Lockdown Protocol

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor built on Raptor Lake-R architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This combination of high core count and aggressive boosting is central to how Lockdown Protocol behaves at lower resolutions, where CPU performance often dictates frame pacing. The processor's 33 MB of shared L3 cache provides a substantial buffer for game logic and asset streaming, which is particularly relevant in an FPS where hit registration and entity tracking demand low-latency data access.

Benchmark data places this CPU at the 96th percentile against all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 70074. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, scores 70104, a delta of 0% — effectively identical performance, confirming that the integrated UHD Graphics 770 is the only meaningful difference between those two chips. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X sits 0.5% higher in average score, while the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 leads by 1.4%. This indicates the i7-14700K is operating in elite company, but the deltaPct values are small enough that in-game results will be influenced more by the GPU and settings than by CPU choice at these performance tiers.

The 125 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support suggest the platform is flexible, but the real story for Lockdown Protocol is the boost behavior. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 292.7 FPS, which is a clear indicator that the CPU can feed frames far beyond typical display refresh rates. The question the data raises is whether the 20-core configuration is fully utilized by a game that may favor fewer, faster cores — the single-core Geekbench score of 2932 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6287 show strong single-threaded performance, but the multicore scores (18896 Geekbench, 44534 Cinebench R23) reveal headroom that Lockdown Protocol may not exploit if its engine scales poorly beyond eight threads.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the AD104 chip using TSMC's 5 nm process, with 35,800 million transistors packed into a 294 mm² die. It carries 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The boost clock of 2475 MHz, paired with 7168 shading units, positions this GPU at the 84th percentile against all tested graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 42576. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, scores 42653, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the 4070 SUPER is essentially neck-and-neck with a workstation-class card in synthetic benchmarks — though the gaming context of Lockdown Protocol may favor the 4070 SUPER's architecture.

The 12 GB VRAM pool is a critical factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 66.9 FPS, while 4K High holds at 84.7 FPS. The gap between these settings suggests that memory bandwidth and capacity are being stressed, but the 504.2 GB/s figure is sufficient to avoid catastrophic stuttering at 4K, as the minimum FPS data is not provided but the averages remain playable. The GPU's 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores are present, but Lockdown Protocol's performance profile — with a 135.1 FPS average at 4K Low — suggests the game is not heavily ray-traced, as such workloads would typically crater frame rates more dramatically.

The deltaPct values against rivals are telling: the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE scores 42723 (0.3% higher), and the AMD Radeon Pro 580X scores 41991 (1.4% lower). These are small margins, indicating that in GPU-bound scenarios, the 4070 SUPER is well-matched to its peers. But the measured FPS data shows this combo is capable of 292.7 FPS at 1080p Low, which means the GPU is not the limiting factor until resolutions climb. The 220 W TDP and dual-slot design are modest for the performance class, but the data implies the GPU has enough headroom to handle Lockdown Protocol's demands across all tested settings without thermal throttling becoming a concern in the benchmark results.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS rows reveal a clear hierarchy across settings, and the optimal choice depends on resolution and target frame rate. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 292.7 FPS, which is far beyond what any mainstream display can show — most 144 Hz or 240 Hz panels would be maxed out. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 206 FPS, still excellent, while High falls to 177.9 FPS. Ultra at 1080p yields 133.5 FPS, which is playable but represents a 54% reduction from Low. The data suggests that for competitive play at 1080p, Low or Medium provides the best balance, as the frame rate headroom can reduce input latency even if the display is capped.

At 1440p, the story shifts. Low delivers 213.7 FPS, Medium 149.5 FPS, High 132.9 FPS, and Ultra 99 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the first point where the combo dips below 100 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced modes but not ideal for twitch shooting. For a 1440p 144 Hz monitor, the High preset at 132.9 FPS is a near-perfect match, offering a substantial visual upgrade over Low while staying within 8% of the refresh rate ceiling. Medium at 149.5 FPS also works, but High provides better image quality for only a 12% frame rate penalty.

At 4K, the choices narrow. Ultra at 66.9 FPS is borderline playable but not smooth, while High at 84.7 FPS is a better target for a 60 Hz display. Medium at 99 FPS is the sweet spot for 4K, offering a 17% improvement over High while maintaining visual fidelity. Low at 135.1 FPS is the only preset that fully saturates a 120 Hz 4K panel, but the visual compromise is significant. The data indicates that for 4K gaming, Medium provides the best experience per the measured rows, as it stays above 90 FPS while preserving enough graphical detail to justify the resolution.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This Intel Core i7-14700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination ranks 262nd out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 16% of all configurations. This is a strong showing for a mid-to-high-end pairing, but the rank reveals that there is meaningful headroom above this combo — 261 other combinations achieve higher average FPS across the tested scenarios. Given the CPU's 96th percentile standing and the GPU's 84th percentile standing, the combo rank of 262 suggests that the pairing is well-balanced, but the GPU is the more likely bottleneck when pushing higher settings.

The rank implies that in Lockdown Protocol, this combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, but it is not a top-tier enthusiast configuration. The 1637 total combos include both more powerful CPUs and GPUs, so the 262nd position is expected given the RTX 4070 SUPER's mid-range positioning. What is notable is that the combo maintains competitive frame rates even at 4K Ultra (66.9 FPS), which means it can handle the game's highest demands, albeit not at high refresh rates. The deltaPct values for the GPU's nearest rivals suggest that swapping to a slightly stronger GPU would not yield a massive improvement — the RTX A6000 is only 0.2% higher in synthetic scores — but the 4070 SUPER's real-world gaming results are what drive this rank.

The data does not include direct comparisons to other combos' measured FPS, so the rank must be interpreted through the lens of percentiles. Being in the top 16% means this combo beats 1375 other configurations, which is a substantial achievement for a system that does not feature a flagship GPU. The implication is that Lockdown Protocol is relatively well-optimized, as this mid-high-end combo can achieve playable frame rates at all resolutions, with the rank reflecting the GPU's limitations at 4K Ultra rather than any CPU deficiency.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 292.7, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is nearly triple the 4K Ultra result of 66.9 FPS, highlighting the massive performance range across settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K scores 70074 on average, while the Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70104, a delta of 0%. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X scores 70420, which is 0.5% higher, indicating the i7-14700K is essentially tied with its closest competitors.

Q: Is the GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data suggests yes. At 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 66.9 FPS, while at 4K Low it reaches 135.1 FPS. The 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game, but the GPU's raw compute is the bottleneck at higher settings, as evidenced by the 50% FPS drop from Low to Ultra at 4K.

Q: What settings provide the best experience at 1440p?

A: The High preset at 132.9 FPS is the best match for a 144 Hz display, as it offers strong visual quality while staying close to the refresh rate ceiling. Medium at 149.5 FPS is also viable, but High provides better image quality for only a 12% frame rate penalty.

Q: How does the GPU's percentile rank compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER is at the 84th percentile, with an average benchmark score of 42576. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, scores 42653, a delta of -0.2%, while the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE scores 42723, a delta of -0.3%. These are negligible differences.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 262nd out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 16% of all configurations. This indicates strong overall performance, though there is headroom above it for higher-end GPU pairings.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 292.7 FPS on Low, 206 FPS on Medium, 177.9 FPS on High, and 133.5 FPS on Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 54% reduction in frame rate, with each step up in settings costing roughly 40-60 FPS. The 1080p results are all playable, even Ultra at 133.5 FPS, which suggests that this resolution is CPU-bound at lower settings and GPU-bound at higher ones — the CPU's strong single-core performance (2932 Geekbench) keeps Low and Medium from being bottlenecked.

At 2560x1440, the measured averages are 213.7 FPS on Low, 149.5 FPS on Medium, 132.9 FPS on High, and 99 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 54%, identical to 1080p, indicating that the scaling between settings is consistent regardless of resolution. The 1440p Ultra result of 99 FPS is the first sub-100 FPS point in the data, and it highlights where the GPU begins to struggle — the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth and 12 GB VRAM are adequate, but the 7168 shading units are taxed at higher settings.

At 3840x2160, the results are 135.1 FPS on Low, 99 FPS on Medium, 84.7 FPS on High, and 66.9 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra figure is the lowest in the entire dataset, and the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 50%, slightly less than at lower resolutions. This suggests that at 4K, even Low settings are GPU-bound, as the resolution itself is the primary driver of the frame rate ceiling. The 4K Medium result of 99 FPS is a notable milestone, as it matches the 1440p Ultra figure exactly, implying that the GPU's performance is more sensitive to resolution than to settings at these extremes.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The data reveals a clear pattern in resolution scaling. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 292.7 at 1080p to 213.7 at 1440p (a 27% reduction) and then to 135.1 at 4K (a 54% reduction from 1080p). At Ultra settings, the drop is from 133.5 at 1080p to 99 at 1440p (26% reduction) and then to 66.9 at 4K (50% reduction). These percentages are remarkably consistent across settings, which indicates that the limiting component is the GPU's pixel throughput rather than any CPU constraint.

The fact that the percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p (roughly 26-27%) is smaller than the drop from 1440p to 4K (roughly 32-33%) suggests a nonlinear scaling with pixel count. Going from 1080p to 1440p increases pixel count by 78%, but FPS only drops by 27%, implying that the GPU has headroom at 1080p that is not fully utilized — the CPU is likely the bottleneck at 1080p Low, as evidenced by the 292.7 FPS figure exceeding what the GPU can sustain at higher resolutions. Conversely, the jump from 1440p to 4K (2.25x pixel count) causes a 32-33% FPS drop, which is closer to linear scaling, indicating that at 4K, the GPU is fully saturated.

This pattern has a clear implication: the RTX 4070 SUPER is the limiting component at 4K, while the i7-14700K is the limiting component at 1080p Low. The crossover point appears to be around 1440p Medium, where the FPS of 149.5 indicates a balanced workload. For users targeting 4K, the data suggests that the GPU is holding back the combo, and upgrading the GPU would yield larger gains than upgrading the CPU. Conversely, at 1080p, the CPU's 20 cores and 5.60 GHz boost clock are sufficient to feed the GPU, but the GPU cannot translate that into higher frame rates beyond 292.7 FPS at Low settings. The measured data from the benchmark rows provides the evidence for this analysis, with the 4K Ultra result of 66.9 FPS being the clearest indicator of GPU-bound performance.