Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics. The measured frame rates reveal a system where the GPU's immense power is often held in check by the CPU, particularly at lower resolutions, while the game's settings scale predictably with the graphics card's capabilities. This analysis breaks down the measured data to understand where this combo excels and where its performance is constrained.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a classic pattern of resolution-dependent scaling, but with a notable twist that points directly at the CPU as a limiting factor. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 335.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 279.2 FPS, a reduction of roughly 17%. The jump to 4K further reduces the average to 179.5 FPS, which is about 36% lower than the 1440p figure. This steep decline as resolution increases is expected, as the GPU is tasked with rendering more pixels.

However, the most revealing aspect is the scaling at higher settings. At Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 178.2 FPS at 1080p to 130.5 FPS at 1440p (a 27% decrease) and then to 81.9 FPS at 4K (a 37% decrease from 1440p). The fact that the percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is larger at Ultra than at Low suggests that the CPU is no longer the primary bottleneck at the highest quality presets; instead, the GPU's workload becomes more dominant.

The implication is clear: at 1080p, especially with lower settings, the Intel Core i7-14700F is likely the limiting component, preventing the RTX 5090 from reaching even higher frame rates. As resolution and settings increase, the burden shifts to the GPU, and the scaling becomes more linear. The 4K results, where even Low settings only produce 179.5 FPS, indicate that the RTX 5090 is being fully utilized, but the sheer pixel count of 3840x2160 is a formidable challenge for any hardware.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting high refresh rate monitors, the data suggests that 1080p with Medium settings offers a compelling balance. The measured 272.9 FPS is significantly higher than the 238.5 FPS at High, and it remains well above the 178.2 FPS seen at Ultra. This provides a substantial performance headroom while presumably maintaining a good visual experience.

At 1440p, the choice becomes more nuanced. The High preset delivers 171.3 FPS, which is excellent for most high-refresh displays. Dropping to Medium increases this to 201.9 FPS, a 15% improvement that could be crucial for 200Hz+ monitors. However, the jump to Ultra costs a significant 41 FPS, bringing the average down to 130.5 FPS. For a competitive FPS, the Medium preset at 1440p appears to be the sweet spot, offering the highest frame rates without the visual compromise of Low.

At 4K, the priority shifts to maintaining playability. The High preset's 109.9 FPS is respectable, but the Ultra preset's 81.9 FPS is more demanding. The data shows that the step from High to Ultra at 4K costs 28 FPS, a 25% reduction. Given that the game is a FPS, the Medium preset at 129.3 FPS provides the most balanced experience, ensuring smooth gameplay while retaining a decent level of graphical fidelity. Low settings at 4K (179.5 FPS) are an option for maximum competitive advantage, but the visual trade-off is likely too severe for most.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this pairing is positioned in the top tier. The benchmark database places this specific combo at rank 13 out of 1637 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This puts it in the top 1% of all configurations, which is unsurprising given the components involved.

The ranking indicates that this system is faster than 99% of the other tested combinations. This is a testament to the raw power of the RTX 5090 and the capable multi-threaded performance of the Core i7-14700F. While the CPU may hold back performance at lower resolutions, the overall package is still exceptionally strong. The data suggests that for the vast majority of users, this combo will deliver an elite-level experience in Lockdown Protocol, with only a handful of more exotic or more balanced configurations achieving higher scores.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average frame rates provides a detailed picture of the combo's performance across all tested scenarios. At 1080p, the results are: Low 335.3 FPS, Medium 272.9 FPS, High 238.5 FPS, and Ultra 178.2 FPS. This shows a clear and consistent reduction in performance as graphical fidelity increases, with a total spread of 157.1 FPS between the lowest and highest settings.

Moving to 1440p, the numbers are: Low 279.2 FPS, Medium 201.9 FPS, High 171.3 FPS, and Ultra 130.5 FPS. The performance drop from 1080p is noticeable across all settings, but the relative gap between settings remains similar. At 4K, the results are: Low 179.5 FPS, Medium 129.3 FPS, High 109.9 FPS, and Ultra 81.9 FPS. The data here shows that the Ultra preset is the only one that dips below the 100 FPS mark, indicating that 4K gaming at maximum settings is possible but will require a tolerance for lower refresh rates.

The scaling pattern across all resolutions is consistent: each step up in settings from Low to Ultra incurs a significant performance penalty. The largest single drop is observed from High to Ultra at 4K, costing 28 FPS, while the smallest is from Medium to High at 1080p, costing 34.4 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset, while visually demanding, may not offer a proportional performance-to-fidelity ratio compared to High.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the undisputed powerhouse of this configuration. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, it offers a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. This is critical for Lockdown Protocol at high resolutions and with high-resolution textures, as the data shows the GPU's performance scaling directly with the resolution increases.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz, are substantial. The benchmark results for the card itself, such as a Passmark G3D score of 39650 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14411, place it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. In this game, the RTX 5090's role is clearly to push frame rates at higher resolutions and settings. The 4K High result of 109.9 FPS demonstrates that it is capable of handling the game at 4K, but the CPU becomes a more significant factor at 1080p, as evidenced by the relatively smaller FPS gains when lowering settings from High to Low at that resolution.

The data implies that the RTX 5090 is not being fully utilized at 1080p Low, where the 335.3 FPS is likely more dependent on the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with draw calls. The GPU's immense power is best showcased at 4K, where it still manages to deliver playable frame rates even at Ultra settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its boost clock of 5.40 GHz is impressive for single-threaded tasks, which is often critical for FPS games. However, the measured data suggests that this processor struggles to keep up with the RTX 5090 at lower resolutions.

At 1080p, the gap between Low (335.3 FPS) and Medium (272.9 FPS) settings is 62.4 FPS. This is a substantial difference that is likely not purely GPU-bound. In many games, the difference between Low and Medium settings is more heavily weighted on GPU effects, but the fact that the frame rate is still so high suggests the CPU is hitting its limits. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35443 and single-core score of 5003 show it is a top-tier consumer chip, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs.

The data indicates the CPU is a bottleneck primarily at 1080p with lower settings. As the resolution increases to 4K, the GPU's workload becomes the dominant factor, and the CPU's role becomes less critical. The benchmark results for the CPU, such as the Passmark multithread score of 41765, confirm its high multi-threaded capability, but Lockdown Protocol at 1080p appears to be more sensitive to single-thread performance and IPC. Its performance is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, with a delta of -0.6%, showing that it is a very competitive choice for this game.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve the highest frame rates?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 with Low settings yields the highest average FPS at 335.3. For a balance of quality and speed, 1440p Medium at 201.9 FPS is a strong option.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 81.9 FPS. This is playable but below the 100 FPS threshold that many players prefer for competitive FPS games.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p, particularly at Low settings, where it prevents the GPU from pushing even higher frame rates. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor due to the sheer pixel count.

Q: Does this combo rank high compared to other tested systems?

A: Yes, this specific combination ranks 13th out of 1637 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 1% of all configurations.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The measured average FPS drops from 171.3 at High to 130.5 at Ultra, a difference of 40.8 FPS. This is a significant cost for the visual upgrade to Ultra.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Low compared to 4K Low?

A: The 1080p Low setting achieves 335.3 FPS, while 4K Low achieves 179.5 FPS. This represents a 155.8 FPS difference, showing the massive impact of resolution on the GPU.