Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i7-14700K + AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT delivers a robust Lockdown Protocol experience across all tested resolutions, with the measured data showing a clear progression from ultra-smooth 1080p gameplay to playable but more demanding 4K performance. The combination ranks 1235th out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the upper portion of the database’s tested hardware pool. This analysis walks through the resolution scaling, GPU and CPU contributions, and the practical settings recommendations derived from the measured FPS rows.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable but steep decline as resolution increases, which points directly to the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor at higher pixel counts. Starting at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 235 FPS average; moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 172 FPS, a reduction of 63 FPS or roughly 27% lower. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 111 FPS, which is 124 FPS below the 1080p Low result — a 53% performance loss from 1080p to 4K. The scaling pattern at Low settings shows that each step up in resolution exacts a substantial toll, consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where pixel throughput dominates.

At High settings, the same trend holds but with lower absolute numbers: 146 FPS at 1080p, 107 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 39 FPS (27% reduction), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is another 38 FPS (36% reduction). The percentage losses are steeper at higher resolutions, indicating that the RX 7800 XT’s rendering capacity is increasingly saturated as pixel count grows. The Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 167 FPS at 1080p, 122 FPS at 1440p, and 79 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result drops to 79 FPS average with a minimum of 67 FPS and maximum of 91 FPS, which is the only preset at 4K that provides measured min/max data, suggesting the frame pacing remains stable even under heavier load.

Ultra settings magnify the resolution penalty further. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 109 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, 80 FPS; and at 4K Ultra, only 52 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 4K Ultra is 57 FPS, a 52% reduction. The fact that 4K Ultra dips below 60 FPS average indicates that this settings/resolution combination is only marginal for smooth gameplay, while 4K High and Medium remain above the 60 FPS threshold. The data collectively shows that the limiting component at 4K is the GPU, as the frame rate collapses regardless of preset, whereas at 1080p the CPU still has headroom to push very high frame rates across all presets.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It carries 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. The GPU’s boost clock is rated at 2430 MHz, with a game clock of 2124 MHz and a base clock of 1295 MHz. These specifications translate into a pixel rate of 233.3 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 583.2 GTexel/s, figures that directly inform the resolution scaling observed in Lockdown Protocol.

The GPU’s 16 GB VRAM capacity is ample for this game at any of the tested settings, as none of the measured FPS rows show signs of memory-related stutters or collapses. In contrast, the GPU’s raw compute throughput — 37.32 TFLOPS FP32 — appears to be the binding constraint at 4K, where even Low settings yield only 111 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS is a clear indicator that the RX 7800 XT’s shading units, TMUs, and ROPs are saturated when pushing four times the pixel volume of 1080p. The GPU’s 60 RT cores are present but Lockdown Protocol’s measured results do not isolate ray tracing impact, so the data here reflects traditional rasterization performance.

The RX 7800 XT’s percentile ranking versus all GPUs is 51, placing it near the median of the database’s GPU pool. Its average benchmark score of 11627 puts it close to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (score 11680, delta -0.5%), the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (score 11528, delta 0.9%), the NVIDIA Tesla K20c (score 11479, delta 1.3%), and the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (score 11842, delta -1.8%). The small deltas — all within roughly 2% — suggest that in synthetic benchmarks the RX 7800 XT trades places with older or lower-tier cards, but the measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol shows it delivering well above 60 FPS at 1440p High and 4K Medium, which is the practical takeaway for this game.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain above 60 FPS average?

A: All tested presets at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 exceed 60 FPS average, with the lowest being 80 FPS at 1440p Ultra. At 3840x2160, only Low (111 FPS), Medium (79 FPS), and High (69 FPS) stay above 60 FPS, while Ultra drops to 52 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset compare to 4K Low in terms of frame rate?

A: 4K Ultra averages 52 FPS, which is 59 FPS lower than 4K Low’s 111 FPS. This represents a 53% performance reduction for the highest quality preset versus the lowest.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU bottleneck this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The resolution scaling data indicates a GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions, as frame rates drop sharply from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 235 FPS, which suggests the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU at high frame rates, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor as pixel load grows.

Q: What is the measured minimum FPS for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440 Medium, the measured minimum FPS is 104, with an average of 122 and a maximum of 141. This provides a consistent frame pacing window for gameplay.

Q: How does the RX 7800 XT’s synthetic benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RX 7800 XT has an average benchmark score of 11627, which is 0.5% below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660’s score of 11680. It is 0.9% above the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (11528) and 1.3% above the NVIDIA Tesla K20c (11479).

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested combos in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K + AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 1235 out of 3714 tested combinations, placing it in the upper third of the database’s results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a complete matrix of 12 data points. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves the highest average at 235 FPS. Medium follows at 167 FPS with a measured range of 142 to 192 FPS. High reaches 146 FPS, and Ultra drops to 109 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 126 FPS, showing that settings have a dramatic impact at this resolution, likely because the GPU is not fully stressed and the frame rate is more sensitive to render load.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 172 FPS. Medium averages 122 FPS with a range of 104 to 141 FPS. High averages 107 FPS, and Ultra averages 80 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 92 FPS, a smaller absolute spread than at 1080p but still significant. The 1440p Medium minimum of 104 FPS is the lowest measured minimum across all non-4K presets, but it remains well above typical 60 FPS targets.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 111 FPS, which is the only 4K result above 100 FPS. Medium averages 79 FPS with a range of 67 to 91 FPS. High averages 69 FPS, and Ultra averages 52 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured data point below 60 FPS average, making it the only configuration in this dataset that would likely feel less smooth for fast-paced FPS play. The 4K Medium minimum of 67 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that even the heavier preset maintains playable frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU’s benchmark results are strong: it scores 33440.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 2160 in single-core, 18544 in Cinebench R20 multi-core, and 2617 in single-core. Its Geekbench multi-core score is 20767 with a single-core score of 2569. These figures place the i7-14700K at the 94th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 69355.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role is evident from the high frame rates at 1080p, where the combo achieves up to 235 FPS on Low settings. This indicates that the i7-14700K’s high single-thread performance (boost clock of 5.60 GHz) can feed the GPU effectively at lower resolutions. The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD EPYC 9115 (avg score 69288, delta 0.1%), the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (avg score 69515, delta -0.2%), the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (avg score 69875, delta -0.7%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (avg score 69996, delta -0.9%). The deltas are all within 1%, showing that the i7-14700K is effectively tied with these high-end processors in aggregate benchmark score.

The 20-core configuration with 28 threads is more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol, which is an FPS title that typically relies on a few strong cores rather than massive parallelism. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (235 FPS) and 1080p Medium (167 FPS) suggest that the CPU is not a limiting factor at these settings, as the frame rates are high enough to stress the GPU’s output capacity. At 4K, the CPU’s contribution diminishes because the GPU becomes the bottleneck, but the consistent frame pacing (e.g., 4K Medium min 67 FPS, max 91 FPS) indicates that the CPU maintains stable frame delivery without introducing stutters.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal balance of visual quality and frame rate depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset still delivers 109 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. Given that Ultra is only 37 FPS below High (146 FPS) and 58 FPS below Medium (167 FPS), the visual fidelity gain from Ultra is likely worth the performance trade-off for most players at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience: 122 FPS average with a minimum of 104 FPS, which is smooth and consistent. High at 107 FPS is also viable, but Ultra drops to 80 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The data suggests that Medium or High at 1440p is the sweet spot, as both stay comfortably above 100 FPS while Ultra remains above 60 FPS but with less margin.

At 3840x2160, the recommendation is more constrained. Low averages 111 FPS, Medium averages 79 FPS, and High averages 69 FPS, all of which are above 60 FPS. Ultra falls to 52 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and likely to feel less responsive in an FPS. The Medium preset at 4K (79 FPS average, 67 FPS minimum) provides the best combination of quality and performance, as it stays above 60 FPS even in the measured minimum. High at 69 FPS is also acceptable but closer to the threshold, so Medium is the safer choice for consistent 4K gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700K + AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT combination ranks 1235th out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 67th percentile of all tested configurations. This rank reflects the combo’s ability to deliver high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, while still maintaining playable performance at 4K on most presets. The CPU’s 94th percentile ranking versus all CPUs and the GPU’s 51st percentile ranking versus all GPUs combine to put this system in the upper third of the database’s results for this game.

The rank is driven more by the CPU’s exceptional synthetic benchmark performance than the GPU’s median standing. The i7-14700K’s nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, has a nearly identical average benchmark score (69515 versus 69355, delta -0.2%), yet the measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol for this combo shows that the CPU can sustain high frame rates at 1080p without bottlenecking. The GPU’s modest percentile (51) and its close synthetic scores to older cards like the GTX 1660 might suggest lower performance, but the actual game data shows the RX 7800 XT delivering over 100 FPS at 1080p Low and over 69 FPS at 4K High, which is a meaningful result for this title.

Compared to the full field of 3714 combos, this pairing sits well above the midpoint, meaning it outperforms the majority of tested systems in Lockdown Protocol. The 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, which is a minor blemish on an otherwise strong showing. For players targeting 1080p or 1440p, this combo ranks as a high-performing option; for 4K enthusiasts, it remains viable as long as Ultra settings are avoided. The data overall supports this combo as a capable choice for Lockdown Protocol, with the understanding that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions and the CPU provides ample headroom for competitive frame rates.