Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol: Intel Core Ultra 5 125H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile combination delivers a consistently playable experience in Lockdown Protocol, with the system ranking in the 67th percentile of all tested configurations (rank 1202 out of 3714). The measured frame rates show a component pairing that leans heavily on the GPU at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 14 cores and 18 threads provide ample headroom for the game's FPS mechanics. At 1080p Ultra settings, the average FPS of 111 indicates a system that can push high refresh rates without sacrificing visual fidelity, though the gap between Low and Ultra presets reveals where the bottleneck shifts.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a Meteor Lake mobile processor built on Intel's 7 nm process, featuring 14 cores and 18 threads with base and boost clocks of 3.60 GHz and 4.50 GHz respectively. The processor's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth provide the foundational throughput for handling Lockdown Protocol's game logic, physics calculations, and AI routines. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 12,804.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,647.5 in single-core, with a PassMark multithread score of 21,100 and single-thread score of 3,399.

The processor's percentile ranking against all CPUs is 79, placing it above the majority of tested processors. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database show remarkable parity: the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 scores 27,535 with a delta of -0.1%, the Intel Core i5-12600K scores 27,578 with a delta of -0.3%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X also scores 27,578 with a delta of -0.3%. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G trails slightly at 27,382 with a delta of 0.5% in the opposite direction, meaning the Ultra 5 125H sits essentially at par with these desktop-class parts despite being a mobile chip.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes evident when comparing frame rates across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 239 FPS average, which suggests the processor is not the limiting factor even at lower graphical loads. However, the gap between 1080p Low and 1080p Ultra (239 vs 111 FPS) indicates that the game scales with GPU load rather than CPU constraints. The 14-core configuration with 18 threads handles the game's multi-threaded workloads effectively, as evidenced by the PassMark physics score of 1,439 and floating point math score of 51,670, which reflect capable processing of in-game physics and simulation tasks.

The data compression score of 236,209 and integer math score of 69,986 further demonstrate the CPU's ability to manage the procedural generation and hit-detection calculations common in FPS titles. With a TDP of 28 W, the processor operates efficiently without thermal throttling concerns, maintaining consistent frame delivery across all measured settings. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG 96EU graphics are present but irrelevant for this discrete GPU configuration, as the system leverages the far more powerful RTX 4080 Mobile for rendering.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring the AD104 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process with 35,800 million transistors. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, with memory clocked at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). The base clock of 1290 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz drive 7,424 shading units, 232 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, producing a pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 386.3 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput of 24.72 TFLOPS and FP16 performance of 24.72 TFLOPS (1:1) position this mobile GPU as a high-end solution.

The GPU's benchmark profile shows a PassMark G3D score of 24,926 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 159,575, with a percentile ranking of 81 against all GPUs. In the nearest rivals comparison, the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 scores 38,299 with a delta of -0.4%, the GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile scores 38,349 with a delta of -0.6%, and the GeForce RTX 4070 scores 37,648 with a delta of 1.3%. The Tesla P4 also scores 37,628 with a delta of 1.3%. These deltas indicate that the RTX 4080 Mobile's average benchmark score of 38,135 is essentially within noise of the MX570 and RTX 5080 Mobile, while being about 1.3% ahead of the RTX 4070 and Tesla P4.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's 12 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for all tested settings and resolutions, as evidenced by the lack of texture streaming issues even at 4K Ultra. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s becomes increasingly important as resolution scales up, with the 4K Ultra setting requiring the most data throughput. The measured frame rates show the GPU's raw compute power translating directly to FPS: at 1440p High, the system achieves 109 FPS average, while 1440p Ultra drops to 81 FPS, demonstrating the expected trade-off between fidelity and performance.

The DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility ensure the GPU can fully utilize Lockdown Protocol's modern rendering features, including ray tracing and mesh shaders if the game employs them. The PassMark DirectX 12 score of 96 and DirectX 11 score of 244 indicate strong API performance, with the GPU's 58 RT cores and 232 tensor cores providing dedicated hardware for advanced effects. The 80 ROPs handle pixel output efficiently, which is critical for maintaining high fill rates at 4K resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals clear scaling patterns across the three resolutions tested. At 1080p, the system delivers 239 FPS average on Low, 170 FPS on Medium, 148 FPS on High, and 111 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 1440p, these numbers drop to 175 FPS on Low, 124 FPS on Medium, 109 FPS on High, and 81 FPS on Ultra. At 4K (3840x2160), the averages fall further to 113 FPS on Low, 80 FPS on Medium, 70 FPS on High, and 53 FPS on Ultra.

The percentage drops between resolutions are consistent with GPU-bound scaling. From 1080p to 1440p, the Low preset drops from 239 to 175 FPS, a reduction of approximately 27%, while the Ultra preset drops from 111 to 81 FPS, a reduction of about 27%. From 1440p to 4K, the Low preset drops from 175 to 113 FPS, a reduction of about 35%, while the Ultra preset drops from 81 to 53 FPS, a reduction of about 35%. The larger percentage drop at 4K indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor, as the pixel count increase from 1440p to 4K (2.25x) outpaces the GPU's ability to maintain frame rates.

The fact that the Low preset at 4K (113 FPS) exceeds the Ultra preset at 1440p (81 FPS) suggests that the GPU's shading units and ROPs are more heavily taxed by the Ultra preset's additional visual effects than by the resolution increase alone. This is typical of FPS games where Ultra settings introduce more complex lighting, shadows, and post-processing effects that impact pixel throughput. The 4K Medium setting at 80 FPS average with min/max of 68/92 confirms that the GPU can sustain playable frame rates even at high resolutions when settings are moderated.

The scaling data indicates that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU, as the frame rate differences between Low and Ultra are primarily driven by GPU workload. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, with even the Low preset (113 FPS) showing that the RTX 4080 Mobile's 24.72 TFLOPS are fully utilized. The 12 GB VRAM does not appear to be a limitation at any resolution, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings rather than showing sudden drops associated with VRAM exhaustion.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the Lockdown Protocol experience on this hardware. For players targeting the highest frame rates for competitive play, the 1080p Low preset delivers 239 FPS average, which is well beyond the refresh rate of most gaming displays and provides maximum input responsiveness. The 1440p Low preset at 175 FPS remains excellent for high-refresh monitors, while the 4K Low preset at 113 FPS offers a viable path to 4K gaming without sacrificing playability.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset stands out as the sweet spot across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 170 FPS average with a minimum of 144 FPS, ensuring smooth frame delivery even during intense action sequences. The 1440p Medium preset delivers 124 FPS average with a minimum of 106 FPS, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The 4K Medium preset at 80 FPS average with a minimum of 68 FPS and maximum of 92 FPS provides a stable experience suitable for slower-paced play or less demanding scenarios.

The High preset offers diminishing returns relative to Medium. At 1080p High, the 148 FPS average is only 22 FPS lower than Medium but lacks the reported minimum frame rate, suggesting potential frame time inconsistency. The 1440p High at 109 FPS and 4K High at 70 FPS both represent significant drops from Medium without a proportional visual improvement that justifies the performance cost. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 1080p Ultra at 111 FPS, 1440p Ultra at 81 FPS, and 4K Ultra at 53 FPS. While the 1080p Ultra setting is still playable, the 4K Ultra setting falls below the 60 FPS threshold and may exhibit noticeable stuttering.

Given these results, the Medium preset is recommended as the default choice for most players. It provides the best combination of frame rate stability and visual fidelity, with the 1440p Medium setting offering an excellent balance for high-resolution gaming. Players on 4K displays should consider Medium for a playable experience, while those prioritizing competitive advantage can drop to Low at 1080p or 1440p for maximum frame rates. The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p displays where the 111 FPS average remains acceptable, but the performance cost is substantial compared to the visual benefits.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this CPU/GPU combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 239, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The next highest is 175 FPS at 2560x1440 Low, followed by 170 FPS at 1920x1080 Medium.

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

A: Yes, at 4K the system delivers 113 FPS on Low, 80 FPS on Medium, 70 FPS on High, and 53 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 80 FPS average with a minimum of 68 FPS provides a stable 4K experience, though Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark performance?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H has an average benchmark score of 27,507, which is within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (27,535) and 0.3% of both the Intel Core i5-12600K (27,578) and AMD Ryzen 7 5700X (27,578). It is 0.5% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G (27,382).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at the same settings?

A: At Low settings, the difference is 126 FPS (239 FPS at 1080p vs 113 FPS at 4K). At Medium, the difference is 90 FPS (170 vs 80). At High, the difference is 78 FPS (148 vs 70). At Ultra, the difference is 58 FPS (111 vs 53).

Q: Does the GPU outperform its nearest rival in the benchmark database?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 38,135. It is 1.3% ahead of both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (37,648) and NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37,628), while being 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 (38,299) and 0.6% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (38,349).

Q: Is the 1440p Medium setting a viable option for consistent frame rates?

A: Yes, the 2560x1440 Medium preset delivers 124 FPS average with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS. This provides a stable frame rate window that accommodates both fast-paced gameplay and demanding scenes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol on the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile combination is presented below, organized by resolution and settings preset.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 239 FPS average
• Medium: 170 FPS average, minimum 144 FPS, maximum 195 FPS
• High: 148 FPS average
• Ultra: 111 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 175 FPS average
• Medium: 124 FPS average, minimum 106 FPS, maximum 143 FPS
• High: 109 FPS average
• Ultra: 81 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 113 FPS average
• Medium: 80 FPS average, minimum 68 FPS, maximum 92 FPS
• High: 70 FPS average
• Ultra: 53 FPS average

The data shows that the Medium preset is the only setting with reported minimum and maximum FPS values, providing the most complete picture of frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the system maintains a minimum of 144 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh displays. The 1440p Medium minimum of 106 FPS ensures smooth gameplay even in demanding moments. The 4K Medium minimum of 68 FPS remains above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Across all resolutions, the scaling from Low to Ultra shows a consistent pattern: Low provides the highest frame rates, Medium offers a balanced experience, High delivers a modest improvement over Medium at a noticeable FPS cost, and Ultra provides the best visual quality but with significant performance trade-offs. The 4K Ultra setting at 53 FPS average is the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS, making it unsuitable for sustained competitive play.

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K at each settings level demonstrates the GPU-bound nature of the workload. The RTX 4080 Mobile's 12 GB VRAM and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth handle all tested configurations without memory-related performance cliffs, as evidenced by the smooth scaling between settings levels. The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H's 14 cores and 18 threads provide sufficient processing power to avoid CPU bottlenecks, as the frame rates scale primarily with GPU workload across all tested resolutions.