Lockdown Protocol

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900M delivers a 4K High experience at 63 FPS, a 1080p Low experience at 214 FPS, and a 1440p Medium experience at 111 FPS. These measured results place the combination in the 1183rd position out of 2828 tested combos, positioning it in the upper-middle tier of the database. The data reveals a component pairing that shifts between GPU-bound and CPU-bound behavior depending on the resolution and preset selected.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but not uniform. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 133 FPS at 1920x1080 to 97 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 63 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 27% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 35% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The decreasing percentage drops as resolution increases suggest the GPU is beginning to saturate at 4K, but the scaling is not perfectly linear.

At Low settings, the pattern is more revealing. The 1080p Low result is 214 FPS, which drops to 157 FPS at 1440p and 101 FPS at 4K. The 1440p to 4K drop is 36%, nearly identical to the High settings drop of 35%. However, the 1080p to 1440p drop at Low is 27%, same as High. This consistency across presets hints that resolution scaling is primarily a GPU workload phenomenon.

The Medium preset shows the most complete data with min and max FPS values. At 4K Medium, the average is 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 83 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average rises to 111 FPS with a range of 95 to 128 FPS. The 1080p Medium average is 152 FPS, ranging from 129 to 175 FPS. The spread between min and max grows from 22 FPS at 4K to 33 FPS at 1440p, then to 46 FPS at 1080p. This widening range at lower resolutions indicates that the CPU is becoming more involved in frame pacing.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. At 4K Ultra, the average is 47 FPS, which increases to 73 FPS at 1440p and 99 FPS at 1080p. The percentage gains from 4K to 1440p is 55%, and from 1440p to 1080p is 36%. The diminishing returns at 1080p suggest that the CPU is hitting a ceiling for Ultra settings at that resolution.

The limiting component shifts with resolution. At 4K across all presets, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as the FPS differences between Low and Ultra (101 vs 47) are massive. At 1080p Low, the 214 FPS result approaches what the CPU and memory subsystem can feed the GPU. The data implies that at 1080p, particularly with lower presets, the Ryzen 9 8945HX's single-thread performance becomes the primary constraint.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for balancing visual quality against frame rate. The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot for this combination. At 4K Medium, the 72 FPS average with a 61 FPS minimum is playable for a competitive FPS, though not ideal for high-refresh displays. At 1440p Medium, the 111 FPS average with a 95 FPS minimum exceeds the 90 FPS threshold that many esports titles target. At 1080p Medium, the 152 FPS average and 129 FPS minimum would satisfy most gamers.

The High preset offers a meaningful visual upgrade over Medium, but the cost is substantial. At 4K High, the average drops to 63 FPS, which is below the 72 FPS Medium result. At 1440p High, the 97 FPS average is 14 FPS lower than Medium. At 1080p High, the 133 FPS average is 19 FPS lower. The data shows that High only becomes viable at 1080p, where it still maintains a triple-digit average.

Ultra settings are difficult to justify for this game with this hardware. At every resolution, Ultra produces the lowest frame rates: 47 FPS at 4K, 73 FPS at 1440p, and 99 FPS at 1080p. The 4K Ultra result falls below the 60 FPS threshold, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. Even at 1080p, Ultra's 99 FPS average is only slightly above the 95 FPS minimum of 1440p Medium.

Low settings unlock the highest frame rates but sacrifice visual fidelity. The 214 FPS at 1080p Low is the fastest measured result, but the 101 FPS at 4K Low suggests that even the lowest preset cannot overcome the GPU's 4K limitations. For competitive play, 1080p Low makes sense. For visual quality, 1440p Medium provides the best balance, with 111 FPS average and a 95 FPS floor that keeps gameplay smooth.

The data suggests that 1440p Medium is the optimal configuration for most users. It delivers 111 FPS, which is 54% higher than 4K Medium's 72 FPS, while still offering better visual quality than Low presets. The 95 FPS minimum ensures that frame drops remain above the 90 FPS threshold, preventing noticeable stuttering in fast-paced FPS action.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and AMD Radeon RX 7900M ranks 1183rd out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the pairing in the 58th percentile of all combinations, meaning roughly 42% of tested combos perform better. The rank reflects the measured FPS data across all resolutions and presets, weighted toward the game's overall performance profile.

The CPU's individual benchmark scores provide context for this ranking. The Ryzen 9 8945HX achieves a 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 76212. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, scores 76155, a delta of just 0.1%. The AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P scores 76492, which is 0.4% higher, while the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX scores 76513, also 0.4% higher. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D scores 75779, 0.6% lower. This tight grouping indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in the combo's rank.

The GPU's individual standing is similar. The RX 7900M ranks in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 97487. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro VII, scores 97131, a 0.4% delta. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 scores 101872, which is 4.3% higher, while the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 scores 92466, 5.4% lower. The NVIDIA RTX A4500 scores 91671, 6.3% lower. The GPU's 94th percentile ranking is slightly lower than the CPU's 95th percentile, suggesting the GPU is the marginally weaker component.

The combo's 1183rd rank out of 2828 is lower than what the individual component percentiles might suggest. This discrepancy implies that Lockdown Protocol's specific workload does not favor this pairing as much as synthetic benchmarks would indicate. The game's FPS-centric nature, combined with the measured frame rates, shows that the combination excels at lower resolutions but struggles at 4K Ultra, which likely drags down the overall rank.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest average FPS is 214, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is significantly higher than the 1080p Medium result of 152 FPS and the 1080p High result of 133 FPS.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution with any settings preset?

A: Yes. The 4K Medium preset delivers an average of 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS. The 4K High preset also exceeds 60 FPS with an average of 63 FPS. However, the 4K Ultra preset falls short at 47 FPS, and the 4K Low preset delivers 101 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 1183rd out of 2828 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier. The CPU ranks in the 95th percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU ranks in the 94th percentile among all GPUs, but the game-specific rank is lower than these individual percentiles suggest.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 157 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves an average of 73 FPS. This represents a difference of 84 FPS, or a 115% improvement from Ultra to Low.

Q: Does the combo show better scaling from 1080p to 1440p or from 1440p to 4K?

A: The scaling is more severe from 1440p to 4K. At High settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36 FPS (from 133 to 97), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 34 FPS (from 97 to 63). At Low settings, the 1080p to 1440p drop is 57 FPS (from 214 to 157), and the 1440p to 4K drop is 56 FPS (from 157 to 101).

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1080p?

A: The minimum FPS for the 1920x1080 Medium preset is 129 FPS, with a maximum of 175 FPS and an average of 152 FPS. This provides a 46 FPS range between minimum and maximum.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900M features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2250 MHz, which translates to 18 Gbps effective. The GPU has a base clock of 1825 MHz and a boost clock of 2090 MHz. These specifications are directly relevant to the game's measured results.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity is ample for Lockdown Protocol at all tested resolutions and presets. The fact that the combo achieves 63 FPS at 4K High and 47 FPS at 4K Ultra suggests that VRAM capacity is not the limiting factor. If the game were exceeding the VRAM buffer, the frame rates would collapse more dramatically at higher resolutions. The steady scaling from 4K Ultra to 4K Low indicates that the GPU's compute throughput, not its memory capacity, is the primary constraint at 4K.

The GPU's 4608 shading units and 288 texture mapping units process the game's graphics workload. The 192 ROPs handle pixel output, and the 72 ray tracing cores provide hardware acceleration for any ray-traced effects. The pixel rate of 401.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 601.9 GTexel/s are theoretical maximums that the game may or may not fully utilize.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 94th percentile. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 4201, which measures directX 12 performance. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 129499 and Vulkan score of 158760 provide cross-API comparisons. These scores align with the game's measured performance, where the GPU delivers competitive frame rates at 1080p and 1440p but begins to struggle at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's 180 W TDP and PCIe 4.0 x16 interface are consistent with a high-end mobile part. The fact that it is an IGP form factor with no power connectors suggests it is designed for laptops. The boost clock of 2090 MHz is the maximum frequency the GPU can achieve under load, and the game's frame rates reflect this capability.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The 64 MB of L3 cache is substantial, and the 1 MB L2 cache per core ensures fast data access. The processor uses the AMD Socket FL1 and is part of the 8000 series, codenamed Dragon Range.

The CPU's benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 is particularly high, while the single-core score of 6030 demonstrates excellent per-thread capability. The Passmark multi-thread score of 51405 and single-thread score of 3907 further confirm this. The 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates that this is a top-tier mobile processor.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role varies by resolution. At 1080p Low, the 214 FPS average suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with frames at very high rates. The fact that the 1080p Ultra result is 99 FPS, while the 4K Low result is 101 FPS, indicates that at 1080p, the CPU begins to become a limiting factor for higher presets. The CPU's single-thread performance, as measured by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6030, is sufficient for most game workloads.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s over dual-channel DDR5 provides the data throughput needed for the game's assets. The 13,140 million transistors on a 5 nm TSMC process node indicate a modern, efficient design. The 55 W TDP is the power envelope, though the actual power draw may vary under load.

The CPU's nearest rivals all score within a narrow band of the Ryzen 9 8945HX's 76212 average. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX is 0.1% faster, while the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX are 0.4% slower. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 0.6% faster. This tight competition suggests that the CPU is not the differentiator in the combo's game-specific rank.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a complete picture of performance.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 214 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 152 FPS with a minimum of 129 FPS and maximum of 175 FPS. The High preset averages 133 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 99 FPS. This represents a range of 115 FPS between Low and Ultra, showing that the GPU has significant headroom at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 157 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 111 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS and maximum of 128 FPS. The High preset averages 97 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 73 FPS. The range from Low to Ultra is 84 FPS, indicating that the GPU is still capable of high frame rates at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 101 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 83 FPS. The High preset averages 63 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 47 FPS. The range from Low to Ultra is 54 FPS, showing that the GPU is increasingly constrained at 4K.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the min is 129 FPS and max is 175 FPS. At 1440p, the min is 95 FPS and max is 128 FPS. At 4K, the min is 61 FPS and max is 83 FPS. The min-to-max spread narrows from 46 FPS at 1080p to 33 FPS at 1440p to 22 FPS at 4K, indicating that frame pacing becomes more consistent as resolution increases.

The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent across presets. For Low, the drop is from 214 to 101 FPS, a 53% reduction. For Medium, the drop is from 152 to 72 FPS, a 53% reduction. For High, the drop is from 133 to 63 FPS, a 53% reduction. For Ultra, the drop is from 99 to 47 FPS, a 53% reduction. This uniform scaling across presets confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck as resolution increases.

The data shows that the combo can exceed 200 FPS at 1080p Low and maintain 100 FPS at 4K Low. The 4K Ultra result of 47 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS average in the entire dataset. The 1440p High result of 97 FPS and the 1080p Ultra result of 99 FPS are the only other results below 100 FPS, apart from the 4K Medium and High presets. This distribution indicates that the combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for lower presets.