Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a 2024-released FPS that responds decisively to both GPU and CPU headroom, and the pairing of the Intel Core i7-13700K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces a frame-rate curve that tells a clear story about where the bottleneck shifts. Across the measured resolutions—1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160—the data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at 4K, but increasingly CPU-limited as resolution drops. The RTX 5090 D, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus and 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, is a monstrously capable card, yet even it cannot fully mask the demands of the game’s highest presets. The i7-13700K, a 16-core Raptor Lake-S part with 24 threads and a 5.40 GHz boost clock, provides the necessary foundation, but the measured FPS numbers reveal that at 1080p, the processor is the limiting factor in several configs. This analysis breaks down the exact figures, the scaling behavior, and what the results mean for anyone considering this specific combination.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but not uniform across settings, and the pattern reveals a system that transitions from CPU-bound at lower resolutions to GPU-bound at the top. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 340 FPS at 1920x1080 to 295 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 190 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 44% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a massive hit, but the absolute numbers remain high enough to suggest that the RTX 5090 D is still doing most of the heavy lifting. The jump from 1440p to 4K alone costs 105 FPS, or about 36% of the 1440p score, indicating that the GPU’s pixel-pushing capabilities are being taxed heavily at the highest resolution.

At Medium settings, the scaling is slightly less brutal. The average FPS goes from 285 at 1080p to 209 at 1440p, then to 135 at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 1440p is 76 FPS (a 27% drop), while the delta between 1440p and 4K is 74 FPS (a 35% drop). This near-linear degradation suggests that the game’s Medium preset scales predictably with pixel count, and the GPU remains the dominant constraint throughout. However, the min FPS at 4K Medium is 115, which is still comfortably playable, while the max of 155 shows headroom for occasional spikes.

The High preset tells a different story. At 1080p, the average is 249 FPS, which drops to 183 at 1440p and 118 at 4K. The percentage drops are 27% from 1080p to 1440p and 36% from 1440p to 4K, mimicking the Medium pattern. But the key observation is that at 1080p High, the 249 FPS figure is far below the 340 FPS seen at 1080p Low. That 91 FPS gap at the same resolution is too large to be purely GPU-driven, suggesting that the CPU’s 16 cores and 24 threads are being saturated by the game’s higher preset logic, even at a relatively low resolution.

Ultra settings provide the clearest evidence of GPU dominance. The average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 187, at 1440p Ultra it is 137, and at 4K Ultra it is 88. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 50 FPS (27%), and from 1440p to 4K is 49 FPS (36%). The 4K Ultra result of 88 FPS is the lowest measured in the entire dataset, and it underscores that this preset is designed to push even the RTX 5090 D to its limits. The fact that the 1080p Ultra score (187 FPS) is lower than the 1440p High score (183 FPS) is notable—it shows that Ultra settings at 1080p are more demanding than High settings at a higher resolution, which points to a combination of CPU and GPU load.

The limiting component shifts clearly based on resolution. At 4K, all settings show a GPU-bound system, with the RTX 5090 D’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance being the primary driver. At 1440p, the balance tips slightly toward the CPU, especially at Low and Medium settings where frame rates exceed 200 FPS. At 1080p, the i7-13700K’s performance ceiling becomes apparent: the gap between Low (340 FPS) and Ultra (187 FPS) is 153 FPS, and even the best-case Medium score of 285 FPS is well below what the GPU could theoretically deliver if the CPU were not a constraint. The data strongly suggests that for this game, 1440p is the sweet spot where the i7-13700K and RTX 5090 D are best balanced, while 1080p leaves GPU performance on the table.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its 30 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 and DDR5) make it a versatile part, but in Lockdown Protocol, the core count and clock speed are what matter most. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30745 and a single-core score of 2116, alongside a Geekbench multicore score of 19429 and single-core score of 2529. These numbers place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals like the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (average score 46971, a -0.2% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (46654, a 0.5% delta) showing that the i7-13700K is competitive but not the absolute top-tier part.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p, where the measured FPS at Low settings (340 FPS) and Medium settings (285 FPS) are likely hitting the processor’s frame-generation ceiling. The 3dmark_16_threads score of 10717 and the 3dmark_max_threads score of 12412 show strong multi-threaded performance, but the game does not appear to scale perfectly with all 24 threads. The 3dmark_single_thread score of 1136 is less impressive, and the Passmark single-thread score of 4333 suggests that single-core performance is adequate but not exceptional. At 4K, the CPU is less of a factor because the GPU becomes the bottleneck, but at 1080p, the i7-13700K’s 5.40 GHz boost clock is the reason the system can maintain triple-digit frame rates.

The comparison to rivals is instructive. The AMD Ryzen 9 5900 has an average benchmark score of 46971, which is nearly identical to the i7-13700K’s average of 46881 (a -0.2% delta). However, the Ryzen 9 5900 has a different core layout (12 cores, 24 threads), and the fact that the i7-13700K matches it in average score while having a higher boost clock suggests that Lockdown Protocol benefits from the Intel part’s higher frequency. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (average score 47022, -0.3% delta) and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 (46653, 0.5% delta) are similarly close, indicating that the i7-13700K is in a tight performance cluster. For this game, the CPU’s 16 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient, and the measured FPS at 1080p shows that the processor is the limiting factor only at the lowest settings.

The core count matters because Lockdown Protocol, as a multiplayer FPS, likely spawns multiple game logic threads. The i7-13700K’s 16 cores (8 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores, though the FACT PACK does not specify the split) provide ample headroom for background tasks and game engine overhead. The 2 MB L2 cache per core and 80 KB L1 cache per core are standard for Raptor Lake, and the 30 MB shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency. The CPU’s Passmark multithread score of 45887 and integer math score of 154446 are strong indicators of its ability to handle complex game logic, but the fact that the 1080p Low score (340 FPS) is only 55 FPS higher than the 1440p Low score (295 FPS) suggests that the CPU is not the sole limiting factor at lower resolutions—the GPU still has a role to play.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS, 2560x1440 offers the best balance. At Medium settings, the average FPS is 209, with a min of 178 and max of 241. At High settings, it drops to 183 FPS, which is still very smooth. The 4K results are playable but with lower headroom, especially at Ultra where the average is 88 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77712, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, scores 76904 (a 1.1% delta), while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940 (a -1.6% delta). The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79605 (a -2.4% delta).

Q: Is the i7-13700K a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 D at 1080p?

A: Yes, the data suggests so. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 340, which is the highest measured in the dataset, but the GPU is capable of much more. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 187 FPS, and the gap between Low and Ultra at the same resolution (153 FPS) indicates that the CPU’s frame generation limit is being reached at lower settings.

Q: What are the exact FPS numbers for 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 88. The FACT PACK does not list min or max FPS for this configuration, but the average is the lowest of all measured rows.

Q: How does the i7-13700K’s benchmark score compare to the AMD Ryzen 9 5900?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881, while the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 scores 46971. The delta is -0.2%, meaning the Ryzen 9 5900 is marginally ahead in average score, but the difference is negligible in practice.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D’s 32 GB memory help in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for this game. The measured FPS at 4K High (118 FPS) and 4K Medium (135 FPS) indicates that memory capacity is not a limiting factor, as the game does not appear to exceed even a fraction of the available VRAM.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides exact average FPS figures for three resolutions and four settings, with min and max values only for Medium presets. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 340 FPS, Medium averages 285 FPS (with a min of 243 and max of 328), High averages 249 FPS, and Ultra averages 187 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 153 FPS, and the Medium min of 243 FPS is higher than the Ultra average of 187 FPS, showing that the Low and Medium presets are significantly less demanding.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 295 FPS, Medium 209 FPS (min 178, max 241), High 183 FPS, and Ultra 137 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is consistent: Low loses 45 FPS, Medium loses 76 FPS, High loses 66 FPS, and Ultra loses 50 FPS. The Medium preset’s max of 241 FPS is notable because it exceeds the High preset’s average of 183 FPS, indicating that Medium is a more fluid experience at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 190 FPS, Medium 135 FPS (min 115, max 155), High 118 FPS, and Ultra 88 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is even steeper: Low loses 105 FPS, Medium loses 74 FPS, High loses 65 FPS, and Ultra loses 49 FPS. The 4K Medium min of 115 FPS is the lowest min recorded in the entire dataset, but it remains above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The 4K Ultra average of 88 FPS is the only measured result below 100 FPS, and it is the clear outlier in an otherwise high-performance dataset.

The Medium preset is the only one with min and max values recorded, and these are useful for understanding frame-time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range is 243 to 328 FPS, a spread of 85 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 178 to 241 FPS, a spread of 63 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 115 to 155 FPS, a spread of 40 FPS. The narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is more consistently loaded, while the wider spread at 1080p suggests CPU-related frame pacing issues.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 16th out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This top-1% placement is unsurprising given the individual strengths of both components. The RTX 5090 D sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, and the i7-13700K is in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, so their pairing produces a system that is near the top of the database’s rankings. The rank of 16 out of 2828 means there are only 15 other CPU-GPU combinations that achieve higher average FPS in this game, and those are likely to feature even more powerful processors or specialized configurations.

The rank does not tell the whole story, however. The measured FPS data shows that this combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, where it delivers triple-digit frame rates across all settings. At 4K Ultra, the 88 FPS average is still respectable, but it is likely the reason the combo does not rank higher—other combinations may achieve higher 4K scores. The nearest CPU rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 and Ryzen 9 7845HX, have similar average benchmark scores, but the GPU’s 92nd percentile ranking is what drives the overall combo rank. The fact that this combo ranks 16th out of 2828 indicates that it is a top-tier setup for Lockdown Protocol, with only a handful of alternatives offering better performance.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the highest frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 340 FPS, which is the best measured result in the dataset. This is ideal for competitive play where response time is paramount, but the visual quality is obviously reduced. At 1440p, Low still offers 295 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset provides a better balance: at 1080p, it averages 285 FPS with a min of 243, and at 1440p, it averages 209 FPS with a min of 178. These are the only presets with recorded min and max values, and the min FPS figures suggest that Medium offers consistent frame pacing without severe drops.

For a more visually demanding experience, the High preset at 1440p (183 FPS) is a strong choice, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining a frame rate above 180 FPS. At 4K, the High preset (118 FPS) is the best option for those who prioritize resolution, as it stays above 100 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K (88 FPS) is the only configuration that dips below 100 FPS, and it is only recommended for players with G-Sync or FreeSync displays who can tolerate the lower average. The data suggests that the sweet spot is 1440p High or 4K High, depending on whether the user prioritizes frame rate or resolution. The Medium preset at 4K (135 FPS) is also viable, offering a 17 FPS advantage over High at the same resolution, but with a min of 115 FPS that is still smooth. Overall, the recommendation is to use Medium or High settings at 1440p for the best balance of performance and quality, with Low reserved for maximum competitive advantage and Ultra only for those who accept the 88 FPS average at 4K.