Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX delivers a high-refresh-rate experience in Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title. The data, sourced from measured benchmarks, shows a combination that scales predictably with resolution and settings, though the relationship between CPU and GPU load reveals distinct bottlenecks depending on the configuration. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across three resolutions and four quality presets, interprets the combo’s standing among tested systems, and isolates the roles of the processor and graphics card.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals a shift in the limiting component. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches 302 FPS, but at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, it falls to 68 FPS—a reduction of 234 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU is the primary constraint, while at higher resolutions, the GPU takes over as the bottleneck.

The data shows a clear breakpoint between 1440p and 4K. At 2560x1440, the average FPS across all settings ranges from 100.6 (Ultra) to 224 (Low), whereas at 3840x2160, the range narrows to 68 (Ultra) to 140.9 (Low). The relative drop from 1440p Low to 4K Low is 37.1%, while the drop from 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra is 32.4%. This suggests that the RX 7900 XTX’s memory bandwidth and compute resources become increasingly taxed as pixel count rises, but the CPU still has headroom to push frames at 1440p.

Comparing the 1080p to 1440p transition, the FPS loss is more modest. At High settings, the drop is from 189 FPS at 1080p to 135.7 FPS at 1440p—a 28.2% decrease. This is less severe than the 1440p to 4K drop at the same settings, which falls from 135.7 to 90.4 FPS (33.4% decrease). The pattern indicates that the combination is well-balanced for 1440p gaming, where neither component is severely underutilized, but at 4K, the GPU’s 24 GB of GDDR6 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth are pushed harder, making the frame rate more dependent on graphics processing.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific configuration ranks 203rd out of 1637 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 12.4% of all combos. The percentile is strong, but it is not at the very top of the chart, which suggests that while the parts are high-end, the game’s engine and the specific balance of CPU and GPU do not yield the absolute highest frame rates.

The combo’s rank is influenced by the CPU’s performance class. The Intel Core i5-14600KF sits at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49367. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-14600K (deltaPct 0.4%), AMD EPYC 4345P (deltaPct -0.5%), and AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (deltaPct 0.6%). These deltas are small, indicating that the 14600KF is effectively tied with its closest competitors in synthetic benchmarks. However, in Lockdown Protocol, the game’s reliance on specific CPU features may explain why the combo does not crack the top 100.

The GPU side is similar. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX ranks at the 85th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44019. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (deltaPct -0.4%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (deltaPct 0.8%), and NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (deltaPct 1.6%). The 7900 XTX is 2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti in average score, which is notable because the 4070 Ti is a lower-tier card in NVIDIA’s lineup. This suggests that the 7900 XTX’s raw compute power (61.39 TFLOPS FP32) is high, but the game may favor NVIDIA’s architecture.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It has 24 MB of shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 32889 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4643 in single-core, which are strong results for a desktop processor.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 302 FPS, but at 1440p Low, it drops to 224 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 140.9 FPS. The fact that 1080p Low breaks the 300 FPS barrier suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames, but the game’s engine likely has a frame rate ceiling that is not solely determined by the processor’s clock speed.

The 5.30 GHz boost clock is crucial for single-threaded performance, which is often the limiting factor in FPS titles. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 4643 places it in the upper echelon of desktop CPUs. However, the game’s performance at 4K Ultra (68 FPS) shows that the CPU is not the primary constraint at high resolutions—the GPU is. The data indicates that the 14600KF has sufficient headroom to avoid bottlenecking the RX 7900 XTX at 1440p and below, but at 4K, the GPU’s compute limits dominate.

The processor’s 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest it is designed for overclocking, which could yield additional frames in CPU-bound scenarios. However, the measured data reflects stock settings, and the 0.4% deltaPct versus the Intel Core i5-14600K implies that the “F” variant (without integrated graphics) does not significantly alter gaming performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers consistently high frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 302 FPS, Medium 212.6 FPS, High 189 FPS, and Ultra 140.8 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 29.6% drop, while the step from High to Ultra is a 25.5% drop. This suggests that the game’s settings scale smoothly, with the GPU becoming more involved as quality increases.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain competitive. Low settings yield 224 FPS, Medium 159.2 FPS, High 135.7 FPS, and Ultra 100.6 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each settings tier is consistent: Low falls by 25.8%, Medium by 25.1%, High by 28.2%, and Ultra by 28.5%. This uniformity indicates that the resolution scaling is predictable and that neither component is causing a disproportionate performance loss.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become more demanding. Low settings still achieve 140.9 FPS, Medium 100.7 FPS, High 90.4 FPS, and Ultra 68 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced: Low falls by 37.1%, Medium by 36.7%, High by 33.4%, and Ultra by 32.4%. The fact that Ultra at 4K drops below 70 FPS suggests that the game’s highest settings are extremely GPU-intensive, and the RX 7900 XTX’s 24 GB VRAM is likely fully utilized.

The data shows that the combo is most comfortable at 1080p and 1440p, where even Ultra settings maintain playable frame rates. At 4K, the user must choose between high frame rates (Low settings) and visual fidelity (Ultra settings), as the game cannot provide both simultaneously with this hardware.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a RDNA 3.0 architecture GPU with a boost clock of 2498 MHz and a game clock of 2365 MHz. It has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. With 6144 shading units, 384 TMUs, and 192 ROPs, it delivers 61.39 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. These specifications place it in the high-end tier of graphics cards, though its 85th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates that some competitors outperform it in specific workloads.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU’s role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p Low, the GPU is underutilized, as the CPU is able to feed it enough frames. But at 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, with the frame rate dropping to 68 FPS. The 24 GB VRAM is unlikely to be a limiting factor at any resolution, as even 4K textures typically fit within 16 GB, but the memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s is heavily taxed at 4K.

The GPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals is mixed. It sits 0.8% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile, but 2% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti in average benchmark score. In Lockdown Protocol, the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (68 FPS) suggests that the game may not be fully optimized for RDNA 3.0, as the card’s raw compute power (61.39 TFLOPS) is substantial.

The 355 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate that the card is power-hungry, but the suggested 750 W PSU is adequate for this combo. The PCIe 4.0 x16 interface is not a bottleneck, as the card’s bandwidth requirements are well within PCIe 4.0’s capabilities. The GPU’s end-of-life production status suggests that it is being phased out, but its performance in this game remains competitive, particularly at 1440p where it delivers over 100 FPS on Ultra settings.