Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol presents a demanding workload that clearly separates the capabilities of the Intel Core i7-13700K and the AMD Radeon RX 580. The benchmark data for this FPS title shows a system where the graphics card is the primary constraint, with the processor's substantial multi-threading overhead providing little benefit at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates indicate that this combination is positioned for lower-resolution play, with a significant performance cliff appearing as the resolution scales upward.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and its 30 MB of shared L3 cache is a key asset for gaming workloads. In synthetic benchmarks, the processor demonstrates exceptional multi-threaded capability with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39000, while its single-core performance is represented by a Cinebench R23 score of 5505. This places the CPU in the 93rd percentile of all tested processors, indicating it is not a bottleneck in this configuration.

The CPU's influence on Lockdown Protocol is evident when examining its scaling across thread counts. The 3DMark scores show a progression from 1136 for single-thread to 10717 for 16 threads, and 12412 for max threads. This suggests the game can utilize multiple cores, but the performance ceiling is reached well before the CPU's full potential is taxed. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 84.9 FPS, which is the highest average across all tested configurations. This indicates that even at lower settings, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU adequately, but the GPU's limits are quickly reached as settings increase.

Comparing the i7-13700K to its nearest rivals, the data shows a remarkably tight grouping. It sits 0.1% behind the Intel Core i7-13700KF in average benchmark score and is 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i9-12900F. This negligible performance delta means that for Lockdown Protocol, the choice between these high-end CPUs would have virtually no impact on the final frame rates, as the GPU will consistently be the limiting factor. The CPU's high single-thread score of 4333 in Passmark further confirms its ability to handle the game's logic and physics without imposing a significant frame rate penalty.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the decisive component in this pairing, and its age is reflected in the benchmark results. Based on the Polaris 20 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm process, it features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. Its core clocks are modest, with a base of 1257 MHz and a boost of 1340 MHz. The GPU's compute capabilities are limited to 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which places it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, a stark contrast to the CPU's 93rd percentile ranking.

The RX 580's performance in Lockdown Protocol is heavily dependent on the selected settings. At 1080p with Low settings, it delivers 84.9 FPS, which is playable. However, the frame rate drops precipitously as settings are increased: 58.9 FPS at Medium, 52.7 FPS at High, and 39.8 FPS at Ultra. This pattern shows a classic GPU-bound scenario where the shading units and texture rate (193.0 GTexel/s) are overwhelmed by the game's visual demands. The GPU's DirectX 12 score of 43 in Passmark is low, indicating a struggle with modern rendering paths, which is a significant factor in Lockdown Protocol's performance.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, which has an identical average score, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950, which is 0.1% slower. This places the RX 580 in a performance tier that is over a decade old, and its 8 GB VRAM, while sufficient for capacity, cannot compensate for the lack of raw processing power. The data shows that the GPU's performance ceiling is reached at 1080p Medium settings, where it still fails to maintain a 60 FPS average, highlighting its inadequacy for modern FPS titles at higher quality presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate this combo can achieve in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 84.9 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the dataset that surpasses the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-13700KF?

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 47282, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i7-13700KF's score of 47334. This difference is negligible and will not impact gaming performance.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the system fail to maintain a playable frame rate?

A: At 3840x2160, the system only achieves an average of 30.0 FPS on Medium settings and drops to 22.4 FPS on High. Even at 2560x1440 on Ultra settings, the average FPS is 31.4, which is below a smooth playability threshold.

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

A: The benchmark data clearly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU ranks in the 93rd percentile of all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 53rd percentile. The frame rate drops significantly with increased resolution and settings, a signature of GPU limitation.

Q: What kind of performance scaling is seen when moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 High settings, the average FPS is 52.7. Moving to 2560x1440 High settings, the average FPS drops to 39.7, a decrease of approximately 13 FPS, demonstrating the GPU's struggle with higher pixel counts.

Q: How does the GPU's average benchmark score compare to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 13559, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950's score of 13549. This places them in the same performance class.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 1516 out of 1637 total combos. This places it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested, a direct consequence of the GPU's low relative performance. The rank is not a reflection of the CPU, which is a top-tier processor, but rather the entire system's inability to push high frame rates in this specific title.

The combo rank of 1516 is a stark indicator of the imbalance between the components. The CPU's potential is entirely untapped, as the GPU becomes the bottleneck at every resolution and quality preset tested. For context, the system can only deliver a smooth experience at the lowest settings and resolution. The data suggests that this combination is far down the performance ladder, and any upgrade path would necessitate replacing the graphics card first. The low rank is consistent with the GPU's overall percentile of 53, which indicates it is average at best, while the game's demands expose its weaknesses more than a typical application might.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data provides a clear picture of where the bottleneck lies. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system produces 84.9 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings, the average FPS drops to 62.7, and at 3840x2160, it falls to 42.8. This scaling pattern, where the frame rate drops by roughly 26% from 1080p to 1440p and then by another 32% from 1440p to 4K, is a textbook example of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU is not the limiting factor, as its performance does not degrade with resolution.

At higher quality settings, the drop is even more pronounced. For instance, at High settings, the transition from 1080p (52.7 FPS) to 1440p (39.7 FPS) results in a 25% reduction, and the transition to 4K (22.4 FPS) shows a 44% reduction from 1440p. This demonstrates that the RX 580's fill rate and shading capabilities are saturated quickly. The data reveals that the system is only viable for 1080p gaming, and even then, only at Low or Medium settings to maintain a playable frame rate. The scaling analysis confirms that the AMD Radeon RX 580 is the primary constraint, and the Intel Core i7-13700K's high performance is rendered irrelevant by the GPU's limitations.