Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i7-14700F + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT

Lockdown Protocol, a fast-paced FPS released on 2024-03-11, presents an interesting stress test for this pairing of an Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT. The measured data shows a combination that scales predictably across resolutions and settings, with the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads providing a solid foundation while the GPU's 20 GB of GDDR6 memory ensures headroom at higher resolutions. This analysis explores how the two components interact, where bottlenecks emerge, and what the benchmark results imply for users seeking optimal performance.

FAQ

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

A: This combination ranks 337th out of 1637 tested combos, placing it in the top 20.6% of all configurations. The percentileVsAllCpus of 94 and percentileVsAllGpus of 82 suggest a balanced pairing, though the CPU holds a higher relative standing than the GPU.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700F averages a benchmark score of 54097, sitting just 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (54450) and 1.1% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54681). It outperforms the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 by 1.2% and the AMD EPYC 7313P by 1.7%.

Q: What is the best performance at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 133.4 avg FPS, which is the highest measured at that resolution. The Medium preset follows at 96.4 avg FPS, while High and Ultra drop to 80 and 60.6 avg FPS respectively.

Q: Does the GPU outperform its closest competitors?

A: The Radeon RX 7900 XT's average benchmark score is 38358. It matches the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (38349) with a 0% delta, edges out the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (38225) by 0.3%, and trails the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 (38494) by 0.4%. It also beats the RTX 4080 Mobile (38135) by 0.6%.

Q: What settings provide the most balanced experience at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 125 avg FPS, offering a strong balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. The Medium preset reaches 145.4 avg FPS, while Low hits 206.4 and Ultra drops to 93.6.

Q: Can the system maintain high refresh rates at 1080p?

A: Yes, at 1920x1080 the Low preset produces 280.9 avg FPS, Medium achieves 197.7, and High reaches 173.4. Even Ultra maintains 132.4 avg FPS, comfortably exceeding standard 144Hz refresh rates.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that the Low preset offers the most headroom for competitive play, particularly at 2560x1440 where it delivers 206.4 avg FPS. This is 65.1% higher than the High preset's 125 avg FPS at the same resolution. For users prioritizing smoothness, Low at 1440p provides an excellent balance of resolution and frame rate, more than doubling the 60 FPS threshold common in gaming.

However, the Medium preset presents a compelling alternative for those wanting improved visuals without sacrificing playability. At 2560x1440, Medium achieves 145.4 avg FPS, which is 16.3% faster than High's 125 avg FPS while presumably offering better visual quality than Low. The gap between Medium and High narrows at 1080p, where Medium hits 197.7 compared to High's 173.4 — a 14.0% difference that makes Medium the more attractive option at lower resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset's 96.4 avg FPS represents the best balance, as High drops to 80 and Ultra falls to 60.6. Low at 4K reaches 133.4 avg FPS, but such aggressive settings likely compromise visual quality significantly. The data indicates that Medium is the sweet spot across all resolutions when considering the tradeoff between performance and image quality, with Ultra generally reserved for users who prioritize visuals over frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F brings 20 cores and 28 threads from the Raptor Lake architecture, running on a 10 nm process with a 2.10 GHz base clock and 5.40 GHz boost clock. This configuration produces strong synthetic benchmarks: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 35443 and singlecore score of 5003, plus a Geekbench multicore score of 16571. The CPU's 33 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache contribute to its 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's influence is most apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. At 1920x1080, the Low preset's 280.9 avg FPS indicates the CPU can feed frames rapidly, but the scaling from Low to Ultra (280.9 to 132.4) suggests the GPU becomes the limiting factor as settings increase. The CPU's 65W TDP and locked multiplier (multiplierUnlocked: false) mean it operates within a fixed power envelope, yet its boost clock of 5.40 GHz provides ample single-thread performance for FPS titles.

The benchmark results position the i7-14700F just behind the Ryzen 9 9900X and 9900X3D, with deltas of -0.6% and -1.1% respectively. This near-parity means the CPU is unlikely to bottleneck the RX 7900 XT in most scenarios, though the 20-core configuration may be overkill for a game that likely scales well with fewer, faster cores. The PassMark single-thread score of 4261 and floating point math score of 108275 reinforce the CPU's balanced capability for both gaming and compute-heavy tasks.

How This Combo Ranks

Ranking 337th out of 1637 tested combos places this configuration in the upper quintile of all pairings tested for Lockdown Protocol. This position reflects a system that is clearly capable of high performance but is not at the absolute apex, given that 336 other combinations achieved better results. The CPU's 94th percentile standing versus the GPU's 82nd percentile suggests the processor is relatively stronger than the graphics card, potentially meaning the GPU is the more limiting component.

The combo rank implies that users could see meaningful improvements by pairing this CPU with a more powerful GPU, though the RX 7900 XT's 82nd percentile is still respectable. Alternatively, the rank might reflect that some competing combos use higher-end CPUs or GPUs that push frame rates higher, especially at lower resolutions where CPU headroom matters. The deltaPct values for the GPU's nearest rivals — all within ±0.6% — indicate the RX 7900 XT is tightly clustered with its peers, so the ranking gap likely stems from CPU differences or system-level factors.

Given the 1637 total combos, a rank of 337 means this pairing beats approximately 79.4% of all tested configurations. This is a strong result for a mainstream desktop CPU paired with a high-end GPU, suggesting the i7-14700F does not significantly hold back the RX 7900 XT in Lockdown Protocol. The data measured (dataIsMeasured: true) adds confidence that these rankings reflect real-world performance rather than estimates.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a 5 nm process, brings 5376 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 192 ROPs to the table. Its 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus delivers 800.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the boost clock reaches 2394 MHz. These specifications produce a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5623 and a PassMark G3D score of 29009, placing the GPU in the 82nd percentile.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's VRAM capacity is likely a key factor at higher resolutions. The 20 GB allocation allows Ultra settings at 3840x2160, even if the 60.6 avg FPS suggests the GPU is heavily taxed. The memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s supports the frame rates observed, and the pixel rate of 459.6 GPixel/s helps maintain throughput at 4K. The GPU's 300W TDP and 700W suggested PSU indicate a power-hungry component, but its end-of-life production status means it represents the peak of the RDNA 3 generation.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 38358 places it in a tight competitive cluster. Its 0% delta with the RTX 5080 Mobile (38349) shows near-identical raw performance, while the 0.6% lead over the RTX 4080 Mobile (38135) is marginal. The FP32 performance of 51.48 TFLOPS and texture rate of 804.4 GTexel/s provide theoretical ceilings that the measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol does not fully exploit, indicating the game is not solely GPU-bound in all scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 280.9 avg FPS, which is the highest measured across all resolutions and settings. Medium follows at 197.7, High at 173.4, and Ultra at 132.4. The drop from Low to Ultra is 52.9%, showing a significant performance cost for maximum visual quality. The 1080p results demonstrate the system's ability to drive high refresh rate monitors, with even Ultra surpassing 120 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 206.4 avg FPS, which is 26.5% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium hits 145.4, High reaches 125, and Ultra drops to 93.6. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p is a 54.7% reduction, similar to 1080p's 52.9% drop, suggesting consistent GPU scaling with settings. The 1440p High result of 125 avg FPS is notable as it aligns closely with the 4K Low result of 133.4, indicating that resolution and settings tradeoffs can yield similar performance.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset produces 133.4 avg FPS, which is 35.4% below the 1080p Low figure. Medium drops to 96.4, High to 80, and Ultra to 60.6. The 4K Ultra result is exactly 60.6 avg FPS, hovering near the 60 FPS baseline. The progression from 1080p Low to 4K Low shows a 52.5% reduction, while 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra shows a 54.2% reduction, indicating resolution scaling remains consistent across settings.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a clear pattern of FPS degradation as resolution increases, with the 1080p Low result of 280.9 avg FPS dropping to 206.4 at 1440p (-26.5%) and 133.4 at 4K (-52.5%). This suggests that at Low settings, the system is not purely GPU-bound, as the 4K result still exceeds what a purely GPU-limited scenario might predict. The CPU's strong single-core performance (Cinebench R23 singlecore: 5003) likely sustains frame delivery even at higher resolutions.

For the Ultra preset, the scaling from 132.4 avg FPS at 1080p to 93.6 at 1440p (-29.3%) and 60.6 at 4K (-54.2%) shows a similar pattern. The consistency of these percentage drops across settings implies that the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises, which is expected given the 20 GB VRAM and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth. However, the fact that 4K Low (133.4) nearly matches 1440p High (125) suggests that resolution has a more significant impact on performance than settings at this tier.

The limiting component analysis indicates a balanced system where the CPU holds up well at 1080p and the GPU becomes the primary constraint at 4K. The 1080p Low result of 280.9 avg FPS likely approaches the CPU's maximum frame delivery capability, while the 4K Ultra result of 60.6 avg FPS shows the GPU's limits under maximum load. The 2.1x difference between these extremes highlights the range of performance available, with users needing to choose between resolution and settings based on their priorities.