Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, an FPS released in 2024, places measurable demands on both processor and graphics card. The data for the Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT combination shows a system that is capable of high refresh rates at mainstream resolutions but begins to struggle when settings and pixel counts are pushed to their limits. The benchmark results provide a clear picture of where this pairing excels and where its bottlenecks emerge.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data indicates a clear hierarchy of performance across the four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 200.2 FPS, which is the highest raw frame rate recorded for this combo. This suggests that for competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset is the optimal choice for maximizing fluidity. The Medium preset still provides a very playable 139.8 FPS, offering a balance between visual quality and speed. The High preset drops to 124.4 FPS, while the Ultra preset falls further to 91.6 FPS.

For 2560x1440, the trend continues. The Low preset yields an average of 146.6 FPS, which remains exceptionally high and suitable for fast-paced action. The Medium preset delivers 102 FPS, which is still smooth, and the High preset produces 90.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution drops to 68.8 FPS, which may feel less fluid on high-refresh-rate displays. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot at 1440p, providing a substantial visual upgrade over Low while retaining an average frame rate above 100.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes significantly. The Low preset is the only option that provides a truly comfortable experience, with an average of 96.1 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 69.3 FPS, and the High preset falls to 61.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the most demanding configuration tested, yielding just 41.4 FPS. For a 4K experience, the data strongly recommends the Low preset to maintain playable frame rates, as the jump to Medium results in a significant performance penalty of over 25 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its configuration includes a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. In CPU-centric benchmarks, this chip demonstrates substantial multi-threaded capability, scoring 35,443 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 14,886 in Cinebench R20 multi-core. Its single-thread performance is also strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5,003.

In the context of Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data and handle game logic. The high single-thread performance is crucial for maintaining high frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the limiting factor. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 200.2 FPS, a figure that highlights the CPU's ability to process frames quickly. The processor’s 33 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory contribute to its capacity for high-throughput workloads.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 54,097 places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs tested. When compared to its nearest rivals in the database, the data shows it is 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and 1.1% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D. However, it outperforms the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 by 1.2% and the AMD EPYC 7313P by 1.7%. These comparisons suggest that the i7-14700F is a top-tier consumer processor, and its performance is unlikely to be a significant bottleneck in most gaming scenarios, especially when paired with a mid-range GPU like the RX 6750 XT.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is rated at 2600 MHz, with a game clock of 2495 MHz and a base clock of 2150 MHz. The GPU's memory capacity of 12 GB is a critical factor at higher resolutions and settings, where texture data demands can exceed the capacity of smaller memory pools.

In GPU-specific benchmarks, the RX 6750 XT scores 20,700 in Passmark G3D and 13.31 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance. Its percentile ranking against all GPUs is 79, indicating it sits above the majority of graphics cards. Compared to its nearest rivals, the data shows it is 0.2% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 5600M, but 0.3% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile and 0.9% slower than the AMD Radeon 880M. It is also 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080.

The GPU's influence on Lockdown Protocol is evident in the scaling of frame rates with resolution and settings. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 41.4, a dramatic decrease from the 1080p Low result of 200.2 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions and graphical presets. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for the High preset at 4K, which achieves 61.7 FPS, but the Ultra preset's demands push the system to its limits. The data implies that while the GPU is capable for 1080p and 1440p gaming, its performance ceiling is reached when demanding 4K Ultra settings in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combined performance of the Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT in Lockdown Protocol places it at rank 835 out of 1,637 tested combos. This mid-pack ranking suggests that while this is a competent system, it is not among the top performers for this specific game. The rank is influenced by the GPU's performance, which is in the 79th percentile, and the CPU's performance, which is in the 94th percentile. The noticeable gap between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's lower percentile suggests that the graphics card is the limiting factor in this pairing.

The data indicates that this combo is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming, as evidenced by the 200.2 FPS average on Low settings. It also handles 1440p with a good degree of success on Medium settings. However, for 4K gaming, users would need to compromise significantly on visual settings to maintain playable frame rates. The combo’s rank of 835 out of 1637 reinforces the idea that it is a balanced mid-range system, capable of delivering a smooth experience at standard resolutions but not designed for extreme 4K Ultra performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 200.2 FPS at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700F is 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X in average benchmark score but is 1.2% ahead of the Intel Xeon Phi 7290.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is ranked in the 79th percentile of all GPUs in the database.

Q: Which settings preset is recommended for 2560x1440 resolution?

A: The Medium preset is recommended for 2560x1440, as it delivers an average of 102 FPS, balancing visual quality with high frame rates.

Q: Is the combo capable of 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but only with the Low settings preset, which achieves an average of 96.1 FPS at 3840x2160. Higher presets result in significantly lower performance.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The combo is ranked 835 out of 1,637 tested combinations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are as follows: the Low preset achieves 200.2 FPS, the Medium preset achieves 139.8 FPS, the High preset achieves 124.4 FPS, and the Ultra preset achieves 91.6 FPS. This shows a clear performance degradation as settings increase, with the difference between Low and Medium being the largest single-step drop at 60.4 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates are: Low at 146.6 FPS, Medium at 102 FPS, High at 90.7 FPS, and Ultra at 68.8 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings shows a reduction in performance, with the Low preset dropping by 53.6 FPS and the Ultra preset dropping by 22.8 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are: Low at 96.1 FPS, Medium at 69.3 FPS, High at 61.7 FPS, and Ultra at 41.4 FPS. The performance at 4K is notably lower, with the Ultra preset dropping by 50.2 FPS compared to the 1440p Ultra result. The data shows that the gap between settings presets widens at higher resolutions, indicating a greater strain on the GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals how frame rates scale as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low settings preset, the average FPS drops from 200.2 at 1080p to 146.6 at 1440p, a reduction of 53.6 FPS (26.8% lower). Moving to 4K, the FPS drops further to 96.1, which is 104.1 FPS lower than the 1080p result. This indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU is heavily burdened by the increase in pixel count.

At the Ultra settings preset, the scaling is even more pronounced. The average FPS drops from 91.6 at 1080p to 68.8 at 1440p, a reduction of 22.8 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS plummets to 41.4, which is 50.2 FPS lower than the 1440p result and 50.2 FPS lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline suggests that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at 4K Ultra, as the combination of high resolution and demanding settings overwhelms its processing capabilities and memory bandwidth.

The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is larger for the Ultra preset (54.8% lower) compared to the Low preset (52.0% lower). This indicates that the higher settings amplify the GPU's workload more than the resolution increase alone. The data implies that for this combo, 1080p and 1440p are the target resolutions for a smooth experience, while 4K should be reserved for less demanding settings or less graphically intense titles.