Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i7-14700KF + AMD Radeon RX 7700

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a balanced 1080p and 1440p gaming experience in Lockdown Protocol, with the data showing this combo ranks 1275th out of 2828 tested combinations. The measured frame rates reveal a system that can handle competitive play at high refresh rates on lower presets, though 4K Ultra pushes the GPU to its limits. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data, component roles, and scaling behavior to give a clear picture of what this hardware pairing offers for this specific FPS title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows across three resolutions and four quality presets provide a clear picture of which settings deliver the best experience in Lockdown Protocol. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves an average of 200 FPS, which is the highest measured value across all configurations. This makes Low the clear choice for competitive play where maximum frame rates matter most. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 142 FPS average with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 163 FPS, still well above the 144Hz refresh rate threshold that many competitive monitors use. High at 1080p drops to 124 FPS average, while Ultra falls to 93 FPS.

For 1440p users, the Low preset provides 147 FPS average, which remains excellent for fast-paced FPS gameplay. Medium at 1440p yields 104 FPS average with a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS, offering a solid middle ground between visual quality and smoothness. High at 1440p produces 91 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 68 FPS. The data indicates that Low at 1440p is the best choice for players prioritizing frame rate, while Medium offers a reasonable compromise for those wanting better visuals without sacrificing too much performance.

At 4K, the situation changes significantly. Low preset achieves 95 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal for competitive FPS. Medium at 4K delivers 67 FPS average with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. High at 4K produces 59 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 44 FPS. For 4K, the Low preset is the only configuration that consistently stays above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for this resolution. The Medium preset at 4K could work for less demanding play, but the minimum of 57 FPS indicates occasional dips below the 60 FPS threshold.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with the 1080p and 1440p configurations both maintaining average frame rates well above 100 FPS. The data shows that players with high refresh rate monitors should stick with Low or Medium, while those on 60Hz displays can comfortably use High at 1080p or 1440p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. These specifications place the RX 7700 in the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15852. The nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 9060, which scores 16014 and is 1% ahead, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti at 16129, which is 1.7% ahead. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15862 and is 0.1% behind, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15679 and is 1.1% behind.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU can feed frames quickly enough that the GPU becomes the primary limiter only at higher presets. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for this game, as evidenced by the fact that even at 4K Ultra, the GPU's limitation manifests through raw compute rather than memory capacity. The 256-bit memory bus and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth provide ample data throughput for the texture-heavy scenes typical of modern FPS titles.

The RX 7700's 2560 shading units and 96 ROPs contribute to its rasterization performance, which is what Lockdown Protocol primarily relies on. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which allows it to handle modern rendering techniques, though the measured data suggests that the game's performance scales predictably with the GPU's raw compute capabilities. The boost clock of 2459 MHz indicates the GPU can sustain high frequencies under load, which helps maintain consistent frame rates across the measured configurations.

The GPU's performance percentile of 58 places it in the mid-range category, and this is reflected in the 4K results where even the Low preset only reaches 95 FPS average. At 1440p, the GPU handles the workload more comfortably, with Low reaching 147 FPS and Medium staying above 100 FPS. The 1080p results show the GPU can push beyond 200 FPS on Low, indicating that at this resolution, the CPU becomes a more significant factor in determining maximum frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p on the Low preset provides the best combination of visual clarity and performance, delivering 147 FPS average. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 200 FPS average, but 1440p offers a sharper image while still maintaining frame rates well above 144Hz.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Yes, but with caveats. The Low preset at 4K achieves 95 FPS average, which is playable. The Medium preset drops to 67 FPS average with a minimum of 57 FPS, while High and Ultra produce 59 FPS and 44 FPS averages respectively. Players seeking consistent 60+ FPS at 4K should stick with the Low preset.

Q: How does the RX 7700 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 7700 scores 15852 on average benchmarks, placing it 0.1% behind the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862), 1% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (16014), and 1.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129). It sits 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15679).

Q: What frame rates can players expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows 142 FPS average at 1080p Medium, with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 163 FPS. This configuration provides a smooth experience for most competitive play scenarios.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM make a difference in this game?

A: The 16 GB GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides ample capacity for Lockdown Protocol at all tested settings. The performance drops at higher presets are more attributable to the GPU's compute capabilities than memory limitations, as even the most demanding 4K Ultra configuration does not appear to hit memory capacity constraints.

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

A: This combo ranks 1275th out of 2828 tested combinations, placing it in the middle of the pack. The ranking reflects the balanced nature of the CPU and GPU pairing, which performs well at lower resolutions but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination ranks 1275th out of 2828 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the pairing in the 45th percentile of all tested configurations, indicating a mid-pack performance level. The ranking is influenced by the GPU's mid-range positioning, as the RX 7700 sits in the 58th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 94th percentile among all CPUs.

The CPU's strong performance relative to the GPU suggests that this combo is somewhat CPU-heavy for this game at lower resolutions, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 200 FPS average, which is a strong result that likely places it above many other combos. However, at 4K Ultra, the 44 FPS average indicates that the GPU cannot keep up with the demands of higher resolutions.

The ranking of 1275 out of 2828 suggests that there are many combos that perform better in this game, likely those with higher-end GPUs. However, the combo's performance at 1080p and 1440p is respectable, and the data shows that it can handle competitive play at high refresh rates when settings are adjusted appropriately. The mid-pack ranking is consistent with the GPU's position relative to all GPUs, as the RX 7700's performance percentile of 58 aligns with a combo rank that is slightly below the median.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF features 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The CPU has 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core, along with 80 KB of L1 cache per core. This processor is built on the Raptor Lake architecture using a 10 nm process, and it ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 70163.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, which scores 69996 and is 0.2% behind, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, which scores 69875 and is 0.4% behind. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515 and is 0.9% behind, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 70879 and is 1% ahead. These close margins indicate that the i7-14700KF is competitively positioned among modern processors.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is most pronounced at lower resolutions where frame rates are highest. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 200 FPS average, and the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads help maintain high frame rates even in complex scenes with many players. The 5.60 GHz boost clock provides strong single-thread performance, which is important for FPS games that often rely on a few primary threads for game logic and physics.

The CPU's 33 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which can improve frame time consistency in CPU-bound scenarios. The measured data shows that at 1080p, the frame rates scale noticeably with settings, suggesting that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently even at lower quality presets. At 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes as the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, but the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance ensures it does not hold back the GPU even at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured data shows a clear progression across settings. The Low preset delivers 200 FPS average, which is the highest recorded value for this combo. Medium produces 142 FPS average with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 163 FPS. High reaches 124 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 93 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 107 FPS, indicating that settings have a significant impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across all presets. Low achieves 147 FPS average, which is 26.5% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium delivers 104 FPS average with a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS, representing a 26.8% drop from 1080p Medium. High produces 91 FPS average, a 26.6% decrease, and Ultra falls to 68 FPS average, a 26.9% reduction. The consistent percentage drops suggest that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops are more pronounced. Low achieves 95 FPS average, which is 52.5% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium delivers 67 FPS average with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS, representing a 52.8% drop from 1080p Medium. High produces 59 FPS average, a 52.4% decrease, and Ultra falls to 44 FPS average, a 52.7% reduction. The consistent percentage drops across all settings at 4K indicate that the GPU is firmly the bottleneck at this resolution.

The Medium preset is the only configuration that provides both minimum and maximum FPS values across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 121 FPS and maximum of 163 FPS show a range of 42 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 32 FPS (88 to 120), and at 4K Medium, the range is 20 FPS (57 to 77). The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU's consistent workload at 4K results in more stable frame times.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling behavior from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about which component limits performance in Lockdown Protocol. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 200 FPS at 1080p to 147 FPS at 1440p, a 26.5% decrease, and then to 95 FPS at 4K, a 52.5% decrease from 1080p. At Medium settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 26.8%, and from 1080p to 4K is 52.8%. High settings show a 26.6% drop to 1440p and a 52.4% drop to 4K, while Ultra shows a 26.9% drop to 1440p and a 52.7% drop to 4K.

The consistent percentage drops across all settings indicate that resolution scaling is uniform regardless of quality preset. This uniformity suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor when moving to higher resolutions, as the frame rate decreases in direct proportion to the increase in pixel count. The pixel count doubles from 1080p to 1440p and quadruples from 1080p to 4K, but the frame rates do not halve or quarter accordingly. This indicates that the system is not purely GPU-limited at 1080p, as the CPU helps maintain higher frame rates at lower resolutions.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a roughly 26-27% frame rate reduction across all settings, which is less than the 44% pixel count increase. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is partially limiting performance, and the GPU has headroom to handle additional resolution without a proportional frame rate drop. The transition from 1440p to 4K shows a similar percentage reduction (around 35-36%), which is closer to the 125% pixel count increase, indicating that the GPU becomes more dominant as the resolution increases.

At 1080p Low, the 200 FPS average suggests the CPU is the limiting factor, as the GPU could likely produce higher frame rates if the CPU could feed it faster. The diminishing returns from 1440p to 4K confirm that the RX 7700's compute capabilities are the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The data indicates that players seeking maximum frame rates should target 1080p or 1440p with lower settings, while those prioritizing visual quality at 4K will need to accept sub-60 FPS averages on Ultra settings.