Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX pairing, with the measured data showing a clear and consistent scaling pattern across resolutions. The combination of the Raptor Lake CPU and RDNA 3 GPU delivers a performance profile that is heavily influenced by both processing power and graphics throughput, depending on the settings and resolution selected. The benchmark results indicate a system capable of high refresh rate gaming at 1440p, but one that requires careful settings management to maintain fluid frame rates at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals a shift in system bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 302.2 FPS, which is an exceptionally high figure that indicates the CPU is the primary limiting component at this resolution. As resolution increases to 2560x1440 at Low settings, the average FPS falls to 223.6, a reduction of 78.6 FPS or roughly 26 percent. This drop continues at 3840x2160 with Low settings, where the average FPS is 144.3, representing a further decrease of 79.3 FPS from the 1440p result. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings shows a total performance reduction of 157.9 FPS, which is a 52 percent decline.

The behavior changes significantly when looking at Ultra settings. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 140.1, which is lower than the 4K Low result of 144.3. This indicates that at Ultra settings, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint even at 1080p. Moving from 1080p Ultra to 1440p Ultra yields 101.2 FPS, a drop of 38.9 FPS, and then to 4K Ultra at 69.9 FPS, a further drop of 31.3 FPS. The total scaling from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is a 50.2 percent reduction in performance. The data shows that the RX 7900 XTX with its 24 GB of GDDR6 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth is capable of pushing high frame rates, but the rendering load at 4K with Ultra settings proves to be the most demanding scenario for this configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX holds a combo rank of 190 out of 1637 tested combos. This places the setup in the top 11.6 percent of all configurations tested for this game, which is a strong showing. The percentile ranking of the individual components supports this position: the CPU sits at the 93rd percentile when compared to all CPUs, while the GPU is at the 85th percentile versus all GPUs. The high CPU percentile is notable, as it suggests that the i5-14600K is a particularly strong performer in the general benchmark suite, which is reflected in its average benchmark score of 49166.

The CPU's nearest rivals highlight its competitive positioning. The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X has an average score of 49062, which is a delta of 0.2 percent from the i5-14600K, putting them in a statistical tie. The Intel Core i5-14600KF is the closest competitor with a score of 49367, a delta of -0.4 percent, meaning the non-K variant is slightly slower but virtually identical. The AMD EPYC 4345P and Intel Xeon Gold 5318H are further away, with deltas of -0.9 percent and 1 percent respectively. This indicates that the i5-14600K is well-matched with other high-end desktop and workstation processors in general compute tasks, which is a strong foundation for gaming performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core processor with 20 threads, built on the Raptor Lake architecture and Raptor Lake-R codename. Its base clock is 3.50 GHz with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, and it features a shared L3 cache of 24 MB alongside a 2 MB per-core L2 cache. This configuration provides a balance of high single-thread performance and substantial multi-threading capability. The CPU's benchmark scores are telling: it achieves 32881 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4642 in single-core, alongside a Geekbench multi-core score of 15846 and single-core score of 2803. The PassMark multi-thread score is 38682, with a single-thread score of 4270.

For Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role appears to be most critical at lower resolutions and settings. The fact that the 1080p Low result of 302.2 FPS is the highest in the dataset points to the i5-14600K's ability to feed frames rapidly when the GPU is not burdened by complex pixel shading. The boost clock of 5.30 GHz is likely a significant factor in this high frame rate scenario, as it ensures the game's logic and draw calls are processed quickly. The 14 cores and 20 threads ensure that background tasks and the game's multi-threaded elements do not create a bottleneck, even when the GPU is running at full capacity. However, the data suggests that as resolution and settings increase, the GPU takes over as the primary limiting factor, and the CPU's relative importance diminishes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the results range from a low of 140.1 FPS at Ultra settings to a high of 302.2 FPS at Low settings. The Medium preset yields an average of 214 FPS, while High settings produce 186.4 FPS. This spread of 162.1 FPS between the lowest and highest settings at 1080p demonstrates a wide performance envelope. The step from Low to Medium is a drop of 88.2 FPS, which is the largest single-setting jump in the dataset, indicating that the Medium preset introduces a significant increase in graphical workload.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS figures are 101.2 for Ultra, 139.2 for High, 158.1 for Medium, and 223.6 for Low. The relative performance ordering remains consistent with the 1080p results, but the absolute numbers are lower. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 65.5 FPS, which is smaller than the corresponding gap at 1080p. The progression from High to Ultra at 1440p is a drop of 38 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the 46.3 FPS drop seen from High to Ultra at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the scores are 69.9 FPS for Ultra, 91.3 FPS for High, 100.1 FPS for Medium, and 144.3 FPS for Low. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest in the entire dataset, and it represents a challenging scenario for this combo. The High setting at 4K, with an average of 91.3 FPS, is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while Medium at 100.1 FPS provides a more comfortable margin. The Low setting at 4K, at 144.3 FPS, shows that the GPU is still capable of high refresh rates even at 4K when graphical fidelity is reduced.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS is 302.2, which was measured at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo achieves an average FPS of 69.9, which is the lowest score in the measured dataset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p Low?

A: The data indicates the CPU is the limiting component at 1080p Low, as the average FPS of 302.2 is exceptionally high and suggests the GPU is not fully saturated.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 186.4 at 1920x1080 to 91.3 at 3840x2160, a reduction of 95.1 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: This combo is ranked 190 out of 1637 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 11.6 percent of all configurations.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo produces an average FPS of 158.1.