Lockdown Protocol

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1,588th out of 3,714 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This places the combo in the 57th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms a majority of configurations while sitting firmly in the mid-to-upper tier of the database. The ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component dramatically bottlenecks the other in this FPS title, though the data shows the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

The CPU itself holds an 89th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 46,881. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing include the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (scoring 46,971, a 0.2% difference) and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (scoring 47,022, a 0.3% difference). This clustering indicates the i7-13700K delivers compute performance nearly identical to those alternatives, with deltas under a single percentage point. On the GPU side, the RTX 3070 sits at the 61st percentile among all graphics cards, with an average score of 17,208. Its nearest competitors include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17,083, 0.7% slower) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17,037, 1% slower), while the NVIDIA Tesla K40c edges ahead by 1.5% with a score of 17,468.

In practical terms for Lockdown Protocol, this combination delivers playable frame rates across all tested settings at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles to maintain high refresh rates at 4K. The combo rank of 1,588 suggests that roughly 2,126 other configurations perform better, which aligns with the RTX 3070's mid-tier standing in the GPU hierarchy. The CPU's strong multi-threaded capabilities—16 cores and 24 threads with boost clocks up to 5.40 GHz—provide ample headroom for the game's logic, but the 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth of the GPU cap performance at higher resolutions and quality presets.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals a clear sweet spot for this combination at Medium settings, particularly when targeting a balance between visual fidelity and frame rate consistency. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves an average of 152 FPS with a minimum of 129 FPS and a maximum of 175 FPS. This provides a smooth experience on standard 60 Hz displays and remains viable for 144 Hz panels, though the minimum frame rate dips slightly below the 144 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 1080p pushes averages to 214 FPS, which suits competitive play on high-refresh monitors, but the visual trade-off may not be worthwhile given the Medium preset's substantial quality improvement.

At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 111 FPS average with a minimum of 95 and maximum of 128. This remains above 60 FPS even in demanding scenes, making it the recommended choice for 1440p gaming on this hardware. High settings at 1440p drop the average to 97 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less margin for frame-time spikes. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 73 FPS average, which may feel less fluid on high-refresh displays but remains acceptable for slower-paced gameplay.

For 4K gaming, the data suggests Medium is the highest viable setting, yielding 72 FPS average with a minimum of 61 FPS. This just clears the 60 FPS threshold, but the minimum frame rate indicates occasional dips below that mark. High settings at 4K average 63 FPS, while Low settings reach 101 FPS, and Ultra drops to 47 FPS—the only preset that falls below 60 FPS in this entire dataset. The recommendation is to use Medium settings for 4K if visual quality matters, or Low settings if consistent frame rates above 100 FPS are the priority. Given the minimal frame time data available, Medium provides the best overall experience across all resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the RTX 3070 as the limiting component in this pairing. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 214 at 1080p to 157 at 1440p, then to 101 at 4K. This represents a 26.6% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 35.7% further reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is relatively linear, suggesting the GPU is handling the increased pixel count without hitting a memory bandwidth wall, but the 8 GB VRAM capacity becomes a concern at 4K with higher presets.

At Medium settings, the progression goes from 152 FPS at 1080p to 111 FPS at 1440p (a 27% drop) and then to 72 FPS at 4K (a 35.1% drop). The minimum frame rates show a similar pattern: 129 at 1080p, 95 at 1440p, and 61 at 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across settings indicates that pixel throughput, not cache or memory capacity, is the primary bottleneck. The GPU's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 256-bit bus are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the rendering load approaches the limits of the 8 GB frame buffer.

High settings show a steeper decline: 133 FPS at 1080p, 97 FPS at 1440p (27.1% drop), and 63 FPS at 4K (35.1% drop). Ultra settings exhibit the largest relative drop from 1440p to 4K, going from 73 FPS to 47 FPS—a 35.6% reduction. This pattern suggests that at Ultra settings, the combination of higher resolution and more demanding effects pushes the GPU's shading units and memory subsystem to their limits. The CPU, with its 16 cores and high single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 1,136), does not appear to be the limiting factor, as the frame rate scales predictably with resolution rather than showing CPU-bound plateaus.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1080p Resolution: The Low preset delivers the highest average at 214 FPS, making it suitable for esports-level play. Medium follows at 152 FPS with a documented range of 129 to 175 FPS, providing a stable experience for most gaming scenarios. High settings average 133 FPS, which remains above 120 FPS and works well for high-refresh monitors. Ultra drops to 99 FPS average, still comfortably above 60 FPS but showing a 53.7% reduction from Low.

1440p Resolution: Low averages 157 FPS, which is excellent for 1440p gaming on this hardware. Medium achieves 111 FPS with a minimum of 95 and maximum of 128, offering a good balance. High settings produce 97 FPS average, which is above 60 FPS but may show occasional dips in busy scenes. Ultra averages 73 FPS, which is playable but represents a 53.5% drop from Low. The Medium preset's minimum of 95 FPS indicates it can maintain high refresh rates with some headroom.

4K Resolution: Low averages 101 FPS, which is surprisingly strong for 4K on an RTX 3070. Medium averages 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS, just meeting the 60 FPS standard. High averages 63 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. Ultra averages 47 FPS, falling below the 60 FPS threshold and showing the GPU's limitations at this resolution. The minimum frame rate of 61 FPS at Medium suggests that even this preset will experience occasional drops below 60 FPS in demanding moments.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each settings tier costs roughly 20-25% in average FPS compared to the next lower tier, regardless of resolution. This consistency indicates the GPU's performance scaling is predictable, with no unexpected bottlenecks emerging at any particular setting or resolution combination.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1440p Medium as the optimal balance, delivering 111 FPS average with a 95 FPS minimum. At 1440p, all four settings presets remain above 60 FPS, whereas at 4K the Ultra preset falls to 47 FPS average.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Yes, but only at Low or Medium settings. Low averages 101 FPS, while Medium averages 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS. High settings are borderline at 63 FPS, and Ultra drops below 60 FPS at 47 FPS average.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3070 scores 17,208 on average, which is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17,083) and 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17,037). The NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 17,468, which is 1.5% higher than the RTX 3070.

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

A: The Core i7-13700K scores 46,881 on average. The AMD Ryzen 9 5900 scores 46,971 (0.2% higher), and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 scores 47,022 (0.3% higher). The AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX and Intel Xeon w3-2535 both score 46,654, which is 0.5% lower.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM on the RTX 3070 cause issues at higher resolutions?

A: The frame rate scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a consistent 35% drop across all settings, suggesting VRAM capacity is not a sudden bottleneck. However, the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 47 FPS, indicating the combination of resolution and settings pushes the GPU to its limits.

Q: What is the CPU's boost clock and how does it relate to gaming performance?

A: The Core i7-13700K has a boost clock of 5.40 GHz with a base clock of 3.40 GHz. Its 3DMark single-thread score of 1,136 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,116 indicate strong per-core performance, which supports high frame rates in games like Lockdown Protocol that rely on single-thread performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process by Intel. Its base clock runs at 3.40 GHz, with a boost clock reaching 5.40 GHz, and it carries a 125 W TDP. The processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory through a dual-channel interface, and its 30 MB shared L3 cache provides substantial capacity for game data. The CPU's 3DMark scores show strong scaling from 2,262 in the 2-thread test to 12,412 in the max-thread test, indicating efficient multi-threading that benefits modern FPS titles.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU based on the frame rate scaling data. The consistent percentage drops across resolutions suggest the game is not CPU-bound at any tested configuration. The processor's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30,745 and single-core score of 2,116 demonstrate it can handle both the game's logic threads and background tasks without becoming a bottleneck. The PassMark multi-thread score of 45,887 further confirms this, placing the CPU in the 89th percentile of all processors.

The i7-13700K's 16 cores and 24 threads provide headroom for future game updates or additional background processes. Its nearest rivals—the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375—perform within 0.3% in average benchmark scores, indicating this CPU is competitively positioned in its class. The 5.40 GHz boost clock ensures high single-thread performance, which is crucial for games that rely on a primary simulation thread. However, the data shows that at 4K Ultra settings, even this capable CPU cannot compensate for the GPU's limitations, confirming that the RTX 3070 is the primary constraint in this pairing.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip manufactured on an 8 nm process by Samsung. It features 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs, along with 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1,500 MHz with a boost clock of 1,725 MHz, and its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 14 Gbps effective through a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card's FP32 performance reaches 20.31 TFLOPS, and its TDP is rated at 220 W.

In Lockdown Protocol, the RTX 3070's performance characteristics define the combo's capabilities. At 1080p, the GPU delivers 214 FPS on Low settings, but this drops to 99 FPS on Ultra—a 53.7% reduction. This scaling indicates the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are heavily taxed by the Ultra preset's effects. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,162 and PassMark G3D score of 22,214 show the GPU's DirectX 12 performance, which aligns with the game's modern rendering requirements.

The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming across all presets, as evidenced by the stable frame rates. At 4K, however, the Ultra preset falls to 47 FPS, and even Medium settings show a minimum of 61 FPS. The GPU's 61st percentile ranking among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 17,208, places it in the mid-range of modern GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, scores within 0.7%, indicating similar performance levels. The RTX 3070's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 256-bit bus provide adequate memory throughput for 1440p gaming, but the 4K data suggests the GPU's compute resources, rather than memory capacity, are the limiting factor in this title.