Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is an exceptionally powerful combination for Lockdown Protocol, delivering playable frame rates at every preset and resolution tested. According to the measured data, this system ranks in the 89th percentile out of 3,714 hardware combinations for this game, with the RTX 4090 itself sitting at the 88th percentile among all GPUs and the i5-14600K at the 90th percentile among all CPUs. The benchmark results show that the most demanding Ultra preset clears the 60 FPS playable threshold with significant headroom at all three resolutions, making this a system that prioritizes visual fidelity without compromising smoothness.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 81.3 FPS, which is the most demanding setting that remains above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is a strong result for 4K gaming, as the drop from High to Ultra is substantial — 107 FPS down to 81.3 FPS — yet the final number still provides comfortable margin above the playable threshold. For users who prefer higher frame rates at 4K, the High preset at 107 FPS is a viable alternative, but Ultra remains the recommended choice for maximum visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves an average of 128.9 FPS, which is more than double the playable threshold. This resolution offers the best balance between visual fidelity and performance, as even the most demanding settings maintain frame rates well above what most displays can refresh. The scaling from 4K Ultra to 1440p Ultra shows a 47.6 FPS improvement, indicating that the system has ample performance headroom at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset reaches an average of 171.1 FPS, making it the clear choice for competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors. The gap between Medium at 264.9 FPS and Ultra at 171.1 FPS is notable, but the Ultra preset still provides frame rates that exceed the capabilities of most 144Hz displays. The data confirms that this system never needs to compromise on settings, even at lower resolutions where CPU and GPU headroom are at their maximum.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the measured data shows an average of 81.3 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold. All four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are classified as playable at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 60,347, which is essentially tied with the Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60,326 (0% difference) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 at 60,140 (0.3% difference). The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61,896, putting it 2.5% ahead, while the AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58,657, which is 2.9% behind.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 333.4 FPS while Ultra averages 171.1 FPS, representing a 162.3 FPS difference. The Medium preset sits at 264.9 FPS and High at 229.6 FPS, showing a consistent performance scaling across the settings spectrum.

Q: Is the i5-14600K a bottleneck for the RTX 4090 in this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate the CPU is not a limiting factor, as it scores 24,491 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and ranks at the 90th percentile among all CPUs. The system achieves its highest frame rates at 1080p (333.4 FPS on Low), suggesting the GPU is the primary driver of performance at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the i5-14600K compare to its closest rival, the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H?

A: The i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48,618, while the Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48,698, a difference of -0.2%. The AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48,470, putting it 0.3% behind the i5, showing these processors are effectively equivalent in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Ultra at 2560x1440 delivers 128.9 FPS, making it the recommended choice. Even the most demanding preset at this resolution provides frame rates that exceed the playable threshold by more than double, so there is no reason to lower settings for performance reasons.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows remarkable performance across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 333.4 FPS, while Medium reaches 264.9 FPS and High achieves 229.6 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 171.1 FPS, but this remains far above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 48.7% reduction in frame rate, which is expected given the increased rendering workload.

At 2560x1440, the performance curve follows a similar pattern with lower absolute numbers. Low settings average 273.5 FPS, Medium reaches 191.6 FPS, High achieves 170.3 FPS, and Ultra settles at 128.9 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is 41.4 FPS, which is a more significant drop than the 58.5 FPS difference seen at 1080p between the same two presets.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show the strain of higher pixel counts. Low settings still deliver an impressive 174.9 FPS, but Medium drops to 123.4 FPS and High to 107 FPS. Ultra settings produce 81.3 FPS, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold but represents the smallest margin of safety across all tested configurations. The transition from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings reduces frame rates from 128.9 FPS to 81.3 FPS, a 47.6 FPS decrease that highlights the resolution scaling characteristics of this game.

The measured data shows consistent behavior across all presets: the step from Low to Medium is relatively modest (68.5 FPS at 1080p, 81.9 FPS at 1440p, 51.5 FPS at 4K), while the jump from High to Ultra is more substantial (58.5 FPS at 1080p, 41.4 FPS at 1440p, 25.7 FPS at 4K). This suggests that Ultra settings impose a disproportionately higher rendering cost compared to High, though the system never falls below playable levels.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the GPU, the nearest rivals to the RTX 4090 in average benchmark score are professional workstation cards rather than gaming-focused hardware. The Intel Arc Pro A60 matches the RTX 4090 almost exactly with a 0% difference in average score, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 trails by 0.3%. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M leads by 2.5%, and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 trails by 2.9%. These alternatives would likely produce very similar frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, though the RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth provide advantages in texture-heavy scenes that synthetic benchmarks may not capture.

On the CPU side, the i5-14600K's nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, which scores 0.2% higher, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, which scores 0.8% lower. The AMD EPYC 4345P trails by 0.3%, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX trails by 0.7%. These processors are effectively interchangeable in terms of average benchmark performance, meaning users with any of these CPUs paired with an RTX 4090 should expect nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol. The i5-14600K's 14 cores and 20 threads provide substantial multi-threaded headroom, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24,491 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 16,673.

The practical implication is that this system's performance in Lockdown Protocol is driven primarily by the GPU's exceptional capabilities, with the CPU providing sufficient support to avoid bottlenecks. The RTX 4090's nearest rivals are all professional-grade cards, which suggests that no mainstream gaming GPU offers comparable performance in this title.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals that the GPU plays the dominant role in determining frame rates across all resolutions, but the CPU's influence becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, the frame rate at Low settings reaches 333.4 FPS, which is likely approaching the CPU's rendering limits. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings reduces frame rates by 59.9 FPS (333.4 to 273.5), while the transition from 1440p to 4K at Low settings reduces frame rates by 98.6 FPS (273.5 to 174.9). This increasing gap as resolution rises indicates GPU-bound behavior at higher pixel counts.

The scaling between presets provides additional insight. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 93.6 FPS (174.9 to 81.3), while at 1080p, the same preset difference is 162.3 FPS (333.4 to 171.1). The larger absolute drop at 1080p suggests that the CPU is capable of driving very high frame rates at lower settings, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor as settings increase. At 4K, the GPU's workload dominates regardless of preset, as evidenced by the smaller absolute differences between presets.

The CPU's single-threaded performance is particularly relevant for this FPS title. The i5-14600K scores 2,064 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 4,270 in PassMark single-thread, placing it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs. This strong single-thread capability ensures that game logic and physics calculations do not become a bottleneck, even at the highest frame rates observed at 1080p Low settings. The boost clock of 5.30 GHz and 14 cores provide ample processing power for any scenario the game presents.

At 2560x1440, the system achieves 128.9 FPS on Ultra, which represents the sweet spot where both CPU and GPU workloads are balanced. The 47.6 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings confirms that the GPU is the primary driver of performance at high resolutions, while the CPU maintains sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions. Users with high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p monitors will benefit from the CPU's strong single-thread performance, while 4K users will rely more heavily on the RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power.

The Verdict

This system can absolutely run Lockdown Protocol, and it does so with exceptional performance across the board. The verdict data confirms that all four settings presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable at every resolution tested, with the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 delivering 81.3 FPS, which is the minimum performance level across all configurations. At 2560x1440, Ultra settings produce 128.9 FPS, and at 1920x1080, Ultra settings reach 171.1 FPS.

The strongest recommendation is for 2560x1440 Ultra, which balances the visual quality of the Ultra preset with frame rates that exceed 120 FPS. For 4K users, Ultra at 81.3 FPS is playable and visually superb, though those prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity can use High at 107 FPS for a smoother experience. At 1080p, the system is effectively overkill, as even Ultra settings produce frame rates far beyond what most displays can show.

The combination of the i5-14600K's 90th percentile CPU ranking and the RTX 4090's 88th percentile GPU ranking places this system at the 89th percentile among 3,714 tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol. The data shows no configuration where this system fails to meet the 60 FPS playable threshold, making it one of the most capable setups available for this game. Users should feel confident selecting the highest visual settings at any resolution, knowing that the system maintains playable frame rates with substantial headroom.