Lockdown Protocol

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 1920x1080 with playable frame rates?

A: Yes. The measured data shows the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination delivers 124.9 FPS at Low settings, 84.3 FPS at Medium, 73.5 FPS at High, and 58.4 FPS at Ultra for 1920x1080 resolution.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: The best setting that maintains at least 60 FPS is Medium, which achieves 61.8 FPS average. Low settings reach 92.1 FPS, while High drops to 55.2 FPS and Ultra falls to 42.2 FPS.

Q: Is 3840x2160 (4K) playable with this hardware?

A: No. All four tested settings at 3840x2160 fall below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest average is 58.4 FPS at Low, followed by 39.9 FPS at Medium, 34.1 FPS at High, and 28.6 FPS at Ultra.

Q: How does the CPU's multicore performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core i5-14600KF scores 49394 in the database's average benchmark metric. It sits 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228), 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49196), 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (48995), and 0.8% behind the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 (49796).

Q: How does the GPU compare to its closest alternatives?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 12986. It trails the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 by 0.7% (13075), sits 0.4% behind the GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940), 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 580 (12928), and 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon 740M (12870).

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among tested systems?

A: This CPU-GPU pairing ranks 3236 out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the lower portion of the database's tested configurations.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded frame rates across resolutions and presets reveal a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics processor. At every resolution, the gap between Low and Ultra settings is substantial, which indicates that rendering load, not CPU throughput, is the primary bottleneck.

At 1920x1080, the scaling from Low to Ultra shows a clear GPU-bound pattern. Low settings produce 124.9 FPS, while Ultra drops to 58.4 FPS, a reduction of more than half. The CPU has ample headroom at this resolution, as the Core i5-14600KF's strong single-thread performance (4594 in Cinebench R23 single-core, 4273 in Passmark single-thread) is sufficient to feed the GPU at lower settings. Medium and High presets, at 84.3 FPS and 73.5 FPS respectively, still show large performance gaps that are characteristic of GPU limitations.

At 2560x1440, the GPU constraint becomes more pronounced. Low settings deliver 92.1 FPS, but Medium drops to 61.8 FPS, High to 55.2 FPS, and Ultra to 42.2 FPS. The incremental cost of each preset step is consistent, which points to fill-rate and shading throughput as the limiting factors. The GTX 1660 SUPER's 5.027 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are simply insufficient to maintain high frame rates as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is severely overtaxed. Even Low settings only manage 58.4 FPS, just under the playable threshold. Medium reaches 39.9 FPS, High 34.1 FPS, and Ultra 28.6 FPS. The CPU's role at this resolution is minimal; the recorded data suggests that the processor is never the limiting factor, as even the lowest preset cannot achieve 60 FPS. The 14-core, 20-thread configuration with a 5.30 GHz boost clock is more than capable of handling game logic and draw calls, but the GPU cannot keep pace.

The pattern across all three resolutions confirms that Lockdown Protocol's frame rate is dictated almost entirely by the graphics card. The CPU's percentile rank of 90 among all tested processors versus the GPU's percentile rank of 53 further supports this interpretation. Users seeking higher performance should focus on GPU upgrades rather than CPU replacements.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database's playable threshold is 60 FPS. Based on measured averages, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS varies by resolution.

At 1920x1080, High settings are the best playable option, achieving 73.5 FPS average. This provides a comfortable margin above the threshold. Ultra settings fall short at 58.4 FPS, which is not playable by the database standard. Medium and Low settings also clear the threshold at 84.3 FPS and 124.9 FPS respectively, but High offers the best visual quality among playable options.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings are the best playable preset, with an average of 61.8 FPS. This is a slim margin of only 1.8 FPS above the threshold, so frame rate fluctuations could occasionally dip below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. Low settings provide 92.1 FPS for a more stable experience, while High and Ultra fall below the threshold at 55.2 FPS and 42.2 FPS.

At 3840x2160, no settings preset reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold. The closest is Low at 58.4 FPS, which is 1.6 FPS short. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall progressively further behind at 39.9 FPS, 34.1 FPS, and 28.6 FPS. The verdict data confirms that 3840x2160 has no playable settings for this combination.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in the database's benchmark results offer nearly identical performance. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49228, just 0.3% below the Core i5-14600KF's 49394. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G is 0.4% behind at 49196, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is 0.8% behind at 48995. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 is the only close competitor that edges ahead, with a score of 49796, 0.8% higher. In practical terms, any of these processors would produce essentially the same frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, as the game is GPU-bound with this graphics card. Users with any of these CPUs paired with a GTX 1660 SUPER should expect near-identical performance.

For the GPU, the closest equivalents are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940, 0.4% behind), the AMD Radeon RX 580 (12928, 0.4% behind), and the AMD Radeon 740M (12870, 0.9% behind). The NVIDIA Tesla M2090 scores 13075, 0.7% ahead, though this is a compute-oriented card not intended for gaming. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and RX 580 are the most relevant alternatives for gaming. Their nearly identical average benchmark scores suggest that swapping the GTX 1660 SUPER for either would yield very similar frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, within a margin of about 1% or less.

The Verdict

This system can run Lockdown Protocol at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, but not at 3840x2160.

At 1920x1080, the combination of Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER clears the 60 FPS threshold at Low (124.9 FPS), Medium (84.3 FPS), and High (73.5 FPS). Ultra settings miss the threshold at 58.4 FPS. The recommended configuration is High settings, which provides the best visual fidelity while maintaining a playable frame rate.

At 2560x1440, playable settings are limited to Low (92.1 FPS) and Medium (61.8 FPS). High and Ultra both fall below the threshold at 55.2 FPS and 42.2 FPS. Medium is the best playable option, though its 61.8 FPS average leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot achieve playable frame rates at any settings preset. The closest is Low at 58.4 FPS, just under the threshold. Users targeting 4K would need a more powerful GPU.

Overall, this is a capable 1080p gaming system for Lockdown Protocol, with the ability to handle 1440p at medium details. It is not suitable for 4K play.

How This Combo Ranks

The database ranks this CPU-GPU combination at 3236 out of 3714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the 13th percentile of tested systems, meaning roughly 87% of tested combinations achieve higher performance. The ranking reflects the GTX 1660 SUPER's age and performance tier, as the GPU sits at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the CPU is at the 90th percentile.

The disparity between CPU and GPU performance tiers explains the overall ranking. The processor is a high-end part that can easily keep up with more powerful graphics cards, but the GPU holds the system back. In GPU-bound scenarios like Lockdown Protocol, the combo's rank is largely determined by the graphics card. Users with this CPU who upgrade the GPU would see substantial rank improvements, while those who upgrade the CPU would see minimal gains.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table presents the exact average frame rates recorded for each resolution and settings preset combination. Minimum and maximum frame rate data were not captured in the database, so only averages are available.

1920x1080:

| Settings | Average FPS |

|----------|-------------|

| Low | 124.9 |

| Medium | 84.3 |

| High | 73.5 |

| Ultra | 58.4 |

2560x1440:

| Settings | Average FPS |

|----------|-------------|

| Low | 92.1 |

| Medium | 61.8 |

| High | 55.2 |

| Ultra | 42.2 |

3840x2160:

| Settings | Average FPS |

|----------|-------------|

| Low | 58.4 |

| Medium | 39.9 |

| High | 34.1 |

| Ultra | 28.6 |

The data shows that resolution scaling is severe. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at the same settings reduces performance by roughly 26% at Low, 27% at Medium, 25% at High, and 28% at Ultra. Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 reduces performance by about 37% at Low, 35% at Medium, 38% at High, and 32% at Ultra. These consistent scaling factors confirm that the GPU's rendering throughput is the dominant constraint at all tested configurations.

At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra is 66.5 FPS, a 114% increase. At 2560x1440, the same settings gap is 49.9 FPS, a 118% increase. At 3840x2160, the gap narrows to 29.8 FPS, a 104% increase, as the GPU becomes so saturated that even Low settings cannot provide much headroom. The GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus are also likely contributors to the steep drop at higher resolutions, as the larger frame buffers required at 1440p and 4K increase memory pressure.