Lockdown Protocol

Resolution Scaling

Lockdown Protocol's performance profile for the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 reveals a steep and consistent FPS penalty as resolution climbs. The data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p the combo manages playable frame rates, but 4K pushes the system to the edge of usability.

Looking at Low settings, the average FPS drops from 77 at 1920x1080 to 56 at 2560x1440, a 27% reduction, and then to 36 at 3840x2160, a further 36% cut from the 1440p result. This progression indicates that the GPU is the primary scaling bottleneck, as the frame rate loss is roughly proportional to the increase in pixel count. The 1080p to 1440p transition costs 21 FPS, while the 1440p to 4K transition costs 20 FPS, showing a nearly linear relationship with the pixel-pushing workload.

At High settings, the trend is similar but the starting point is lower. The average FPS at 1080p is 47, dropping to 35 at 1440p and then to 22 at 4K. That is a 53% total drop from 1080p to 4K. The Ultra preset amplifies the situation further: 36 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the worst in the entire dataset, representing less than half the frame rate of the 1080p Ultra result.

The scaling behavior strongly suggests that the GPU's 4 GB memory buffer and its bandwidth are being saturated at higher resolutions. The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 41 FPS (77 vs 36). At 4K, that gap narrows to 19 FPS (36 vs 17). This compression of the settings delta at 4K indicates that the GPU is running out of raw throughput and memory capacity, making the visual preset less impactful than the sheer resolution overhead.

For a player targeting 60 FPS, this combination only achieves that threshold at 1080p Low. Every other configuration falls below 60 FPS, with 1440p Low hitting 56 FPS, which is close but still short. The 4K results, ranging from 17 to 36 FPS, are firmly in slideshow territory for a fast-paced FPS title. The data shows that this pairing is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p being a stretch and 4K being impractical for competitive play.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the clear limiting factor in this pairing, and the benchmark results underscore its age and capability ceiling. The GPU is built on the Polaris 20 chip with a GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process by GlobalFoundries. It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. Its base clock is 1168 MHz with a boost clock of 1244 MHz, and it is paired with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's memory configuration is particularly telling. With only 4 GB of VRAM, the card is likely exceeding its buffer at higher resolutions and texture settings. The 256-bit bus provides decent bandwidth, but the capacity constraint becomes apparent in the 4K results where the average FPS at Medium settings is 26, with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 30. These tight ranges suggest the GPU is consistently hitting a memory-related wall rather than varying with scene complexity.

The GPU's compute capabilities are modest by modern standards. It delivers 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s, with a texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s. These figures explain why the card struggles at 4K. The 4K High result of 22 FPS and 4K Ultra result of 17 FPS indicate that the GPU is simply unable to fill frames fast enough at that pixel count, regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

In terms of its standing, the RX 570 ranks in the 74th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 28766. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, which is 0.4% faster, and the AMD Radeon R9 M295X, which is 0.7% slower. The close grouping of these scores suggests that the RX 570 sits in a tightly contested performance tier, but Lockdown Protocol's specific demands push it to its limits more than the average benchmark would suggest.

The GPU supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, which means it is not lacking in API support for a 2024 game release. However, the hardware itself is from 2017, and the data shows that raw pixel throughput is the bottleneck. The 4K results, even at Low settings (36 FPS), are below the 1440p Ultra results (26 FPS) by a significant margin, highlighting that resolution scaling is the dominant factor over settings scaling.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a formidable processor that is clearly not the bottleneck in this pairing. With 14 cores and 20 threads, it offers substantial multi-threading capability. Its base clock is 3.50 GHz with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, and it is built on the Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process. The CPU has a 24 MB shared L3 cache, with 2 MB L2 per core and 80 KB L1 per core.

The CPU's synthetic benchmark scores reinforce its strength. In Cinebench R23, it scores 32544 in multi-core and 4594 in single-core. In Geekbench, it posts 17085 multi-core and 2445 single-core. These figures place the i5-14600KF in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49394. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which is 0.3% faster, and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388, which is 0.8% faster. This means the CPU is performing essentially at its expected level relative to its peers.

Given these numbers, the CPU has ample headroom to feed the RX 570 in Lockdown Protocol. The game's frame rate drops are almost entirely attributable to the GPU's inability to keep up with the rendering workload. The fact that 1080p Low yields 77 FPS while 4K Low yields only 36 FPS is a classic sign of GPU saturation, not CPU limitation. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect to see more consistent frame rates across resolutions, with a ceiling around a certain FPS value.

The CPU's memory support includes both DDR4 and DDR5, with a dual-channel memory bus. It also supports PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes, though the RX 570 is a PCIe 3.0 x16 card. This interface mismatch could theoretically limit bandwidth, but in practice, the GPU's 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is the more significant constraint. The CPU's ECC memory support and unlocked multiplier are features that do not directly impact game performance but indicate a high-end desktop part.

The i5-14600KF has a TDP of 125 W and is designed for the Intel Socket 1700. Its boost clock of 5.30 GHz is particularly relevant for single-threaded game workloads, and the data shows that the CPU is not holding back the GPU. In the 4K Medium preset, the FPS range is 22 to 30, which is a narrow band that suggests consistent GPU-bound performance. The CPU is likely idling well below its maximum potential while the GPU works at full capacity.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 3544 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the bottom 5% of all configurations tested, which is a stark reflection of the GPU's limitations. The 4K and 1440p results are particularly weak, and even the best 1080p result (77 FPS at Low) is below what many other combos would achieve at higher settings.

The percentile ranking for the GPU is 74, meaning it is better than 74% of all GPUs in the database, but this is a general benchmark score, not specific to Lockdown Protocol. The combo rank of 3544 out of 3714 is far worse than the GPU's general percentile would suggest, indicating that this game is particularly demanding on the RX 570. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking is irrelevant to the combo's poor showing because the GPU is the limiting factor.

The nearest GPU rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (0.4% faster) and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 (1.2% slower). These close scores suggest that the RX 570 is not an outlier in general compute, but Lockdown Protocol's specific rendering requirements expose its weaknesses. The combo rank of 3544 out of 3714 means there are only 170 tested configurations that are slower, which is a very small margin.

This ranking has practical implications. A player using this combo would be at a significant disadvantage in Lockdown Protocol, especially at higher resolutions. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, the 77 FPS average is acceptable, but any increase in settings or resolution results in a substantial drop. The 4K Ultra result of 17 FPS is effectively unplayable, and the 1440p Ultra result of 26 FPS is barely above a playable threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of this combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 77 FPS, Medium averages 54 FPS with a range of 46 to 63, High averages 47 FPS, and Ultra averages 36 FPS. The 1080p Low result is the only configuration in the entire dataset that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the sole "smooth" option for this pairing.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. Low averages 56 FPS, Medium averages 40 FPS with a range of 34 to 46, High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. The 1440p Low result is close to 60 FPS but still below it, and the Medium result of 40 FPS is playable but not ideal for a competitive FPS. The Ultra result of 26 FPS is marginal at best.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unusable for gameplay. Low averages 36 FPS, Medium averages 26 FPS with a range of 22 to 30, High averages 22 FPS, and Ultra averages 17 FPS. None of these results approach 60 FPS, and even the best 4K result (36 FPS at Low) would be challenging for maintaining aim and situational awareness in a fast-paced shooter.

The Medium preset is the only one with min and max FPS data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 46 to 63, showing a 17 FPS swing. At 1440p, the range is 34 to 46, a 12 FPS swing. At 4K, the range is 22 to 30, an 8 FPS swing. This narrowing of the FPS range at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the frame time variance decreases when the GPU is consistently saturated.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this CPU-GPU pairing in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings is the only configuration that achieves an average FPS above 60, at 77 FPS. The 1440p Low result of 56 FPS is close but below the 60 FPS threshold, so 1080p Low is the recommended target for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-14600KF compare to its nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks?

A: The i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, which is 0.3% slower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228), 0.4% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49196), and 0.8% slower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (48995). It is 0.8% faster than the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 (49796).

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it affect 4K performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. At 4K resolution, the average FPS ranges from 17 at Ultra to 36 at Low, indicating that the memory capacity and bandwidth are insufficient for high-resolution textures and pixel counts.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this combo?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The CPU ranks in the 90th percentile with strong multi-core and single-core scores, while the GPU's 4K results are consistently low across all settings. The FPS drops proportionally with resolution, which is a classic GPU-bound pattern.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested configurations in Lockdown Protocol?

A: This combo ranks 3544 out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 5% of all configurations. This poor ranking is primarily due to the GPU's weak performance at higher resolutions, despite the CPU's strong benchmark showing.

Q: What APIs does the GPU support for this game?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. These are modern APIs that are compatible with Lockdown Protocol, so the lack of performance is not due to API limitations but rather the GPU's raw processing power.