Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER presents a classic pairing of a high-end modern CPU with a previous-generation mid-range GPU. The data indicates a system where the graphics card is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the processor demonstrates ample headroom to push frame rates at 1080p. The benchmark results show a playable experience across most settings, with clear trade-offs between visual fidelity and performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable yet steep performance curve as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the combo averages 109 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 80 FPS, and at 4K, the average falls to 51 FPS. This represents a 53% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at High settings, indicating that the GPU is heavily taxed by the pixel count increase.

The scaling pattern is even more pronounced at Ultra settings. The system manages 82 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 60 FPS at 1440p and plummets to 39 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is notably below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that this combination is not suited for maximum fidelity at that resolution. The frame rate loss from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is 52%, nearly identical to the High preset, confirming that the RTX 2070 SUPER's compute and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors.

At Low settings, the scaling is less brutal but still significant. The system hits 175 FPS at 1080p, 129 FPS at 1440p, and 83 FPS at 4K. The fact that 4K Low still produces a playable frame rate while 4K Ultra drops below 40 FPS highlights that the GPU's fillrate and shader throughput are the bottlenecks, not the CPU. The i5-14600KF, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, is clearly capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the 175 FPS result at 1080p Low, which likely approaches the engine's single-threaded limits.

FAQ

Q: Can this system handle Lockdown Protocol at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The data shows an average of 83 FPS at 4K Low, 59 FPS at 4K Medium, and 51 FPS at 4K High. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, Medium settings are the maximum viable option, as Ultra settings drop to 39 FPS average.

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play?

A: 1080p is clearly the target for high refresh rates. At Low settings, the combo achieves 175 FPS average, while Medium settings still deliver 125 FPS. Even at High settings, 109 FPS is sufficient for most fast-paced FPS play.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its closest rivals in this game?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 20282, placing it slightly below the Intel Arc B570 (20556, -1.3%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, -1.2%). It ranks in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a solid mid-range performer.

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

A: The GPU is the bottleneck at resolutions above 1080p. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as 32544 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, are far above what the GPU can utilize. The evidence is the sharp FPS drop when resolution increases, which taxes the GPU's pixel processing capabilities.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The gap is substantial. Low settings produce 129 FPS average, while Ultra settings drop to 60 FPS average. This 69 FPS difference represents a 53% performance penalty for maximum visual quality.

Q: Does the system maintain consistent frame times at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the data includes min and max FPS values. At 1080p, the frame rate ranges from 106 FPS minimum to 143 FPS maximum, showing a variance of 37 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 78 FPS to 105 FPS, and at 4K it is 50 FPS to 68 FPS, indicating tighter frame pacing at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a Raptor Lake-R part with 14 cores and 20 threads, boasting a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its benchmark performance is robust, with a multi-core score of 13668 in Cinebench R20 and 32544 in Cinebench R23. Single-core performance is equally strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4594 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2445.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics data. The data shows the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution tested. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 175 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate to suggest the engine is still GPU-limited at that setting. The CPU's percentile ranking of 90 versus all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 49394, places it in the top tier of processors, just 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245.

The processor's large 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache likely help maintain stable frame times in a fast-paced FPS. The fact that frame rates scale consistently with resolution changes—rather than exhibiting erratic behavior—suggests the CPU is delivering a consistent stream of data to the GPU. While the CPU has a TDP of 125 W and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, these details are secondary to its raw compute capability, which is clearly sufficient for this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i5-14600KF and RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2165th out of 3714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This puts it in the 58th percentile of all combos, meaning it outperforms a majority of systems but is far from the top tier. The ranking reflects the GPU's age; the RTX 2070 SUPER is an end-of-life product with an average benchmark score of 20282, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs.

The combo's rank is likely held back by the GPU's performance ceiling. The CPU, by contrast, is a top-tier performer, sitting in the 90th percentile. This imbalance suggests that pairing this CPU with a more modern GPU would yield a significantly higher combo rank. However, within the context of the tested configurations, this specific pairing offers a balanced experience for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the GPU can still push respectable frame rates.

Given that the GPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Arc B570 (with a -1.3% delta), the system is competitive with modern mid-range options. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, is only 0.3% faster, confirming that the i5-14600KF is not the source of any performance deficiency. The rank of 2165 is a reflection of the GPU's 2019-era architecture, not the CPU's capability.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 1440p is the optimal choice. The data shows 91 FPS average at this setting, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The min FPS of 78 ensures that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate does not drop below playable levels. This is a superior experience to High settings at 1440p, which yield 80 FPS average but lack the min/max data to confirm consistency.

At 1080p, High settings provide an excellent experience with 109 FPS average. This is a significant improvement over Medium (125 FPS) and Low (175 FPS), but the visual uplift from High to Ultra is likely minimal compared to the performance cost. Ultra at 1080p drops to 82 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 22% reduction from High. For players with 144Hz monitors, Medium settings at 1080p (125 FPS) are the recommended choice to maximize refresh rate utilization.

At 4K, the system is only viable at Low settings, where it achieves 83 FPS average. Medium settings drop to 59 FPS, which is borderline for a smooth experience. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended, as they produce 51 FPS and 39 FPS averages, respectively. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on the RTX 2070 SUPER is likely a limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where texture memory requirements exceed the available capacity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for Lockdown Protocol with this hardware is as follows:

At 1920x1080:

• Low settings: 175 FPS average
• Medium settings: 125 FPS average (min 106, max 143)
• High settings: 109 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 82 FPS average

At 2560x1440:

• Low settings: 129 FPS average
• Medium settings: 91 FPS average (min 78, max 105)
• High settings: 80 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 60 FPS average

At 3840x2160:

• Low settings: 83 FPS average
• Medium settings: 59 FPS average (min 50, max 68)
• High settings: 51 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 39 FPS average

The Medium settings rows are the only ones with min/max data, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the variance between min and max is 37 FPS, which is relatively high and suggests occasional stutters. At 1440p, the variance is 27 FPS, and at 4K, it narrows to 18 FPS. This indicates that as the GPU becomes more saturated, frame times become more consistent, which is counterintuitive but likely due to the CPU having more time to prepare frames.

The data confirms that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting component, as the FPS scales nearly linearly with resolution. The CPU's high single-core performance (4594 in Cinebench R23) ensures that it does not introduce bottlenecks until frame rates exceed 175 FPS, which is only achieved at 1080p Low. For the majority of settings and resolutions, the GPU's 2560 shading units and 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth are the determining factors.