Lockdown Protocol

Resolution Scaling

Lockdown Protocol's frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly shows where the bottleneck sits with this Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti pairing. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 159.9 FPS, but at 4K Low that drops to 78.1 FPS. That is a 51% reduction in average frame rate when pixel count quadruples, which indicates the GPU becomes progressively more stressed as resolution climbs.

The pattern becomes even more telling when comparing settings presets across resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 75 FPS, while 4K Ultra yields 32.5 FPS — a 57% loss. The delta between Low and Ultra at each resolution also grows with pixel count. At 1080p, the Low-to-Ultra gap is 84.9 FPS. At 1440p, that gap narrows to 61 FPS. At 4K, it shrinks to 45.6 FPS. This compression of the settings delta at higher resolutions is the classic signature of a GPU-limited scenario. The RTX 3060 Ti is the limiting component at 4K, while the i7-13700K has enough headroom to push high frame rates at 1080p.

The 1440p data confirms the transition zone. At 1440p High, the average is 73.1 FPS, nearly identical to the 4K Low result of 78.1 FPS — but at 1440p Low, the combo hits 117 FPS. This suggests that 1440p with lower settings is where the GPU still has room to breathe, but the CPU is starting to feed it more frames than it can process at higher settings. The 1080p numbers, particularly the 159.9 FPS Low result, indicate that the i7-13700K's 16 cores and 24 threads are not the limiting factor at lower resolutions. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect the 1080p and 1440p results to be closer together at the same settings preset.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: At 4K Low, the average is 78.1 FPS, which is playable. However, 4K Medium drops to 56.5 FPS, 4K High to 46.3 FPS, and 4K Ultra to 32.5 FPS. The data suggests 4K is viable only at Low or Medium settings for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for high-refresh-rate monitors?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo averages 159.9 FPS, and at 1080p High it reaches 101.3 FPS. These are the only measured settings that exceed 100 FPS. For a 144Hz display, 1080p Low is the only preset that comes close to saturating the refresh rate.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from High to Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 1440p High, the average is 73.1 FPS, while 1440p Ultra drops to 56 FPS. That is a 17.1 FPS loss for the Ultra preset, representing roughly a 23% reduction in frame rate.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game at 1080p?

A: The 1080p results show a wide spread from 75 FPS at Ultra to 159.9 FPS at Low. Since the i7-13700K has strong single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 1136) and high multi-thread capability (cinebench r23 multicore score of 39000), the GPU is the primary driver of these differences. The RTX 3060 Ti's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are the likely constraints at higher settings.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average at 1440p Medium is 80.4 FPS. This is the best 1440p result that is not on Low settings, and it sits comfortably above the 1440p High result of 73.1 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank overall among tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1164 out of 1637 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all tested hardware pairings for Lockdown Protocol.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K brings 16 cores, 24 threads, and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz to this pairing. Its benchmark profile shows strong scaling from 2 threads (3dmark score of 2262) to 16 threads (10717) and max threads (12412). The cinebench r23 multicore score of 39000 places it in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 47282. This is a high-end desktop processor that is not likely to bottleneck a mid-range GPU like the RTX 3060 Ti in most gaming scenarios.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role appears to be providing consistent frame pacing rather than being the primary performance limiter. The 1080p Low result of 159.9 FPS shows the CPU can feed frames well above 144Hz when the GPU is not heavily loaded. The 3dmark single-thread score of 1136 and passmark single-thread score of 4333 indicate solid per-core performance, which matters for FPS games that often rely on a few heavily loaded threads.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the Intel Core i7-13700KF (deltaPct -0.1) and AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 (deltaPct -0.5). These deltas are negligible, meaning the i7-13700K is effectively tied with its closest competitors in synthetic CPU benchmarks. The architecture is Raptor Lake on a 10 nm process, with 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 per core. This cache configuration helps with game data locality, but the measured FPS data suggests the GPU is the deciding factor in Lockdown Protocol's frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 159.9 FPS, Medium drops to 113.2 FPS, High to 101.3 FPS, and Ultra to 75 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is the largest single drop at 46.7 FPS, while the Medium-to-High step costs 11.9 FPS and the High-to-Ultra step costs 26.3 FPS. This suggests that Low settings remove most of the graphical load, while Ultra adds significant overhead.

At 1440p, the averages are 117 FPS on Low, 80.4 FPS on Medium, 73.1 FPS on High, and 56 FPS on Ultra. The Low-to-Medium drop is 36.6 FPS, Medium-to-High is 7.3 FPS, and High-to-Ultra is 17.1 FPS. The 1440p Medium result of 80.4 FPS is the closest to a balanced 60+ FPS experience at a higher resolution, though 1440p High at 73.1 FPS is also above 60.

At 4K, the numbers fall significantly. Low averages 78.1 FPS, Medium 56.5 FPS, High 46.3 FPS, and Ultra 32.5 FPS. The Low-to-Medium drop is 21.6 FPS, Medium-to-High is 10.2 FPS, and High-to-Ultra is 13.8 FPS. Only 4K Low crosses the 60 FPS threshold, and 4K Medium is just below it. The 4K Ultra result of 32.5 FPS is the lowest measured average across all configurations.

Comparing settings across resolutions, the Low preset shows the smallest resolution penalty: 159.9 FPS at 1080p, 117 FPS at 1440p, and 78.1 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the largest: 75 FPS, 56 FPS, and 32.5 FPS respectively. This reinforces that the RTX 3060 Ti's 8 GB memory buffer and 256-bit bus are more stressed by both resolution and settings complexity.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1164 out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the 29th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 71% of tested combos achieve higher average frame rates. The rank reflects the RTX 3060 Ti's position in the GPU hierarchy — it scores in the 69th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 25120, and its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (deltaPct -0.2) and AMD Radeon RX 6600 (deltaPct -0.5).

The CPU's rank is much stronger at 93rd percentile, but the overall combo rank is dragged down by the GPU. The data shows that the i7-13700K is capable of much higher frame rates than this GPU can deliver at higher settings. The 1080p Low result of 159.9 FPS is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game, but the 4K Ultra result of 32.5 FPS is clearly GPU-bound. In the context of all tested combos, this pairing is a mid-range performer that can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming well, but falls behind at 4K with demanding settings.

The gap between the CPU's strong benchmark scores and the combo's modest in-game rank highlights how GPU selection determines Lockdown Protocol performance. With the i7-13700K's avgBenchmarkScore of 47282 versus the RTX 3060 Ti's avgBenchmarkScore of 25120, the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the data supports using High settings for a balanced experience. The 101.3 FPS average at 1080p High is well above 60 FPS and only 12 FPS below the Medium result of 113.2 FPS. Ultra at 75 FPS is still playable but sacrifices 26.3 FPS compared to High. If maximizing frame rate is the priority, Low at 159.9 FPS is the clear choice, but the visual quality loss is substantial.

For 1440p, Medium settings offer the best measured experience. The 80.4 FPS average at 1440p Medium is the highest 1440p result that is not on Low, and it provides a 7.3 FPS improvement over High. The 1440p High result of 73.1 FPS is acceptable, but Medium gives more headroom for demanding scenes. 1440p Low at 117 FPS is the best frame rate at this resolution, but it may look noticeably worse than Medium.

For 4K, the only preset that clears 60 FPS is Low at 78.1 FPS. Medium at 56.5 FPS is borderline playable, but the drop from Low is significant. High at 46.3 FPS and Ultra at 32.5 FPS are not recommended for competitive play. The RTX 3060 Ti's 8 GB memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high-fidelity 4K in Lockdown Protocol.

The practical recommendation is to play at 1440p Medium for a strong balance of visual quality and frame rate, or 1080p High if the display is 1080p. The step from Medium to High at 1440p costs only 7.3 FPS, so High is also viable if the game looks soft on Medium. Avoid 4K Ultra entirely, as the 32.5 FPS average is below playable thresholds for an FPS title. The data shows this combo is best used at 1080p or 1440p, with settings adjusted to keep the average above 75 FPS for smooth gameplay.