Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title, presents an interesting performance profile when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and the AMD Radeon RX 7900M. The measured data shows a component pairing that scales predictably with resolution, with the GPU taking on an increasingly dominant role as pixel count rises. This analysis explores the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, the distinct roles of the CPU and GPU, and how this particular combination ranks against others in the database.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and clearly illustrates the GPU's growing workload. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 133 FPS at 1920x1080 to 97 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 36 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 63 FPS, which is 70 FPS lower than the 1080p result. This scaling pattern indicates that at lower resolutions, the system has ample headroom, but the demands of 4K begin to strain the GPU.

The data suggests a shift in the bottleneck as resolution increases. At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU may be a limiting factor in certain scenes, but the GPU is still able to produce excellent results. However, the steep decline at 4K, where the High preset average is just 63 FPS, points to the Radeon RX 7900M being the primary constraint at that resolution. The gap between Low and Ultra settings also widens with resolution, confirming that the GPU is the component doing the heavy lifting when rendering at higher pixel counts.

With a 47 FPS average at 4K Ultra, the experience would be noticeably less smooth, while the 101 FPS at 4K Low shows the GPU can still deliver high refresh rates when visual fidelity is deprioritized. This suggests that for players targeting 4K, adjusting settings is the key to achieving a playable frame rate. The data implies that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a balance between visual quality and performance, with High settings hitting 97 FPS and even Ultra achieving a respectable 73 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900M is a mobile GPU built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus. This memory configuration provides a bandwidth of 576.0 GB/s, which is substantial and helps to prevent memory bandwidth from being a significant bottleneck, even at higher resolutions. The GPU's 4608 shading units and 192 ROPs contribute to its high pixel rate of 401.3 GPixel/s, which is directly relevant to fill-rate-heavy scenarios like 4K rendering.

The GPU's boost clock is listed as 2090 MHz, and its FP32 performance is rated at 38.52 TFLOPS. These specifications align with the measured results, where the GPU demonstrates strong raw performance. In the database, the RX 7900M sits in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a high-end part. Its average benchmark score is 97487, placing it 4.3% behind the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro VII. These comparisons give context to its performance tier, which is clearly above average.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity is a notable advantage for a modern FPS, ensuring that texture-heavy scenes at 4K Ultra are less likely to run into memory limits. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate is bound by compute performance rather than memory, as the 47 FPS average is a compute-limited result. The GPU's percentile ranking of 94 and its benchmark scores suggest that it is a capable part that will hold up well, but the measured FPS data in Lockdown Protocol shows that 4K Ultra is still a challenging workload for it.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 99 FPS, which is excellent for a smooth experience on a high-refresh-rate monitor. The gap between High and Ultra is 34 FPS, with High achieving 133 FPS. For competitive play, the Low preset at 214 FPS offers the highest frame rate, but the visual trade-off is significant. The Medium preset provides a balanced 152 FPS, which is a strong middle ground.

At 2560x1440, the High preset stands out as the best experience, hitting 97 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 73 FPS, which is still playable but may not be ideal for fast-paced action. The Low preset jumps to 157 FPS, but as with 1080p, this sacrifices visual quality. The Medium preset at 111 FPS is also a solid choice. For most users at 1440p, High settings appear to be the recommended starting point, as they offer a high frame rate without the steep performance cost of Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Ultra preset's 47 FPS average is below the threshold for a smooth experience, making it not recommended. The High preset at 63 FPS is more playable but still not ideal for a competitive FPS. The Medium preset at 72 FPS is the most balanced option at 4K, offering a decent frame rate while maintaining a reasonable level of visual fidelity. The Low preset at 101 FPS is the only way to get a high frame rate at 4K, but it requires a significant sacrifice in visual detail. Therefore, for 4K, Medium or Low settings are recommended, with High being a marginal option.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and AMD Radeon RX 7900M combination ranks 1183 out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the upper half of all systems, though not in the top tier. Given that the GPU is in the 94th percentile, the ranking suggests that the CPU may be holding the system back from achieving a higher position. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking supports this, indicating it is a solid but not top-tier processor.

The combo's ranking of 1183 implies that while the RX 7900M is a powerful GPU, the overall performance is moderated by the Core Ultra 5 125H. In a game like Lockdown Protocol, which is an FPS and likely sensitive to CPU performance, the processor's capabilities can be a limiting factor, particularly at lower resolutions where frame rates are high. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 214 FPS, suggesting that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU, but the ranking indicates that there are many other combos that perform better overall.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals, the Intel Core i5-12600K and AMD Ryzen 7 5700X both have average scores that are 0.3% higher than the Core Ultra 5 125H. This marginal difference suggests that the CPU is competitive with these desktop parts, but the mobile platform's constraints may limit sustained performance. The combo's rank of 1183 out of 2828 is a percentile of roughly 58th, which is a solid mid-pack result. It indicates that this system is well above average for Lockdown Protocol, but there is still a significant performance headroom available in higher-ranked configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a mobile processor from the Meteor Lake architecture, featuring 14 cores and 18 threads. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 12804.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1647.5 in single-core. These scores are respectable for a mobile chip, and its 79th percentile ranking places it above the majority of CPUs in the database.

In the context of Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls. The measured FPS at 1080p Low is 214, which is a very high frame rate that demonstrates the CPU is capable of processing frames quickly. However, the single-core score of 1647.5 in Cinebench R23 is not exceptionally high, which could be a factor in scenarios with heavy single-threaded workloads. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 3399 reinforces this, indicating it is a capable but not class-leading part.

The CPU's TDP is 28 W, which is typical for a mobile processor and suggests that thermal constraints are managed. Its memory bandwidth is 89.6 GB/s, which is lower than the GPU's 576.0 GB/s, but this is not a bottleneck in gaming. The data implies that the CPU is well-matched to the GPU at higher resolutions where the GPU is the limiting factor, but at 1080p, the CPU's performance ceiling may prevent the system from reaching the absolute highest frame rates that the GPU could theoretically support.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 214 FPS, which is the highest measured value. The Medium preset averages 152 FPS with a minimum of 129 and a maximum of 175. The High preset averages 133 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 99 FPS. These results show a clear progression, with each higher preset reducing the frame rate by a significant margin.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 157 FPS. The Medium preset averages 111 FPS with a minimum of 95 and a maximum of 128. The High preset averages 97 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 73 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent reduction in performance, with the Low preset dropping by 57 FPS and the Ultra preset dropping by 26 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 101 FPS. The Medium preset averages 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 and a maximum of 83. The High preset averages 63 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 47 FPS. The 4K results show a more dramatic drop-off, particularly at the High and Ultra presets where the frame rates dip below 60 FPS. The data shows that the transition from 1440p to 4K is the most punishing, with the High preset losing 34 FPS and the Ultra preset losing 26 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 with High settings provides an excellent balance, achieving 97 FPS. For 1080p, the High preset at 133 FPS is ideal for high refresh rates, while at 4K, the Medium preset at 72 FPS is the most playable option.

Q: How does the GPU perform relative to its rivals?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900M has an average benchmark score of 97487, which is 4.3% behind the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro VII. It is in the 94th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for the GPU in this game?

A: At higher resolutions like 4K, the GPU is the limiting factor, as seen by the 47 FPS average at Ultra settings. At 1080p, the CPU's performance may cap frame rates, as the 214 FPS at Low settings suggests a high but not unlimited ceiling.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 97 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 73 FPS. This is a difference of 24 FPS, indicating a significant performance cost for the extra visual fidelity.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H has an average benchmark score of 27507, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 5800's score of 27535. This shows the two processors are nearly identical in overall performance.

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

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS was recorded at 129, with an average of 152 and a maximum of 175. This shows a stable frame rate with a relatively small variance.