Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i7-14700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER

The Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination sits at rank 1023 out of 1637 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This pairing of a top-tier 14th-generation processor with an older Turing-generation graphics card creates an interesting bottleneck dynamic that becomes evident when examining the measured frame rates across resolutions and settings. The data suggests this system is heavily GPU-limited in most scenarios, with the CPU's substantial headroom largely untapped at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 1023 of 1637 tested configurations, this combo lands in the 37th percentile of all tested systems for Lockdown Protocol. The ranking reflects a system that can deliver playable frame rates at most settings but falls well short of the high-refresh-rate territory that competitive FPS players often target. The CPU alone performs in the 96th percentile among all processors, while the GPU sits in the 65th percentile among all graphics cards — a mismatch that explains the overall ranking.

The Intel Core i7-14700KF's average benchmark score of 70104 places it nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-14700K (70074, 0% delta) and slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 9115 (69887, 0.3% delta). It trails the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70420, -0.4% delta) and Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 (71056, -1.3% delta) by small margins. These rival comparisons show the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo.

On the GPU side, the RTX 2070 SUPER's average benchmark score of 22206 sits between the NVIDIA RTX A400 (22307, -0.5% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (22006, 0.9% delta). It is 2.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (22729) and 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (21670). This mid-range positioning explains why the combo ranks where it does — the GPU is adequate but not exceptional for modern FPS titles.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo perform at 1080p compared to 4K?

A: The measured data shows a dramatic scaling curve. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 177.4 FPS average, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 37 FPS average. This represents a 79% reduction in frame rate from the best to worst case scenario.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The data strongly indicates GPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the system produces 177.4 FPS, but increasing resolution to 1440p Low drops performance to 131.7 FPS (−26%), and 4K Low yields 81.7 FPS (−54% from 1080p). The CPU's 96th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 65th percentile supports this interpretation.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: At 1440p, Medium settings deliver 94.7 FPS average, which is 33% faster than High settings (77.4 FPS) and 55% faster than Ultra (60.9 FPS). Low settings at 1440p reach 131.7 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off may not justify the additional 37 FPS over Medium.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average score of 22206 places it 0.9% ahead of the GTX TITAN Z (22006) and 2.5% ahead of the RX 5700 (21670), but 0.5% behind the RTX A400 (22307) and 2.3% behind the RTX 4060 Mobile (22729). It sits firmly in the middle of this performance cluster.

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

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves 81.7 FPS average. Medium settings at 4K produce 60.5 FPS, High drops to 52.5 FPS, and Ultra falls to 37 FPS. The 8 GB VRAM capacity and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth appear insufficient for higher 4K presets.

Q: What frame rate can players expect at 1080p Ultra?

A: The measured 79.8 FPS average at 1080p Ultra is playable but not competitive-tier. Dropping to High settings yields 108.9 FPS (+36%), while Medium produces 126.2 FPS (+58%) and Low reaches 177.4 FPS (+122%).

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings reduces average FPS from 177.4 to 131.7, a 25.8% drop. The same resolution change at High settings shows a reduction from 108.9 to 77.4 FPS, a 28.9% decrease. At Ultra settings, 1080p produces 79.8 FPS while 1440p drops to 60.9 FPS, a 23.7% reduction.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is even more pronounced. At Low settings, 131.7 FPS at 1440p falls to 81.7 FPS at 4K, a 38% reduction. Medium settings drop from 94.7 to 60.5 FPS (−36.1%), and High settings fall from 77.4 to 52.5 FPS (−32.2%). Ultra settings show the steepest absolute decline, from 60.9 to 37 FPS (−39.2%).

This pattern — where each resolution increase causes a roughly 25-40% performance penalty regardless of settings — indicates the GPU's rendering throughput is the primary constraint. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads are not being saturated; otherwise, the resolution scaling would flatten at lower settings where CPU overhead becomes more significant.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 2070 SUPER delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 177.4 FPS average, Medium achieves 126.2 FPS, High reaches 108.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 79.8 FPS. The gaps between presets are substantial: Medium is 28.9% slower than Low, High is 13.7% slower than Medium, and Ultra is 26.7% slower than High.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance scales down across the board. Low settings deliver 131.7 FPS, Medium produces 94.7 FPS, High reaches 77.4 FPS, and Ultra falls to 60.9 FPS. The relative ordering remains consistent, but the absolute differences narrow slightly: Medium is 28.1% slower than Low, High is 18.3% slower than Medium, and Ultra is 21.3% slower than High.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become fully apparent. Low settings yield 81.7 FPS, Medium drops to 60.5 FPS, High produces 52.5 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 37 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 37 FPS is the only measured configuration below the generally accepted 60 FPS playability threshold, though the 4K High result of 52.5 FPS is also marginal.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF brings substantial processing power to this pairing. Its 20 cores (with 28 threads) operate at a 3.40 GHz base clock and boost to 5.60 GHz, providing exceptional multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. The 33 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 cache per core ensure ample data locality for game workloads. This processor ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70104.

In Lockdown Protocol, an FPS title that typically relies more on single-thread performance than massive multi-threading, the CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6290 and multi-core score of 44557 demonstrate its capability. The Geekbench scores (2972 single-core, 19287 multi-core) reinforce this picture. The PassMark single-thread score of 4480 and multithread score of 52425 suggest the processor can handle any CPU-bound scenarios the game might present.

However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is rarely the limiting factor. At 1080p Low — the most CPU-sensitive configuration — the system achieves 177.4 FPS, which is excellent but not exceptional for a processor of this caliber. The fact that performance degrades so consistently with resolution increases indicates the GPU saturates well before the CPU reaches its limits.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS as a minimum, the data suggests several viable configurations. At 1080p, even Ultra settings (79.8 FPS) comfortably exceed this threshold, while High (108.9 FPS) and Medium (126.2 FPS) provide increasingly comfortable headroom. At 1440p, Medium (94.7 FPS) and High (77.4 FPS) both maintain playable frame rates, while Ultra (60.9 FPS) barely clears the 60 FPS bar.

For 4K gaming, the options narrow significantly. Low settings (81.7 FPS) provide the smoothest experience, Medium (60.5 FPS) just meets the 60 FPS threshold, and High (52.5 FPS) falls short. Ultra at 4K (37 FPS) is not recommended for competitive play.

The best balance between visual quality and performance appears to be 1440p Medium settings, which deliver 94.7 FPS average — a 55% improvement over 1440p Ultra while maintaining reasonable visual fidelity. For players prioritizing frame rate above all else, 1080p Low at 177.4 FPS offers the highest measured performance, though this sacrifices significant visual detail. The 1440p High setting (77.4 FPS) represents a middle ground for those with 1440p displays who want better visuals without dropping below 75 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the decisive component in this combo's Lockdown Protocol performance. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which becomes increasingly strained at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU operates at a 1605 MHz base clock and 1770 MHz boost clock, with 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs handling the rendering workload.

The GPU's 65th percentile ranking among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 22206, places it in the mid-range segment. Its TU104 chip, built on TSMC's 12 nm process, contains 13,600 million transistors across a 545 mm² die. The 9.062 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 283.2 GTexel/s texture rate provide adequate compute for 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggle at 4K.

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is a notable constraint at higher settings. The measured data shows 4K Ultra producing only 37 FPS, which likely reflects both memory bandwidth limitations and the GPU's raw compute ceiling. The 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores support DirectX 12 Ultimate, but Lockdown Protocol's performance at 4K suggests the traditional rasterization pipeline is the primary bottleneck. For this game, the RTX 2070 SUPER delivers its best value at 1080p and 1440p, where its memory bandwidth and shading throughput are sufficient to maintain competitive frame rates.