Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol places the Intel Core i5-14600K and Intel Arc B390 combo in a challenging position. The measured data shows a configuration where the integrated GPU is the decisive factor, with performance scaling that reveals a hard ceiling at higher resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across settings and resolutions, contextualizes the combo's standing against other tested configurations, and examines the CPU's role in this specific workload.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, indicating that the Intel Arc B390's integrated graphics are saturated well before the CPU becomes a limiting factor. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 88 FPS at 1920x1080 to 65 FPS at 2560x1440, a 26% reduction, and then to 42 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 35% drop from the 1440p figure. This progressive decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where the rendering load outpaces the available shading units and texture units.

The scaling pattern becomes more telling at higher settings. Moving from 1080p High (55 FPS) to 1440p High (40 FPS) represents a 27% loss, while the jump to 4K High (26 FPS) is another 35% reduction. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic falloff: 41 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and just 19 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution is also instructive. At 1080p, the difference is 47 FPS (88 vs. 41), but at 4K it narrows to 23 FPS (42 vs. 19), suggesting that at 4K the GPU is so overwhelmed that even reducing settings cannot compensate for the raw pixel count.

The data indicates that the limiting component is unequivocally the Intel Arc B390. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, has ample headroom for a game of this type. The fact that 1080p Low produces 88 FPS while 4K Low produces 42 FPS shows that the integrated GPU's memory bandwidth and compute throughput are the bottlenecks. The system-shared memory configuration of the B390 means that bandwidth is system-dependent, and the measured results reflect that constraint. For users targeting 4K, the data shows that even Low settings fail to reach playable levels, with the average below 45 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing sits near the bottom of the distribution. The combo ranks 2512 out of 2828 tested combinations, placing it in the 11th percentile of all systems. This low standing is driven entirely by the GPU's performance profile, which itself ranks in the 9th percentile among all GPUs in the database.

The GPU's nearest rivals illustrate the competitive landscape. The Intel Arc B390's average 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482. That places it 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M (1460), and 2.5% to 2.7% ahead of the GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446) and GT 710 (1443). These are all legacy or entry-level parts, and the B390's narrow margins over them highlight its position at the very bottom of modern GPU performance. The measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol reflects this: the GPU is simply not designed for sustained high-refresh gaming at mainstream resolutions.

The CPU, by contrast, is a strong performer. The Core i5-14600K achieves an average benchmark score of 48618, which places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698, 0.2% faster), the AMD EPYC 4345P (48470, 0.3% slower), the Core Ultra 5 245HX (48287, 0.7% slower), and the Core Ultra 5 245 (48995, 0.8% faster). The deltaPct values are all within 1%, indicating that the 14600K is squarely in the middle of a tightly clustered group of high-end processors. The mismatch between the CPU's 90th percentile standing and the GPU's 9th percentile standing is stark. In this combo, the CPU is effectively idle while the GPU struggles, which explains the low overall rank.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the only resolution where the average FPS exceeds 60 on any preset. At Low settings, it produces 88 FPS, while Medium yields 63 FPS. Higher resolutions fall below 65 FPS even on Low, so 1080p is the only viable target for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, the B390 scores 1482. That is 1.3% higher than the GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M (1460), and 2.5-2.7% higher than the GT 625 OEM (1446) and GT 710 (1443). The margins are small, indicating the B390 is only marginally faster than these older parts.

Q: Is the Core i5-14600K a bottleneck in this configuration?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064. The FPS scaling across resolutions shows a classic GPU-bound pattern, meaning the Arc B390 is the limiting factor, not the 14-core processor.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 65 FPS, while Ultra averages 30 FPS. That is a 35 FPS difference, or a 54% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the combo rank well compared to other tested systems?

A: No. It ranks 2512 out of 2828 combos, placing it in the bottom 11% of all tested configurations for Lockdown Protocol. The CPU's high percentile (90th) does not compensate for the GPU's low percentile (9th).

Q: What are the minimum FPS values recorded at Medium settings?

A: The data includes min FPS only for Medium settings. At 1080p, the minimum is 53 FPS; at 1440p, it is 39 FPS; and at 4K, it is 25 FPS. These lows indicate that even Medium settings can experience noticeable frame dips, particularly at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This setting yields an average of 88 FPS, which is the only configuration in the dataset that approaches high-refresh territory. The Medium preset at 1080p, averaging 63 FPS, is a viable alternative for users who prioritize visual fidelity over raw frame rate, but the minimum FPS of 53 shows that dips below 60 are possible. The High preset at 1080p (55 FPS) is playable but not ideal for fast-paced FPS action, where consistent frame delivery matters more than absolute averages.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only setting that produces an average above 60 FPS (65 FPS). However, the lack of min FPS data for Low means the frame pacing is unknown. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 FPS, which is below the threshold for competitive play. The Ultra presets at 1440p and all presets at 4K produce averages below 42 FPS, which is not recommended for a first-person shooter. The data suggests that users should avoid 4K entirely with this combo, as even Low settings (42 FPS) cannot maintain a stable experience.

For the best balance of smoothness and visual quality, the 1080p Medium preset is the sweet spot. It provides a 63 FPS average, which is 28% faster than High and 54% faster than Ultra, while offering better visual fidelity than Low. The minimum FPS of 53 indicates that the experience is generally smooth, with only occasional dips. Users who prioritize maximum frame rate should choose 1080p Low, while those who want a more polished image should accept the slightly lower average of Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides average FPS for all four presets across three resolutions, with min and max values recorded only for Medium settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 88 FPS. The Medium preset averages 63 FPS, with a minimum of 53 and a maximum of 72. High averages 55 FPS, and Ultra averages 41 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 47 FPS, showing the significant cost of higher quality settings.

At 2560x1440, performance drops across the board. Low averages 65 FPS, which is a 26% reduction from the 1080p figure. Medium averages 46 FPS, with a minimum of 39 and a maximum of 53. High averages 40 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. The relative gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 35 FPS at this resolution, as the GPU becomes more constrained. At 3840x2160, the results are severely limited. Low averages 42 FPS, Medium averages 30 FPS (min 25, max 34), High averages 26 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is just 23 FPS, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint.

The Medium setting is the only one with complete min/max data. The variance increases with resolution: at 1080p, the range is 19 FPS (53-72); at 1440p, it is 14 FPS (39-53); and at 4K, it is 9 FPS (25-34). This indicates that frame time consistency degrades as resolution increases, with the GPU struggling to maintain a stable output. The average FPS figures alone do not capture the severity of the stuttering that likely occurs at 4K Medium, where the minimum is 25 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and its 24 MB of L3 is substantial for gaming workloads.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 14600K demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance. It scores 24491 in Cinebench R23 multicore, 13709 in R20 multicore, and 3640 in R15 multicore. Single-threaded scores are equally robust: 2064 in R23, 1935 in R20, and 297 in R15. Geekbench results show 16673 multicore and 2491 single-core. PassMark results include a multithread score of 38682 and a single-thread score of 4270. These figures place the CPU in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48618.

For Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is clearly secondary. The measured FPS scaling follows the GPU's capabilities, not the CPU's. At 1080p Low, the 88 FPS average is likely near the CPU's maximum frame rate for this game, but the drop to 42 FPS at 4K Low is entirely a GPU limitation. The CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads are more than sufficient for the game's threading model, and the boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance for game logic. The data indicates that users could pair this CPU with a much more powerful discrete GPU and see significantly higher frame rates, as the processor is not the bottleneck in this configuration. The combo's low rank (2512 of 2828) is attributable to the GPU's 9th percentile standing, not the CPU's 90th percentile performance.