Lockdown Protocol

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 570 shows a clear pattern: this combination is viable only at 1920x1080 on the Low preset, and falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold at every other setting and resolution. At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. The High preset averages 22 FPS, Medium averages 26 FPS with a minimum of 22 FPS and maximum of 30 FPS, Low averages 36 FPS, and Ultra averages 17 FPS. No setting at 4K reaches even half of the 60 FPS target, making this resolution effectively unplayable with this hardware pairing.

Stepping down to 2560x1440 improves matters but not enough to cross the playability line. The Low preset delivers an average of 56 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS threshold but still short. High averages 35 FPS, Medium averages 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 FPS and maximum of 46 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. None of these settings achieve the target, and even the best case at Low leaves a noticeable gap of 4 FPS below the playable mark.

At 1920x1080, the picture changes for one preset only. Low settings produce an average of 77 FPS, which comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 FPS and maximum of 63 FPS, so while the average is below target, the maximum does briefly cross 60 FPS. High averages 47 FPS, and Ultra averages 36 FPS. The data shows that only Low at 1080p is consistently playable, with 77 FPS average providing a solid margin above the threshold.

The scaling between resolutions is steep. Dropping from 3840x2160 to 2560x1440 at Low settings improves the average from 36 FPS to 56 FPS, a gain of 20 FPS. Dropping further to 1920x1080 at Low raises the average to 77 FPS, another 21 FPS gain. The pattern repeats across all presets, indicating that pixel count is the dominant factor in performance for this game on this hardware.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals that the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the performance bottleneck at every resolution tested. The Intel Core i5-14600K is a high-end desktop processor with 14 cores and 20 threads, and its benchmark scores place it in the 90th percentile among all CPUs. The RX 570, by contrast, sits in the 74th percentile among GPUs and is an end-of-life product from 2017. The GPU's age and class relative to the CPU create a lopsided pairing where the processor has substantial headroom that the graphics card cannot exploit.

Evidence for this comes from the resolution scaling. If the CPU were the limiting factor, reducing resolution from 3840x2160 to 1920x1080 would yield minimal FPS gains, because the CPU work per frame would stay roughly constant. Instead, the data shows large gains: at Low settings, the average FPS jumps from 36 at 4K to 77 at 1080p, a 114% improvement. This magnitude of scaling indicates the GPU is saturated at higher pixel counts and becomes progressively less burdened as resolution drops. The CPU is never the constraint in this configuration.

Preset scaling tells a similar story. At 1920x1080, moving from Low to Medium drops the average from 77 to 54 FPS, a 30% reduction. Moving from Medium to High drops it to 47 FPS, and from High to Ultra to 36 FPS. These reductions track the increasing GPU workload from more detailed rendering, not CPU limitations. The i5-14600K's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064, is more than sufficient for the game's FPS workload at these settings.

At 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, the GPU role grows even more dominant. The RX 570's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly strained as pixel count rises, and the measured FPS falls accordingly. The 14-core CPU has no trouble feeding frames at any resolution, but the GPU simply cannot render them fast enough. For users considering this pairing, the data indicates that any upgrade path should prioritize the graphics card first, as the CPU is not the limiting factor in Lockdown Protocol.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database's nearest rival data for the Intel Core i5-14600K shows that its average benchmark score of 48618 is closely matched by several other processors. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48698, which is 0.2% higher. The AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48470, 0.3% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX scores 48287, 0.7% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995, 0.8% higher. All four rivals are within 1% of the i5-14600K's average score, meaning any of them would produce nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 570's average benchmark score of 28766 is matched by a different set of rivals. The AMD Radeon RX 6800M scores 28874, 0.4% higher. The AMD Radeon R9 M295X scores 28580, 0.7% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 470 scores 28996, 0.8% higher. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 scores 28421, 1.2% lower. The RX 470 is particularly relevant as it shares the same Polaris architecture generation, and its near-identical score suggests it would deliver almost the same FPS in Lockdown Protocol. The RX 6800M, despite being a mobile part, also lands within the same performance envelope.

When considering alternative combinations, pairing any of the rival CPUs with any of the rival GPUs would produce FPS results within a few points of the measured values. A system with an Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and an RX 470, for example, would behave nearly identically to the i5-14600K and RX 570 combination. The differences between these alternatives are smaller than the gap between the Low and Medium presets at any resolution, so users should not expect meaningful FPS changes from swapping to these nearby parts.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination ranks at position 3544 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the bottom 5% of all configurations in the database. The rank reflects the GPU's limitations far more than the CPU's capabilities; the i5-14600K itself ranks in the 90th percentile among CPUs, while the RX 570 ranks in the 74th percentile among GPUs. The combination underperforms because the GPU drags the overall result down despite the strong processor.

The low rank is consistent with the measured FPS data. Only one preset across all resolutions achieves the 60 FPS playable threshold, and that is Low at 1920x1080 with 77 FPS. Every other tested configuration falls short. At 4K, the best average is 36 FPS on Low, which is 40% below the threshold. At 1440p, the best average is 56 FPS on Low, which is 7% below the threshold. These results place the combo well below what most other tested configurations achieve, hence the 3544th rank.

Users with this pairing should temper expectations for Lockdown Protocol. The game is playable, but only at the lowest settings and resolution. The data suggests that even a modest GPU upgrade would yield substantial improvements, as the CPU has ample headroom and would not bottleneck a faster graphics card. The rank of 3544 out of 3714 is a clear verdict: this is a low-performing combination for this specific game.

FAQ

Q: What is the best playable setting for this CPU and GPU combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The only playable setting is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which produces an average of 77 FPS. All other presets at 1080p, and all presets at 1440p and 4K, fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 2560x1440?

A: No. The best result at 1440p is 56 FPS average on Low settings, which is 4 FPS below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium averages 40 FPS, High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 570 compare to its nearest rivals for this game?

A: The RX 570's average benchmark score of 28766 is within 1.2% of the RX 6800M, R9 M295X, RX 470, and Quadro RTX 8000. Any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical FPS in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for performance in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. FPS scales strongly with resolution, rising from 36 FPS at 4K Low to 77 FPS at 1080p Low, which indicates the RX 570 is the bottleneck. The i5-14600K, ranking in the 90th percentile among CPUs, has ample headroom.

Q: What rank does this combo hold among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 3544 out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 5% of all configurations in the database for Lockdown Protocol.

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

A: The average is 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 63 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS playable threshold on average, though the maximum does briefly exceed it.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best average is 36 FPS on Low settings, followed by 26 FPS on Medium, 22 FPS on High, and 17 FPS on Ultra. The database records no playable settings at this resolution, meaning users should avoid 4K entirely with this hardware.

At 2560x1440, the situation is similar. The best average is 56 FPS on Low settings, which falls 4 FPS short of the 60 FPS target. Medium averages 40 FPS, High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. No playable settings exist at this resolution either, so 1440p is not recommended for this combo.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset is the only playable option, with an average of 77 FPS. This is the single configuration across all resolutions and settings that meets the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 54 FPS, High averages 47 FPS, and Ultra averages 36 FPS, all below target. For the best experience, users should run the game at 1080p with Low settings, which provides a 17 FPS margin above the playable threshold. The data does not support any higher preset at this resolution for consistent 60 FPS performance.