Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core Ultra 9 185H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile

The benchmark data for Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile reveals a system that is strongly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but shows signs of CPU limitation at 1080p. With measured average frame rates ranging from 58 FPS at 4K Ultra to 262 FPS at 1080p Low, the combination demonstrates a wide performance envelope that depends heavily on both resolution and quality preset. This analysis walks through the measured data to interpret what these numbers mean for gameplay, how the components interact, and where the system sits relative to other tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The jump from 1080p to 4K at each settings level shows how the workload shifts between the CPU and GPU. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 262 FPS at 1920x1080 to 124 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of approximately 53%. At High settings, the drop is from 162 FPS at 1080p to 77 FPS at 4K, a 52% decline. Medium settings show a similar pattern: 186 FPS at 1080p falling to 88 FPS at 4K, a 53% reduction. Ultra settings, meanwhile, go from 122 FPS at 1080p to 58 FPS at 4K, a 52% decrease.

These consistent percentages across all four quality presets indicate that resolution scaling behaves predictably in Lockdown Protocol. The near-uniform ~52-53% reduction from 1080p to 4K suggests that the rendering pipeline is scaling pixel count in a linear fashion, which is typical of a game that is primarily GPU-bound at these settings. The fact that the percentage drop is almost identical whether the game is running at Low or Ultra points to the GPU being the limiting factor throughout, rather than any CPU-side bottleneck that would manifest differently at lower resolutions.

However, a closer look at the 1080p Low result — 262 FPS — hints that the CPU is approaching its ceiling. At such high frame rates, even a powerful mobile processor like the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H with its 5.10 GHz boost clock and 16 cores may struggle to feed the GPU fast enough. The 4K Low result of 124 FPS is still very high, but the gap between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings (192 FPS) is notable: a 27% reduction, which is smaller than the 35% reduction seen between 1440p and 4K. This non-uniform scaling at Low settings suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is starting to constrain performance, preventing the GPU from fully stretching its legs.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate measured for this combination?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 262 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the dataset that exceeds 250 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra experience compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: At 4K Ultra, the system averages 58 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it averages 122 FPS. The 4K result is less than half of the 1080p figure, representing a 52% reduction in average frame rate.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 Mobile capable of running Lockdown Protocol at 1440p with high refresh rates?

A: Yes. At 2560x1440 with High settings, the measured average is 119 FPS, and at Medium settings it reaches 136 FPS. These results comfortably exceed 100 FPS, making 1440p a strong choice for high-refresh displays.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded in the dataset?

A: The lowest average is 58 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This remains playable but falls below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth for competitive FPS games.

Q: Are there any minimum frame rate data points available?

A: Yes, the dataset includes minimum frame rates for Medium settings at all three resolutions: 75 FPS at 4K, 116 FPS at 1440p, and 158 FPS at 1080p. No minimum frame rates are provided for Low, High, or Ultra settings.

Q: How does the system's overall ranking in Lockdown Protocol look?

A: The combination ranks 806th out of 3714 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 22% of all configurations in the database.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is the primary driver of performance in Lockdown Protocol, as evidenced by the near-linear resolution scaling discussed above. This GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. With 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units, the card is well-equipped for high-resolution rendering. The boost clock of 1695 MHz and base clock of 1335 MHz are relatively modest for a flagship mobile GPU, reflecting the 120 W TDP constraint of the laptop form factor.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity is particularly relevant for Lockdown Protocol at 4K resolution. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the game averages 58 FPS, and the substantial memory allocation ensures that texture streaming and geometry data do not become bottlenecks. The 576.0 GB/s bandwidth is also sufficient to feed the 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores, though the game's specific use of ray tracing or DLSS features is not detailed in the dataset. The GPU's 32.98 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance provides ample raw horsepower for the game's rendering needs.

Comparing the RTX 4090 Mobile to its nearest rivals in the database, the data shows it sits close to the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (0.8% higher average score), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (0.9% higher), and the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (0.9% higher). The RTX A6000 trails by 0.9%. These small delta percentages indicate that the RTX 4090 Mobile is positioned in a tight cluster of high-end GPUs, with no single competitor holding a significant advantage in aggregate benchmark scores. The GPU's 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs reinforces this position as a top-tier but not absolute top performer.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 262 FPS, which is exceptionally high and suggests the GPU is not fully utilized at this resolution. Medium settings yield 186 FPS with a minimum of 158 FPS and a maximum of 214 FPS, providing a very smooth experience. High settings average 162 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 122 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 140 FPS, indicating that quality settings have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show the expected decline from the pixel count increase. Low settings average 192 FPS, which is still very high. Medium settings produce 136 FPS with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 157 FPS. High settings average 119 FPS, and Ultra settings average 89 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 103 FPS, a narrower spread than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates but with a significant reduction in headroom. Low settings average 124 FPS, which is respectable for 4K. Medium settings produce 88 FPS with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS. High settings average 77 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 58 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 66 FPS, the smallest spread of the three resolutions. This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU is the dominant constraint, and even dropping to Low settings cannot fully compensate for the pixel count.

The Medium settings rows provide the only minimum and maximum frame rate data in the dataset. At 1080p, the minimum of 158 FPS and maximum of 214 FPS show a range of 56 FPS, indicating some frame time variance. At 1440p, the range narrows to 41 FPS (116-157 FPS), and at 4K, it narrows further to 26 FPS (75-101 FPS). This pattern suggests that as resolution increases, frame pacing becomes more consistent, likely because the GPU is working at a more uniform load.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play at high refresh rates, the 1920x1080 Low setting is the clear choice, delivering 262 FPS average. This provides maximum headroom for fast-paced FPS action and ensures that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate will remain well above typical 144 Hz or 165 Hz display refresh rates. The 1440p Low setting at 192 FPS is also viable for users with 1440p high-refresh monitors who want a balance between visual clarity and speed.

For a balanced experience that maintains high frame rates while improving visual quality, the Medium preset is the standout option. At 1080p, it delivers 186 FPS with a minimum of 158 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even during intense firefights. At 1440p, Medium averages 136 FPS with a minimum of 116 FPS, which is still excellent for a fast-paced shooter. The Medium preset at 4K averages 88 FPS with a minimum of 75 FPS, making it the only 4K option that consistently stays above 60 FPS.

The High preset is a reasonable middle ground for users prioritizing image quality over raw frame rate. At 1440p, it averages 119 FPS, which is still smooth, and at 1080p it reaches 162 FPS. However, at 4K, High drops to 77 FPS, which may feel less responsive for competitive play. The Ultra preset is best reserved for scenarios where visual fidelity is paramount and frame rate can be sacrificed. At 1440p, Ultra averages 89 FPS, which is playable, but at 4K it falls to 58 FPS, making it the least recommended configuration for FPS gameplay.

The data suggests that Medium settings at 1440p offer the best overall experience, combining a high average frame rate of 136 FPS with a solid minimum of 116 FPS, while still providing better visual quality than Low settings. For users with 4K displays, Medium at 88 FPS average is the recommended choice, as it maintains playability without the visual compromises of Low settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 7 nm process. Its base clock of 3.90 GHz and boost clock of 5.10 GHz provide substantial single-thread performance, which is critical for FPS games. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 cache per core help reduce memory latency, benefiting game logic and physics calculations. The 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth from dual-channel DDR5 support is adequate for feeding the GPU, though it is not as high as some desktop platforms.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes most apparent at 1080p with Low settings, where the 262 FPS average suggests the processor is working near its limit. The CPU's benchmark scores provide context for this: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17984.5 and a single-core score of 1810.5 indicate strong performance, while the PassMark single-thread score of 3697 and multi-thread score of 29376 reinforce its capability. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs places it in the upper tier of processors.

The nearest rivals to the Core Ultra 9 185H in aggregate benchmark scores are all within 0.7% of its average score of 35670. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 trails by 0.1%, the Intel Core 7 250H by 0.2%, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 by 0.4%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X by 0.7%. These negligible differences suggest that in CPU-bound scenarios, the Core Ultra 9 185H performs virtually identically to these alternatives. However, the 16-core/22-thread configuration provides more parallel processing headroom than the likely lower-core-count rivals, which could benefit games that utilize multiple threads for AI, physics, or streaming.

The 45 W TDP of the Core Ultra 9 185H is notable for a mobile processor, as it allows sustained performance without excessive thermal throttling. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 128EU is present but irrelevant for gaming when the discrete RTX 4090 Mobile is active. The CPU's PCIe Gen 5 support with 8 lanes ensures sufficient bandwidth for the GPU, though the GPU itself uses PCIe 4.0 x16, which is more than adequate for current game workloads.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile ranks 806th out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 21.7% of all configurations. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the high-end nature of both components, but it reflects the fact that Lockdown Protocol may be more sensitive to certain hardware characteristics than to raw benchmark scores. The GPU's 84th percentile ranking and the CPU's 85th percentile ranking suggest that both components are strong, yet the combined system does not break into the top tier for this specific game.

The ranking data indicates that there are 2908 combos that outperform this configuration in Lockdown Protocol, which suggests that other pairings — possibly with desktop-class CPUs or GPUs with higher power limits — achieve better results. The RTX 4090 Mobile's 120 W TDP is a limiting factor compared to desktop RTX 4090 variants, which can draw significantly more power and sustain higher clock speeds. Similarly, the Core Ultra 9 185H's 45 W TDP, while efficient, may not offer the sustained multi-core performance of higher-power mobile or desktop processors.

Despite the mid-pack ranking, the measured FPS data shows that this combo delivers excellent real-world performance. The ability to maintain 262 FPS at 1080p Low and 136 FPS at 1440p Medium demonstrates that the system is more than capable for competitive FPS play. The ranking should be interpreted as a relative position within a database that includes many configurations with varying power envelopes and price points, not as an indication of inadequate performance. For users with this hardware, the data confirms that Lockdown Protocol runs very well at all resolutions up to 1440p, with 4K requiring settings adjustments to maintain smooth frame rates.