Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and AMD Radeon RX 7800M combination, with the measured data showing a clear progression of performance scaling from 1080p to 4K. The 1920x1080 resolution delivers the highest frame rates, with the Low preset reaching an average of 162 FPS, while the High preset still maintains a solid 100 FPS average. At 2560x1440, the same settings drop to 119 FPS and 74 FPS respectively, indicating a substantial performance cost as pixel count increases. Moving to 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 77 FPS and the High preset falls to 48 FPS, which represents a 52.5% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K on the High settings, a clear sign that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern between resolutions is not perfectly linear, which points to where the bottleneck lies. From 1080p High (100 FPS) to 1440p High (74 FPS), the drop is 26%, while moving from 1440p High to 4K High (48 FPS) costs another 35.1%. This steeper decline at 4K suggests the Radeon RX 7800M's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated, particularly with the Ultra preset which averages only 36 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra settings also widens with resolution: at 1080p, Ultra is 53.7% slower than Low, but at 4K that penalty grows to 53.2% slower, showing that the highest settings impose a proportionally heavier load on the GPU as resolution climbs.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals that Lockdown Protocol scales predictably with resolution, but the magnitude of the performance hit varies significantly depending on the preset. At the Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 1440p costs 43 FPS (162 to 119, a 26.5% drop), while going from 1440p to 4K costs another 42 FPS (119 to 77, a 35.3% drop). This consistent degradation indicates that even at low graphical fidelity, the Radeon RX 7800M is working hard to push the higher pixel counts, and the 4K resolution pushes the GPU close to its limits.

For the Medium preset, the scaling is similar but with slightly different margins. The 1080p Medium average of 115 FPS drops to 84 FPS at 1440p (a 27% reduction), then falls to 54 FPS at 4K (a 35.7% reduction from 1440p). The minimum FPS readings at Medium settings — 98 at 1080p, 72 at 1440p, and 46 at 4K — show that frame time consistency also degrades with resolution, which can lead to noticeable stutter in fast-paced FPS combat. The High preset follows the same trend, with the 100 FPS at 1080p dropping to 74 FPS at 1440p and then 48 FPS at 4K, representing a cumulative 52% loss from the starting point.

The Ultra preset is where the most dramatic scaling appears. Starting at 75 FPS at 1080p, it falls to 55 FPS at 1440p (a 26.7% drop) and then plummets to 36 FPS at 4K (a 34.5% drop from 1440p). This 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold that most competitive FPS players consider playable, indicating that the combination of the highest settings and 4K resolution is beyond what this hardware can comfortably handle. The data suggests that the Radeon RX 7800M, with its 35.87 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 96 ROPs, is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but 4K requires significant settings compromises.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 1080p, the measured data shows that all presets are playable, but the choice depends on the desired frame rate. The Low preset at 162 FPS is ideal for competitive play where high refresh rates matter, while the High preset at 100 FPS offers a good balance for most users. The Ultra preset at 75 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold, making it viable for those who prioritize visual quality over frame rate. The Medium preset sits between at 115 FPS, providing a solid middle ground with better visuals than Low and higher performance than High.

At 1440p, the recommendations shift toward lower presets. The Low preset at 119 FPS is the only option that clears the 100 FPS mark, making it the best choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset at 84 FPS is still smooth for most players, and the High preset at 74 FPS remains acceptable for slower-paced gameplay. However, the Ultra preset at 55 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold, which may cause noticeable frame pacing issues in fast-moving firefights. For 1440p, the data suggests that Medium or High settings provide the best experience per measured FPS, with Low reserved for maximum performance.

At 4K, the options are more constrained. The Low preset at 77 FPS is the only setting that achieves a comfortable frame rate, while Medium at 54 FPS and High at 48 FPS are borderline playable but not ideal for competitive play. The Ultra preset at 36 FPS is not recommended for anything other than screenshots or slow exploration. The measured minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 46 FPS, which indicates that even the average can dip into uncomfortable territory during intense scenes. For 4K, the data strongly suggests sticking with Low settings to maintain a playable experience, as the GPU is clearly the limiting factor at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H features 16 cores and 22 threads, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, and the benchmark results show it has substantial processing power. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17984.5 and single-core score of 1810.5 place this CPU in the 85th percentile compared to all CPUs, indicating strong performance for a mobile processor. In the context of Lockdown Protocol, which is an FPS title that typically benefits from high single-thread performance, the 5.10 GHz boost clock and the 24 MB of shared L3 cache are likely sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions.

The nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark data confirm that the Ultra 9 185H sits in a competitive position. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 scores 35719 on average, just 0.1% higher than the Ultra 9's 35670 average, while the Intel Core 7 250H scores 35728, a 0.2% difference. These negligible deltas suggest that in CPU-bound scenarios, the Ultra 9 185H will perform nearly identically to these alternatives. The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, a desktop chip, scores 35909, which is 0.7% higher, indicating that the mobile Ultra 9 is closing the gap with desktop parts.

In Lockdown Protocol specifically, the measured data shows that the CPU is not the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K follow a pattern consistent with GPU limitation, as the frame rate decreases roughly in proportion to the pixel count increase. At 1080p Low, the 162 FPS average suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough frames, but the fact that this is only 35.8% higher than the 4K Low result of 77 FPS indicates that the GPU is the first bottleneck encountered. The PassMark multi-thread score of 29376 and the PassMark single-thread score of 3697 further confirm that this CPU has ample headroom for gaming workloads.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data shows 1080p is the strongest choice, with the Low preset hitting 162 FPS and the High preset at 100 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low preset exceeds 100 FPS (119 FPS), while 4K requires Low settings to stay above 60 FPS (77 FPS).

Q: Can the Radeon RX 7800M handle 4K in this game?

A: Yes, but with compromises. The Low preset averages 77 FPS at 4K, which is playable. Medium drops to 54 FPS, High to 48 FPS, and Ultra to 36 FPS, making 4K viable only on Low settings for a smooth experience.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a better experience than High?

A: At 1080p, Ultra (75 FPS) is 25% slower than High (100 FPS), and at 1440p the gap is 25.7% (55 vs 74 FPS). The visual uplift from High to Ultra is typically marginal in FPS titles, so the data suggests High is the better trade-off.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 (35719) and 0.2% lower than the Intel Core 7 250H (35728). It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X by 0.7%, making it effectively tied with these competitors.

Q: Is the 12 GB VRAM on the RX 7800M sufficient for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The measured data indicates yes, as even at 4K Ultra the game runs without crashing or failing to load. However, the 432.0 GB/s bandwidth appears to be a limiting factor at 4K, since the FPS drops more sharply between 1440p and 4K than between 1080p and 1440p.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 115 FPS, with a minimum of 98 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS. This provides a smooth experience on 100-120 Hz monitors, though the Low preset at 162 FPS is better for 144 Hz displays.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M is the primary driver of Lockdown Protocol's performance, and its specifications help explain the measured results. Built on the Navi 32 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, this mobile GPU features 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2335 MHz and a game clock of 2145 MHz. The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial for a laptop part but appears to be the limiting factor at 4K. The GPU's 35.87 TFLOPS FP32 performance places it in the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27883.

The nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark data highlight the RX 7800M's position. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 scores 27839, which is 0.2% lower, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X scores 27973, 0.3% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti scores 28020, 0.5% higher, and the AMD FirePro S7150 scores 28117, 0.8% higher. These deltas are all within 1%, meaning the RX 7800M trades blows with these older or workstation-class cards, but its modern feature set and 12 GB VRAM give it an edge in current games.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role is evident in the performance scaling. The 1080p Low result of 162 FPS is the highest measured, and the fact that it only drops to 77 FPS at 4K Low (a 52.5% reduction) suggests the GPU is heavily utilized even at the lowest settings. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2994 and the PassMark G3D score of 17613 provide context for this gaming performance, indicating that the GPU handles modern APIs well. The 60 RT cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) mean the GPU is ready for ray-traced content, though no such measurements are included in this data. The 224.2 GPixel/s pixel rate and 560.4 GTexel/s texture rate are high enough to sustain the frame rates seen at 1080p, but the 432.0 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes a constraint at 4K where the data shows a disproportionate FPS drop.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and AMD Radeon RX 7800M is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 162 FPS. The Medium preset averages 115 FPS, with a minimum of 98 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS. The High preset averages 100 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 75 FPS. This gives a range of 87 FPS between the lowest and highest presets at 1080p, showing that the GPU has significant headroom to trade performance for visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 119 FPS. The Medium preset averages 84 FPS, with a minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 97 FPS. The High preset averages 74 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 55 FPS. The jump from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 26-27% of performance across all presets, which is a consistent scaling factor that indicates the GPU is the bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 77 FPS. The Medium preset averages 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 63 FPS. The High preset averages 48 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 36 FPS. The 4K results show a steeper decline, with the High preset losing 35.1% compared to 1440p High, and the Ultra preset losing 34.5% compared to 1440p Ultra. This confirms that 4K pushes the RX 7800M's memory subsystem to its limits.

The overall combo rank in this game is 2489 out of 3714 tested combinations, placing this CPU-GPU pairing in the middle of the pack for Lockdown Protocol. This ranking reflects the fact that while the CPU is strong (85th percentile), the GPU is only in the 73rd percentile, making it the weaker link in this pairing for this particular game. The data shows that the RX 7800M is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant settings reductions to maintain playable frame rates.