Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol presents an interesting stress test for the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070. The measured data reveals a configuration that is heavily influenced by resolution, with the GPU clearly dominating the performance curve as pixel counts rise. This analysis breaks down the specific FPS figures, scaling patterns, and component roles indicated by the benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 shows a dramatic and consistent decline in frame rates across all settings, which clearly points to the GPU as the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 189 at 1080p to 89 at 4K, representing a 53% reduction. This steep curve suggests that the RTX 4070 is being pushed to its limits as the pixel workload increases, even on the least demanding preset.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced when examining the Ultra preset. Here, the average FPS falls from 88 at 1080p to 41 at 4K, a 53% decrease that mirrors the Low setting drop. This proportional decline across different quality levels indicates that the bottleneck is purely resolution-driven, not settings-driven. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 192-bit bus width, yielding 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, appear sufficient for the data demands, but the raw rendering throughput is what capitulates.

Interestingly, the Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum FPS of 54 and maximum of 73, with an average of 63. This 19 FPS spread between minimum and maximum suggests some scenes are more demanding than others, but the overall average remains close to the 55 FPS seen at High. The gap between High (55 FPS) and Medium (63 FPS) at 4K is only 8 FPS, while the gap between Low (89 FPS) and Medium (63 FPS) is a substantial 26 FPS. This non-linear scaling implies that the jump from Low to Medium adds a significant graphical workload, while the step from Medium to High is comparatively lighter on the GPU.

At 2560x1440, the pattern holds but with more headroom. Low settings produce 138 FPS average, Medium delivers 98 FPS, High achieves 86 FPS, and Ultra drops to 64 FPS. The 1440p results show that the RTX 4070 can comfortably handle the mid-range resolution, but the 4K figures reveal that 60 FPS is only attainable at Low settings. The data indicates that 1080p is the sweet spot for this combo, where even Ultra settings maintain an 88 FPS average, suggesting the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at this resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 117. This represents a comfortable frame rate for competitive play, well above the 60 FPS threshold typically desired for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset perform?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 41. This is below the 60 FPS target, indicating that this combination is not suitable for 4K Ultra gaming without significant compromises.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings yield an average of 138 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 64 FPS. This represents a 74 FPS difference, showing the substantial impact of quality presets on performance at this resolution.

Q: Is there a large gap between Medium and High settings at 4K?

A: The gap is relatively small. Medium settings at 4K average 63 FPS, while High settings average 55 FPS. This 8 FPS difference suggests that the visual upgrade from Medium to High is less taxing than the jump from Low to Medium.

Q: What are the minimum FPS figures for Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium settings show a minimum FPS of 114. At 2560x1440, the minimum is 83. At 3840x2160, the minimum is 54. These figures indicate that the lowest frame dips occur at 4K, but remain playable.

Q: How does the combo rank in Lockdown Protocol?

A: This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 2043 out of 3714 tested combos in this game. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the performance spectrum, indicating that while it is not a top-tier configuration, it is far from the bottom.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 88 FPS, which is high enough for most gaming scenarios. The High preset at 1080p yields 117 FPS, offering a smoother experience for those prioritizing frame rate over maximum visual fidelity. For esports-style play, Low settings at 1080p provide 189 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, the recommendations shift. Ultra settings produce 64 FPS, which is borderline for 60 FPS gaming but may suffer in demanding scenes. Medium settings at 98 FPS provide a better balance, offering higher quality than Low while maintaining a comfortable frame rate. The High preset at 86 FPS is also viable, but Medium appears to be the sweet spot for 1440p.

For 3840x2160, the choices are constrained. Low settings achieve 89 FPS, making it the only preset that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings at 63 FPS are playable but close to the edge, while High at 55 FPS and Ultra at 41 FPS are not recommended for smooth gameplay. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo requires sacrificing visual quality to maintain playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2043 out of 3714 tested combinations places this configuration in the 55th percentile of all tested setups in Lockdown Protocol. This is a middle-of-the-pack result, indicating that while the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and RTX 4070 are capable components, they do not deliver top-tier performance in this specific title. The ranking suggests that many other combinations, likely featuring more powerful desktop GPUs or higher-end mobile parts, achieve better results.

The CPU's percentile rank of 83 among all processors indicates it is a strong performer in general computing tasks, but this does not directly translate to a high combo rank in this game. Similarly, the GPU's percentile rank of 81 among all graphics cards shows it is above average, yet the combined performance in Lockdown Protocol lags behind what those individual scores might imply. This discrepancy suggests that the game's optimization or the specific interaction between these components limits the overall result.

Comparing to the nearest rivals, the CPU's average benchmark score of 32697 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-14600T at 32707, with a deltaPct of 0. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 scores 32662, a 0.1% difference, while the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H at 32812 is 0.4% ahead. These marginal differences indicate that the CPU choice is not a significant differentiator in this performance bracket.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H features 16 cores and 22 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. This Meteor Lake architecture processor has a 24 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU's Cinebench R23 scores of 15028 multi-core and 1743 single-core demonstrate solid multi-threaded performance, which is relevant for games that utilize multiple cores.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role appears to be sufficient at lower resolutions but less impactful as the resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (189 FPS) and Ultra (88 FPS) is 101 FPS, suggesting the CPU can drive high frame rates when the GPU is not the bottleneck. However, at 4K, the gap between Low (89 FPS) and Ultra (41 FPS) is only 48 FPS, indicating that the GPU's rendering limitations dominate.

The PassMark single-thread score of 3468 and multi-thread score of 24873 provide context for the CPU's capabilities. The 22 threads allow for efficient handling of background tasks and game logic, but the game's frame rates at 1440p and above are clearly constrained by the GPU. The data implies that the Core Ultra 7 155H is not a limiting factor at 1080p, but its contribution becomes less noticeable as resolution scales.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows a clear progression. Low settings average 189 FPS, Medium settings average 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 and maximum of 154, High settings average 117 FPS, and Ultra settings average 88 FPS. The 55 FPS difference between Low and Ultra highlights the significant impact of quality presets at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 138 FPS for Low, 98 FPS for Medium (min 83, max 113), 86 FPS for High, and 64 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset's 30 FPS range between minimum and maximum shows more variability than at 1080p, suggesting that certain scenes at 1440p are particularly demanding.

At 3840x2160, the figures are 89 FPS for Low, 63 FPS for Medium (min 54, max 73), 55 FPS for High, and 41 FPS for Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 4K is most severe at Ultra settings, with a 47 FPS reduction, while Low settings see a 100 FPS reduction. This indicates that even the least demanding preset struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with an AD104 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus providing 504.2 GB/s bandwidth.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s indicate substantial raw compute capability. However, the measured FPS data shows that this power is insufficient for 4K Ultra gaming, where the average drops to 41 FPS. The 12 GB VRAM appears adequate for the game's demands, as the 4K Medium preset shows a minimum of 54 FPS, suggesting memory capacity is not the primary constraint.

The GPU's benchmark scores are notable: a PassMark G3D score of 26927 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3854. The nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 with a 0.1% lower score and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 at 0.4% higher. The RTX 4080 Mobile is 1.3% ahead, showing that this desktop-class 4070 is closely matched with lower-tier mobile options. The GPU's percentile rank of 81 among all GPUs confirms it is a strong performer, but the game's specific demands at higher resolutions expose its limitations.