Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a 2024-released FPS title whose performance profile, when paired with the Intel Core i5-14600K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB, reveals a system that is highly responsive to resolution and settings changes. The measured data shows a clear hierarchy where the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as resolution scales upward, while the CPU’s substantial thread count and high boost clock keep frame rates competitive at lower resolutions. This analysis walks through the benchmark results step by step, interpreting what each frame rate figure means for the overall balance of this combo.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions shows a steep, predictable decline that points directly at the graphics card as the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 217 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 159 FPS, a 26.7% reduction. Stepping up to 4K Low yields 103 FPS, which is 52.5% below the 1080p Low figure. This pattern—where each resolution jump costs roughly a quarter to half of the remaining performance—indicates that the RTX 5060 Ti’s rendering throughput, not the CPU, is setting the ceiling.

The scaling becomes even more telling when examining the Medium preset. At 1080p Medium, the average is 154 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it falls to 113 FPS (a 26.6% drop), and at 4K Medium, it reaches 73 FPS (a 52.6% drop from the 1080p value). The consistency of these percentage losses—nearly identical to the Low preset scaling—suggests that the game’s engine is uniformly taxing the GPU across settings tiers. The 4K Medium row also provides a minimum FPS of 62 and a maximum of 84, showing a 22-FPS spread that hints at moments of heavy scene complexity.

High settings follow the same trajectory: 135 FPS at 1080p, 99 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result is particularly telling—it sits just 11 FPS above the 4K Medium minimum, indicating that at this resolution, the GPU is already near its limits even before enabling the highest quality options. Ultra settings amplify the trend: 101 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 48 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is the lowest measured in the entire dataset, confirming that this resolution and preset combination exceeds what the 8 GB card can comfortably sustain.

What does this scaling reveal about the limiting component? At 1080p, the gap between Low (217 FPS) and Ultra (101 FPS) is 116 FPS, showing that the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to benefit from lower graphics loads. At 4K, the same Low-to-Ultra gap narrows to 55 FPS (103 vs. 48), meaning the GPU is so saturated that even dropping to Low cannot restore high frame rates. The data strongly suggests that the RTX 5060 Ti is the bottleneck at 1440p and above, while the Core i5-14600K retains headroom at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing sits at rank 1091 out of 2828 total combos. That places it in the 61.4th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 61% of configurations deliver lower frame rates in this game. The rank is a composite measure that accounts for performance across the various resolution and settings combinations, not just a single score.

To contextualize this rank, consider the CPU’s standalone position. The Intel Core i5-14600K holds a 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48,618. Its nearest rivals in synthetic tests include the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (average score 48,698, which is 0.2% higher), the AMD EPYC 4345P (average score 48,470, 0.3% lower), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (average score 48,287, 0.7% lower), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (average score 48,995, 0.8% higher). These deltas are all within 1%, indicating that the i5-14600K is squarely in the middle of a tightly clustered group of high-end desktop and workstation processors.

The GPU, by contrast, occupies a much lower position. The RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB has a 29th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 4,901. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD FirePro W5130M (4,904, 0.1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 (4,893, 0.2% lower), the AMD Radeon R7 M265 (4,929, 0.6% higher), and the AMD Radeon R7 M360 (4,931, 0.6% higher). These are older or lower-tier parts, which underscores that the GPU’s synthetic scores do not reflect its actual gaming performance here—the combo rank of 1,091/2,828 is far better than the GPU’s 29th percentile would suggest, because the CPU compensates heavily in a game like Lockdown Protocol.

The discrepancy between the CPU’s 90th percentile and the GPU’s 29th percentile explains why the combo lands in the upper-middle of the pack: the processor provides enough raw compute to avoid stalling, but the graphics card caps the final frame rates. In practical terms, this rank means the system is better suited to 1080p or 1440p gameplay than to 4K, where the GPU’s limitations become the deciding factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, using the GB206 chip fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It contains 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die, with a transistor density of 121.0 million per square millimeter. The card has 4,608 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, along with 36 ray tracing cores and 144 tensor cores. Its pixel rate is 123.5 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 370.4 GTexel/s, with FP32 and FP16 compute both rated at 23.70 TFLOPS.

The memory subsystem is where the 8 GB capacity becomes a key factor. The card uses GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective), yielding a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient for the measured frame rates, but the 8 GB capacity is a limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. In Lockdown Protocol, the 4K Ultra preset drops to 48 FPS average, and the 4K Medium preset has a minimum of 62 FPS—both figures suggest the card is not only bandwidth-constrained but also possibly hitting memory capacity limits as textures and scene data expand at 4K.

The clock speeds are moderate: a base of 2407 MHz and a boost of 2572 MHz. The boost clock is what the card sustains under load, and the measured frame rates align with what this clock level can deliver. The card’s TDP is 180 W, and it requires a 450 W suggested power supply, though these figures do not directly appear in the frame data. The 8 GB VRAM is the more relevant spec for this game: at 1080p, the card delivers 217 FPS on Low and 101 FPS on Ultra, indicating that capacity is not an issue at that resolution. At 1440p, the range is 159 FPS (Low) to 74 FPS (Ultra), still playable. At 4K, the range narrows to 103 FPS (Low) to 48 FPS (Ultra), with the Ultra result being borderline for a fast-paced FPS.

The GPU’s synthetic benchmark scores—3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 at 4,019 and Passmark G3D at 21,981—are consistent with a mid-range card, but its 29th percentile ranking among all GPUs suggests that many faster options exist. In this specific game, however, the measured data shows that the RTX 5060 Ti can still produce high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, making it a viable choice for those resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides 12 distinct measurements across four resolution and four settings tiers. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 217 FPS, Medium averages 154 FPS with a minimum of 131 and a maximum of 178, High averages 135 FPS, and Ultra averages 101 FPS. The Medium preset’s min-max range of 47 FPS indicates that the game has variable scene complexity, but even the minimum stays above 130 FPS, which is smooth for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, the numbers drop predictably: Low averages 159 FPS, Medium averages 113 FPS (minimum 96, maximum 130), High averages 99 FPS, and Ultra averages 74 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 96 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold, but the High and Ultra presets at 1440p are closer to the edge for high-refresh monitors. The 1440p Ultra figure of 74 FPS is a 26.7% reduction from 1080p Ultra (101 FPS), showing that the resolution increase disproportionately affects the highest quality settings.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low averages 103 FPS, Medium averages 73 FPS (minimum 62, maximum 84), High averages 64 FPS, and Ultra averages 48 FPS. The 4K Low result is notable—it is still above 100 FPS, which means the card has enough raw power to handle 4K if graphical fidelity is sacrificed. However, the 4K Medium minimum of 62 FPS is perilously close to the 60 FPS baseline, and 4K High (64 FPS) and 4K Ultra (48 FPS) fall below what most FPS players would consider acceptable. The 4K Ultra figure is the only measurement in the entire dataset that dips below 50 FPS, underscoring that this preset is not viable for this GPU.

Comparing settings at the same resolution, the difference between Low and Ultra is largest at 1080p (116 FPS) and smallest at 4K (55 FPS). This narrowing gap reinforces the GPU bottleneck: at 4K, even the lowest settings cannot push frame rates high enough to overcome the rendering load. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the most consistent balance, with 4K Medium providing a minimum of 62 FPS that still clears the playability bar.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution. For 1080p gaming, the Ultra preset at 101 FPS average is viable for high-refresh displays, but the High preset at 135 FPS offers a better trade-off for competitive play—it delivers 34 more FPS while only sacrificing one step of visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 154 FPS is even better for esports-style play, and its minimum of 131 FPS ensures no drops below the refresh rate of most 144 Hz monitors.

For 1440p, the Medium preset is the best choice. It averages 113 FPS with a minimum of 96 FPS, which keeps gameplay smooth on 144 Hz panels. High at 99 FPS is also playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes, while Ultra at 74 FPS may cause noticeable stutter in intense firefights. Low at 159 FPS is excessive for most displays and sacrifices visual quality unnecessarily, so Medium strikes the ideal balance.

For 4K, the options are limited. The Low preset at 103 FPS is the only configuration that provides comfortable headroom, but it requires a significant visual downgrade. Medium at 73 FPS (minimum 62) is borderline—it will dip close to 60 FPS in heavy scenes, which may be acceptable for slower gameplay but risky for a fast-paced FPS. High at 64 FPS and Ultra at 48 FPS are not recommended, as they fall below the 60 FPS threshold or approach it too closely. Players targeting 4K should either stick to Low or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p and using Medium or High.

The data indicates that the Medium preset is the most versatile across all three resolutions, as it is the only settings tier that maintains a minimum FPS above 60 at 4K (62 FPS) while also delivering over 150 FPS at 1080p. For users with 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors, 1080p Medium (154 FPS) or 1440p Medium (113 FPS) will provide the best experience without exceeding the monitor’s refresh rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Core 14th Gen series, based on the Raptor Lake architecture (Raptor Lake-R codename) and manufactured on Intel’s 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel mode, and it includes UHD Graphics 770 integrated graphics, though the discrete GPU handles rendering in this test.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-14600K scores 24,491 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,064 in single-core, with Geekbench scores of 16,673 (multi) and 2,491 (single). Passmark multi-thread score is 38,682, and single-thread is 4,270. These figures place the CPU in the 90th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 48,618. Its nearest rivals—the Xeon Gold 5318H, EPYC 4345P, Core Ultra 5 245HX, and Core Ultra 5 245—are all within 0.8% of its average score, confirming that the i5-14600K is a high-performance, well-balanced part.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p. The jump from 1080p Low (217 FPS) to 1440p Low (159 FPS) is a 58 FPS drop, but the 1080p Low result itself indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to exceed 200 FPS. The 5.30 GHz boost clock is critical for this game’s single-threaded performance, and the 14 cores provide ample multi-threading headroom for background tasks or streaming. The 24 MB of L3 cache helps with game data access, and the 20 threads ensure no thread saturation occurs even in busy multiplayer scenes.

The CPU’s 90th percentile ranking versus the GPU’s 29th percentile creates an asymmetric pairing. In games that are less GPU-intensive, the i5-14600K would push frame rates much higher, but in Lockdown Protocol, the RTX 5060 Ti is the limiting factor at all resolutions above 1080p. At 1080p, the CPU is close to being the bottleneck—the 217 FPS Low result suggests that the GPU is still keeping up, but the scaling from Low to Ultra (116 FPS difference) shows that the CPU can handle the extra load without becoming the constraint. The measured data does not include CPU-specific frame rates, but the combination of high single-thread and multi-thread scores explains why the combo rank (1,091/2,828) is respectable despite the GPU’s lower standing.

FAQ

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

A: For 1080p, High at 135 FPS or Medium at 154 FPS provides the best experience. For 1440p, Medium at 113 FPS (minimum 96) is the recommended choice. For 4K, only Low at 103 FPS is comfortably playable, with Medium at 73 FPS (minimum 62) being borderline.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB perform at 4K in this game?

A: The 4K results range from 103 FPS on Low to 48 FPS on Ultra. Medium averages 73 FPS with a minimum of 62, High averages 64 FPS, and Ultra averages 48 FPS. The Ultra preset is not playable, and High is marginal.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: At 1080p, the CPU and GPU are relatively balanced, with Low hitting 217 FPS. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting component, as frame rates drop by 26-52% with each resolution increase regardless of settings.

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

A: It ranks 1,091 out of 2,828 combos, placing it in the upper-middle tier. The CPU is in the 90th percentile of all processors, while the GPU is in the 29th percentile, meaning the CPU contributes more to the overall rank than the GPU.

Q: What is the frame rate range for the Medium preset at different resolutions?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average is 154 FPS with a minimum of 131 and maximum of 178. At 1440p Medium, the average is 113 FPS (min 96, max 130). At 4K Medium, the average is 73 FPS (min 62, max 84).

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM cause issues in this game?

A: The data suggests the 8 GB capacity is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, where even Ultra presets remain playable (101 FPS and 74 FPS respectively). At 4K, the Ultra preset drops to 48 FPS, which may indicate VRAM or bandwidth limitations, but the exact cause is not specified in the measurements.