Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX + AMD Radeon RX 7900M

The pairing of Intel's Core Ultra 9 275HX with AMD's Radeon RX 7900M in Lockdown Protocol produces a system that sits in the upper-middle tier of tested configurations, ranked 1183rd out of 2828 combos. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a component relationship that shifts from GPU-bound at 4K to increasingly CPU-sensitive as resolution drops, with the data suggesting a balanced but not perfectly matched duo for this FPS title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but progressive, indicating where the bottleneck shifts. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 214 FPS at 1920x1080 to 157 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 101 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 27% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 36% reduction from 1440p to 4K — a total decline of 53% across the full resolution range. This pattern is typical of a GPU that is being pushed progressively harder, though the absolute numbers at 4K Low (101 FPS) still remain highly playable for a competitive FPS.

At High settings, the scaling curve steepens. The average drops from 133 FPS at 1080p to 97 FPS at 1440p (a 27% decrease) and then to 63 FPS at 4K (a 35% further decrease). The 4K High result of 63 FPS is exactly on the cusp of what many players would consider acceptable for a fast-paced shooter, suggesting that the RX 7900M's 16 GB VRAM and 576.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to avoid memory-related stutters but not enough to maintain high refresh rates at this resolution with elevated settings.

Ultra settings tell a similar story with even lower floor. The 1080p Ultra average of 99 FPS falls to 73 FPS at 1440p (a 26% drop) and then to 47 FPS at 4K (a 36% drop). The fact that the percentage drop from 1440p to 4K remains consistent around 35% across Low, High, and Ultra presets strongly implies that the GPU's raw compute throughput — not VRAM capacity or bandwidth — is the primary limiter at higher resolutions. The 38.52 TFLOPS FP32 figure for the RX 7900M is what is being taxed here, and the scaling behavior aligns with what one would expect from a GPU operating near its fillrate or shader limits.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, Ultra delivers 46% of the Low FPS (99 vs 214). At 4K, Ultra delivers 47% of Low FPS (47 vs 101). This consistency suggests that the CPU is not introducing a significant bottleneck even at 1080p Low, where the 214 FPS average would typically stress a processor. The Core Ultra 9 275HX, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, appears to keep up with the GPU's output at lower resolutions, preventing the FPS ceiling from being cut short by CPU limitations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1183 out of 2828 tested combinations places it in the 42nd percentile of all system pairings for Lockdown Protocol. This is a mid-pack result that might surprise given the high-end nature of both components. The CPU scores in the 94th percentile against all CPUs, and the GPU also scores in the 94th percentile against all GPUs — yet the combined system does not reach the top quartile of combos for this game. This discrepancy suggests that Lockdown Protocol may be sensitive to factors beyond raw component scores, such as memory latency, driver optimization, or the specific interplay between Intel and AMD components in this title.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX has an average benchmark score of 67469, sitting just 0.3% below the Intel Xeon w5-3525 (score 67673) and 0.5% below the AMD EPYC 4484PX (score 67822). It outperforms the Intel Xeon 6515P by 0.7% (score 67006) and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX by 0.6% (score 67868, meaning the Ultra 9 is behind by that margin). These are extremely tight margins — all within 1.3% of each other — indicating that the CPU's raw computational power is not a differentiator in this system's overall ranking. The real question is whether Lockdown Protocol leverages the 24-core configuration effectively, or if it prefers fewer, faster cores.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 7900M's average benchmark score is 97487, which is 0.4% above the AMD Radeon Pro VII (score 97131) and 5.4% above the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 (score 92466). It trails the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 by 4.3% (score 101872) and the NVIDIA RTX A4500 by 6.3% (score 91671, meaning the RX 7900M is ahead). The GPU's position relative to these workstation-class cards suggests that its gaming performance is competitive, but the 1183rd rank out of 2828 combos indicates that Lockdown Protocol may not be heavily GPU-bound at the settings where this combo is typically run, or that other system configurations with slightly weaker GPUs but stronger CPUs achieve better results in this specific title.

FAQ

Q: Is the Core Ultra 9 275HX bottlenecking the RX 7900M in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data suggests no significant CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 214 FPS average, which is a very high frame rate that would typically expose CPU limitations. The consistent 26-27% FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p across all settings indicates the GPU is the primary scaling factor, not the CPU.

Q: What is the best resolution to play Lockdown Protocol with this combo?

A: Based on measured results, 2560x1440 at High settings (97 FPS average) appears to be the sweet spot for balancing visual quality and performance. At 1920x1080, High settings yield 133 FPS, but the jump to 1440p only costs 36 FPS while providing significantly more screen detail. 4K is playable at Low (101 FPS) but drops to 63 FPS at High, which may be too low for fast-paced FPS action.

Q: How does this combo's CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 9 275HX has an average benchmark score of 67469, placing it within 0.7% of all four nearest rivals. It is 0.3% behind the Intel Xeon w5-3525 (score 67673), 0.5% behind the AMD EPYC 4484PX (score 67822), 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX (score 67868), and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Xeon 6515P (score 67006). These are negligible differences for gaming performance.

Q: Is the RX 7900M's 16 GB VRAM sufficient for Lockdown Protocol at 4K?

A: The measured results indicate yes. At 4K Ultra, the system still averages 47 FPS, and at 4K High it averages 63 FPS. There are no reported min FPS values for these settings to indicate stuttering from VRAM overflow. The 576.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 16 GB capacity appear adequate for this game's demands at 4K.

Q: Should I use Low, Medium, High, or Ultra settings for competitive play?

A: For competitive play, the 1080p Low setting at 214 FPS average provides the highest frame rate and lowest latency, which is typically preferred in FPS games. If visual fidelity is more important, 1440p High at 97 FPS offers a good middle ground. Ultra settings at any resolution drop the frame rate below 100 FPS, which may not be ideal for fast-twitch aiming.

Q: How does this combo's overall rank compare to its component percentiles?

A: The CPU and GPU both sit in the 94th percentile of all components, yet the combo ranks 1183rd out of 2828 (42nd percentile) for Lockdown Protocol. This gap suggests that Lockdown Protocol may not be heavily multithreaded or may be sensitive to other system factors, as the raw component power does not translate directly into top-tier game performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages span a wide range depending on settings. Low settings produce an average of 214 FPS, Medium produces 152 FPS (with min FPS of 129 and max of 175), High produces 133 FPS, and Ultra produces 99 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 115 FPS, which is substantial and indicates that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages shift downward. Low yields 157 FPS, Medium yields 111 FPS (with min 95 and max 128), High yields 97 FPS, and Ultra yields 73 FPS. The Medium preset shows a tighter min-max spread (95 to 128) compared to the 1080p Medium (129 to 175), suggesting that the frame pacing becomes more consistent as the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the averages compress further. Low produces 101 FPS, Medium produces 72 FPS (with min 61 and max 83), High produces 63 FPS, and Ultra produces 47 FPS. The Medium min FPS of 61 is notably close to the High average of 63, indicating that frame drops begin to encroach on playability territory at 4K. The Ultra setting at 47 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay.

The Medium preset is the only one with recorded min and max FPS values across all resolutions, providing insight into frame consistency. At 1080p, the spread is 46 FPS (129 to 175). At 1440p, the spread narrows to 33 FPS (95 to 128). At 4K, the spread narrows further to 22 FPS (61 to 83). This trend indicates that as resolution increases, the GPU becomes more consistently saturated, reducing the variance between frames. For players sensitive to frame time spikes, the higher resolutions may actually provide a more stable experience despite lower averages.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points toward 2560x1440 with High settings as the most balanced configuration for this combo in Lockdown Protocol. The 97 FPS average at this setting is comfortably above 60 FPS, providing smooth gameplay, while the visual improvement over Low settings is significant. The alternative of 1080p High at 133 FPS offers higher refresh rate potential but sacrifices resolution detail.

For players prioritizing maximum competitive advantage, 1080p Low at 214 FPS is the clear choice. This setting minimizes visual clutter and maximizes frame rate, which can reduce input latency and provide a smoother visual experience on high refresh rate monitors. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 62 FPS (from 214 to 152), which is a substantial trade-off for the modest visual improvements Medium typically provides.

For players who insist on 4K, the Low setting at 101 FPS is the only viable option for maintaining triple-digit frame rates. The Medium setting at 72 FPS is playable but may feel sluggish in fast-paced firefights, while High at 63 FPS and Ultra at 47 FPS fall below the threshold where most FPS players feel comfortable. The 4K Medium min FPS of 61 is particularly concerning, as it suggests occasional dips below 60 FPS during intense scenes.

The Ultra preset is difficult to recommend at any resolution. At 1080p, it delivers 99 FPS, which is only 2 FPS more than 1440p High (97 FPS) while requiring more GPU resources. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 73 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 47 FPS. The visual gains from High to Ultra are typically marginal in most games, and the performance cost here is steep — a 26% reduction from High to Ultra at 1080p (133 to 99 FPS) and a 25% reduction at 1440p (97 to 73 FPS).

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX brings 24 cores and 24 threads across an Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock of 2.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz provide substantial single-thread headroom, which is critical for FPS games that often rely on a few primary threads. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2204 and multi-core score of 35589 indicate strong performance in both realms, though the multi-core advantage is less relevant for Lockdown Protocol unless the game scales well across many threads.

The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB L2 per core provide ample on-die storage for game data, which can reduce memory latency. The dual-channel DDR5 memory support with a theoretical bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s is sufficient for feeding the GPU, though it is notably lower than the GPU's own memory bandwidth of 576.0 GB/s. The Passmark single-thread score of 4713 and multithread score of 55759 further confirm the CPU's balanced capabilities.

The fact that the system achieves 214 FPS at 1080p Low without apparent CPU limitation suggests that Lockdown Protocol is not heavily multithreaded. If it were, the 24-core configuration would likely push frame rates even higher, or the CPU would show signs of bottlenecking at lower resolutions. The consistent FPS scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (214 to 99 FPS) indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor even at the lowest settings, which is a positive sign for CPU performance. The 94th percentile ranking against all CPUs, with a 0.3% margin to the closest rival, shows that this is a top-tier mobile processor by compute standards, even if its gaming-specific advantage in this title is modest.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900M is built on the Navi 31 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is generous for a mobile GPU and more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol's demands at the tested resolutions. The base clock of 1825 MHz and boost clock of 2090 MHz drive 4608 shading units, 288 texture mapping units, and 192 ROPs, delivering 38.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a pixel rate of 401.3 GPixel/s.

The GPU's benchmark results show a Geekbench OpenCL score of 129499 and a Vulkan score of 158760, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro VII, scores 97131 (0.4% lower), while the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 scores 101872 (4.3% higher). These comparisons highlight that the RX 7900M is competitive with workstation-class GPUs, which bodes well for gaming performance in titles that are not heavily optimized for NVIDIA-specific features.

For Lockdown Protocol specifically, the GPU's performance scaling across resolutions and settings indicates that it is the dominant factor in determining frame rates. The 27% drop from 1080p to 1440p and the additional 35% drop from 1440p to 4K at Low settings suggest a GPU that is being progressively loaded without hitting a memory bandwidth wall. The 16 GB VRAM capacity appears to be a non-issue, as there is no evidence of performance collapse at 4K that would indicate VRAM overflow. The 47 FPS at 4K Ultra represents the GPU's limit under maximum load, which is acceptable for less demanding genres but marginal for a competitive FPS. The 72 RT cores (as part of the 4608 shading units) are present but Lockdown Protocol likely does not heavily utilize ray tracing, so their impact on these measured results is probably minimal.