Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i7-14700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in Lockdown Protocol. At 1080p, this combo comfortably exceeds 60 FPS across all settings, but 4K Ultra pushes the average down to 42 FPS, making the GPU the clear bottleneck at higher resolutions. The data shows a system that excels at high-refresh 1080p and 1440p gaming, yet struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K with maximum quality presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance drop as resolution increases, with the gap widening dramatically between 1080p and 4K. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 189 FPS at 1920x1080 to 138 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 89 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 27% decline from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 36% further drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 4060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus width become increasingly limiting as pixel count rises.

The High preset shows similar behavior: 117 FPS at 1080p, 86 FPS at 1440p, and 55 FPS at 4K. The percentage losses are 26% and 36% respectively, nearly identical to the Low preset scaling. This consistency suggests that resolution, rather than graphical complexity, is the dominant factor in performance degradation. The RTX 4060's 272.0 GB/s memory bandwidth appears adequate for 1080p but becomes strained at 4K, where the fill rate requirements outpace the GPU's 118.1 GPixel/s pixel rate.

At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 42 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold most players consider smooth. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 47 FPS, compared to a 101 FPS gap at 1080p. This widening spread indicates that at higher resolutions, both the GPU's compute throughput (15.11 TFLOPS FP32) and memory subsystem are overwhelmed by the combination of high pixel count and complex shading. The CPU's role becomes less relevant at 4K, as the frame rate is constrained by the GPU's rendering pipeline rather than the processor's ability to feed it draw calls.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF brings substantial processing headroom to this pairing, with 20 cores and 28 threads running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This Raptor Lake-R architecture chip scores 44,167 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6,235 in single-core, placing it in the 94th percentile among all CPUs. The benchmark results indicate this processor is far from the limiting factor in Lockdown Protocol, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU is more likely to be the bottleneck.

At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 189 FPS, which approaches the practical ceiling for many displays. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, reflected in the 6,235 Cinebench R23 single-core score and 4,480 Passmark single-thread score, ensures that game logic and physics calculations are handled without introducing frame pacing issues. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data locality for the game's entity and collision systems.

When comparing to nearest rivals, the i7-14700KF's average benchmark score of 70,163 is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69,996) and 0.4% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875). It trails the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K by 1% (70,879). These marginal differences suggest that in CPU-bound scenarios, the i7-14700KF performs on par with its direct competitors, but the real-world gaming advantage comes from its high boost clock and robust multi-threading capabilities.

The 125 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility make this a power-hungry but manageable desktop part. The data shows that even at 1080p Medium, where the CPU has more work per frame, the combo maintains 134 FPS average with a minimum of 114 FPS. This indicates the processor has substantial headroom remaining, as the GPU is likely the limiting component even at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS values, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 134 FPS average with a minimum of 114 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even during intense firefights. The 1440p Medium result of 98 FPS with an 83 FPS minimum keeps the experience above the 60 FPS threshold, making it viable for high-refresh monitors. Even at 4K Medium, the 63 FPS average with 54 FPS minimum is borderline playable, though dips below 60 FPS may be noticeable.

The High preset is a reasonable alternative for those prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate. At 1080p High, the 117 FPS average remains excellent, and 1440p High at 86 FPS is still smooth. However, 4K High drops to 55 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for competitive play. The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates (189 FPS at 1080p, 138 FPS at 1440p, 89 FPS at 4K), sacrifices visual quality that may impact target acquisition and environmental awareness in a tactical FPS.

The Ultra preset should be avoided at 4K, where the 42 FPS average falls below playable standards. At 1080p Ultra, the 88 FPS average is acceptable, but the diminishing returns over Medium (134 FPS) are clear. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this hardware combination, providing 134 FPS at 1080p, 98 FPS at 1440p, and 63 FPS at 4K — all within or near the playable range.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 2,009 out of 3,714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 46th percentile of all configurations. This mid-pack ranking reflects the RTX 4060's position as a 61st-percentile GPU (average benchmark score 17,639) paired with a 94th-percentile CPU. The GPU is the weaker link in this pairing, which explains why the combo ranks lower than CPU-heavy configurations that pair the i7-14700KF with more powerful graphics cards.

The RTX 4060's nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (0.2% higher average score), AMD Radeon 780M (0.3% lower), and AMD Radeon Pro 560 (0.5% lower). These comparisons illustrate that the RTX 4060 performs at a mainstream level, not a high-end tier. In Lockdown Protocol specifically, this translates to 1080p dominance but 4K struggle, as evidenced by the measured FPS data.

The i7-14700KF's 94th-percentile CPU ranking (average benchmark score 70,163) places it well above the RTX 4060's 61st percentile. This mismatch means the CPU is capable of driving much higher frame rates than the GPU can deliver at high resolutions. The combo's rank of 2,009 out of 3,714 suggests that many configurations with weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs outperform this pairing in Lockdown Protocol, since the game appears GPU-bound at the tested settings.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 2560x1440 as the sweet spot, delivering 98 FPS on Medium settings with an 83 FPS minimum. This resolution balances visual detail with smooth performance, while 4K drops to 63 FPS on Medium, which is still playable but less consistent.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4060's average benchmark score of 17,639 is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17,666) and 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon 780M (17,588). These differences are negligible in real-world gaming, indicating the RTX 4060 performs at a comparable level to these mainstream parts.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 189 FPS, and at 1080p Medium it holds 134 FPS with a 114 FPS minimum. The CPU's high single-thread performance (6,235 Cinebench R23) and 28 threads provide ample headroom, so the GPU is the limiting factor even at lower resolutions.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Only at Medium settings, where it averages 63 FPS with a 54 FPS minimum. At High, it drops to 55 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 42 FPS. For consistent 60+ FPS at 4K, players should use Medium settings or lower the resolution.

Q: What settings preset gives the highest minimum FPS?

A: The Low preset provides the highest minimums across all resolutions, though only Medium has recorded min/max values in the data. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 114 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 83 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it is 54 FPS. Low settings would theoretically offer higher minimums, but exact values are not measured.

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

A: It ranks 2,009 out of 3,714 combos, placing it in the middle of the pack. This reflects the RTX 4060's mainstream GPU performance (61st percentile) paired with the i7-14700KF's high-end CPU capability (94th percentile), resulting in a GPU-limited system for Lockdown Protocol.

Measured FPS Breakdown

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

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

| 3840x2160 | High | 55 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 89 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 63 | 54 | 73 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 42 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | High | 86 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 138 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 98 | 83 | 113 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 64 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | High | 117 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 189 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 134 | 114 | 154 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 88 | — | — |

The measured FPS table shows a clear hierarchy: Low > Medium > High > Ultra at every resolution. The Medium preset consistently offers a significant improvement over High, with gains of 17 FPS at 1080p, 12 FPS at 1440p, and 8 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset provides the lowest frame rates, with 42 FPS at 4K being the only sub-45 FPS result in the entire dataset. The minimum FPS values for Medium settings indicate that frame pacing is stable, with the 4K 54 FPS minimum being the only result that dips below 60 FPS.