Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol pairs the Intel Core i7-14700KF with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT, a combination that produces a wide spread of frame rates depending on resolution and quality preset. The data shows a system capable of high refresh rate play at 1080p, smoothly playable frame rates at 1440p, and a playable but more demanding experience at 4K. The measured results indicate that the GPU is the primary scaling factor across resolutions, while the CPU provides ample headroom for the game's FPS mechanics.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The processor features a substantial cache hierarchy, including 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus and provides PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes for the CPU. In synthetic benchmarks, the chip scores 44,167 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6,235 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 21,462 and single-core score of 2,578.

Within Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is to maintain frame pacing and handle game logic, and the data suggests it is not a bottleneck at any tested resolution. The transition from 1080p Low to 4K Ultra shows a frame rate drop that aligns with GPU load scaling, rather than CPU limitation. The processor's 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it sits well above the median, and its nearest rivals — the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (0.2% slower), AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.4% slower), and AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.9% slower) — are all within a single percentage point in average benchmark score. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is 1% faster, placing the 14700KF in a tightly contested performance tier. For a game like Lockdown Protocol, where high frame rates at lower resolutions are achievable, the 14700KF's single-thread performance (6,235 in R23 single-core) ensures that even at 1080p Low with 235 FPS average, the CPU does not appear to constrain the output.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture (Navi 32 chip) using TSMC's 5 nm process, with 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's clocks are rated at 1295 MHz base, 2124 MHz game, and 2430 MHz boost, with memory running at 2438 MHz (19.5 Gbps effective). The card has 3,840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, along with 60 ray accelerators. Its compute capability is rated at 37.32 TFLOPS FP32, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. In synthetic tests, the GPU scores 24,176 in Passmark G3D and 4,157 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12.

The RX 7800 XT's 16 GB frame buffer is a notable asset for Lockdown Protocol at higher resolutions. The measured data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 52, indicating that the GPU is heavily loaded. The GPU's overall percentile ranking is 51st among all GPUs, which is near the median, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (0.5% faster), AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (0.9% slower), and NVIDIA Tesla K20c (1.3% slower). The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT is 1.8% faster, which is an unusual grouping given the architectural differences, but the synthetic averages place them close. In-game, the RX 7800 XT's boost clock of 2430 MHz and memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s are sufficient to push 1080p Low to 235 FPS and 1440p Low to 172 FPS, but the 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS shows the limits of this GPU tier under maximum settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings allows for a clear recommendation. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 235 FPS, Medium drops to 167 FPS, High to 146 FPS, and Ultra to 109 FPS. The Medium preset provides a 167 FPS average with a minimum of 142 FPS and maximum of 192 FPS, which is a solid balance for competitive play on high refresh rate monitors. At 1440p, Low yields 172 FPS, Medium 122 FPS (min 104, max 141), High 107 FPS, and Ultra 80 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p offers a 122 FPS average that remains above the 100 FPS threshold, making it the best experience for most users. At 4K, Low delivers 111 FPS, Medium 79 FPS (min 67, max 91), High 69 FPS, and Ultra 52 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K is the only one that maintains an average above 60 FPS, though the minimum of 67 FPS suggests it can dip below that in demanding scenes.

The data indicates that the Medium preset is the optimal choice for this combination across all resolutions. It provides a meaningful boost over High (e.g., 21 FPS higher at 1080p, 15 FPS higher at 1440p, and 10 FPS higher at 4K) while the visual difference between Medium and High is typically less pronounced than the frame rate gap. At 1080p, users with 144 Hz or higher monitors may prefer Low for the 235 FPS average, but the Medium preset's 167 FPS still exceeds most display refresh rates. For 4K, the Medium preset's 79 FPS average is the only viable option for smooth play, as High and Ultra fall below the 70 FPS mark.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, the Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT combination ranks 1,235 out of 3,714 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol. This places the pairing in the 67th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of the systems in the database. The ranking reflects a balance between the CPU's high percentile (94th) and the GPU's mid-range percentile (51st). The CPU's strength ensures that the combo does not fall behind on frame pacing, while the GPU's modest percentile means that higher-end graphics cards will push this combo down the rankings.

The rank of 1,235 suggests that many combos with stronger GPUs but weaker CPUs still outperform this pairing, particularly at 4K Ultra where the GPU is the limiting factor. Conversely, combos with similar GPUs but weaker CPUs would likely rank lower due to CPU bottlenecks at 1080p Low, where the 14700KF's single-thread performance shines. The 3714 total combos tested indicate a broad field, and this specific pairing sits comfortably in the upper third, making it a viable mid-to-high tier option for Lockdown Protocol.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how the combination scales across resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 235 at 1080p to 172 at 1440p (a 26.8% decrease) and then to 111 at 4K (a 35.5% decrease from 1440p). At Medium settings, the progression is 167 FPS at 1080p, 122 FPS at 1440p (a 26.9% decrease), and 79 FPS at 4K (a 35.2% decrease). At High settings, the numbers are 146 FPS at 1080p, 107 FPS at 1440p (a 26.7% decrease), and 69 FPS at 4K (a 35.5% decrease). At Ultra settings, the progression is 109 FPS at 1080p, 80 FPS at 1440p (a 26.6% decrease), and 52 FPS at 4K (a 35.0% decrease).

The consistent percentage drops between resolutions — approximately 27% from 1080p to 1440p and 35% from 1440p to 4K — indicate that the GPU is the limiting component across all settings. The CPU's performance headroom means that the frame rate scales almost entirely with pixel count and GPU load. The 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS is the lowest measured, and the gap between 1080p Ultra (109 FPS) and 4K Ultra (52 FPS) is a 52.3% reduction, which is consistent with the pixel count increase from 2.07 million to 8.29 million pixels. This scaling behavior confirms that users seeking higher frame rates should prioritize resolution reduction over settings reduction, as dropping from 4K Ultra to 4K Medium yields a 27 FPS improvement (from 52 to 79), while dropping from 4K Ultra to 1440p Ultra yields a 28 FPS improvement (from 52 to 80).

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all resolution and settings combinations.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 235 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the dataset. The Medium preset delivers 167 FPS average with a minimum of 142 FPS and maximum of 192 FPS. The High preset drops to 146 FPS average, and the Ultra preset settles at 109 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 126 FPS, showing significant scaling with quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 172 FPS average. The Medium preset offers 122 FPS average, with a minimum of 104 FPS and maximum of 141 FPS. The High preset produces 107 FPS average, and the Ultra preset yields 80 FPS average. The transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by roughly 27% across all settings, as noted in the resolution scaling analysis.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 111 FPS average. The Medium preset delivers 79 FPS average, with a minimum of 67 FPS and maximum of 91 FPS. The High preset drops to 69 FPS average, and the Ultra preset falls to 52 FPS average. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 59 FPS, with Ultra being the only preset that dips below 60 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 67 FPS indicates that even during demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended setting for 4K play.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combination achieves in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 235 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low preset.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF a bottleneck for the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT in this game?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The frame rate drops consistently by about 27% from 1080p to 1440p and 35% from 1440p to 4K across all settings, which is consistent with GPU-limited scaling rather than CPU limitation.

Q: What settings preset provides the best balance of visual quality and frame rate at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 provides a 122 FPS average with a minimum of 104 FPS and maximum of 141 FPS. This is the only preset at 1440p that maintains an average above 120 FPS while offering higher quality than Low.

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

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K Medium, the average frame rate is 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS, which is playable. The Ultra preset drops to 52 FPS average, which may be too low for smooth gameplay on high refresh rate displays.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70,163, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69,996), 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875), and 0.9% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515). The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is 1% faster with a score of 70,879.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 235 FPS average, while the Ultra preset achieves 109 FPS average. This represents a 126 FPS difference, or a 53.6% reduction in frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra.