Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a consistently high-refresh experience in Lockdown Protocol across all tested resolutions. The data shows that every preset at every resolution clears the 60 FPS playable threshold, with the most demanding settings still providing significant headroom. This combination ranks 681st out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the upper tier of systems capable of running the game at maximum fidelity.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which produces an average of 61.8 FPS. This is the only resolution where the Ultra preset approaches the playable threshold; the lead over the 60 FPS floor is just 1.8 frames. The data indicates that 4K Ultra is viable but leaves little margin for fluctuation.

At 2560x1440, the best preset remains Ultra, with an average of 98.6 FPS. This represents a 38.6 FPS cushion above the 60 FPS threshold, making 1440p Ultra a comfortable choice. The jump from 4K Ultra to 1440p Ultra improves average framerate by 36.8 FPS, confirming that lowering resolution provides substantial headroom.

At 1920x1080, the best preset is again Ultra, averaging 131.3 FPS. This clears the playable threshold by more than double, with 71.3 FPS of margin. At this resolution, the system has significant capacity for future game updates or additional background tasks without dropping below acceptable framerates.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU, the Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, placing it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are remarkably close in performance. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 trails by just 0.3% with a score of 49228, making it effectively identical in processing power for this title. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G is 0.4% behind, while the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is 0.8% behind. On the other side, the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 leads by 0.8% with a score of 49796. These four alternatives would produce nearly indistinguishable frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, with differences unlikely to exceed one or two FPS.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT sits at the 55th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 13745. Its nearest rivals show more varied deltas. The AMD Radeon 660M is 0.5% lower, the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile is 0.5% lower, and the AMD Radeon RX 570X is 0.9% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is 1.5% higher. While these deltas are small in percentage terms, the RX 9070 XT would provide a measurable edge in locked protocol, particularly at 4K where GPU load is highest. Conversely, the RX 570X would likely produce several FPS fewer at 4K Ultra but remain playable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows an incremental scaling from Low to Ultra. The Low preset delivers 278.3 FPS average, which drops to 199.8 FPS at Medium — a 28.2% reduction. High settings yield 173.2 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 131.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 147.0 FPS. The consistent scaling indicates the game is well optimized with no sudden performance cliffs, making it easy to adjust for specific refresh rate targets.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern but with lower absolute numbers. Low runs at a 203.4 FPS, Medium at 147 FPS, High at 130.2 FPS, and Ultra at 98.6 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 104.8 FPS, showing that resolution scaling is more pronounced than preset scaling at this step. The Medium preset at 147 FPS is particularly notable — it provides over double the 60 FPS threshold while remaining only 14.4 FPS behind High.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to feel GPU-bound. Low runs at 133.6 FPS, Medium at 92.7 FPS, High at 80 FPS, and Ultra at 61.7 FPS. This is the only resolution where Ultra falls within 2 FPS of the 60 FPS threshold. The margin from High to Ultra is 18.2 FPS, which is a larger jump than the 12.7 FPS drop from Medium to High. The data indicates that Ultra at 4K is the most demanding configuration in the test suite.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. The measured average at 3840x2160 Ultra is 61.8 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by 1.8 frames. It is playable but leaves minimal headroom for demanding scenes.

Q: What is the best preset at 1440p for this combination?

A: Ultra is playable with an average of 98.6 FPS, making it the highest preset that stays above 60 FPS. The data shows that all four presets at 2560x1440 clear the threshold.

Q: How much does the RX 9070 XT differ from the RX 7900 XT for this game?

A: The RX 9060 XT has an average benchmark score of 13543 versus the RX 7900 XT's 13745, a delta of 1.5%. This would translate to roughly 1-2 FPS difference in most scenarios, with the RX 7900 XT slightly ahead.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU matter more at 1080p?

A: The data shows that at 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 131.7 Ultra to 278.3 Low. The CPU's percentile as of 90th percentile among CPUs combined with the GPU's 55th percentile among GPUs suggests the system is balanced, but the high frame rate headroom indicates the GPU is not saturated at 1080p.

Q: What is the worst-case scenario for this system?

A: The lowest measured average FPS is 61.8 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra. All tested settings maintain an average above 60 FPS, with 4K Ultra being the closest to the threshold.

Q: Can the combination maintain 4K Medium or High?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160, Medium averages 92.7 FPS and High averages 80 FPS, both well above the 60 FPS threshold. Users who prefer higher frame rates can use High at 4K to gain 18.2 FPS over Ultra.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals shifting component bottlenecks. At 1920x1080, the system produces frame rates from 131.7 to 278.3 FPS. The extremely high numbers suggest that neither component is fully saturated, but the CPU's strong single-thread performance — evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4594 — helps maintain high frame rates. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it has ample reserve for 1080p gaming.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop by 28-35% across presets compared to 1080p. For example, Ultra drops from 131.7 to 98.6 FPS, a reduction of 33.1 FPS. This shows the GPU is becoming a larger factor, but the CPU still provides enough headroom, as the 1440p Ultra number remains above 100 FPS. The GPU's 20 GB memory capacity and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth support the higher resolution without frame pacing issues.

At 3840x2160, the system becomes firmly GPU-bound. The Ultra preset drops to 61.8 FPS, while the 1440p Ultra is 98.6 FPS. The 36.8 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings is the largest resolution-related scaling in the test suite. The GPU's 51.48 TFLOPS FP32 compute is sufficient but not excessive for 4K Ultra. The CPU's role diminishes; even at 4K Low, which yields 133.6 FPS, the CPU is not limiting because the GPU is still the bottleneck.

The data indicates that for 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is sufficient to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the significant FPS increases when lowering presets. At 4K, however, the GPU's rendering capacity becomes the limiting factor — lowering the preset has a larger relative impact than at lower resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint at higher pixel counts.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT rank 681st out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This places the system in the top 18.3% of all tested hardware configurations for this game. The rank is more impressive than the GPU's individual percentile would suggest (55th percentile), indicating that the CPU-GPU pairing is well-optimized for this title.

The top 681st position means that this combination outperforms the majority of systems, including many with newer GPU hardware. The ranking reflects the measured FPS data rather than theoretical specifications, so the actual real-world performance confirms the pair's strength. The rank likely benefits from the CPU's strong single-thread performance, which matters for FPS games, and the GPU's ample memory bandwidth.

FAQ

Q: Is Lockdown Protocol playable at 4K Ultra with this PC?

A: Yes, the average FPS is 61.8 FPS, which is 1.8 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. It is playable but with minimal headroom.

Q: What is the best settings at 1440p for this system?

A: Ultra is the best preset, averaging 98.6 FPS. All presets at 1440p exceed 60 FPS, with Low at 203.4 FPS being the highest.

Q: How does this PC compare to a system with AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388?

A: The Ryzen AI Max+ 388 is 0.8% faster than the Intel Core i5-14600KF in CPU benchmarks, which would result in a negligible 1-2 FPS difference in Lockdown Protocol at most settings.

Q: Does the combination bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. At 1080p Ultra, the system averages 131.7 FPS; at 1080p Low, it averages 278.3 FPS. The large scaling between presets indicates no bottleneck at 1080p.

Q: Can I run 4K High for a higher frame rate?

A: Yes, 4K High averages 80 FPS, which is 18.2 FPS higher than 4K Ultra. The visual difference may be minimal, but the frame rate gain is clear.

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Low?

A: The average is 133.6 FPS, making it the best 4K option in terms of frame rate, but the visual quality is significantly lowered compared to Ultra.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol at every resolution and preset combination that was measured. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 131.3 FPS at Ultra, which is 71.3 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 98.6 FPS, providing 38.6 FPS of headroom. At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 61.8 FPS, just 1.8 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold — playable, but with no room for error.

The data indicates that this combination is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming at maximum settings, where it delivers high-refresh performance. For 4K gaming, the system can handle Ultra, but players who prefer a higher frame rate buffer should consider High settings to gain 18 FPS. The 681st place ranking out of 3714 combinations confirms that this is a strong pairing overall, with the CPU providing more headroom than the GPU at the highest resolution.