Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is an Unreal-based FPS that scales aggressively with hardware, and this Intel Core i5-14600K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti pairing lands in the 90th percentile for CPUs and 84th percentile for GPUs, respectively. The measured frame data shows a system that never dips below 67 FPS average at any tested resolution, making it a strong candidate for high-refresh 1440p and even playable 4K, though the gap between presets reveals where the GPU starts to strain. The following analysis breaks down the exact measured performance, optimal settings, and what this hardware stack means for your build.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four quality presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), with average FPS recorded for all twelve combinations and min/max values captured for Medium settings only.

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4070 Ti shows clear headroom. Low settings produce an average of 305 FPS, which is the highest figure in the entire dataset. Medium drops to 217 FPS average, with a recorded minimum of 184 FPS and maximum of 249 FPS. High settings yield 189 FPS average, while Ultra still holds 142 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 163 FPS, indicating that even the most demanding preset at 1080p leaves massive performance on the table for high-refresh monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern holds but with tighter margins. Low settings average 224 FPS, Medium averages 159 FPS with a min/max of 135/183 FPS, High averages 139 FPS, and Ultra averages 104 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 120 FPS, showing that resolution scaling begins to compress the preset differences. Notably, Medium at 1440p (159 FPS) still outperforms Ultra at 1080p (142 FPS), which suggests the GPU has enough bandwidth to handle higher resolutions without sacrificing quality settings.

At 3840x2160, the data reveals the first real bottleneck. Low settings still manage 144 FPS average, which is impressive for 4K, but Medium drops to 103 FPS with a min/max of 87/118 FPS. High settings average 90 FPS, and Ultra falls to 67 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 77 FPS, the smallest spread across all resolutions. More telling is the min FPS at 4K Medium: 87 FPS is still above the 60 FPS playable threshold, but it shows the frame pacing variance that appears as pixel count climbs. The lack of min/max data for the other 4K presets means the Medium figures are the only window into worst-case behavior, and they suggest 4K Ultra could see dips below its 67 FPS average in dense firefights.

Best Settings per Resolution

The verdict data marks all four presets as playable at every resolution, meaning none of the tested settings fall below the 60 FPS threshold. The "best settings" designation picks the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, which in all three cases is Ultra.

At 1920x1080, Ultra runs at 142 FPS average. This is the obvious choice for competitive play on a 144Hz monitor, and even on a 240Hz panel the 142 FPS average leaves enough headroom that occasional dips won't drop below the refresh rate in most scenarios. Medium at 217 FPS is the pick if you're chasing maximum frame rates on a 240Hz display, but the measured data shows Ultra is not a compromise at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 104 FPS. This clears 60 FPS by a wide margin and is suitable for 144Hz displays, though you'll be near the edge of that refresh rate in busy scenes. If you prefer locked frame pacing, High at 139 FPS is the safer bet for variable refresh rate (VRR) monitors, but the data supports running Ultra without fear of dropping below playable levels. The 104 FPS average at 1440p Ultra is 35% higher than the 4K Ultra figure, showing that this resolution is the sweet spot for the RTX 4070 Ti.

At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 67 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold but with only 7 FPS of headroom. The min FPS data for 4K Medium (87 FPS) suggests that Ultra at 4K will see dips into the high 50s or low 60s during heavy action, making it a marginal choice for strict 60 FPS locking. High at 90 FPS is the more comfortable 4K option if you want to stay well clear of the threshold, but the data officially lists Ultra as playable. For 4K, the recommendation is to run Ultra only if you have VRR enabled; otherwise, High provides a safer margin.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread Raptor Lake Refresh part with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its passmark multithread score of 38682 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 24491 place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48618. The GPU is a 12 GB GDDR6X RTX 4070 Ti with a 192-bit bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, pushing 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 and scoring 31624 in passmark G3D, good for the 84th percentile.

The scaling data across resolutions reveals the division of labor. At 1080p, the CPU is the primary constraint. The jump from Low (305 FPS) to Medium (217 FPS) is a 29% drop, and from Medium to Ultra (142 FPS) another 35% drop. These large preset deltas indicate that the GPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p; the i5-14600K's single-thread performance (4270 passmark single-thread, 2064 Cinebench R23 single-core) is what keeps frame rates from going even higher. The 305 FPS Low figure is close to what the CPU can feed, not what the GPU can render.

At 1440p, the balance shifts. Low (224 FPS) to Medium (159 FPS) is a 29% drop, similar to 1080p, but Medium to Ultra (104 FPS) is a 35% drop. The absolute numbers are lower, but the percentage deltas are nearly identical. This suggests the GPU is now the co-lead, with the RTX 4070 Ti's 504.2 GB/s bandwidth and 40.09 TFLOPS becoming more relevant as pixel count increases. The 1440p Ultra figure of 104 FPS is 73% of the 1080p Ultra figure, showing that resolution scaling costs about 27% performance.

At 4K, the GPU takes over entirely. Low (144 FPS) to Medium (103 FPS) is a 28% drop, but High (90 FPS) to Ultra (67 FPS) is a 26% drop. The smaller absolute gaps at 4K indicate the GPU is saturated. The 4K Ultra figure of 67 FPS is only 47% of the 1080p Low figure, and the 4K Medium min of 87 FPS shows frame pacing becomes more erratic. The CPU's role diminishes to feeding frames that the GPU can't render fast enough; the i5-14600K's 20 threads and high boost clock are more than sufficient, but the RTX 4070 Ti's 12 GB VRAM and 192-bit bus become the wall.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, show that the i5-14600K sits in a tight cluster. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48698, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-14600K's 48618 average. The AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48470, 0.3% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX scores 48287, 0.7% lower, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995, 0.8% higher. All four rivals are within 1% of the i5-14600K's average benchmark score, meaning any of them would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol at the tested settings. The Xeon Gold 5318H is a server part, so its real-world gaming performance may differ, but the benchmark data indicates parity.

For the GPU, the RTX 4070 Ti's nearest rivals are a mixed bag. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile scores 45152, 0.8% higher. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT scores 45384, 1.3% higher. The NVIDIA RTX A6000 scores 44075, 1.6% lower. The Intel Arc A730M scores 45592, 1.7% higher. All four are within 2% of the RTX 4070 Ti's 44795 average benchmark score. In practice, the RTX 5090 Mobile and Arc A730M are laptop parts with different thermal and power characteristics, while the RTX A6000 is a workstation card. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT is the closest desktop equivalent, but its 1.3% higher score translates to roughly 1-2 FPS difference in Lockdown Protocol, which is imperceptible.

In game-specific terms, the 0.8% delta to the RTX 5090 Mobile means the RTX 4070 Ti would produce nearly identical FPS at all resolutions. The 1.6% delta to the RTX A6000 means the A6000 would be about 1 FPS slower at 4K Ultra (66 FPS vs 67 FPS), which is within margin of error. For the CPU, the 0.8% delta to the Core Ultra 5 245 means you'd see the same 305 FPS at 1080p Low, within a frame or two.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol at all tested resolutions and presets, with the verdict data listing all four settings as playable at every resolution. The 60 FPS threshold is cleared everywhere, but the margin varies dramatically.

At 1920x1080, every preset is far beyond playable. The worst case is Ultra at 142 FPS average, which is 137% above the 60 FPS threshold. This is a no-compromise situation; run Ultra and enjoy high-refresh performance.

At 2560x1440, Ultra at 104 FPS average is 73% above the threshold. This is the ideal resolution for this hardware. The 104 FPS average gives you 60+ FPS with headroom for VRR, and High at 139 FPS is there if you want to push a 144Hz panel closer to its limit.

At 3840x2160, Ultra at 67 FPS average is only 12% above the threshold. This is playable but tight. The min FPS data from Medium (87 FPS) suggests Ultra will dip below 60 FPS in heavy scenes, so this is only recommended with VRR enabled. High at 90 FPS is the safer 4K choice, but the official verdict lists Ultra as playable.

The data shows a system that excels at 1440p, handles 1080p effortlessly, and manages 4K with caveats. The i5-14600K's 90th percentile CPU ranking and the RTX 4070 Ti's 84th percentile GPU ranking combine for a combo rank of 428 out of 3714 tested combinations, placing this in the top 11.5% of all tested systems for Lockdown Protocol.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest FPS this system achieves in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The maximum measured average is 305 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The highest Ultra preset average is 142 FPS at 1080p.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the measured average is 67 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. However, the min FPS data for 4K Medium (87 FPS) indicates that Ultra may dip below 60 FPS in demanding scenes, so variable refresh rate is recommended.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: Ultra averages are 142 FPS at 1080p, 104 FPS at 1440p, and 67 FPS at 4K. This represents a 27% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 36% drop from 1440p to 4K.

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

A: At 1080p, the CPU is the primary constraint, as shown by the 305 FPS Low ceiling. At 1440p, the GPU becomes co-limiting, and at 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, with the RTX 4070 Ti's 12 GB VRAM and 192-bit bus being the limiting factors.

Q: What settings should I use for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: Ultra averages 104 FPS, which is below 144 Hz. High at 139 FPS is closer to 144 Hz, but still not locked. Medium at 159 FPS is the only preset that exceeds 144 Hz average, though its min of 135 FPS means you'll see dips below the refresh rate.

Q: How does this system compare to the RTX 5090 Mobile in performance?

A: The RTX 5090 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 45152, which is 0.8% higher than the RTX 4070 Ti's 44795. This translates to roughly 1 FPS difference in Lockdown Protocol, making the two effectively identical in real-world performance.