Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile presents a clear picture for Lockdown Protocol: it is a capable 1080p and 1440p machine, but 4K demands significant setting compromises. The measured data shows a system that scales predictably with resolution and preset, with the CPU holding its own in a mid-range mobile context. This analysis breaks down the exact FPS figures, explores the component roles, and determines the best way to run this FPS title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark results for this combo are consistent across the three tested resolutions, with the most complete data available at Medium settings, which includes min and max frame rates. At 1920x1080, the system is clearly comfortable. The Low preset delivers an average of 139 FPS, which is nearly 2.3 times the 60 FPS playable threshold. Moving to Medium drops the average to 98 FPS, with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 113 FPS, indicating smooth frame pacing. High settings produce an average of 86 FPS, while the demanding Ultra preset still manages a solid 64 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra is 75 FPS, showing the scaling cost of higher visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain largely playable but with less headroom. The Low preset yields an average of 102 FPS, which is a significant 37 FPS drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 72 FPS, with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 83 FPS—this min figure is just barely above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings average 63 FPS, which is exactly in the playable zone, but the Ultra preset falls to an average of 47 FPS, missing the 60 FPS target by a considerable margin. The data shows a 55 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution.

The 3840x2160 results are the most constrained. Only the Low preset achieves a playable average, at 66 FPS. Medium settings drop to a 47 FPS average, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS, which is a notably tight and low band. High settings produce a 41 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 31 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is harsh: the High preset loses 22 FPS, and the Ultra preset loses 16 FPS. This resolution is clearly beyond the comfortable range for this hardware, as even the best-case Low preset only clears the threshold by 6 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this laptop combo run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS on a 4K monitor?

A: Yes, but only with the Low preset. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 on Low is 66 FPS. All other settings—Medium (47 FPS), High (41 FPS), and Ultra (31 FPS)—fall below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the highest quality setting that maintains a 60 FPS average at 2560x1440?

A: The High preset is the most demanding option that stays playable, with an average of 63 FPS. The Medium preset is also playable at 72 FPS, but High offers better visuals while still clearing the 60 FPS bar. Ultra is not playable, averaging only 47 FPS.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever viable for this game?

A: Yes, but only at 1920x1080. The measured data shows an average of 64 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p and 4K, the Ultra preset averages 47 FPS and 31 FPS respectively, making it unplayable.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution?

A: At 1920x1080, the drop is from 139 FPS to 64 FPS, a 75 FPS loss. At 2560x1440, the drop is from 102 FPS to 47 FPS, a 55 FPS loss. At 3840x2160, the drop is from 66 FPS to 31 FPS, a 35 FPS loss. The absolute loss shrinks as resolution increases, but the relative impact is similar.

Q: Does the system ever drop below 60 FPS at 1080p Medium settings?

A: No. The minimum recorded FPS at 1920x1080 Medium is 84 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The minimum at 1440p Medium is 61 FPS, which is also just above the threshold, but at 4K Medium the minimum is 40 FPS.

Q: Is the 4K Low preset a stable experience or does it fluctuate?

A: The data does not include min or max FPS values for the 4K Low preset, only the 66 FPS average. However, given that the Medium preset at 4K shows a 40-54 FPS range, the Low preset likely has some fluctuation but maintains a playable average.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data indicates that this game is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the CPU still contributes meaningfully at lower settings. The scaling between resolutions shows where the bottleneck shifts. At 1920x1080, the jump from Low (139 FPS) to Medium (98 FPS) is a 41 FPS reduction, and from Medium to High (86 FPS) is a further 12 FPS drop. This suggests the GPU is the primary limiter even at 1080p, as the CPU has enough headroom to feed the graphics card.

The Core Ultra 7 155H, with its 16 cores and 22 threads, appears sufficient for this title. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15028 and single-core score of 1743 indicate strong performance, but the game's FPS scaling is more closely tied to the GPU. At 2560x1440, the Low preset drops to 102 FPS, a 37 FPS reduction from 1080p Low. This is a larger drop than the 1080p to 1440p resolution scaling alone would suggest, pointing to the RTX 5050 Mobile's bandwidth and pixel throughput limits. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor. The 4K Low preset (66 FPS) is only 36 FPS lower than 1440p Low (102 FPS), showing the massive pixel fill rate demand. The RTX 5050 Mobile's 32 ROPs and 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are being taxed heavily. The CPU's role becomes less relevant at 4K, as the GPU is unable to maintain high frame rates regardless of the CPU's output. The data shows that the Core Ultra 7 155H is not the limiting factor even at 1080p Low, where the 139 FPS average suggests the CPU can handle the game's logic and draw calls well above the 60 FPS target. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG graphics are irrelevant here, as the discrete GPU takes over, but the CPU's L3 cache of 24 MB shared likely helps with game asset streaming.

The Verdict

Based on the measured FPS and the 60 FPS playable threshold, this PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the experience varies drastically by resolution. At 1920x1080, the system is fully capable: every preset, including Ultra, clears the 60 FPS bar. The verdictByResolution data confirms that High, Low, Medium, and Ultra are all playable at this resolution. This is the sweet spot for this hardware.

At 2560x1440, the system is still playable but with fewer options. The verdict indicates that High, Low, and Medium are playable, while Ultra is not. The High preset averages 63 FPS, which is close to the threshold, so users should expect occasional dips if the scene complexity increases, though the Medium preset's 72 FPS average offers more stability. At 3840x2160, the system is only marginally playable. The verdict lists only Low as playable, with a 66 FPS average. This leaves almost no headroom, and the Medium preset's 47 FPS average confirms that any visual upgrade beyond Low will result in an unplayable experience. The overall combo rank of 2976 out of 3714 tested combos places this configuration in the lower third of systems tested for this game, indicating that while it works at 1080p, it is not a high-end performer.

Best Settings per Resolution

For the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, the data points to a clear choice at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, which achieves an average of 64 FPS. This is the highest quality option that maintains playability, and it does so with a 4 FPS margin above the threshold. At 2560x1440, the best settings are High, with an average of 63 FPS. This is a tighter margin, but it is the most visually rich preset that still clears 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p is a safer choice for stable frame times (72 FPS average), but High is the answer for maximum quality.

At 3840x2160, the best settings are Low, which produces an average of 66 FPS. This is the only playable option at 4K, and it is included here for completeness, though the 6 FPS margin is slim. For users prioritizing smoothness over visuals, the 1080p Medium preset offers a 98 FPS average with a minimum of 84 FPS, which is a more consistent experience than the 1080p Ultra preset's 64 FPS average. However, for pure visual quality, the 1080p Ultra preset is the recommended choice.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile ranks 2976th out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the bottom 20% of all tested systems, which aligns with the measured FPS data showing that it struggles at 4K and is only comfortable at 1080p. The CPU itself ranks in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU also ranks in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, but the combination does not exceed the sum of its parts for this title.

The rank suggests that many other configurations will offer better performance, particularly those with higher-end GPUs. The RTX 5050 Mobile's average benchmark score of 43268 is respectable, but it is paired with a CPU that, while strong in synthetic tests (Cinebench R23 multi-core 15028), does not push the GPU to extremes in gaming. The data implies that this combo is a mid-range mobile solution, not a high-refresh-rate or high-resolution champion. The rank of 2976 indicates that for Lockdown Protocol, users should expect to play at 1080p for high settings or 1440p for medium settings, as confirmed by the verdict data.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for what other hardware would behave similarly. For the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, the closest matches are the Intel Core i5-14600T (average score 32707, delta 0%), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (average score 32662, delta 0.1%), the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F (average score 32750, delta -0.2%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (average score 32812, delta -0.4%). These deltas are all within 0.4% of the Core Ultra 7's average score of 32697, meaning that in CPU-bound tasks, these processors would deliver nearly identical frame pacing for Lockdown Protocol. Choosing any of these CPUs would not change the gaming experience in this title, as the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (average score 43262, delta 0%), the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (average score 43301, delta -0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER (average score 43223, delta 0.1%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (average score 43667, delta -0.9%). The RTX 5050 Mobile's average score is 43268, so the RTX 4070 SUPER and the Quadro M6000 variants are essentially identical in synthetic benchmarks. However, the RTX 4090 Mobile is only 0.9% higher, which is surprising given its higher tier, but the delta suggests that for this game's specific workload, the RTX 5050 Mobile is not far off. In practice, swapping the RTX 5050 Mobile for an RTX 4070 SUPER would yield nearly the same FPS in Lockdown Protocol, while a Quadro M6000 would also be a close match. The RTX 4090 Mobile's slight edge would translate to a few extra frames, but not a dramatic change in playability. This data indicates that the RTX 5050 Mobile sits in a performance class that is comparable to desktop workstation GPUs from older generations, which reflects its efficiency but also a limitation for high-end gaming.