Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile represents a high-end mobile configuration for Lockdown Protocol, a tactical FPS released on 2024-03-11. The measured FPS data across three resolutions and four settings presets shows a system capable of delivering smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K remaining playable only at lower presets. This combination ranks 2043rd out of 3714 tested combos in this game, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database — a ranking that reflects the balance between a 16-core CPU and a mobile GPU that, while capable, trails desktop equivalents in raw throughput.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor built on the Zen 4 architecture (Dragon Range) using TSMC's 5 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 55 W TDP. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 64 MB of shared L3. This processor scores in the 95th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 76212. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, scores 76155 (0.1% higher), while the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D trails by 0.6% with 75779.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is evident from the FPS scaling across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 189 FPS, which is the highest measured value in this dataset. When moving to 1440p Low, FPS drops to 138, and at 4K Low it reaches 89. This pattern indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames to reach high refresh rates, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. The 16 cores and 32 threads provide substantial headroom for game logic, physics, and AI calculations typical of an FPS title, though Lockdown Protocol's actual core utilization is not directly measured here.

The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and single-core score of 6030 suggest strong multithreaded and single-threaded performance. The single-core result is particularly relevant for FPS games, where frame pacing often depends on a primary simulation thread. The PassMark single-thread score of 3907 reinforces this capability. However, the data shows that at 1080p Ultra, FPS drops to 88 compared to 117 at High — a 29 FPS reduction that cannot be solely attributed to CPU limits, indicating the GPU's workload at higher settings becomes more dominant. The CPU's 5.40 GHz boost clock provides the per-core speed needed for maintaining high minimum FPS in demanding scenes, though min FPS values are only recorded for Medium settings in this dataset.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture (AD106 chip) using a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1395 MHz and a boost clock of 1695 MHz, with memory running at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). It houses 4608 shading units, 144 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 36 RT cores, and 144 tensor cores, achieving 15.62 TFLOPS FP32 performance. The GPU's TDP is 115 W, and it connects via PCIe 4.0 x8.

This GPU scores in the 73rd percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27435. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, scores 27425 (0% delta), while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores 27565 (0.5% higher). The RTX 4070 Mobile's performance in Lockdown Protocol is heavily influenced by its 8 GB VRAM capacity. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 41, which is the lowest measured value in the dataset. This suggests that at 4K with Ultra settings, the GPU is both computationally and memory-bandwidth limited, likely causing texture streaming and memory pressure.

The 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is a critical constraint at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the GPU can maintain 189 FPS on Low settings, but this falls to 88 FPS on Ultra — a 53% reduction. At 4K, the drop is even steeper: from 89 FPS on Low to 41 FPS on Ultra, a 54% reduction. The GPU's 15.62 TFLOPS compute capability is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming at most presets, but 4K Ultra demands more than this mobile part can deliver. The RTX 4070 Mobile's closest rival in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 3090 (a desktop card with significantly higher power envelope), scores only 0.5% higher on average, yet the mobile GPU's thermal and power constraints likely manifest in sustained gaming scenarios.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 134 FPS average with a minimum of 114 FPS and a maximum of 154 FPS. This provides a smooth experience for competitive play, with the min FPS staying well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 98 FPS with min/max of 83/113, still comfortably playable on high-refresh-rate monitors. Even at 4K Medium, the system maintains 63 FPS average with min/max of 54/73, which is acceptable for slower-paced gameplay.

The High preset is a viable alternative for those prioritizing visual fidelity. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 117, which remains smooth, though the lack of min/max data for this preset means worst-case performance is unknown. At 1440p High, the average drops to 86 FPS, which is still playable but begins to approach the threshold where some players might notice frame pacing issues in fast-action scenes. At 4K High, the average falls to 55 FPS, which is borderline for a competitive FPS — the lack of min FPS data makes it difficult to assess stutter risk.

The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p, where it achieves 88 FPS average. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 64 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 41 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold for most players. The Low preset, while achieving the highest frame rates (189 FPS at 1080p, 138 FPS at 1440p, 89 FPS at 4K), likely sacrifices too much visual detail for the marginal benefit over Medium. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot: it delivers more than double the 4K FPS of Ultra (63 vs 41) while maintaining a 134 FPS average at 1080p, which is close to the 189 FPS of Low.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile ranks 2043rd out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 55th percentile of all tested configurations. This ranking is notable because the CPU alone sits in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 73rd percentile. The discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's mid-tier ranking indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this system for this game.

The combo rank of 2043 suggests that many other CPU-GPU pairings outperform this configuration in Lockdown Protocol. Given that the RTX 4070 Mobile's nearest rival is the desktop RTX 3090 (0.5% higher average synthetic score), the mobile GPU's thermal and power constraints likely limit sustained performance in a game that can be demanding on both CPU and GPU. The CPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (0.1% higher) and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D (0.6% lower), show that the 8945HX is competitive at the top tier of mobile processors, yet the combo still ranks in the middle of the database.

This ranking pattern suggests that Lockdown Protocol is more GPU-bound than CPU-bound for this configuration. If the game were CPU-bound, the 95th-percentile CPU would likely push the combo rank higher. Instead, the 73rd-percentile GPU caps the system's overall performance, resulting in a combo rank that closely tracks the GPU's percentile rather than the CPU's. For context, the GPU's nearest rivals include the RX 6700 XT (0% delta) and RTX 3090 (0.5% higher), both of which are desktop parts that typically pair with more powerful CPUs in tested combos.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear GPU-bound profile for this system. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 189 at 1080p to 138 at 1440p (a 27% reduction) and then to 89 at 4K (a further 36% reduction from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 100 FPS, or 53% of the 1080p value. At Medium settings, the drop is from 134 to 98 to 63, representing a 53% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the drop is from 117 to 86 to 55, a 53% reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 88 to 64 to 41, also a 53% reduction.

The consistent ~53% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings presets is a classic signature of GPU limitation. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K would be less pronounced at lower settings (where the CPU has more headroom) and more pronounced at higher settings (where the GPU becomes more stressed). Instead, the uniform scaling indicates that the RTX 4070 Mobile's compute and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors at all settings. The 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, in particular, is likely the constraint at 4K, where the 8 GB VRAM capacity and 128-bit bus struggle to feed the 4608 shading units.

The data also shows that the FPS difference between 1080p and 1440p is larger than the difference between 1440p and 4K in absolute terms. At Low settings, the 1080p-to-1440p drop is 51 FPS, while the 1440p-to-4K drop is 49 FPS — nearly identical. This linear scaling pattern further confirms that the GPU is the limiting component, as the rendering workload scales roughly linearly with pixel count. The CPU's 16 cores and 5.40 GHz boost clock are sufficient to maintain frame delivery at all tested resolutions, but the GPU's 15.62 TFLOPS and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot keep pace with the increasing pixel workload.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play with this combo?

A: The 1080p Medium preset offers 134 FPS average with a 114 FPS minimum, making it the best choice for competitive play. The 1080p Low preset achieves 189 FPS but likely sacrifices visual clarity, while 1080p High drops to 117 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Medium, the system achieves 63 FPS average with a 54 FPS minimum, which is playable. At 4K High, the average drops to 55 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 41 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold for most players.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Mobile compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile scores 27435 on average, which is virtually identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (27425, 0% delta) and 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (27565). The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell scores 27135, which is 1.1% lower.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck for this configuration?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The FPS drops consistently by ~53% from 1080p to 4K across all settings presets, which is a classic GPU-limited pattern. The CPU's 95th-percentile ranking versus the GPU's 73rd-percentile ranking further supports this conclusion.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking in the database?

A: This combo ranks 2043rd out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This mid-tier ranking reflects the GPU's performance ceiling, despite the CPU being in the 95th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 8945HX compare to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX?

A: The Ryzen 9 8945HX scores 76212 on average, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX's 76155. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D scores 75779, which is 0.6% lower than the 8945HX.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080:

• Low: 189 FPS average
• Medium: 134 FPS average, 114 FPS minimum, 154 FPS maximum
• High: 117 FPS average
• Ultra: 88 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 138 FPS average
• Medium: 98 FPS average, 83 FPS minimum, 113 FPS maximum
• High: 86 FPS average
• Ultra: 64 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 89 FPS average
• Medium: 63 FPS average, 54 FPS minimum, 73 FPS maximum
• High: 55 FPS average
• Ultra: 41 FPS average

The measured data shows that at 1080p, all presets except Ultra remain above 100 FPS, with Low reaching 189 FPS. At 1440p, Low and Medium stay above 90 FPS, while High and Ultra drop to 86 and 64 respectively. At 4K, only Low remains above 60 FPS, with Medium barely above at 63 FPS and Ultra falling to 41 FPS. The min FPS values for Medium settings show consistent frame delivery: 114 at 1080p, 83 at 1440p, and 54 at 4K — all within 10% of their respective averages, indicating stable frame pacing without major stutters. The lack of min/max data for other presets limits deeper analysis of frame-time consistency, but the average FPS values suggest that Medium is the most reliable preset for maintaining smooth gameplay across all resolutions.