Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a surprisingly versatile experience in Lockdown Protocol, a multiplayer FPS that scales cleanly across a wide range of settings and resolutions. Measured data shows this combination can push well beyond 60 FPS at 1080p and 1440p with high visual fidelity, while 4K requires a significant compromise in quality. The following analysis breaks down the exact performance envelope, component roles, and how this pairing stacks against alternatives.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above the 60 FPS playable threshold is Low, which produces an average of 72.3 FPS. The jump to Medium drops the average to 49.8 FPS, a massive cliff that places it firmly below the playability line. High and Ultra are even more punishing, averaging 43.2 FPS and 31.8 FPS, respectively. For 4K owners, the data suggests this combo is strictly a low-settings experience if smooth gameplay is the priority.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation improves substantially. The best playable preset is High, averaging 71 FPS, which clears the threshold with a comfortable margin. Medium follows closely at 78.6 FPS, and Low reaches 112.9 FPS, but High is the ceiling for 60+ FPS performance. Ultra falls to 51.7 FPS, just short of the mark, meaning users must sacrifice the highest preset for a locked experience.

At 1920x1080, the full settings range becomes viable. Ultra is the best playable preset, averaging 71.2 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS bar. High runs at 92.5 FPS, Medium at 111.9 FPS, and Low at 152.9 FPS. This resolution is clearly the sweet spot for the Arc B580, allowing users to max out the game without worrying about frame rate dips below the threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution changes. At 1080p, the Core i7-14700KF’s strong single-thread performance—evidenced by a 6235 Cinebench R23 single-core score and a 4480 Passmark single-thread score—keeps the GPU fed, allowing the Arc B580 to stretch its legs. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a drop from 152.9 FPS to 71.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiter once settings increase, but the CPU maintains high headroom even at the lowest preset.

At 1440p, the GPU burden grows. The gap between Low (112.9 FPS) and High (71 FPS) narrows compared to 1080p, and Ultra drops to 51.7 FPS. This pattern suggests that the B580’s compute resources—13.67 TFLOPS FP32 and 427.2 GTexel/s texture rate—are becoming the dominant factor, while the CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads remain underutilized. The i7-14700KF’s Passmark multithread score of 52425 indicates it is not the limiting factor at this resolution.

At 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck. The difference between Low (72.3 FPS) and Medium (49.8 FPS) is a 22.5 FPS drop, while Ultra collapses to 31.8 FPS. The B580’s 12 GB GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 456.0 GB/s bandwidth is simply overwhelmed by the pixel throughput required at 3840x2160. The CPU’s role is negligible here; even a weaker processor would likely deliver identical frame rates. The data confirms that for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing is CPU-bound at 1080p, balanced at 1440p, and heavily GPU-bound at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

3840x2160: The Ultra preset delivers an average of 31.8 FPS, which is unplayable by any standard. High improves to 43.2 FPS, still below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium reaches 49.8 FPS, a marginal gain that remains insufficient. Only Low breaks through, hitting 72.3 FPS—a stark reminder that 4K requires the lowest settings for this hardware.

2560x1440: Ultra averages 51.7 FPS, just short of the playable line. High is the first usable tier at 71 FPS, offering a smooth experience with most visual features intact. Medium scales to 78.6 FPS, providing extra headroom for demanding scenes, while Low peaks at 112.9 FPS for competitive play. The step from Low to High costs roughly 37% of the frame rate, but the visual uplift is substantial.

1920x1080: Low produces 152.9 FPS, ideal for high-refresh monitors. Medium drops to 111.9 FPS, still far above the threshold. High runs at 92.5 FPS, and Ultra settles at 71.2 FPS. Notably, the gap between Medium and High is smaller than between High and Ultra, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end. Even at Ultra, the average remains above 60 FPS, with the minimum likely dipping slightly but the average holding firm.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS or higher across most configurations, but the experience varies sharply by resolution. At 1920x1080, the verdict is unambiguous: every preset, including Ultra, clears 60 FPS with an average of 71.2 FPS at the highest quality. This is the definitive target for this combo. At 2560x1440, the system delivers High at 71 FPS, making it playable with strong visuals, while Medium and Low offer even more headroom; Ultra falls short at 51.7 FPS, so users must avoid the top preset. At 3840x2160, only Low at 72.3 FPS is playable, making 4K a compromise-heavy experience. The data indicates that 1440p High is the best balance of fidelity and performance, while 1080p Ultra is the maximum-quality option without any frame rate concerns.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals based on average benchmark scores, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is the closest match, with a delta of just 0.9% from the i7-14700KF’s aggregate score. In practice, a system with the 7950X would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, since the game’s CPU demands are modest at 1080p and negligible at higher resolutions. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (delta 0.4%) and AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (delta 0.2%) are equally close, meaning any of these processors would produce the same measured FPS within margin of error. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K sits slightly ahead at -1% delta, but the difference is imperceptible in gaming.

On the GPU side, the Arc B580’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, with a delta of 0.6%. This means a system swapping the B580 for an RTX 2080 would see virtually identical performance in this game—same settings, same resolutions, same frame rates. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP is marginally behind at -0.2%, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is only -0.7% apart in aggregate benchmarks, though the RTX 3080’s higher memory bandwidth might yield slightly better 4K results. The NVIDIA P106-100 is also within -1%, but its older architecture may lack some modern features. For Lockdown Protocol, any of these GPUs would behave similarly to the B580, making the choice dependent on other games or workloads.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested CPU-GPU combinations in the benchmark database, this pairing ranks 2845 out of 3714 combos for Lockdown Protocol. That places it in the lower-middle tier, which might seem surprising given the strong 1080p results. However, the ranking considers performance across all resolutions and presets, and the B580’s weakness at 4K drags the aggregate score down. The CPU’s 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU’s 68th percentile among all GPUs indicate that the processor is a high-end part while the graphics card is mid-range; the combination’s overall rank reflects the GPU’s ceiling. For a user primarily targeting 1080p or 1440p, this rank understates the practical experience, as the combo excels in those scenarios. But against the full field of tested rigs—many with higher-end GPUs—the B580 holds this pairing back from the top half. The data suggests that upgrading the GPU alone would dramatically improve the ranking, while the CPU would remain a non-factor for the foreseeable future.