Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i7-14700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a fascinating performance profile in Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title that clearly rewards both CPU muscle and GPU bandwidth. This combination ranks 295th out of 1,637 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 18% of all systems evaluated. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system that scales predictably with graphical load while maintaining playable performance even at the most demanding configurations. What stands out immediately is the relationship between the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads and the GPU's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory, a pairing that seems well-balanced for this title's particular demands.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear and expected pattern: as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, average FPS drops significantly across all settings. At High settings, the system delivers 175.1 FPS at 1080p, falls to 128.5 FPS at 1440p, and bottoms out at 82.1 FPS at 4K. This represents a 53.1% reduction from 1080p to 4K at High settings. The scaling is even more pronounced at Low settings, where 283.4 FPS at 1080p drops to 207.4 FPS at 1440p and then to 131.3 FPS at 4K, a 53.7% decline overall.

The pattern suggests that at 1080p, the system is partially CPU-bound, given the massive frame rates that exceed 200 FPS at lower settings. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor, as evidenced by the steeper drop-off. The gap between Medium and High settings at 4K is relatively narrow, 95.8 FPS versus 82.1 FPS, which indicates that the GPU is struggling with the increased pixel count more than with the additional shading complexity. Interestingly, the jump from High to Ultra at 4K costs 18.7 FPS (from 82.1 to 63.4), while the same jump at 1080p costs 44.7 FPS (from 175.1 to 130.4), suggesting diminishing returns from Ultra settings at lower resolutions where the CPU can still feed frames.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 295 out of 1,637 tested combinations places it in the 82nd percentile of all systems tested in Lockdown Protocol. This is a strong showing, though not elite, the top 18% of combos outperform this pairing. The CPU itself sits at the 94th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU is at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs. This slight mismatch, CPU ranking higher than GPU, hints that the RTX 5070 may be the more limiting component in this specific game.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context: the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X scores 0.6% higher on average, while the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is 1.1% ahead. Interestingly, the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 and AMD EPYC 7313P trail by 1.2% and 1.7%, respectively. These are all within a narrow 2.3% band, indicating the i7-14700F is competitively positioned. For the GPU, the RTX 5070's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (0.2% ahead), NVIDIA Tesla M40 (0.5% behind), RTX 3090 (0.6% ahead), and Radeon Pro 580X (0.7% behind), again, a very tight cluster around the 41,700 average score mark.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070 brings 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is crucial for Lockdown Protocol at higher resolutions, where the 4K Ultra preset demands substantial frame buffer capacity. The GPU's boost clock of 2512 MHz and base clock of 2325 MHz, combined with 6,144 shading units and 80 ROPs, deliver a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s. These specs translate to 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, which is substantial for a 250 W card.

The GPU's 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41,687, places it just slightly above the RTX 3090 in the PassMark G3D test (29,137 score). However, in actual game performance, the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (63.4 FPS) suggests the card is handling the load competently but not overwhelmingly. The 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores indicate this is a modern architecture capable of ray tracing and DLSS features, though the measured data doesn't specifically isolate those workloads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all presets: 283.4 FPS on Low, 200.8 FPS on Medium, 175.1 FPS on High, and 130.4 FPS on Ultra. These numbers indicate the i7-14700F can keep the GPU fed even at low settings, where frame rates exceed 280 FPS, a scenario where CPU bottlenecking would typically surface. The 1080p Ultra result of 130.4 FPS is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong: 207.4 FPS on Low, 148.5 FPS on Medium, 128.5 FPS on High, and 95.7 FPS on Ultra. The drop from High to Ultra at 1440p is 32.8 FPS, which is a more moderate penalty than the 44.7 FPS drop seen at 1080p. This suggests the GPU is becoming more of a factor at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the system maintains playability: 131.3 FPS on Low, 95.8 FPS on Medium, 82.1 FPS on High, and 63.4 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra result barely clears the 60 FPS mark, which is notable for a demanding FPS title. The gap between Medium and High at 4K (13.7 FPS) is smaller than the gap between High and Ultra (18.7 FPS), indicating that Ultra settings impose a significant additional load at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution. At 1080p, Ultra settings at 130.4 FPS provide the best visual quality without sacrificing smoothness, the 44.7 FPS penalty from High to Ultra is worth it since the frame rate remains well above 100 FPS. At 1440p, High settings at 128.5 FPS offer the best balance; Ultra at 95.7 FPS is still smooth, but the 25.5% FPS reduction may not justify the visual gains on a 1440p panel.

For 4K users, High settings at 82.1 FPS deliver a solid experience, while Ultra at 63.4 FPS barely maintains 60 FPS. The data suggests that Medium at 4K (95.8 FPS) is a strong middle ground for players who prioritize frame rate over maximum visual fidelity. Low settings at any resolution produce frame rates above 130 FPS, suitable for competitive play where response time matters more than graphics. The measured rows indicate that this system can handle any preset at any resolution, but the most balanced configuration is High at 1440p or High at 4K for those with high-refresh-rate monitors.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, the measured 4K Ultra average FPS is 63.4 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold, though just barely.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 175.1 at 1080p to 82.1 at 4K, a reduction of 93 FPS or approximately 53%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At Low settings, the system hits 283.4 FPS at 1080p, which suggests the CPU is the limiting factor since the GPU could likely render more frames if fed faster.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p 144Hz monitor?

A: High settings at 2560x1440 produce 128.5 FPS, which is suitable for a 144Hz display. Ultra at 95.7 FPS would also work but with a 25.5% performance penalty.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 295th out of 1,637 combos, placing it in the top 18% of all tested configurations in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: Does the RTX 5070's 12 GB VRAM suffice for 4K Ultra in this game?

A: The 4K Ultra preset runs at 63.4 FPS, indicating the 12 GB GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this title at that resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 2.10 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5,003 and multi-core score of 35,443. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache helps feed the GPU with game data, and the dual-channel memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 offers flexibility.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes apparent at lower resolutions. The 1080p Low setting result of 283.4 FPS demonstrates that the i7-14700F can sustain very high frame rates, but the 4K Low result of 131.3 FPS shows the GPU becomes more dominant at higher pixel counts. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,097, places it just slightly behind the Ryzen 9 9900X (0.6% delta) but ahead of the Xeon Phi 7290 and EPYC 7313P. This competitive position means the i7-14700F is unlikely to be the primary bottleneck in most gaming scenarios, particularly at 1440p and 4K where the measured FPS drops align more closely with GPU rendering load than CPU throughput limits. The PassMark multi-thread score of 41,765 and single-thread score of 4,261 further confirm the processor's balanced capabilities for both game logic and physics calculations.