Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i7-13700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a mid-range 1440p experience in Lockdown Protocol, with the data showing a clear progression from playable 4K at reduced settings to high-refresh 1080p gaming. This combination ranks 945th out of 1637 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the database. The measured frames per second across twelve resolution/settings combinations reveal a system that is consistently GPU-bound at higher resolutions but begins to show CPU headroom at 1080p, where the 16-core Raptor Lake processor can push the RTX 4060 to its limits.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals the GPU as the primary limiting component. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 115.2 fps at 1920x1080 to 88.3 fps at 2560x1440, then further to 57.3 fps at 3840x2160. This represents a 50.3% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a typical scaling pattern for a GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. The RTX 4060's 272.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions, particularly when texture detail increases.

The scaling pattern shifts dramatically when moving from Low to Ultra settings. At 1080p, the difference between Low (186.9 fps) and Ultra (89.6 fps) is 97.3 fps, a 52.1% drop. At 4K, the same settings comparison shows Low at 90.8 fps versus Ultra at 44.1 fps, a 51.4% reduction. This consistency suggests that the RTX 4060's rendering pipeline, with its 3072 shading units and 48 ROPs, is the limiting factor regardless of resolution. However, the 1080p Low result of 186.9 fps indicates that the CPU is not holding back the GPU at lower settings, as the Core i7-13700K's boost clock of 5.40 GHz provides ample single-thread performance.

The most telling data point is the 1440p Medium result of 101.2 fps, which is only 12.1% lower than the 1080p Medium result of 134 fps. This relatively modest drop suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combination, where the GPU's 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is utilized efficiently without the memory bandwidth constraints that appear at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 945 out of 1637 places this system in the 57.7th percentile of all tested combinations. This is a solid mid-pack position, reflecting the balance between the CPU and GPU. The Core i7-13700K is a high-end processor, sitting in the 93rd percentile against all CPUs, while the RTX 4060 is more modest, ranking in the 66th percentile against all GPUs. The combination's rank suggests that the GPU is the constraining factor in most scenarios, which aligns with the resolution scaling analysis.

Compared to the CPU's nearest rivals, the i7-13700K shows a deltaPct of -0.1% against the Intel Core i7-13700KF (avg score 47334), essentially a tie. The AMD EPYC 4364P is 0.3% ahead (avg score 47131), while the Intel Core i9-12900F is 0.4% behind (avg score 47081). The AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 is 0.5% ahead (avg score 47527). These small deltas indicate that the i7-13700K is well-positioned among its peers, with no meaningful performance gap in either direction.

For the GPU, the RTX 4060's nearest rivals show similar clustering. The AMD Radeon RX 6600M is 0.6% ahead (avg score 23321), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti is 0.7% ahead (avg score 23338), the Intel Arc B580 is 0.7% behind (avg score 23021), and the AMD Radeon 760M is 0.8% behind (avg score 22999). This tight grouping confirms that the RTX 4060 delivers performance that is squarely in the mainstream segment, with no single rival offering a decisive advantage.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 provides the best balance, with High settings delivering 88.3 fps and Medium settings reaching 101.2 fps. At 4K, even Low settings only reach 90.8 fps, while 1080p High settings hit 115.2 fps.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4060's average benchmark score is 23181, placing it 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321), 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23338), 0.7% ahead of the Intel Arc B580 (23021), and 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon 760M (22999).

Q: Is the Core i7-13700K a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The 1080p Low result of 186.9 fps suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the i7-13700K's boost clock of 5.40 GHz and 16 cores provide sufficient headroom. The GPU's rendering capabilities cap performance before the CPU becomes a constraint.

Q: What is the 4K performance like at Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combination averages 44.1 fps, which is below the 60 fps threshold for smooth gameplay. Lowering to High settings at 4K yields 57.3 fps, still marginal for competitive play.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its rivals?

A: The i7-13700K scores 39000 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, with its nearest rivals showing deltas of -0.1% (i7-13700KF), 0.3% (EPYC 4364P), 0.4% (i9-12900F), and -0.5% (Ryzen 9 PRO 5945). All scores are within 1% of each other.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM limit performance at higher resolutions?

A: The measured data shows a 50.3% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings, which is consistent with the RTX 4060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth becoming a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4060 delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 186.9 fps, Medium settings reach 134 fps, High settings achieve 115.2 fps, and Ultra settings output 89.6 fps. The spread from Low to Ultra is 97.3 fps, indicating that settings have a significant impact on performance at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain respectable but show a clear step down. Low settings average 138.6 fps, Medium settings hit 101.2 fps, High settings reach 88.3 fps, and Ultra settings drop to 62.6 fps. The 1440p Medium result of 101.2 fps is particularly noteworthy, as it maintains triple-digit performance while providing better visual quality than Low.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4060 struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings average 90.8 fps, Medium settings reach 65.3 fps, High settings hit 57.3 fps, and Ultra settings fall to 44.1 fps. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration below 50 fps, and even 4K High barely exceeds 60 fps. This confirms that 4K gaming is possible but requires settings compromises.

The data also reveals a consistent pattern across resolutions: the gap between Low and Medium settings is smaller than the gap between High and Ultra. At 1080p, the Low-to-Medium difference is 52.9 fps, while the High-to-Ultra difference is 25.6 fps. At 4K, the Low-to-Medium difference is 25.5 fps, while the High-to-Ultra difference is 13.2 fps. This suggests that the Ultra preset includes effects that disproportionately impact the RTX 4060's performance.

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. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by the 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5505. For a fast-paced FPS like Lockdown Protocol, this single-thread capability is crucial for maintaining high frame rates.

The CPU's multi-threaded performance is equally impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39000 and a PassMark multi-thread score of 45887. The 3DMark max-threads score of 12412 and the 16-thread score of 10717 indicate that the processor can handle heavily threaded workloads. However, in Lockdown Protocol, the measured FPS data suggests that the game is not fully utilizing all 16 cores, as performance scales more with GPU settings than with CPU capabilities.

The i7-13700K's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample memory hierarchy for game data. The 125 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support allow for flexible system configurations. The processor's 93rd percentile ranking against all CPUs confirms that it is a high-end part, but the combo's 945th rank out of 1637 shows that the RTX 4060 prevents the system from reaching the top tiers.

Settings Recommendations

For Lockdown Protocol, the measured data supports 2560x1440 with Medium settings as the optimal configuration for this combination. The 101.2 fps average at 1440p Medium provides a smooth experience while maintaining reasonable visual quality. This setting offers a 14.6% improvement over 1440p High (88.3 fps) and a 37.9% improvement over 1440p Ultra (62.6 fps), making it the best balance of performance and fidelity.

At 1920x1080, High settings deliver 115.2 fps, which is ideal for competitive play on high-refresh-rate monitors. The 1080p Ultra result of 89.6 fps is still smooth, but the 22.2% drop from High to Ultra may not justify the visual gains. For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, 1080p Low at 186.9 fps provides the highest possible performance, though the visual compromise is significant.

For 4K gaming, the data suggests that High settings at 57.3 fps are the maximum playable configuration, though players seeking 60 fps should consider Medium settings at 65.3 fps. The 4K Ultra result of 44.1 fps is below the playable threshold and should be avoided. The 4K Low result of 90.8 fps shows that the GPU can handle 4K when settings are reduced, but the image quality penalty may be too severe for most users.

The overall recommendation is to use 1440p Medium for the best experience, with 1080p High or 4K Medium as alternatives depending on display capabilities and performance priorities. The RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1440p gaming, but the 128-bit memory bus limits 4K performance, making 1440p the resolution where this combination performs most efficiently.