Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol presents a demanding workload for the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and AMD Radeon 880M combination. The measured data indicates that this integrated graphics solution is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve playable frame rates, but struggles significantly at higher resolutions. The combination of a high-end mobile CPU and a modest integrated GPU creates a system where graphical settings and resolution must be carefully managed to prioritize smooth gameplay over visual fidelity. The benchmark results show a clear hierarchy: lower resolutions and settings yield the most consistent performance, while the Ultra preset at 4K is effectively unplayable.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this hardware configuration in Lockdown Protocol is achieved with the Low preset at 1920x1080. This setting delivers an average frame rate of 74 FPS, which is the highest measured average across all tested combinations of resolution and settings. This is the only configuration that consistently breaks into the high refresh rate territory, providing a smooth and responsive experience that is crucial for a fast-paced FPS title. While the Medium preset at the same resolution offers an average of 53 FPS, the jump from Low to Medium results in a significant 21 FPS drop, making the Low preset the safer choice for maintaining a high and stable frame rate.

At 1440p, the Low preset is also the recommended choice, producing an average of 54 FPS. This is a playable frame rate for most users, though it is notably lower than the 1080p result. The High preset at 1440p drops to 34 FPS, which begins to feel less fluid for a competitive shooter. The data suggests that for users who prioritize frame rate, the Low preset is the only viable option at 1440p. The Medium and Ultra presets at this resolution fall below the 40 FPS mark, which is generally considered suboptimal for an FPS.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it produces the lowest frame rates in every scenario. At 1080p, it averages 35 FPS, which is a 39 FPS drop from the Low preset. The performance penalty for the highest visual quality is too severe for this GPU. The data clearly shows that the Radeon 880M does not have the computational headroom to handle the most demanding settings, even at the lowest resolution. Therefore, the user must sacrifice visual detail to achieve a playable frame rate, with the Low preset providing the best balance of performance and playability.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 880M is the primary bottleneck in this system for Lockdown Protocol. The GPU's performance is limited by its specifications, which are modest for a modern title. It features a boost clock of 2900 MHz and a base clock of 400 MHz. The GPU is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture and has a TDP of just 15 W, highlighting its efficiency-focused design as an integrated processor. The 880M's memory is "System Shared," meaning it uses a portion of the main system RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, which can impact performance in a memory-intensive game.

The benchmark results for the GPU place it in the 43rd percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score is 8436. This places it in direct competition with older dedicated mobile GPUs, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX and the AMD Radeon HD 8870M. The deltaPct values against these rivals are minimal, at 0.1% and -0.3% respectively, indicating a performance class that is several generations behind modern dedicated graphics cards. This context is critical for understanding the measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol; the GPU is simply not designed for high-end gaming workloads.

The GPU's compute capabilities are also reflected in its FP32 performance of 4.454 TFLOPS. This figure, combined with the system-shared memory, explains why the game's frame rates are so sensitive to resolution and settings. The Radeon 880M can handle the game at lower resolutions, but as the pixel count and graphical complexity increase, its limited shading units and texture units become overwhelmed. The 768 shading units and 48 TMUs are insufficient for the demands of 4K gaming, resulting in the low average frame rates observed in the data.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the GPU's limitations. At the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 74 FPS at 1920x1080 to 54 FPS at 2560x1440, a 27% decrease. Further scaling to 3840x2160 results in an average of 35 FPS, a further 35% decrease from the 1440p result. This steep decline indicates that the Radeon 880M is heavily taxed by the increasing pixel count, and the system-shared memory bandwidth becomes a significant constraint at higher resolutions. The frame rate drop is not linear, suggesting that memory bandwidth and fill rate are major limiting factors.

The trend is similar across all settings. For the High preset, the average FPS drops from 46 at 1080p to 34 at 1440p and finally to 22 at 4K. This consistent pattern across all presets confirms that the resolution is a dominant factor in performance. The game is being limited by the GPU's ability to render pixels, and the CPU's high performance cannot compensate for this bottleneck. The data suggests that the Radeon 880M is most efficient at 1080p, where it can maintain a playable frame rate, but its performance collapses as the resolution approaches 4K.

The difference between 1080p and 4K at the Medium preset is also telling, with averages of 53 FPS and 25 FPS respectively. This shows a 53% reduction in performance. The Ultra preset is the worst performer, with an average of 35 FPS at 1080p and a measly 16 FPS at 4K. These numbers highlight that the component limiting the experience is the GPU. The CPU is not the bottleneck; instead, the Radeon 880M's raw rendering power is insufficient for the demands of higher resolutions. Users targeting 4K will not have a viable experience with this hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and the AMD Radeon 880M ranks 2763 out of 2828 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This places the combo in the bottom 2.3% of all tested systems, indicating that it is among the least capable configurations for this specific game. The rank is a direct reflection of the GPU's performance, as the CPU is a top-tier mobile processor. This poor ranking is a clear verdict that this combo is not suitable for running Lockdown Protocol at high settings or resolutions.

The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's average benchmark score of 8436, which is in the 43rd percentile of all GPUs. The CPU, in contrast, is in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 76212. This massive disparity in performance class between the two components is the defining characteristic of this combo. The high-ranking CPU cannot boost the system's gaming performance because the GPU is the limiting factor. The system is unbalanced for gaming, with the CPU's potential being wasted in this context.

The data shows that this combo is outclassed by most others, even those with older dedicated graphics cards. The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX, are several generations old, highlighting the significant performance gap between this integrated GPU and even entry-level dedicated options. For a user looking to play Lockdown Protocol, this ranking serves as a warning that the experience will be poor unless settings are turned down to the minimum. The combo rank is a stark indicator of the system's overall gaming capability, which is severely limited.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a high-performance mobile processor that is not the bottleneck in Lockdown Protocol. It features 16 cores and 32 threads, based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a boost clock of up to 5.40 GHz. The CPU's benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42713 and a single-core score of 6030. These results place it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 76212 is nearly identical to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, with a deltaPct of just 0.1%. This indicates that the CPU has ample processing power for the game's logic and physics.

Despite its power, the CPU's role in the measured FPS is secondary to the GPU. The game's frame rates are consistently low, especially at high resolutions, which points to the GPU as the primary constraint. The CPU's high multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Passmark multithread score of 51405, ensures it can handle the game's background tasks and any additional workloads without issue. However, this processing power does not translate into higher frame rates when the GPU is unable to render frames fast enough.

The CPU's memory support for DDR5 and dual-channel configuration provides a theoretical memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. This is crucial for the Radeon 880M, which relies on system memory for its frame buffer. The CPU's ability to feed data to the GPU is a positive factor, but it is not enough to overcome the GPU's core limitations. The data suggests that the CPU is waiting for the GPU to finish rendering, and any further CPU performance gains would not result in a noticeable FPS improvement. This is a classic case of a powerful CPU being paired with a weak GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at performance across different settings and resolutions.

1920x1080: At the lowest resolution, the combo shows its best performance. The Low setting achieves an average of 74 FPS, which is the best result in the entire dataset. The Medium setting averages 53 FPS, with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 61 FPS, showing a playable but less stable frame rate. The High setting averages 46 FPS, while the Ultra setting drops to an average of 35 FPS. The gradient shows a 39 FPS difference between the Low and Ultra presets, emphasizing the significant cost of high graphical fidelity.

2560x1440: At 1440p, performance takes a noticeable hit. The Low setting averages 54 FPS, which is still playable but 20 FPS lower than at 1080p. The Medium setting averages 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS. The High setting averages 34 FPS, and the Ultra setting falls to an average of 25 FPS. The data shows that only the Low preset can be considered a smooth experience at this resolution, and the Ultra preset becomes difficult to play.

3840x2160: At 4K, the GPU is overwhelmed. The Low setting is the only one that approaches playability, with an average of 35 FPS. The Medium setting averages 25 FPS, with a minimum of 21 FPS and a maximum of 29 FPS. The High setting averages a poor 22 FPS, and the Ultra setting is effectively unplayable at an average of 16 FPS. These numbers confirm that the Radeon 880M is not a 4K gaming solution. The performance at this resolution is consistently below the threshold for a smooth experience, regardless of the settings chosen, making 1080p the only sensible target for this hardware.