Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER represents a significant bottleneck scenario in Lockdown Protocol. The data shows a processor with substantial headroom in synthetic workloads, while the graphics card operates near its performance ceiling, particularly at higher resolutions. This combination ranks 1451st out of 1637 tested configurations in this game, placing it in the lower percentile of all possible pairings. The benchmark results across 12 measured rows reveal a system where the GPU is the primary constraint, with the CPU’s capabilities largely untapped in this specific FPS title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 30 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU demonstrates exceptional multi-threaded performance: its Cinebench R23 multicore score reaches 39000, and its 3DMark max-threads score is 12412. Single-thread performance is equally strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5505 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2850. These figures place the processor in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 47282.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core i7-13700KF (deltaPct -0.1), AMD EPYC 4364P (deltaPct 0.3), Intel Core i9-12900F (deltaPct 0.4), and AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 (deltaPct -0.5). The i7-13700K sits within a tight performance cluster, with a differential of less than one percentage point against all four competitors. This indicates that in pure processing power, the chip is effectively interchangeable with these alternatives.

However, in Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role is diminished. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 124.6 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all configurations. This suggests that even when the GPU load is minimized, the processor can feed frames at a rate exceeding 120 FPS. The data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution or settings combination tested. Even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 26, the bottleneck is clearly the GPU, as the CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities remain far above what this game demands. The processor’s 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest it could sustain even higher frame rates if paired with a stronger graphics card, but in this configuration, its performance headroom is never fully exercised.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is a Turing-architecture card built on a 12 nm process, featuring 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock reaches 1785 MHz, and it delivers 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The card’s synthetic benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 12699 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1278, placing it in the 55th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 14286.

The GPU’s nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (deltaPct -0.2), Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (deltaPct -0.2), AMD Radeon Vega 11 (deltaPct -0.5), and AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (deltaPct -0.7). The GTX 1660 SUPER performs within one percentage point of these competitors, indicating that it occupies a well-defined performance tier near the median of all graphics cards.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU’s VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth become critical factors. At 4K High settings, the system averages 33.9 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, this falls to 26 FPS. The 6 GB VRAM buffer appears sufficient for the game’s requirements at 1080p, where High settings yield 77.2 FPS, but as resolution increases, the card’s compute throughput becomes the limiting factor. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at High settings shows a drop from 77.2 FPS to 59.1 FPS, a reduction of approximately 23%. This behavior is consistent with a GPU that is nearing its fill-rate and shading capacity limits, as the pixel count increases by 78% between these resolutions. The card’s 85.68 GPixel/s pixel rate and 157.1 GTexel/s texture rate provide context for these results, suggesting that the GPU is processing close to its theoretical maximum at 1440p and beyond.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 124.6 FPS, which drops to 90.1 FPS at 1440p Low (a 27.7% reduction) and 55.7 FPS at 4K Low (a 55.3% reduction from 1080p). This scaling is consistent with a GPU that is progressively overwhelmed by increasing pixel counts.

The High settings preset shows a similar trend: 77.2 FPS at 1080p, 59.1 FPS at 1440p, and 33.9 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep at 42.6%, indicating that the card’s memory bandwidth and shading units are saturated at the higher resolution. In contrast, the CPU’s performance does not scale with resolution in this manner, confirming that the GPU is the sole limiter.

The data also shows that settings changes have a larger impact at lower resolutions. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces average FPS from 124.6 to 54.6, a 56.2% decrease. At 4K, the same settings change reduces FPS from 55.7 to 26, a 53.3% decrease. This suggests that the GPU’s compute resources are the primary constraint at all settings, but the relative impact of graphics quality is slightly muted at 4K because the card is already near its limits. The 1080p results indicate that the CPU can comfortably support frame rates above 120 FPS, but the GPU cannot maintain these levels when graphical fidelity increases.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combination in Lockdown Protocol?*

A: The data shows that 1080p provides the most playable experience, with average FPS ranging from 54.6 at Ultra to 124.6 at Low. At 1440p, the average FPS range is 44.1 to 90.1, while 4K drops to between 26 and 55.7 FPS. For consistent frame rates above 60 FPS, 1080p is the only resolution where all settings presets except Ultra achieve this threshold.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its closest rivals in this game?

A: The GPU’s nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics, AMD Radeon Vega 11, and AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT, all within 0.7% of the GTX 1660 SUPER’s average benchmark score of 14286. This indicates that the card performs equivalently to these alternatives in synthetic tests, and the measured game FPS should be representative of that performance tier.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-13700K bottlenecking the GTX 1660 SUPER?

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 93rd percentile of all processors with an average benchmark score of 47282, while the GPU ranks in the 55th percentile. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 124.6 FPS, which is the highest measured result, indicating that the CPU can deliver frames faster than the GPU can render them at higher settings.

Q: What setting preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance at 1080p?

A: The Medium preset averages 86 FPS at 1080p, which is 8.8 FPS higher than High (77.2 FPS) and 31.4 FPS higher than Ultra (54.6 FPS). Given that Medium offers a substantial improvement over Low (124.6 FPS) while maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS, it appears to be the optimal choice for this configuration.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K with this hardware?

A: At 4K, the highest average FPS is 55.7 at Low settings, which drops to 33.9 at High and 26 at Ultra. These results indicate that 4K gaming is not viable for smooth gameplay, as even the lowest settings preset cannot maintain 60 FPS.

Q: What does the combo rank of 1451 out of 1637 configurations indicate?

A: This rank places the combination in the bottom 11% of all tested CPU/GPU pairings for Lockdown Protocol. The low ranking is primarily due to the GPU’s 55th percentile performance, which limits the system’s ability to handle the game’s graphical demands at higher resolutions and settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset for this configuration depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 86 FPS, which is a 34.7% improvement over High (77.2 FPS) and a 57.5% improvement over Ultra (54.6 FPS). While Low achieves 124.6 FPS, the visual quality reduction is significant, and Medium provides a better balance of frame rate and fidelity. For players prioritizing smooth gameplay, Medium at 1080p is the recommended choice, as it stays comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 65.4 FPS, which is the only settings level that exceeds 60 FPS at this resolution. High (59.1 FPS) and Low (90.1 FPS) are alternatives, but Medium offers the best combination of performance and visual quality. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 44.1 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most FPS titles.

At 4K, no settings preset achieves 60 FPS. The Low preset averages 55.7 FPS, which is the closest to a playable frame rate, but it still falls short. The High preset (33.9 FPS) and Ultra preset (26 FPS) are not recommended for competitive or responsive gameplay. Given the GPU’s 55th percentile performance rank and its 6 GB VRAM capacity, the data suggests that 4K gaming is beyond the card’s capabilities in this title, and users should stick to 1080p or 1440p for the best experience. The system’s overall rank of 1451 out of 1637 configurations reflects this limitation, with the CPU’s high performance unable to compensate for the GPU’s mid-range positioning.