Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i7-14700K + Intel Arc B370

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 80, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution, Medium delivers 57 FPS, High delivers 49 FPS, and Ultra delivers 37 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for this game?

A: This combination ranks 2611th out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the bottom portion of the database. The ranking reflects the GPU's low benchmark percentile (5th) relative to all GPUs.

Q: Does the Intel Arc B370 have dedicated VRAM?

A: No. The Intel Arc B370 uses System Shared memory for both its memory size and type, with memory bandwidth listed as System Dependent. This means the GPU relies on the host system's main memory rather than dedicated video memory.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the measured rows include min and max FPS values. At 1920x1080, the range is 48 to 65 FPS (average 57); at 2560x1440, it ranges from 35 to 48 FPS (average 42); and at 3840x2160, it spans 23 to 31 FPS (average 27).

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 69355, which is 0.1% above the AMD EPYC 9115 (69288), 0.2% below the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515), 0.7% below the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875), and 0.9% below the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69996).

Q: What is the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score and how does it compare to close competitors?

A: The Intel Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. This is 0.2% below the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), 0.5% below the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), 0.7% below the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192), and 1.4% above the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168).

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is built on Intel's Xe3-LPG architecture using a 3 nm process node, with the chip codenamed Panther Lake. The GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. Its shading unit count stands at 1280, complemented by 40 texture mapping units and 20 raster operation units. The GPU also includes 10 ray tracing cores, supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

A defining characteristic of this GPU is its memory configuration: both memory size and type are System Shared, with bandwidth described as System Dependent. This arrangement means the GPU draws from the same memory pool as the CPU, which has direct implications for Lockdown Protocol's frame rates. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, with FP32 compute at 6.144 TFLOPS and FP16 at 12.29 TFLOPS (2:1). The GPU's TDP is 25 W, and it is classified as an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors.

The benchmark data shows a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184, which places the GPU in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. This low percentile is consistent with the measured game performance. The nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are older discrete GPUs: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% higher), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% higher), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, 0.7% higher), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, 1.4% lower). This grouping suggests the Arc B370 competes at a legacy performance tier despite its modern architecture and feature set.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's shared memory architecture likely becomes a limiting factor. The game's frame rates at 1080p Low (80 FPS) and 4K Ultra (18 FPS) show a wide performance envelope, but the absolute values remain modest. The ray tracing cores and modern API support do not translate into high frame rates in this title, as the measured data indicates the GPU operates near the lower end of the performance spectrum.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how performance degrades as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 80 at 1080p to 58 at 1440p (a 27.5% reduction) and then to 38 at 4K (a 52.5% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more stressed at higher pixel counts, but the drop is not linear—the 1080p to 1440p transition costs more proportionally than the 1440p to 4K transition in absolute terms.

At Medium settings, the progression is 57 FPS at 1080p, 42 FPS at 1440p, and 27 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 26.3%, and from 1080p to 4K it is 52.6%. This consistency across Low and Medium settings suggests a uniform scaling behavior tied to pixel throughput rather than settings-specific bottlenecks.

High settings show a steeper relative decline: 49 FPS at 1080p, 36 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 4K drop is 53.1%. Ultra settings follow a similar pattern: 37 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K, representing a 51.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

The consistent ~50% performance reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates that resolution scaling is the dominant factor. This behavior points to the GPU as the primary limiting component, as the CPU (Intel Core i7-14700K) has substantial compute resources that are unlikely to bottleneck at these frame rates. The shared memory architecture of the Arc B370 likely compounds the impact of higher resolutions, as memory bandwidth becomes more contended when pixel counts increase.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Intel Core i7-14700K and Intel Arc B370 combination delivers the following average frame rates across four presets. Low settings produce 80 FPS, which is the highest measured value for this combo in any configuration. Medium settings yield 57 FPS, with a measured range of 48 to 65 FPS. High settings produce 49 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 37 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 43 FPS, representing a 53.8% reduction in performance when moving to the highest preset.

At 2560x1440, the performance tier shifts downward. Low settings average 58 FPS, which remains playable for most scenarios. Medium settings average 42 FPS, with a range of 35 to 48 FPS. High settings produce 36 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 27 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 31 FPS, which is a 53.4% reduction.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain fluid frame rates. Low settings average 38 FPS, which is marginal for a fast-paced FPS. Medium settings average 27 FPS, with a range of 23 to 31 FPS. High settings produce 23 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 18 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra delta at 4K is 20 FPS, a 52.6% reduction.

Across all resolutions, the scaling from Low to Ultra follows a consistent pattern: Medium typically delivers about 70-75% of Low's performance, High delivers about 60-65%, and Ultra delivers about 45-50%. The measured min and max FPS values at Medium settings show a tighter range at lower resolutions, with the 1080p range (48-65) being proportionally wider than the 4K range (23-31), suggesting more frame time variability at lower resolutions where the CPU has more headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core i7-14700K and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2611th out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the configuration in the 92.3rd percentile of the ranking distribution, meaning only 217 combos perform worse. The rank reflects a significant mismatch between the CPU and GPU capabilities in this title.

The CPU alone performs well relative to other processors, sitting in the 94th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 69355. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 9115 (69288, 0.1% lower), AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515, 0.2% higher), AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875, 0.7% higher), and AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69996, 0.9% higher). This places the i7-14700K in elite company for processing power.

The GPU, however, sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 1184. Its nearest rivals are all legacy or low-power parts, with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186) and ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190) scoring similarly. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a bottom-tier GPU creates an imbalanced system where the GPU is the clear limiting factor in Lockdown Protocol.

The ranking of 2611 out of 2828 combos suggests that nearly all other tested configurations deliver better frame rates in this game. The data indicates that the GPU's shared memory architecture and low compute throughput (6.144 TFLOPS FP32) are insufficient for a demanding FPS title, despite the CPU's substantial resources (20 cores, 28 threads).

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and acceptable frame rate. At 1920x1080, Low settings provide 80 FPS, which is the only configuration exceeding 60 FPS in the measured data. Medium settings at 57 FPS are close to the 60 FPS threshold and offer a better visual experience, with a frame range of 48 to 65 FPS that includes occasional dips below the target.

At 2560x1440, Low settings are necessary for smoother gameplay, delivering 58 FPS. Medium settings at 42 FPS may be acceptable for less competitive play, but the 35 to 48 FPS range indicates potential stuttering in fast-paced scenes. High settings at 36 FPS and Ultra at 27 FPS are generally not recommended for a responsive FPS experience.

At 3840x2160, even Low settings only achieve 38 FPS, which falls below the threshold for comfortable competitive play. Medium settings at 27 FPS and below are likely to feel sluggish. For 4K gaming, this combo is not well-suited to Lockdown Protocol, and users should consider lowering resolution or accepting significant compromises.

The data suggests that 1920x1080 with Low or Medium settings provides the best balance of playability and visual quality. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 23 FPS (from 80 to 57), but the higher preset likely improves visual fidelity substantially. Given the game's FPS genre, prioritizing frame rate over visual detail is advisable, making Low settings at 1080p the safest recommendation for consistent performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. It features a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 2 MB L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, with ECC memory support and PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i7-14700K demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 33440.5, Cinebench R20 multi-core scores 18544, and Geekbench multi-core scores 20767. Single-threaded performance is also robust, with Cinebench R23 single-core at 2160, Cinebench R20 single-core at 2617, and Geekbench single-core at 2569. PassMark multi-thread score is 52392, with a single-thread score of 4472.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 94th among all CPUs confirms its high-end positioning. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score—the AMD EPYC 9115, AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, and AMD Ryzen 7 9700F—all fall within 0.9% of the i7-14700K's average score of 69355. This tight grouping indicates that the i7-14700K is competitive with several flagship and near-flagship processors from both Intel and AMD.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls, physics calculations, and game logic. Given the GPU's low performance ceiling, the i7-14700K is unlikely to be the bottleneck in this configuration. The measured FPS data shows consistent scaling with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU's 28 threads and high boost clock provide ample headroom for the game's computational demands, but this headroom goes unused because the Intel Arc B370 cannot translate the CPU's capabilities into higher frame rates.

The launch MSRP of the i7-14700K is $409, reflecting its position as a high-end desktop processor. Its production status is Active, and it was released on 2023-10-16, with the game Lockdown Protocol releasing on 2024-03-11. The CPU's integrated graphics (UHD Graphics 770) are not used in this configuration, as the system employs the discrete-class Arc B370 GPU, though the GPU's IGP classification and shared memory architecture blur that distinction.