Lockdown Protocol

FAQ

Q: What is the measured average FPS for Lockdown Protocol at 1920x1080 with Low settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 78 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the highest average FPS recorded across all tested resolution and settings combinations for this combo.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H compare to its nearest CPU rival in overall benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 (average score 35719). It is also 0.2% lower than the Intel Core 7 250H (35728) and 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35802).

Q: What is the AMD Radeon 890M's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon 890M ranks in the 45th percentile among all GPUs based on its average benchmark score of 9210. This places it in the lower-middle tier of the GPU performance distribution.

Q: Does the combo rank near the top or bottom of tested combinations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 3495 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the bottom 6% of all tested combinations, indicating relatively low performance for this game.

Q: What are the CPU's core and thread counts?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has 16 cores and 22 threads. Its base clock is 3.90 GHz and its boost clock is 5.10 GHz, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache.

Q: What is the GPU's FP32 performance in TFLOPS?

A: The AMD Radeon 890M delivers 5.939 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. It has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation pipelines.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 890M is an integrated graphics processor built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture with a 4 nm process node from TSMC. The GPU operates with a base clock of 400 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz. Its memory configuration is entirely system shared, meaning the GPU relies on the host system's RAM rather than dedicated VRAM; the memory bus width and bandwidth are likewise system dependent.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role is clearly the dominant constraint on performance. The data shows a direct relationship between graphics settings and frame rates across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, dropping from Ultra to Low settings improves average FPS from 36 to 78, a 117% increase. This dramatic scaling with settings indicates that the GPU's computational resources — specifically its 5.939 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput and 185.6 GTexel/s texture rate — are being saturated by the game's rendering workload.

The GPU's 45th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 9210, places it just below the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (9221, 0.1% higher) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (9273, 0.7% higher). These rival comparisons underscore that the 890M operates in the entry-level performance tier. Its DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility provide modern API access, but the underlying hardware throughput limits what can be achieved in a fast-paced FPS like Lockdown Protocol.

The GPU's 16 ray tracing cores are present in the architecture, but given the low overall frame rates measured, ray tracing workloads would likely push performance below playable thresholds. The pixel rate of 92.80 GPixel/s and texture rate of 185.6 GTexel/s are modest figures that align with the measured FPS results, particularly at higher resolutions where fill-rate demands increase.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that identifies the GPU as the limiting component. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings, average FPS drops from 78 to 58, a 25.6% decrease. Scaling further to 3840x2160 at Low settings yields 37 average FPS, representing another 36.2% drop from the 1440p result. Across the full range from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, the average FPS falls by 52.6%.

This scaling behavior is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the primary limitation, resolution changes would have minimal impact on frame rates, as the CPU's workload remains roughly constant regardless of pixel count. Instead, the substantial FPS reductions at higher resolutions indicate that the AMD Radeon 890M's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth (system dependent) are being increasingly taxed as pixel counts rise.

At Medium settings, the same trend holds: 1080p yields 56 average FPS, 1440p yields 41, and 4K yields 26. The percentage drops between successive resolutions are 26.8% (1080p to 1440p) and 36.6% (1440p to 4K). These values are remarkably close to those observed at Low settings, suggesting that resolution scaling is largely independent of the settings preset — a hallmark of pure GPU-bound rendering.

The High settings row shows even steeper degradation: 49 FPS at 1080p, 36 at 1440p, and 23 at 4K. The 1440p to 4K drop of 36.1% mirrors the Low and Medium patterns. Ultra settings produce the lowest absolute numbers — 36, 27, and 17 at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively — but the proportional scaling remains consistent. This uniform scaling across all four settings presets confirms that resolution is the dominant variable, and the GPU's fill-rate limits are the binding constraint.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the four settings presets produce a clear hierarchy. Low settings deliver 78 average FPS, the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 56 average FPS with a minimum of 47 and maximum of 64. High settings produce 49 average FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 36 average FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 42 FPS, demonstrating the significant performance cost of higher graphical fidelity on this integrated GPU.

At 2560x1440, the same settings ordering persists but with reduced absolute values. Low settings achieve 58 average FPS, Medium settings deliver 41 average FPS (minimum 35, maximum 47), High settings produce 36 average FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 27 average FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread narrows to 31 FPS, indicating that at higher resolutions, even the lowest settings cannot fully escape the GPU's throughput limits.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes marginal for playable frame rates. Low settings manage 37 average FPS, Medium settings yield 26 average FPS (minimum 22, maximum 30), High settings drop to 23 average FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 17 average FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread compresses further to 20 FPS, showing that at 4K resolution, the AMD Radeon 890M is operating near its absolute ceiling regardless of the settings preset.

The Medium settings rows across all three resolutions include min/max FPS data, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range from 47 to 64 FPS represents a 36.2% variation from minimum to maximum. At 1440p Medium, the range is 35 to 47 FPS, a 34.3% variation. At 4K Medium, the range narrows to 22 to 30 FPS, a 36.4% variation. These similar proportional ranges suggest that frame pacing is relatively stable across resolutions, with the GPU consistently delivering frames near its average capability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 7 nm process node. Its base clock of 3.90 GHz and boost clock of 5.10 GHz provide substantial single-thread headroom, reflected in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1810.5 and Geekbench single-core score of 1794. The CPU's multi-core capabilities are robust as well, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17984.5 and a Passmark multithread score of 29376.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU based on the measured FPS data. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35670, places it well above the GPU's 45th percentile standing. This disparity indicates that the processor is not the bottleneck in this game; the integrated GPU's lower relative performance is what caps frame rates.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark score — the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 (35719, 0.1% higher), Intel Core 7 250H (35728, 0.2% higher), AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35802, 0.4% higher), and AMD Ryzen 7 7700X (35909, 0.7% higher) — all sit within a narrow performance band. This clustering suggests that the Core Ultra 9 185H's computational capabilities are competitive with contemporary mobile and desktop parts, yet the game's frame rates remain limited by the GPU.

The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate data throughput for feeding the GPU. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 8 lanes (CPU only) offers high-bandwidth connectivity, though the GPU's system-shared memory architecture means that memory latency and bandwidth are shared between CPU and GPU workloads. The resolution scaling analysis — showing consistent FPS drops at higher pixel counts — implies that the CPU is delivering frames to the GPU fast enough that only the GPU's rendering throughput matters.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and the user's threshold for smooth gameplay. At 1920x1080, Low settings provide 78 average FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. This makes 1080p Low the recommended choice for players prioritizing frame rate in a fast-paced FPS like Lockdown Protocol.

For users willing to accept slightly lower frame rates for improved visual quality at 1080p, Medium settings deliver 56 average FPS with a minimum of 47. This preset offers a reasonable balance, though the minimum FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold that many competitive FPS players prefer. High settings at 1080p produce 49 average FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 36 — both likely too low for responsive gameplay in a genre where reaction time matters.

At 2560x1440, only Low settings achieve a playable average of 58 FPS, narrowly missing the 60 FPS mark. Medium settings at 1440p yield 41 average FPS, and High and Ultra fall to 36 and 27 respectively. For 1440p gaming, Low settings are the only viable option for competitive play, and even then, the 58 FPS average provides limited headroom for demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, all settings presets fall below 40 average FPS, with Low at 37, Medium at 26, High at 23, and Ultra at 17. None of these configurations deliver acceptable frame rates for an FPS title. The data suggests that 4K resolution is not practical with this combination, and users should either reduce resolution or accept significant compromises in visual fidelity and frame rate.

The Medium settings row at 1080p provides the most balanced frame time data, with a 47 to 64 FPS range that indicates generally consistent performance. However, the 78 FPS average at Low settings represents the best overall experience for gameplay smoothness, making it the recommended preset for this hardware combination.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and AMD Radeon 890M ranks 3495 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the combo in the bottom 5.9% of all tested configurations, a low position that reflects the integrated GPU's performance ceiling rather than any deficiency in the CPU.

The GPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score — the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (9221, 0.1% higher), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (9273, 0.7% higher), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 (9294, 0.9% higher), and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M (9302, 1% higher) — all cluster within 1% of the 890M's score. This tight grouping indicates that the 890M is competitive with these older discrete and integrated solutions, but none of them are high-performance parts by modern standards.

The CPU's benchmark position is far stronger, sitting in the 85th percentile with an average score of 35670. The Core Ultra 9 185H outperforms its nearest rivals, with the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 being only 0.1% faster and the Intel Core 7 250H being 0.2% faster. This strong CPU showing makes the low combo rank particularly notable: the processor has ample headroom, but the integrated GPU cannot translate that computational power into high frame rates in Lockdown Protocol.

The measured FPS data confirms this imbalance. Even at the lowest resolution and settings tested (1920x1080 Low), the combo achieves only 78 average FPS, and performance degrades rapidly as resolution and settings increase. The rank of 3495 out of 3714 indicates that the vast majority of tested combinations — likely those with discrete GPUs — deliver better performance in this game. For users considering this combo, the data clearly shows that the AMD Radeon 890M is the limiting factor, and the CPU's capabilities will only be fully utilized in GPU-light workloads or at very low resolutions.