Lockdown Protocol

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rate data for Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER shows a system that is decisively above the 60 FPS playability threshold at every resolution and preset combination tested. No min or max frame time data was captured, so the analysis relies entirely on average FPS figures. Across the board, the averages are so high that even the most demanding preset at the most demanding resolution leaves substantial headroom.

At 1920x1080, the system is effectively uncapped in its performance. The Low preset delivers an average of 329.9 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure for this combination. Moving up the quality ladder, the Medium preset drops to 235.4 FPS, High comes in at 207.3 FPS, and the Ultra preset still holds an average of 153.3 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p represents a drop of roughly 53.5 percent, indicating that the GPU is being progressively taxed as settings increase, but even at the heaviest setting the frame rate remains far above what any current display refresh rate would demand.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats with slightly lower absolute numbers. Low settings produce an average of 241.3 FPS, which is still a massive figure for a 1440p resolution. Medium settings yield 172.3 FPS, High settings produce 153.9 FPS, and the Ultra preset maintains an average of 110.7 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is approximately 54.1 percent, which is nearly identical to the scaling observed at 1080p. This consistent scaling suggests that the game's rendering load increases proportionally with settings rather than exhibiting any non-linear bottlenecks at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system continues to impress but the frame rates finally begin to show some constraint. The Low preset still averages 159.7 FPS, which is higher than many systems achieve at 1080p. Medium settings produce 113.5 FPS, High settings average 100 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 74.7 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is approximately 53.2 percent, again consistent with the other resolutions. The Ultra figure of 74.7 FPS is the lowest average recorded in the entire dataset, yet it still clears the 60 FPS threshold by a comfortable 24.5 percent margin.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide useful context for what other hardware combinations might deliver similar results in Lockdown Protocol. For the Intel Core i9-14900K, the closest performance neighbor is the Intel Core i9-14900KF, which has an average benchmark score of 79371, a difference of only -0.3 percent from the i9-14900K's 79097 average. This makes the KF variant effectively interchangeable in real-world gaming performance, as the only meaningful difference is the presence of integrated graphics on the K model, which has no bearing on discrete GPU gaming.

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus follows closely with an average score of 79574, a -0.6 percent delta. This is a mobile-oriented part that nonetheless lands within a fraction of a percent of the desktop i9-14900K in synthetic benchmarks. The AMD EPYC 7413, a server-class processor, scores 80041 on average, representing a -1.2 percent delta. While not a typical gaming CPU choice, the data shows it would produce nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is the only rival that scores lower than the i9-14900K, with an average of 77740 and a +1.7 percent delta, meaning the i9-14900K is actually 1.7 percent faster than this AMD part.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, the closest rival is the original NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, which scores 54247 on average, just -0.1 percent behind the SUPER variant's 54209. In practical terms, these two GPUs will produce indistinguishable frame rates in Lockdown Protocol. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, a -1.1 percent delta, placing it slightly ahead of the RTX 4080 SUPER in the aggregate benchmark. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, a -2.7 percent delta, which means it outperforms the RTX 4080 SUPER in the synthetic average despite being a lower-tier product. The AMD Radeon 8060S rounds out the rival list with 55757, a -2.8 percent delta. The data suggests that any of these GPUs paired with the i9-14900K would produce very similar frame rates in Lockdown Protocol, with the differences being well within the noise margin of real-world testing.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best settings that remain at or above 60 FPS are the Ultra preset, which delivers an average of 153.3 FPS. This is the most demanding preset available, and it clears the 60 FPS threshold by a margin of 93.3 FPS. There is no reason to reduce quality at this resolution, as even the heaviest load leaves massive headroom.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset again stands as the best option, with an average of 110.7 FPS. This is 50.7 FPS above the playability threshold, so users can run the game at maximum visual quality without any concern about frame rate drops below 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 172.3 FPS and High at 153.9 FPS are available for those seeking higher refresh rates, but the Ultra preset remains fully playable.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset is still the best choice, averaging 74.7 FPS. This is 14.7 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold, which is a comfortable margin for a 4K Ultra setting. The High preset at 100 FPS offers a significant boost for users with high-refresh-rate 4K displays, but the Ultra preset is the most demanding option that still clears the playability bar. For users who want maximum visual fidelity at 4K, the Ultra preset is the recommended choice.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: this PC can run Lockdown Protocol at every resolution and preset combination tested, with all twelve measured configurations clearing the 60 FPS playability threshold. The verdictByResolution data confirms that all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 153.3 FPS, making this resolution entirely trivial for the hardware. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 110.7 FPS, which is still a very high frame rate for a demanding preset. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 74.7 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches any sense of constraint, but it still clears the threshold comfortably.

The overall combo rank of 204 out of 3714 combinations places this system in the top 5.5 percent of all tested configurations for Lockdown Protocol. This is a high-end pairing that fully saturates the game's demands at every quality level. The only scenario where a user might want to lower settings is if they are targeting refresh rates above 144 Hz at 4K, in which case the High preset at 100 FPS or the Medium preset at 113.5 FPS would be more appropriate. For standard 60 Hz displays, the Ultra preset at 4K is the optimal balance of quality and performance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling data reveals how the CPU and GPU share the workload in Lockdown Protocol across resolutions and presets. Comparing the same preset across resolutions isolates the GPU's role, since higher resolutions increase pixel throughput demands while leaving CPU work largely unchanged.

At the Low preset, the frame rate scales from 329.9 FPS at 1080p to 241.3 FPS at 1440p to 159.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 48.4 percent reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 33.8 percent reduction from 1440p to 4K. At the Ultra preset, the scaling is from 153.3 FPS at 1080p to 110.7 FPS at 1440p to 74.7 FPS at 4K, a 27.8 percent drop and then a 32.5 percent drop respectively. The fact that frame rates drop substantially with each resolution increase — even at Low settings where the GPU load is minimal — indicates that the GPU is the primary scaling factor across resolutions.

However, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining preset scaling at a fixed resolution. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces the frame rate from 329.9 FPS to 153.3 FPS, a 53.5 percent reduction. This large drop at a resolution where the GPU is not pixel-bound suggests that the game's higher presets introduce additional CPU-side work, likely in physics, AI, or draw call processing. The same pattern holds at 1440p and 4K, where the Low-to-Ultra reductions are 54.1 percent and 53.2 percent respectively. The consistency of this preset scaling across all three resolutions indicates that the CPU is heavily involved in the settings-dependent workload.

The Intel Core i9-14900K, with its 24 cores and 32 threads, is clearly not a bottleneck in this game. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39399.5 and the Passmark multithread score of 58674 place it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU, with a Passmark G3D score of 34245 and an 86th percentile ranking, is the more likely constraint at 4K Ultra, where the 74.7 FPS figure shows the first signs of the GPU reaching its limits. At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU still has ample headroom, and the CPU's strong single-thread performance — a Geekbench single-core score of 2655 — keeps the frame rates exceptionally high.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this system in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 329.9 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

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

A: Yes, the 3840x2160 Ultra preset averages 74.7 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold by 14.7 FPS.

Q: How much performance difference is there between the RTX 4080 SUPER and the original RTX 4080?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 54209, while the RTX 4080 scores 54247, a delta of only -0.1 percent, meaning the two GPUs perform nearly identically.

Q: What is the best preset to use at 2560x1440?

A: The Ultra preset is the best option at 2560x1440, delivering an average of 110.7 FPS, which is 50.7 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU have a larger impact on performance at 4K?

A: At 4K, the GPU is the primary scaling factor, as evidenced by the frame rate dropping from 159.7 FPS at Low to 74.7 FPS at Ultra, a 53.2 percent reduction driven by increasing GPU load.

Q: How does the i9-14900K compare to its closest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The i9-14900K has an average benchmark score of 79097, while its closest rival, the Intel Core i9-14900KF, scores 79371, a difference of -0.3 percent, making them effectively equivalent in performance.