Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol’s measured performance on the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT combination reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strength becomes apparent only at 1080p with lower presets. The data indicates a playable experience across most settings, but with clear trade-offs between visual fidelity and frame rate that buyers should understand before tweaking their configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The jump from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a dramatic and predictable collapse in frame rates across all settings, confirming that the RX 5700 XT is the primary bottleneck in this pairing. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 98.8 at 1080p to 71.5 at 2560x1440, then further down to 44.1 at 4K. That represents a 55% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is a steep curve but not entirely unexpected for a GPU that sits in the 68th percentile of all graphics cards.

The scaling pattern becomes more telling when examining the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 157.1 FPS, which drops to 113.7 at 1440p and 75.3 at 4K. The 4K Low result is actually higher than the 4K High result by 31.2 FPS, suggesting that the GPU’s compute and memory resources are being stretched thin by higher-quality shading and texture work. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient at 1080p, but the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K—75.3 versus 35.2 FPS—shows that the card’s 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the limiting factor, not the CPU.

Interestingly, the CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads, with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, never seem to hold the system back. At 1080p Low, where CPU overhead is typically most visible, the system still delivers 157.1 FPS. The Core i7-14700K ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, scores within 0% deltaPct, meaning the processor is effectively a non-issue. The data suggests that even at 1080p, the RX 5700 XT is the component determining the final frame rate, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS as a baseline, the measured data points to specific presets at each resolution. At 1920x1080, every preset except Ultra clears 60 FPS, with High at 98.8 and Medium at 110.8. Ultra still manages 73.6 FPS, so 1080p users can max out the game without dropping below playable thresholds. The jump from Medium to High costs only 12.0 FPS, while High to Ultra costs 25.2 FPS, making High the sweet spot for visual quality per frame.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. High delivers 71.5 FPS, which is comfortable, but Ultra falls to 54.2 FPS, dipping under the 60 FPS mark. Medium at 82.6 FPS offers a safer margin, and Low at 113.7 FPS is the choice for high-refresh monitors. The recommendation here is to stick with High for balanced visuals, as the 17.3 FPS penalty from Medium to High is acceptable, but the additional 17.3 FPS drop from High to Ultra is not worth the marginal detail increase.

At 3840x2160, the RX 5700 XT struggles. High outputs 44.1 FPS, Medium 55.3 FPS, and Ultra a mere 35.2 FPS. Only Low at 75.3 FPS provides a truly smooth experience. For 4K users, the data suggests either dropping to Low or reducing the resolution to 1440p, as the GPU’s RDNA 1.0 architecture and 8 GB frame buffer are outpaced by the demands of Ultra settings. The 20.0 FPS difference between Low and Medium at 4K is substantial, indicating that Medium is a compromise that may still feel choppy in fast-paced FPS action.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it averages 75.3 FPS. High settings drop to 44.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35.2 FPS, both below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: High provides 71.5 FPS, which is the highest quality preset that remains above 60 FPS. Medium offers 82.6 FPS for a safer margin, while Ultra drops to 54.2 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700K holding back the RX 5700 XT in this game?

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile of all processors, and benchmark results at 1080p Low (157.1 FPS) indicate the GPU is the limiting factor, not the 20-core processor.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 24731, which is 0.1% below the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile and 0.3% above the Intel Arc A350M. It also sits 0.6% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile.

Q: Does increasing settings from Low to Ultra have a linear effect on FPS?

A: No. At 1080p, the drop from Low (157.1 FPS) to Medium (110.8 FPS) is 46.3 FPS, while High to Ultra costs 25.2 FPS. The scaling is steeper at lower presets, suggesting diminishing returns at higher quality levels.

Q: What memory specifications of the RX 5700 XT are relevant to performance?

A: The card has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. These specs are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows 4K Ultra (35.2 FPS) severely stresses the memory subsystem.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 157.1 FPS, Medium 110.8 FPS, High 98.8 FPS, and Ultra 73.6 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 83.5 FPS, which is the largest of any resolution, highlighting the GPU’s sensitivity to shader complexity at lower pixel counts. The 1080p results are all above 60 FPS, making this resolution the only one where every preset is playable.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop across the board. Low yields 113.7 FPS, Medium 82.6 FPS, High 71.5 FPS, and Ultra 54.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 59.5 FPS, as pixel fill rate begins to dominate. Notably, the 1440p High result of 71.5 FPS is only 2.2 FPS higher than the 1080p Ultra result of 73.6 FPS, showing that resolution scaling has a more pronounced effect than preset changes at this performance tier.

At 3840x2160, the numbers become marginal. Low averages 75.3 FPS, Medium 55.3 FPS, High 44.1 FPS, and Ultra 35.2 FPS. The Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p Low result, and the difference between Low and Medium is 20.0 FPS, which is the largest single-step drop at 4K. The data shows that 4K gaming with this GPU requires significant compromises, as even High settings fall 15.9 FPS short of the 60 FPS target.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture with a 7 nm process, is the clear performance ceiling in this configuration. Its 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, combined with a boost clock of 1905 MHz, deliver 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. This is enough for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the measured FPS at 4K demonstrates that the card’s raw throughput is insufficient for high-fidelity rendering at that resolution.

The GPU’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, running at 1750 MHz with a 256-bit bus, provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a moderate amount by modern standards, and the data suggests it becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the average of 35.2 FPS indicates the memory interface is saturated. The card’s pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s are also strained at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the steep drop from High to Ultra at 1440p and 4K.

In terms of synthetic benchmarks, the RX 5700 XT scores 2134 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 16277 in Passmark G3D, placing it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, scores 24763, a 0.1% deltaPct difference, while the Intel Arc A350M is 0.3% behind. These scores align with the measured FPS, showing that the card is competitive with its peers but not exceptional. The GPU’s 225 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU requirement are reasonable for a dual-slot card, and its PCIe 4.0 x16 interface ensures no bandwidth bottleneck with the Core i7-14700K. Ultimately, the data confirms that the RX 5700 XT is the component that defines Lockdown Protocol’s performance, and users should adjust their resolution and preset expectations accordingly.