Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS, shows pronounced scaling behavior on the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER combination. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher settings, with the CPU’s headroom only becoming apparent at lower presets and resolutions. The data indicates a clear hierarchy: resolution scaling exacts a heavy toll on performance, while the choice of settings preset can nearly double or halve the output.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a substantial performance drop across all settings, confirming that pixel count is the dominant variable in this title. At the Low preset, the average frame rate falls from 305.9 FPS at 1080p to 222.8 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 83.1 FPS, and then further down to 142.6 FPS at 4K. This represents a 53.4% decrease in FPS from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that even at the lowest graphical load, the rendering pipeline is heavily taxed by the increased resolution.

The scaling pattern intensifies with higher visual fidelity. At the Ultra preset, the frame rate drops from 143.1 FPS at 1080p to 107.5 FPS at 1440p, and then to 66.3 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is 76.8 FPS, a 53.7% reduction. This consistent proportional drop suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER’s rendering throughput, rather than the CPU’s processing power, is the limiting factor. The i7-14700K, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, is capable of feeding frames at rates far exceeding what the GPU can render at 4K, as evidenced by the 305.9 FPS result at 1080p Low. The data shows that the 4K Ultra result of 66.3 FPS is the most demanding scenario, while 1080p Low at 305.9 FPS represents the system’s peak output.

Further evidence of GPU limitation appears in the scaling between Medium and High. At 4K, the difference between Medium (103.4 FPS) and High (89.6 FPS) is 13.8 FPS, while at 1080p, the difference is 27.1 FPS (220.5 to 193.4). The smaller absolute gap at higher resolution indicates that the GPU is already saturated, and incremental settings changes have less impact on the final frame rate because the pixel fill rate is the bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear picture of the trade-off between visual quality and frame rate. For players targeting the highest refresh rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 305.9 FPS, which is more than sufficient for competitive play. However, the jump to Medium at 1080p yields 220.5 FPS, a still-very-high number that likely offers a significantly better visual experience for a 27.9% performance cost. The High preset at 1080p, at 193.4 FPS, remains above the 144 Hz threshold, making it a strong candidate for high-refresh monitors.

At 1440p, the data suggests that High is the optimal balance. The 142.2 FPS average at High is nearly identical to the 143.1 FPS achieved at 1080p Ultra, indicating that the card can handle the higher resolution with only a marginal visual settings reduction. Medium at 1440p provides 161.7 FPS, which is also excellent, but High offers a better visual experience for a 13.7% performance drop. The Ultra preset at 1440p, at 107.5 FPS, is still playable on a 100 Hz display, but it represents a significant 24.4% reduction from High.

For 4K gaming, the trade-offs are steeper. High at 89.6 FPS is the highest quality preset that remains above the 60 FPS standard, making it the recommended choice for a smooth experience. Medium at 103.4 FPS offers a 15.4% performance uplift over High, which could be preferable for those with 100 Hz 4K displays who prioritize frame rate over maximum fidelity. The Ultra preset at 66.3 FPS is technically playable, but the 26.0% drop from High makes it difficult to recommend unless visual quality is the absolute priority. Low at 4K, at 142.6 FPS, is a viable option for players who want high frame rates at 4K and do not mind the reduced graphical detail.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the primary performance driver in this configuration. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient to handle the 4K texture loads without becoming a limiting factor in the measured results. The GPU’s boost clock of 2610 MHz, combined with 8448 shading units, delivers the raw compute power needed to sustain the frame rates observed. The data shows that the GPU’s utilization scales with resolution, as evidenced by the decreasing frame rates at higher pixel counts.

The GPU’s performance percentile of 86 among all GPUs is reflected in its competitive standing. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, has an average score that is 0.7% lower, while the RTX A2000 is 1.6% slower. This places the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER in a strong position for 1440p and 4K gaming. The GPU’s FP32 compute of 44.10 TFLOPS and texture rate of 689.0 GTexel/s are instrumental in handling the complex shaders and effects in Lockdown Protocol. The fact that the GPU is rated for a 285 W TDP and requires a 600 W power supply suggests that it has ample power headroom for sustained load, which is consistent with the stable frame rates observed across all tests.

The 4K Ultra result of 66.3 FPS indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the i7-14700K has a passmark multithread score of 52392, which is more than capable of processing the game’s logic at that frame rate. The CPU’s single-thread performance, with a passmark singlethread score of 4472, also ensures that the game’s main thread is never starved for data. The GPU’s role is further highlighted by the fact that the 1080p Low result (305.9 FPS) is likely close to the CPU’s maximum frame delivery limit, but the GPU still manages to render these frames, indicating a balanced pairing where the GPU takes over as the primary constraint as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER achieves a combo rank of 162 out of 1637 tested combinations. This places the pairing in the top 10% of all systems tested for Lockdown Protocol, which is noteworthy given the game’s demanding nature. The rank reflects the aggregate performance across all settings and resolutions, and the data shows that the combo is particularly strong at 1080p and 1440p, where it often exceeds 200 FPS at lower presets.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 70074 places it at the 96th percentile among all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which has a deltaPct of 0, meaning the performance is virtually identical. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is 0.5% faster, while the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 is 1.4% slower. This CPU performance contributes to the combo’s high ranking, as it ensures that the GPU is not held back by processor limitations. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 48704 places it at the 86th percentile, and its rivals are within a 2.1% delta, which suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is a consistent performer.

The rank of 162 is impressive but not surprising, given the combination of a high-end CPU and GPU. The fact that the combo ranks higher than the 86th percentile of GPUs suggests that the CPU pairing is beneficial. The i7-14700K’s cache configuration, with 33 MB of shared L3 cache, helps to reduce memory latency, which can be critical in FPS games. Overall, the data shows that this combo is well-suited for Lockdown Protocol, with the 162nd rank out of 1637 indicating that it outperforms the vast majority of systems.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate for the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER at 1920x1080 with High settings is 193.4 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset compare to 1440p Ultra in terms of performance?

A: The 4K Ultra preset averages 66.3 FPS, while the 1440p Ultra preset averages 107.5 FPS. This represents a 38.3% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rate drops consistently with resolution, and the CPU’s high benchmark scores suggest it has headroom, as evidenced by the 305.9 FPS result at 1080p Low, which is not the GPU’s maximum.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 144 Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers 142.2 FPS, which is just below the 144 Hz threshold. The Medium preset at 161.7 FPS would provide a small margin above it, but High is the best visual quality option that is close to the target.

Q: What is the combo rank for this CPU and GPU pairing in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The combo rank is 162 out of 1637 tested combinations, placing it in the top 10% of all systems tested.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 305.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 143.1 FPS. The Low preset is 113.8% faster than Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average frame rates measured for the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER combination in Lockdown Protocol.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS |

|---|---|---|

| 1920x1080 | Low | 305.9 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 220.5 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 193.4 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 143.1 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 222.8 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 161.7 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 142.2 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 107.5 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 142.6 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 103.4 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 89.6 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 66.3 |

The data shows a consistent pattern across all resolutions: Low is the fastest, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra being the slowest. The performance gap between Low and Ultra is most pronounced at 1080p, where the difference is 162.8 FPS, and least pronounced at 4K, where the difference is 76.3 FPS. This further confirms that the GPU’s pixel processing capability is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while at 1080p, the CPU’s ability to prepare frames becomes more relevant, allowing the GPU to stretch its legs. The 4K Ultra result of 66.3 FPS is the only measured average below the 100 FPS mark, making it the most demanding scenario for this hardware.