Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i7-14700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a compelling Lockdown Protocol experience across all tested resolutions, though the relationship between settings and frame rates reveals a system that scales predictably but with notable diminishing returns at the highest quality presets. The measured data shows this combination ranks 483rd out of 1,637 tested combos, placing it comfortably in the upper third of all configurations, with the CPU sitting in the 96th percentile against all processors while the GPU holds the 80th percentile against all graphics cards. The 20-core, 28-thread Raptor Lake-R processor with its 5.60 GHz boost clock provides ample headroom, while the Ampere-based GPU with 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 8704 shading units handles the game's demands with measurable consistency across the board.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K under the Low preset tells a clear story: at 1920x1080 the combo produces 248.6 FPS, dropping to 182.6 FPS at 2560x1440, and then settling at 117.7 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 52.9% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 35.5% drop when moving to 4K, indicating that the GPU becomes increasingly the limiting factor as pixel count rises. The scaling pattern under the High preset follows a similar trajectory: 153.5 FPS at 1080p, 115.7 FPS at 1440p (a 24.6% decline), and 74.3 FPS at 4K (a 35.8% drop from 1440p). These consistent percentage reductions across presets suggest the game's rendering workload scales linearly with resolution, with the RTX 3080's 760.3 GB/s memory bandwidth and 320-bit bus width proving sufficient for 1440p but showing strain at 4K.

The Ultra preset amplifies this trend dramatically. At 1080p Ultra, the combo manages 116.9 FPS, which falls to 88.1 FPS at 1440p (a 24.6% decrease) and ultimately 53.2 FPS at 4K — a 39.6% drop from 1440p and a 54.5% plunge from 1080p. This steeper decline at Ultra settings points to the GPU's 10 GB VRAM capacity becoming a bottleneck at 4K, as the game's higher-quality textures and effects likely exceed what the memory subsystem can efficiently handle. The data implies that Lockdown Protocol at 4K Ultra is beyond what this combination can sustain at high refresh rates, while 1440p remains the sweet spot for balanced performance.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combination rank of 483 out of 1,637 tested configurations, this pairing sits in the 70.5th percentile of all combos — a strong showing that reflects the CPU's top-tier status more than the GPU's mid-range position. The Core i7-14700KF achieves an average benchmark score of 70,104, placing it within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70,420) and 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9115 (69,887), while trailing the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 by 1.3% (71,056). Notably, the i7-14700KF scores nearly identically to the i7-14700K (70,074, a 0% delta), suggesting the KF variant's lack of integrated graphics has no practical impact on game performance.

On the GPU side, the RTX 3080's average benchmark score of 35,787 places it 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro Duo (35,860) and 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (36,101), while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile trails by 1% (35,435). This near-tie with the RX 7900 GRE is particularly interesting given the RTX 3080's 10 GB VRAM versus the likely larger allocation on the AMD card, yet the measured Lockdown Protocol results show the NVIDIA card holding its own. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 80th percentile suggests the processor has headroom to spare, meaning future GPU upgrades could unlock substantially higher frame rates without changing the platform.

GPU Role

The RTX 3080's specifications directly inform its Lockdown Protocol behavior. With a base clock of 1440 MHz and boost of 1710 MHz, the Ampere chip pushes 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 performance through 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. The 10 GB GDDR6X memory operates at 19 Gbps effective across a 320-bit bus, yielding 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth — a figure that proves adequate for 1440p High but appears strained at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 53.2. The GPU's 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores suggest ray tracing capabilities, though the measured FPS data does not include ray-traced results.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 80 places it among capable performers, but the measured game results reveal its limitations. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 248.6 FPS, which suggests the GPU is not the primary constraint at lower resolutions — the CPU's 5.60 GHz boost clock and 33 MB of shared L3 cache can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them. However, at 4K Ultra, the 53.2 FPS result indicates the GPU is fully saturated, with the 10 GB memory capacity and 320-bit bus width becoming limiting factors. The GPU's power draw of 320 W and suggested 700 W PSU are notable, though the data does not include power consumption measurements during gameplay.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 2560x1440 provides the best balance, with 115.7 FPS at High settings and 182.6 FPS at Low. At 4K, even Low settings only reach 117.7 FPS, while 1080p Ultra delivers 116.9 FPS — making 1440p the clear sweet spot for both quality and frame rate.

Q: How does the i7-14700KF compare to its closest rivals?

A: The CPU scores 70,104 on average, placing it 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9115 (69,887) and 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70,420). It matches the i7-14700K exactly (0% delta at 70,074) and trails the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 by 1.3% (71,056).

Q: Is the RTX 3080 the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes. The 53.2 FPS result at 4K Ultra versus 116.9 FPS at 1080 Ultra represents a 54.5% drop, with the GPU's 10 GB VRAM and 320-bit bus likely limiting performance. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking indicates it has headroom, so the GPU is the constraint.

Q: What settings should be avoided at 4K?

A: Ultra settings at 3840x2160 should be avoided, as they produce only 53.2 FPS. Even High at 4K reaches 74.3 FPS, suggesting that 4K gaming is only viable at Medium (82.8 FPS) or Low (117.7 FPS) presets.

Q: How does the combo rank overall?

A: It ranks 483rd out of 1,637 tested combos, placing it in the upper 30% of all configurations. This reflects the CPU's top-tier performance (96th percentile) combined with the GPU's solid but not elite standing (80th percentile).

Q: Does the CPU's benchmark performance translate to game performance?

A: The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,557 and single-core score of 6,290 indicate robust processing power, which helps maintain high frame rates at 1080p Low (248.6 FPS) where the GPU is not saturated. The 20 cores and 28 threads provide ample parallelism for modern game engines.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF brings substantial processing muscle to Lockdown Protocol, with 20 cores and 28 threads running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boosting to 5.60 GHz. The Raptor Lake-R architecture on Intel's 10 nm process includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 33 MB L3 cache, providing 125 W TDP with support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. The CPU's benchmark results are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,557 and single-core score of 6,290, plus a Geekbench multi-core of 19,287 and single-core of 2,972.

These numbers help explain the measured frame rates. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 248.6 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU with minimal bottleneck. The PassMark multi-thread score of 52,425 and single-thread of 4,480 further confirm the processor's ability to handle both the game's main thread and background tasks. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking against all processors means it outperforms 96% of CPUs tested, making it a strong foundation for this build. However, the data shows that at 4K Ultra (53.2 FPS), the CPU is not the limiting factor — the GPU's rendering capabilities cap performance, meaning the i7-14700KF has headroom for future GPU upgrades.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data clearly identifies the optimal configuration for this combo. At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 115.7 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and close to 120 FPS for high-refresh displays. The Medium preset at 1440p produces 132.6 FPS, offering a 14.6% improvement over High with presumably minimal visual compromises. For competitive play, the Low preset at 1080p achieves 248.6 FPS, maximizing responsiveness for fast-paced FPS action. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 88.1 FPS, which remains playable but shows a 23.9% drop from High (115.7 FPS), suggesting the visual gains may not justify the performance cost.

At 4K, the recommendation shifts dramatically. The Ultra preset at 53.2 FPS is below ideal playability, while High at 74.3 FPS offers a more acceptable experience. Medium at 82.8 FPS provides the best balance at 4K, though Low at 117.7 FPS is the only preset that approaches high-refresh territory. For most users, the data supports 1440p High as the default choice, with 1440p Medium for those prioritizing frame rate and 1080p Low for maximum competitive advantage. The 1080p Ultra result of 116.9 FPS makes that preset viable for users wanting maximum quality at 1080p, but the 1440p Medium result of 132.6 FPS offers better resolution and higher frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 248.6 FPS on Low, 177.7 FPS on Medium, 153.5 FPS on High, and 116.9 FPS on Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 53% reduction, with the largest single drop occurring between Low and Medium (28.5%). At 2560x1440, results are 182.6 FPS on Low, 132.6 FPS on Medium, 115.7 FPS on High, and 88.1 FPS on Ultra — a 51.8% reduction across presets. At 3840x2160, the numbers fall to 117.7 FPS on Low, 82.8 FPS on Medium, 74.3 FPS on High, and 53.2 FPS on Ultra, representing a 54.8% decline from Low to Ultra.

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K at each preset shows consistent patterns: Low drops 52.7% (248.6 to 117.7), Medium drops 53.4% (177.7 to 82.8), High drops 51.6% (153.5 to 74.3), and Ultra drops 54.5% (116.9 to 53.2). These tight percentages suggest the game's rendering pipeline scales uniformly with pixel count, with the GPU's memory bandwidth being the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The 1080p Low result of 248.6 FPS likely approaches the CPU's maximum frame generation capability, while 4K Ultra's 53.2 FPS represents the GPU's absolute limit with this configuration. The data shows no min or max FPS values, so variance information is unavailable, but the average FPS figures provide a reliable baseline for expectations.