Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core i5-14600KF and AMD Radeon RX 6600 shows a predictable scaling pattern typical of a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU. The data reveals that this combination is firmly GPU-limited at most settings, with the processor's headroom only becoming apparent at lower resolutions and graphical presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, which indicates the Radeon RX 6600 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration. At the Low preset, the average frame rate falls from 146 FPS at 1080p to 107 FPS at 1440p, then further to 69 FPS at 4K. This represents a 47% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial hit that points directly at the GPU's pixel throughput limits rather than any CPU constraint.

The High preset tells a similar story, with averages of 90 FPS at 1080p, 66 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop here is even steeper — a 52% decline from the lowest to highest resolution tested. This steeper falloff at higher quality settings reinforces that the RX 6600's 8 GB frame buffer and 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count and shading complexity grow.

Looking at the Medium preset, which is the only setting tier with complete min/max data, the pattern holds: 103 FPS average at 1080p, dropping to 76 FPS at 1440p, and down to 49 FPS at 4K. The minimum frame rates also scale downward from 88 FPS at 1080p to 64 FPS at 1440p, then to 42 FPS at 4K. The fact that these minimums track the averages closely suggests consistent frame pacing rather than sudden CPU-driven stutters.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic resolution sensitivity, with averages of 68 FPS at 1080p, 50 FPS at 1440p, and just 32 FPS at 4K. That 4K Ultra result is the only sub-40 FPS figure in the entire dataset, and it clearly marks the limit of what this combo can handle at maximum fidelity. The scaling curve here is almost perfectly linear, which is characteristic of a GPU that is fully maxed out rather than a system waiting on CPU threads.

What the data does not show is any evidence of CPU limitation at 1080p. The i5-14600KF, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, is more than capable of feeding the RX 6600 at even the highest frame rates recorded. The 146 FPS Low-preset result at 1080p would be a common point where weaker processors start to show frame-time spikes, but the consistent scaling across resolutions points to the GPU as the sole limiting factor.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. It ships with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock sits at 1626 MHz, with a game clock of 2044 MHz and a boost clock of 2491 MHz — these figures are directly relevant to how the card performs in Lockdown Protocol, as the game appears to scale well with shader clock.

The card's 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs determine its fill-rate capabilities, and the measured FPS data suggests that pixel throughput becomes the binding constraint at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the card drops to 32 FPS average, which aligns with the pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s being overwhelmed by the roughly 8.3 million pixels per frame at 3840x2160 combined with heavy shading work.

VRAM capacity appears to be sufficient for this game at the tested settings, given that the RX 6600's 8 GB frame buffer did not cause any anomalous frame drops or texture thrashing in the data. The Medium preset shows minimum FPS of 42 at 4K and 64 at 1440p, which are consistent with GPU compute limits rather than memory spillover. If VRAM had been exhausted, the minimums would likely show more erratic behavior compared to the averages.

The GPU's position in the broader benchmark landscape is modest — it sits at the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19036. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 with a delta of 0%, the GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile at -0.1%, and the Tesla K20m at -0.3%. This places the RX 6600 in a tightly contested performance band, which is reflected in its Lockdown Protocol results: capable at 1080p and 1440p, but struggling to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with high settings.

The 132 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a power-efficient card, and the data supports that efficiency translating into consistent performance without thermal throttling. The boost clock of 2491 MHz appears sustainable based on the smooth scaling curves, as any significant throttling would show up as irregular FPS regressions at higher resolutions where the GPU is under maximum load.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 103 FPS average with a minimum of 88 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The jump to High only costs 13 FPS (down to 90 average), but the minimum frame rate is not recorded for High, so the Medium preset's documented 88 FPS floor provides more certainty for competitive play.

At 1440p, Medium again proves to be the sweet spot with 76 FPS average and a 64 FPS minimum. The High preset drops to 66 FPS average, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 1440p hits 107 FPS, but the visual fidelity trade-off is substantial for only a 31 FPS gain over Medium — likely not worth the quality loss for most players.

For 4K, the situation is more constrained. Medium produces 49 FPS average with a 42 FPS minimum, which is borderline for a fast-paced FPS. The Low preset is the only 4K option that clears 60 FPS, hitting 69 FPS average. Players targeting 4K should stick to Low, or alternatively accept that the RX 6600 is not well-suited to 4K gaming in this title beyond the minimum settings.

The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p, where it achieves 68 FPS average. At 1440p it falls to 50 FPS, and at 4K it bottoms out at 32 FPS — both results are too low for consistent competitive play. There is no scenario where Ultra provides a better experience than Medium at a lower resolution, so Medium is the clear default recommendation for this combo.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings range is as follows: Low averages 146 FPS, Medium averages 103 FPS with a minimum of 88 and maximum of 119, High averages 90 FPS, and Ultra averages 68 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 43 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 13 FPS, and High to Ultra is 22 FPS. This non-linear scaling suggests that the Low preset removes significant shading work, while Ultra adds effects that disproportionately tax the GPU.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers compress: Low averages 107 FPS, Medium averages 76 FPS with a minimum of 64 and maximum of 87, High averages 66 FPS, and Ultra averages 50 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium narrows to 31 FPS, and the Medium-to-High gap shrinks to 10 FPS. At this resolution, the GPU is clearly spending more time on pixel fill, which compresses the headroom between preset tiers.

At 3840x2160, the results become marginal: Low averages 69 FPS, Medium averages 49 FPS with a minimum of 42 and maximum of 56, High averages 43 FPS, and Ultra averages 32 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 37 FPS, which is the tightest range of any resolution tested. This compressed spread confirms that at 4K, the GPU is saturated even at the lowest settings, and the visual preset has diminishing impact on the final frame rate.

The Medium preset is the only tier with complete min/max data across all resolutions, which allows for frame-time analysis. The range from min to max is 31 FPS at 1080p (88-119), 23 FPS at 1440p (64-87), and 14 FPS at 4K (42-56). The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is consistently maxed out, leaving less variance in frame delivery.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 2901 out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This places the combo in the 22nd percentile of all measured systems, which is a below-median result that reflects the GPU's modest standing rather than any CPU deficiency. The i5-14600KF itself sits at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49394, while the RX 6600 ranks at the 63rd percentile among GPUs.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 at a 0.3% higher score, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G at 0.4% higher, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 at 0.8% higher. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 scores 0.8% lower. This tight clustering around the i5-14600KF's 49394 average indicates that the CPU is performing at the expected level for its class, and the low combo ranking is attributable to the GPU.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a similar tight grouping: the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 matches with a 0% delta, the GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile is 0.1% lower, the Tesla K20m is 0.3% lower, and the RTX 2000 Ada Generation is 0.4% higher. This puts the RX 6600 in a performance tier where minor clock or driver differences can shift rankings, but none of these rivals would dramatically change the Lockdown Protocol outcomes.

The 2901st rank out of 3714 combos suggests that most tested systems outperform this pairing in this specific game. The data indicates that while the i5-14600KF provides ample CPU headroom, the RX 6600 holds the combo back, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU becomes the sole bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Lockdown Protocol with this combo?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all four presets exceed 60 FPS average. At 1440p, only Low and Medium clear 60 FPS, while at 4K, only Low manages to stay above 60 FPS.

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

A: The scaling data points clearly to the GPU as the limiting component. The FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, and the i5-14600KF's 90th CPU percentile ranking versus the RX 6600's 63rd GPU percentile confirms the CPU has significant headroom.

Q: Can this combo handle Ultra settings at any resolution?

A: Ultra settings only achieve a playable average at 1080p, with 68 FPS. At 1440p it drops to 50 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 32 FPS, so Ultra is only viable at the lowest resolution.

Q: How does the Medium preset perform at 1440p?

A: Medium at 2560x1440 delivers 76 FPS average with a 64 FPS minimum and 87 FPS maximum. This is the highest quality setting that maintains a 60+ FPS floor at 1440p.

Q: What is the frame rate range at 4K Medium?

A: The 4K Medium preset shows a 42 FPS minimum, 49 FPS average, and 56 FPS maximum, giving a 14 FPS range. This is the tightest spread across all resolution and settings combinations.

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

A: It ranks 2901st out of 3714 combinations tested in Lockdown Protocol, placing it roughly in the bottom quarter of all measured systems despite the strong CPU.