Lockdown Protocol

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-14700K compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i7-14700K averages a benchmark score of 70,074, which is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-14700KF at 70,104 (0% delta). It sits slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 9115 by 0.3%, but trails the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X by 0.5% and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 by 1.4%.

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

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT ranks in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 20,146 puts it within 0.3% of the AMD Radeon RX 460 and 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7600, while it leads the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER by 1.9%.

Q: What is the best average frame rate achieved by this combo at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches an average of 166.1 FPS. This drops to 118.9 FPS at Medium, 100.3 FPS at High, and 74.5 FPS at Ultra.

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

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 74.5. At 3840x2160 Ultra, it falls to 35.0 FPS — a reduction of more than half. The scaling pattern suggests the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution increases.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The RX 7600 XT features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Memory clocks run at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combos for Lockdown Protocol?

A: The combo ranks 1106 out of 1637 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database for this specific game.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places the Intel Core i7-14700K + AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination at rank 1106 out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This is a below-median placement, suggesting the pairing does not excel in this particular title relative to other configurations in the database. The CPU itself is a strong performer — its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,534 indicate substantial processing headroom. However, the GPU's 63rd percentile ranking shows it is a more modest component, and in a fast-paced FPS like Lockdown Protocol, the graphics card often dictates the final experience.

The combo rank suggests that while the CPU can feed frames quickly, the GPU holds the overall result back. In synthetic tests, the RX 7600 XT sits very close to the RX 460 (0.3% ahead) and the RX 7600 (0.6% behind), which are not typically associated with high-refresh competitive play at demanding settings. The measured FPS data confirms this: at 1440p Ultra, the combo manages only 58.2 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 35.0 FPS. For a game that likely benefits from higher frame rates, this rank indicates the combo is best suited for lower resolutions or reduced settings.

Resolution Scaling

Examining the measured FPS across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU limitation. At Low settings, the combo delivers 166.1 FPS at 1080p, 122.1 FPS at 1440p, and 76.2 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 44.0 FPS (about 26.5%), and from 1440p to 4K is 45.9 FPS (about 37.6%). This progressive decline with each resolution step is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is even more severe: 74.5 FPS at 1080p, 58.2 FPS at 1440p, and 35.0 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 16.3 FPS (21.9%), while the 1440p-to-4K drop is 23.2 FPS (39.9%). The larger percentage loss at higher resolutions indicates the GPU's pixel throughput is the limiting factor — the RX 7600 XT's 176.3 GPixel/s pixel rate and 22.57 TFLOPS FP32 compute simply cannot keep pace with 4K Ultra demands.

The CPU's role becomes clear when comparing Low versus Ultra at the same resolution. At 1080p, Low yields 166.1 FPS while Ultra yields 74.5 FPS — a gap of 91.6 FPS. This shows that the i7-14700K can push very high frame rates when the GPU is lightly loaded, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck as settings increase. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads, along with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, provide ample single-thread performance for this FPS title, but the data shows the GPU cannot translate that CPU headroom into high frame rates at demanding presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its strongest results. Low settings deliver an average of 166.1 FPS, which is well above typical 144 Hz display refresh rates. Medium settings reduce this to 118.9 FPS, still smooth for most monitors. High settings yield 100.3 FPS, while Ultra drops to 74.5 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 91.6 FPS, showing that settings have a dramatic impact at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers scale down consistently. Low settings average 122.1 FPS, Medium 87.3 FPS, High 76.5 FPS, and Ultra 58.2 FPS. The 1080p-to-1440p penalty ranges from 26.5% at Low to 21.9% at Ultra, indicating that even at lower settings, the resolution increase taxes the GPU noticeably. At 1440p Ultra, the 58.2 FPS result is below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting users targeting high refresh rates should stick to Medium or Low.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable for competitive purposes. Low settings average 76.2 FPS, which is acceptable, but Medium drops to 54.3 FPS, High to 49.9 FPS, and Ultra to 35.0 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is less than half the 1080p Low result, highlighting the GPU's limitations at high pixel counts. The data shows that the RX 7600 XT, with its 128-bit memory bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, struggles to maintain high frame rates when pixel count quadruples from 1080p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 33 chip, manufactured on a 6 nm process by TSMC. It contains 13,300 million transistors on a 204 mm² die, with 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The GPU has 32 ray tracing cores and a boost clock of 2755 MHz, with a game clock of 2470 MHz. Its FP32 compute is rated at 22.57 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 176.3 GPixel/s.

The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is notable for a card in this performance tier, but the 128-bit bus width limits bandwidth to 288.0 GB/s. In Lockdown Protocol, this bandwidth constraint becomes apparent at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the limiting component: at 4K Ultra, the combo achieves only 35.0 FPS, which is well below the 74.5 FPS at 1080p Ultra. The memory bandwidth cannot feed the shading units fast enough at high pixel counts.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce this view. Its PassMark G3D score is 17,132, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2,348. In the nearest rival comparison, the RX 7600 XT sits within 1.9% of the RTX 2060 SUPER and 1.9% of the RTX 3070 Mobile, indicating it is a mid-range performer. The GPU ranks in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, which aligns with the measured FPS data showing playable but not exceptional performance in this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, High settings provide 100.3 FPS, which is suitable for a 100 Hz or 144 Hz monitor. Medium settings yield 118.9 FPS, offering headroom for competitive play. Ultra at 1080p produces 74.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced FPS action. For most users at 1080p, High is the recommended balance of visual quality and frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the choices become more constrained. Medium settings deliver 87.3 FPS, which is good for 75-90 Hz displays. High settings at 76.5 FPS are acceptable for 60-75 Hz monitors. Ultra at 58.2 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold, so it is not recommended for smooth gameplay. Low settings at 122.1 FPS are best for competitive players who prioritize frame rate over visuals.

At 3840x2160, the data shows that only Low settings (76.2 FPS) provide a consistently smooth experience. Medium (54.3 FPS) and High (49.9 FPS) are borderline, while Ultra (35.0 FPS) is not recommended. Given the GPU's 16 GB memory capacity, users might expect better 4K performance, but the measured numbers indicate the card's compute and bandwidth limits dominate. For 4K play, Low settings are the only viable option for sustained frame rates above 60 FPS.

Overall, the best experience per the measured rows is at 1080p with High or Medium settings, where the combo delivers 100.3 or 118.9 FPS respectively. This balances visual fidelity with the frame rates expected in an FPS title, making full use of the i7-14700K's processing power while staying within the RX 7600 XT's capabilities.