Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces a distinctive performance profile in Lockdown Protocol, one defined by a massive GPU capable of extreme frame rates that is frequently held back by a mobile-class processor. This combination secures the 573rd position out of 2,828 tested combos, placing it in the top 21% of all configurations evaluated for this FPS title. The measured data reveals that the RTX 4090’s raw power dominates at lower resolutions, while the Core Ultra 5 125H’s limitations become increasingly apparent as resolution scales upward.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 573 out of 2,828 tested combinations places it comfortably within the upper quartile of all systems evaluated for Lockdown Protocol. This percentile position indicates that, while not a top-tier pairing, the combination outperforms roughly 80% of all tested configs. The ranking reflects a fundamental imbalance: the RTX 4090 is an end-of-life flagship GPU that still commands exceptional performance, while the Core Ultra 5 125H is a mobile processor designed for efficiency rather than extreme gaming throughput.

Benchmark results show the CPU’s average score of 27,507 places it in the 79th percentile against all CPUs, which is respectable but not elite. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 with an average score of 27,535 (a -0.1% delta), the Intel Core i5-12600K and AMD Ryzen 7 5700X both at 27,578 (-0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G at 27,382 (+0.5% delta). These margins are razor-thin, meaning the Core Ultra 5 125H delivers essentially identical synthetic CPU performance to several established desktop parts. However, in a real-time FPS like Lockdown Protocol, the interaction between CPU and GPU matters more than raw synthetic scores.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 60,347 places it in the 88th percentile against all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60,326 (0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 at 60,140 (+0.3% delta), AMD Radeon Pro W6600M at 61,896 (-2.5% delta), and AMD Radeon PRO V710 at 58,657 (+2.9% delta). The RTX 4090’s synthetic dominance is clear, yet the measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol shows that this GPU power is not fully translated into frame rate at all settings. The data indicates that the CPU becomes a bottleneck in certain scenarios, capping performance well below what the GPU alone could deliver.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a Meteor Lake architecture processor built on Intel’s 7 nm process node. It features 14 cores and 18 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. The thermal design power is 28 W, which is characteristic of a mobile-focused chip. Cache configuration includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. The processor’s integrated graphics are Arc Xe-LPG with 96 execution units, though in this combo the dedicated RTX 4090 handles all rendering.

Synthetic benchmarks position this CPU as a mid-pack performer. In Cinebench R23, it scores 12,804.5 in multi-core and 1,647.5 in single-core. Cinebench R20 results show 7,161 multi-core and 1,010 single-core. Cinebench R15 yields 2,021.5 multi-core and 241 single-core. PassMark tests show a multi-thread score of 21,100, single-thread score of 3,399, and a physics score of 1,439. These numbers place the processor in the 79th percentile, directly alongside desktop parts like the Ryzen 7 5800 and Core i5-12600K, despite being a mobile chip.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role becomes evident when examining frame rate behavior across settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 262 FPS average. This high frame rate suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to reach very high output. However, the fact that the RTX 4090 can typically push far beyond this in less CPU-bound titles indicates that the Core Ultra 5 125H is likely the limiting factor even at this low resolution. The jump from 1080p Low (262 FPS) to 1440p Low (192 FPS) represents a 26.7% drop, which is proportionally larger than the pixel count increase from 2.07 million to 3.69 million pixels (a 78% increase). This suggests that even at Low settings, the CPU is constraining the GPU’s output, preventing the frame rate from scaling purely with resolution.

The 18-thread configuration and 4.50 GHz boost clock provide adequate single-thread performance for most game logic, but Lockdown Protocol’s engine appears to benefit from stronger per-core performance. The single-thread PassMark score of 3,399 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1,647.5 are decent, yet the measured FPS at 1080p Low (262 FPS) shows that the CPU cannot fully unlock the RTX 4090’s potential. For context, the GPU alone can theoretically render far more frames in lighter titles, but the 28 W TDP and mobile architecture of the CPU create a ceiling that the data reveals.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is an Ada Lovelace architecture GPU built on TSMC’s 5 nm process node. The chip, designated AD102, contains 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, with a transistor density of 125.3 million per mm². The GPU has a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. Memory consists of 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz, which translates to 21 Gbps effective. The GPU features 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, 176 raster output units, 128 ray tracing cores, and 512 tensor cores. Pixel rate is 443.5 GPixel/s, texture rate is 1,290.2 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 82.58 TFLOPS. The card has a 450 W TDP, uses a triple-slot design with a single 16-pin power connector, and requires an 850 W suggested PSU.

This GPU is end-of-life, with the RTX 40-series having been succeeded by the RTX 50-series. Its synthetic benchmarks are formidable: PassMark G3D score of 38,194, Geekbench OpenCL score of 255,416, Geekbench Vulkan score of 271,631, and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9,223. The 88th percentile ranking against all GPUs confirms its high-end status, though its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are prosumer and workstation cards like the Intel Arc Pro A60 and AMD Radeon Pro W6600M, which are not gaming-focused.

In Lockdown Protocol, the RTX 4090’s role is to provide massive headroom that the CPU often cannot exploit. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 58 FPS, which is playable but far below what the GPU could achieve if unconstrained. The 4K High setting yields 77 FPS, 4K Medium produces 88 FPS with a minimum of 75 and maximum of 101, and 4K Low reaches 124 FPS. At 1440p, the numbers jump significantly: Ultra at 89 FPS, High at 119 FPS, Medium at 136 FPS (min 116, max 157), and Low at 192 FPS. At 1080p, the combo delivers Ultra at 122 FPS, High at 162 FPS, Medium at 186 FPS (min 158, max 214), and Low at 262 FPS.

The GPU’s 24 GB of VRAM and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol at any resolution and setting. The data shows no evidence of VRAM limitations; instead, the performance scaling across settings indicates the CPU is the primary constraint. The 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is vastly underutilized at 1080p Low, where the 262 FPS average represents only a fraction of what the GPU could theoretically render. The boost clock of 2520 MHz provides the raw speed needed for high frame rates, but the CPU’s 18 threads and 4.50 GHz boost clock cannot sustain the data flow required to keep the GPU fully occupied.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 262 FPS. Medium settings yield 186 FPS average, with a minimum of 158 and maximum of 214. High settings produce 162 FPS average. Ultra settings drop to 122 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 53.4% reduction in frame rate, which is substantial but expected given the increased rendering load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the CPU’s growing influence. Low settings produce 192 FPS average, a 26.7% drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings yield 136 FPS average (min 116, max 157), a 26.9% drop from 1080p Medium. High settings produce 119 FPS average, a 26.5% drop from 1080p High. Ultra settings yield 89 FPS average, a 27.0% drop from 1080p Ultra. The consistency of these drops, all around 26-27%, indicates that the frame rate is scaling in a predictable manner with pixel count, suggesting the GPU is still the dominant factor at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the CPU bottleneck becomes less pronounced. Low settings produce 124 FPS average, a 35.4% drop from 1440p Low. Medium settings yield 88 FPS average (min 75, max 101), a 35.3% drop from 1440p Medium. High settings produce 77 FPS average, a 35.3% drop from 1440p High. Ultra settings yield 58 FPS average, a 34.8% drop from 1440p Ultra. The percentage drops from 1440p to 4K are larger than the drops from 1080p to 1440p, which is logical given the 2.25x pixel count increase from 1440p to 4K versus the 1.78x increase from 1080p to 1440p. However, the frame rates at 4K are still respectable, with even Ultra maintaining 58 FPS average.

The medium settings at each resolution provide the most complete data, including minimum and maximum FPS. At 1080p Medium, the range is 158 to 214 FPS, a spread of 56 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 116 to 157 FPS, a spread of 41 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 75 to 101 FPS, a spread of 26 FPS. This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming more fully utilized, reducing frame time variance as the rendering workload increases.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling behavior from 1080p to 4K provides insight into which component is limiting performance. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 262 FPS at 1080p to 192 FPS at 1440p (26.7% drop) and then to 124 FPS at 4K (35.4% drop from 1440p). The pixel count increases by 78% from 1080p to 1440p, yet the frame rate drops only 26.7%. This disproportionate scaling suggests that at 1080p Low, the CPU is limiting performance, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential. If the GPU were the sole bottleneck, the frame rate would drop more steeply with pixel count.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is more predictable. From 1080p (122 FPS) to 1440p (89 FPS) is a 27.0% drop, and from 1440p to 4K (58 FPS) is a 34.8% drop. These percentages are closer to what would be expected from pure pixel-count scaling, indicating that at Ultra settings, the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU’s influence diminishes as the rendering load increases, because the GPU takes longer to render each frame, giving the CPU more time to prepare the next frame.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo produces 262 FPS, which is an extremely high frame rate that most monitors cannot even display. The fact that this number is not higher, given the RTX 4090’s capabilities, points to CPU limitation. The Core Ultra 5 125H’s 28 W TDP and mobile architecture limit its sustained performance, and in a game like Lockdown Protocol, the CPU must handle game logic, physics, and draw calls, which becomes the bottleneck at high frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the 58 FPS average indicates the GPU is now the limiting factor, as the massive pixel workload overwhelms even the RTX 4090’s 82.58 TFLOPS of compute power.

The resolution scaling also reveals that the CPU bottleneck is most pronounced at Low settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 262 FPS, but at 1440p Low, it drops to 192 FPS. This 70 FPS reduction is driven by the increased pixel count, but the fact that the GPU could theoretically render more frames at 1440p Low if unconstrained suggests the CPU is still holding back. At 4K Low, the 124 FPS average shows that the GPU is now more engaged, but the frame rate is still below what the RTX 4090 could achieve in a CPU-unlimited scenario.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H combined with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 573rd out of 2,828 tested combinations, placing it in the top 21% of all configurations evaluated for this game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

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

Q: What frame rate does the combo achieve at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combo averages 122 FPS. This drops to 89 FPS at 1440p Ultra and 58 FPS at 4K Ultra, showing a clear resolution-based performance curve.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low settings?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p Low, where the combo produces 262 FPS. Given the RTX 4090’s synthetic performance (PassMark G3D score of 38,194 and 82.58 TFLOPS FP32), the GPU could likely render more frames if the Core Ultra 5 125H could feed it data faster.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration and how does it affect Lockdown Protocol?

A: The RTX 4090 features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth. This configuration provides ample memory bandwidth and capacity for Lockdown Protocol at any resolution, with no VRAM-related performance drops visible in the measured FPS data.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K across different settings?

A: At 3840x2160, the combo averages 124 FPS on Low, 88 FPS on Medium (min 75, max 101), 77 FPS on High, and 58 FPS on Ultra. The medium setting provides the most stable frame times, with a 26 FPS spread between minimum and maximum.