Lockdown Protocol

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB places at rank 1897 out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This positions the combo in the 51st percentile of all tested systems — squarely in the middle of the field. The ranking reflects a pairing where the CPU is considerably stronger than the GPU, and the data confirms that this imbalance shapes the experience across all settings and resolutions.

In raw compute terms, the CPU sits at the 90th percentile among all processors, while the GPU only reaches the 24th percentile among all graphics cards. That gap is the defining characteristic of this combo. The processor can feed frames far faster than the graphics card can render them, which means the GPU is almost always the limiting factor. The measured frame rates in Lockdown Protocol bear this out: at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 193 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 42 FPS — a range that tracks almost entirely with GPU workload rather than CPU capability.

Compared to other combos in the database, this is a mid-pack result. It is not a top-tier configuration for high-refresh 4K play, but it is also far from the bottom. The rank of 1897 out of 3714 suggests that roughly half of tested systems deliver higher average frame rates in this title, and half deliver lower. Given the GPU's modest standing, that outcome is unsurprising.

# GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 44 chip, fabricated on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 32 ray tracing cores. The card's boost clock reaches 3130 MHz, with a game clock of 2530 MHz and a base clock of 1700 MHz. Memory consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 322.3 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role is decisive. The measured frame rates scale almost linearly with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the card produces 193 FPS on average. Moving to 1080p Ultra drops that to 90 FPS. At 4K, the range is tighter: 91 FPS at Low, 57 FPS at High, and 42 FPS at Ultra. These numbers show that the card has enough raw throughput for 1080p gaming but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K with elevated settings.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is worth noting. At 4K Ultra, the card is likely approaching its memory limits, which would explain the steep drop from High to Ultra at that resolution — 57 FPS down to 42 FPS. The 128-bit memory bus and 322.3 GB/s bandwidth are modest by modern standards, and the data suggests that memory bandwidth becomes a constraint at higher resolutions and quality presets. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4093 places it in the 24th percentile overall, and its nearest rivals are all integrated or low-end discrete parts — the Intel HD Graphics 630, NVIDIA Quadro K2100M, NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M, and AMD Radeon R5 M330. This is not a high-end card, and the frame rates in Lockdown Protocol reflect that positioning.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for this combo. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 120 FPS on average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play in a fast-paced FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 90 FPS, which is still playable but not a massive visual improvement over High given the 25% performance cost. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 137 FPS, but High at 120 FPS is a better balance of visual quality and headroom.

At 1440p, the High preset yields 88 FPS on average, which is acceptable for most players but not ideal for competitive play. The Medium preset produces 100 FPS with a minimum of 85 FPS, making it the more consistent choice for maintaining a smooth experience. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 141 FPS, but the visual sacrifice is significant. For 1440p, Medium appears to be the sweet spot, offering a 100 FPS average with a narrow frame time distribution.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. The High preset delivers 57 FPS, which is borderline for a 60 Hz display. The Medium preset produces 65 FPS with a minimum of 55 FPS, making it the only 4K preset that consistently stays above 60 FPS on average. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 42 FPS, which is not recommended for a fast-paced shooter. For 4K, Medium is the only sensible choice, and even then, players should expect occasional dips below 60 FPS.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo in Lockdown Protocol are as follows, organized by resolution and settings.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 193 FPS. The Medium preset produces 137 FPS on average, with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 158 FPS. The High preset yields 120 FPS on average. The Ultra preset drops to 90 FPS on average. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 103 FPS spread, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset reaches 141 FPS on average. The Medium preset produces 100 FPS on average, with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS. The High preset delivers 88 FPS on average. The Ultra preset drops to 66 FPS on average. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 75 FPS, narrower than at 1080p, which suggests the GPU is becoming more consistently saturated.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 91 FPS on average. The Medium preset produces 65 FPS on average, with a minimum of 55 FPS and a maximum of 75 FPS. The High preset yields 57 FPS on average. The Ultra preset drops to 42 FPS on average. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 49 FPS, the narrowest of the three resolutions. This compression indicates that the GPU is fully loaded even at Low settings at 4K, and additional settings changes have diminishing returns.

# FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p provides the most comfortable experience, with 120 FPS at High settings and 193 FPS at Low settings. 1440p is playable at Medium with 100 FPS, while 4K is only viable at Medium with 65 FPS and a minimum of 55 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance drop occurs when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 120 FPS at 1080p to 88 FPS at 1440p and 57 FPS at 4K. This represents a 47.5% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 52.5% further reduction from 1440p to 4K.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU has a 90th percentile ranking, while the GPU sits at the 24th percentile. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 193 FPS, which is high but not exceptional, suggesting the GPU is still the constraint even at the lowest settings.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: At 4K, the Medium preset delivers 65 FPS with a minimum of 55 FPS, while the High preset drops to 57 FPS. The steep decline from High to Ultra at 4K — 57 FPS to 42 FPS — suggests that VRAM capacity or bandwidth is a limiting factor at the highest settings.

Q: How does this combo compare to its nearest GPU rivals in raw performance?

A: The RX 9060 XT has a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4093, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel HD Graphics 630, 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M, 1.4% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M, and 1.8% lower than the AMD Radeon R5 M330.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, 0.8% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, and 0.8% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process at Intel. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it has a 125 W TDP.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is to feed frames to the GPU as quickly as possible. With a 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs, the i5-14600KF is more than capable of handling the game's physics and game logic at any resolution. The measured frame rates do not show any CPU-related stutters or bottlenecks; instead, the performance scales consistently with GPU load. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 193 FPS, which is likely near the practical ceiling for this GPU in this title. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 42 FPS, a figure that is entirely attributable to GPU limitations.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its high-end positioning. In Cinebench R23, it scores 32544 in multi-core and 4594 in single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 17085 multi-core and 2445 single-core. These numbers place it well above the average processor, and its nearest rivals — the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, Intel Core Ultra 5 245, and AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 — are all within a 0.8% performance delta. This means the CPU is not a differentiating factor in this combo's performance; any of these processors would yield similar frame rates in Lockdown Protocol.

# Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the bottleneck shifts across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 193 FPS. At 1440p Low, it produces 141 FPS, a 27% reduction. At 4K Low, it produces 91 FPS, a 35% reduction from 1440p. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario where the graphics card's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth become increasingly taxed as resolution increases.

At High settings, the scaling is similar but slightly steeper. From 1080p High at 120 FPS, the drop to 1440p High is 88 FPS (27% reduction), and the drop to 4K High is 57 FPS (35% reduction). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions and quality presets. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the frame rates to plateau at lower resolutions, which they do not.

The Medium preset shows the most complete data, with minimum and maximum frame rates recorded at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the average is 137 FPS with a range of 116 to 158. At 1440p Medium, the average is 100 FPS with a range of 85 to 116. At 4K Medium, the average is 65 FPS with a range of 55 to 75. The frame time consistency remains stable across resolutions, indicating that the GPU is handling the load without introducing significant variance.

The overall picture is clear: this combo is optimized for 1080p and 1440p play, with 4K only viable at Medium settings. The CPU has ample headroom, and the GPU is the sole performance limiter. Players seeking higher frame rates at 4K would need a more powerful graphics card, while those satisfied with 1080p can enjoy high refresh rates with this configuration.