIDIA RTX A6000 by 0.9%, as that card scores 44075. These deltas are all within a single percentage point, indicating that the RTX 4090 Mobile sits in a very tight performance band with these professional and newer mobile parts.

On the CPU side, the Core Ultra 5 125H has an average benchmark score of 27507. It is effectively tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800, which scores 27535 and is only 0.1% ahead. The Intel Core i5-12600K and AMD Ryzen 7 5700X both score 27578, sitting 0.3% ahead of the Ultra 5 125H. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G scores 27382, which is 0.5% behind. These near-identical scores suggest that for CPU-bound scenarios, any of these processors would deliver nearly indistinguishable results in Lockdown Protocol.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No, not at the playable threshold. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 58 FPS, which is 2 FPS below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable setting at 4K is High, which averages 77 FPS.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 2560x1440?

A: Ultra settings are playable at 1440p, with an average FPS of 89. The verdict data lists Ultra among the playable settings for this resolution, along with High, Medium, and Low.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 Mobile compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 5050 Mobile?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 43667, which is 0.9% higher than the RTX 5050 Mobile's score of 43268. This places the 4090 Mobile slightly ahead in raw benchmark performance.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for this game at any resolution?

A: The data does not indicate a specific bottleneck. The CPU's average benchmark score of 27507 is within 0.5% of its nearest rivals, and the GPU's percentile (84) is higher than the CPU's percentile (79), suggesting the CPU may be the relatively weaker link, but measured FPS remain high across all settings.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1920x1080 with Medium settings?

A: The average FPS is 186, with a minimum of 158 FPS and a maximum of 214 FPS. This provides a very wide margin above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring smooth gameplay even during demanding scenes.

Q: Which settings provide the largest performance jump between presets?

A: At 1080p, the jump from Ultra (122 FPS) to High (162 FPS) is 40 FPS, while the jump from High to Medium (186 FPS) is 24 FPS. The largest single jump is from High to Low at 1440p, where the average increases from 119 FPS to 192 FPS, a delta of 73 FPS.

The Verdict

This system can run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS or above in nearly every configuration tested. At 1920x1080, all four presets clear the threshold, with Ultra averaging 122 FPS and Low averaging 262 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four presets also clear the threshold, with Ultra averaging 89 FPS and Low averaging 192 FPS. At 3840x2160, three of the four presets clear the threshold: Low averages 124 FPS, Medium averages 88 FPS, and High averages 77 FPS. The only configuration that fails to maintain 60 FPS is 4K Ultra, which averages 58 FPS.

The verdictByResolution data confirms that the best playable setting at 4K is High, with an average FPS of 77. At 1440p, the best playable setting is Ultra, with an average FPS of 89. At 1080p, the best playable setting is also Ultra, with an average FPS of 122. For users who prioritize 4K gaming, dropping from Ultra to High yields a 19 FPS improvement, bringing the average from 58 to 77 FPS. For those who prefer 1440p or 1080p, there is no need to compromise on settings, as the highest preset maintains a comfortable margin above the playable threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals offer nearly identical compute performance, with all deltas within 0.5%. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800 scores 27535, which is 0.1% higher than the Core Ultra 5 125H's 27507. The Intel Core i5-12600K and AMD Ryzen 7 5700X both score 27578, which is 0.3% higher. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G scores 27382, which is 0.5% lower. In Lockdown Protocol, any of these processors would deliver essentially the same frame rates as the Core Ultra 5 125H, assuming the GPU remains the same.

For the GPU side, the RTX 4090 Mobile's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (score 43301, 0.8% lower), the RTX 5050 Mobile (score 43268, 0.9% lower), the Quadro M6000 24 GB (score 43262, 0.9% lower), and the RTX A6000 (score 44075, 0.9% higher). Swapping the RTX 4090 Mobile for any of these GPUs would result in a performance change of less than 1% in raw benchmarks, which would translate to nearly identical FPS in Lockdown Protocol. A system built with the RTX 5050 Mobile or Quadro M6000 would behave almost exactly like this combo, while the RTX A6000 would be marginally faster.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average FPS of 122. This is the highest quality setting available and provides 62 FPS of headroom over the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is also Ultra, with an average FPS of 89. This leaves 29 FPS of headroom, which is sufficient for most gameplay scenarios.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average FPS of 77. This leaves 17 FPS of headroom. The Ultra preset at this resolution averages 58 FPS, so it is not recommended if the user wishes to maintain a consistent 60 FPS experience.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor in determining performance for Lockdown Protocol. The RTX 4090 Mobile has a percentile rank of 84 among all GPUs, while the Core Ultra 5 125H has a percentile rank of 79 among all CPUs. This gap, combined with the measured frame rates, points to the GPU doing most of the heavy lifting.

The scaling between resolutions confirms this. At 1080p Ultra, the system averages 122 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it averages 89 FPS, a drop of 33 FPS (27%). At 4K Ultra, it averages 58 FPS, a further drop of 31 FPS (35%). This consistent reduction in frame rate as resolution increases is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload scales directly with pixel count.

The scaling between presets at a fixed resolution further supports the GPU-centric analysis. At 4K, the difference between Low (124 FPS) and Ultra (58 FPS) is 66 FPS, a 53% reduction. At 1440p, the difference between Low (192 FPS) and Ultra (89 FPS) is 103 FPS, a 54% reduction. At 1080p, the difference between Low (262 FPS) and Ultra (122 FPS) is 140 FPS, a 53% reduction. The consistency of this percentage reduction across resolutions suggests that the CPU is not introducing a variable bottleneck; rather, the GPU's workload scales predictably with both resolution and preset quality.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent only at the highest frame rates. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 262 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that could begin to test CPU limits in certain scenes. However, the measured data shows that even at this extreme, the system maintains an average above 260 FPS, indicating that the Core Ultra 5 125H is sufficient to feed the RTX 4090 Mobile. For users targeting 60 FPS or even 144 FPS, the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution or preset.