Lockdown Protocol

Resolution Scaling

The performance curve for Lockdown Protocol with the Intel Core i9-14900K and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT demonstrates a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 242.8 FPS, which drops to 175.8 FPS at 1440p (a 27.6% reduction) and further to 116.9 FPS at 4K (a 33.5% reduction from 1440p). This steep decline indicates that the rendering load is scaling almost entirely with pixel count, which is the signature of a graphics card that has become the primary limiting component at higher resolutions.

The transition from 1080p to 4K at Low settings results in a 51.9% overall performance drop, which is substantial but not unexpected for a game that stresses the GPU heavily. At High settings, the scaling is slightly less aggressive: 152.6 FPS at 1080p falls to 107.9 FPS at 1440p (a 29.3% drop) and then to 70 FPS at 4K (a 35.1% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across different settings presets suggests that the CPU is not introducing a bottleneck at any resolution; if it were, the 1080p numbers would show a plateau or a less predictable scaling pattern.

What the data reveals is that the RX 6800 XT's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to feed the rendering pipeline at all tested resolutions, but the GPU's compute throughput becomes the decisive factor as pixel count rises. The 4K Ultra result of 55.2 FPS versus the 4K Low result of 116.9 FPS shows that the graphics settings have a multiplicative effect on the resolution penalty. This is typical for a game where shadow quality, texture filtering, and post-processing effects compound the load on the GPU's 4608 shading units.

The practical takeaway is that this combo delivers playable frame rates at 4K only when settings are reduced to Low, and even then, the 116.9 FPS average leaves headroom for competitive play. At 1440p, however, the system hits a sweet spot where High settings still produce 107.9 FPS, which is above the threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors. The data strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component across all resolutions, with the CPU's role diminishing as resolution increases.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K brings formidable processing power to this pairing, with 24 cores and 32 threads running at a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. In Lockdown Protocol, this CPU's contribution is most evident at 1080p Low settings, where the 242.8 FPS result shows that the processor can feed the GPU with enough frames to saturate its capabilities. The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help maintain consistent frame pacing in a game that likely has significant draw-call overhead.

The benchmark results for the CPU show a 97th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 79824. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7413, scores 80041, which is a 0.3% difference, while the Intel Core i9-14900KF is 0.7% behind at 79245. These marginal deltas indicate that the i9-14900K is at the top of the performance hierarchy, and in a game like Lockdown Protocol, this headroom means the CPU is unlikely to bottleneck even at lower resolutions.

The single-core performance is particularly relevant for FPS games. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7040 and Geekbench single-core score of 3064 demonstrate strong per-thread performance, which is critical for game logic, physics calculations, and render-thread workloads. The multi-core scores are equally impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49872, but these are less relevant for a game that may not scale well beyond a handful of threads.

The data shows that as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, the CPU's influence on frame rates diminishes. At 4K Low, the 116.9 FPS result is only 48.1% of the 1080p Low figure, indicating that the CPU is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The CPU's 125 W TDP and Raptor Lake architecture are more than sufficient for this game, and the benchmark results confirm that the processor is operating well within its capabilities without thermal or power constraints affecting performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the workhorse of this combo, and its specifications directly explain the measured frame rates. The GPU features 4608 shading units, 288 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units, all running at a boost clock of 2250 MHz and a game clock of 2015 MHz. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the texture-heavy workloads typical of a modern FPS.

The GPU's 7 nm process node and RDNA 2.0 architecture deliver 20.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, and the benchmark scores reflect its position in the market. The GPU ranks in the 87th percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 49982. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A550M, scores 49737 (0.5% difference), while the NVIDIA RTX A1000 is 1.7% ahead at 50826. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER trails by 2.6% at 48704, which puts the RX 6800 XT in a competitive position for this game.

The VRAM capacity is a key differentiator. With 16 GB of GDDR6, the GPU can handle high-resolution textures without spilling into system memory, which explains why the 4K results remain stable rather than showing sudden frame drops. The 4K Ultra result of 55.2 FPS is the lowest measured, but it is still a playable figure, and the fact that it does not fall below 30 FPS suggests that the memory subsystem is not being overwhelmed.

The GPU's rendering capabilities scale predictably with settings. From 1080p Low (242.8 FPS) to 1080p Ultra (115.1 FPS), the performance penalty for maximum settings is 52.6%. At 4K, the penalty is more severe: from 116.9 FPS at Low to 55.2 FPS at Ultra, a 52.8% reduction. This consistency indicates that the GPU's compute units and memory bandwidth are being utilized efficiently across all settings presets, with no single resource becoming a bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing of Intel Core i9-14900K and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT ranks 550th out of 1637 combos. This places it in the 66.4th percentile of all tested systems, which is a solid mid-to-upper tier position. The rank reflects the overall performance across all resolutions and settings, and it is important to note that the CPU's 97th percentile ranking and the GPU's 87th percentile ranking do not translate directly into a top-tier game combo ranking.

The discrepancy between component rankings and combo ranking suggests that Lockdown Protocol is more sensitive to GPU performance than CPU performance. Systems with higher-ranked GPUs would likely occupy the top 549 positions, even if their CPUs were less powerful. The combo's rank of 550 indicates that while this is not a flagship combination, it is well above the median and capable of delivering strong performance in this game.

The measured FPS data supports this ranking. The 1080p Low result of 242.8 FPS is exceptionally high, and the 1440p High result of 107.9 FPS is competitive. The 4K results, while lower, are still playable, which is not true for many combos in this database. This combination of high refresh rate capability at 1080p and playable 4K performance makes it a versatile choice, even if it does not top the charts.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p High settings produce 107.9 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This resolution offers a balance between visual fidelity and performance, as 4K Ultra drops to 55.2 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K has an average benchmark score of 79824, which is 0.3% below the AMD EPYC 7413 (80041) and 0.7% above the Intel Core i9-14900KF (79245). It also outperforms the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF (79240) by 0.7%.

Q: Is the GPU's 16 GB VRAM sufficient for 4K gaming?

A: Yes, the measured data shows 4K Low at 116.9 FPS and 4K High at 70 FPS, indicating that the 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for this game at 4K resolution.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Low settings produce 242.8 FPS while Ultra settings produce 115.1 FPS. This represents a 52.6% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: How does the GPU rank among all tested graphics cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT ranks in the 87th percentile, with an average benchmark score of 49982. It is 0.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A550M and 2.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The frame rate drops from 242.8 FPS at 1080p Low to 116.9 FPS at 4K Low, a 51.9% reduction, which aligns with the increased pixel count rather than CPU limitations.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to 1440p High settings as the optimal configuration for this combo. The 107.9 FPS average at 1440p High provides smooth gameplay with good visual quality, and this is the highest resolution and settings combination that maintains a frame rate above 100 FPS. If a higher refresh rate is the priority, 1080p Medium at 173.1 FPS or 1080p High at 152.6 FPS are excellent choices that leverage the CPU's strong single-core performance.

For players with 4K displays, the choice is between Low settings at 116.9 FPS and Medium settings at 80.7 FPS. The Medium preset offers a better visual experience while remaining above 60 FPS, making it the recommended 4K configuration. The High preset at 70 FPS is also viable, but the Ultra preset at 55.2 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold and should be avoided for competitive play.

The measured data shows that the performance gap between Medium and High is relatively small at all resolutions: at 1440p, the difference is 20.1 FPS (128 vs 107.9), while at 4K it is 10.7 FPS (80.7 vs 70). This suggests that High settings provide diminishing returns over Medium, and players seeking maximum frame rates should consider Medium as a compromise.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings yield 242.8 FPS, Medium produces 173.1 FPS, High delivers 152.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 115.1 FPS. These figures show that the CPU and GPU are both operating near their limits at this resolution, with the CPU's 6.00 GHz boost clock helping to maintain high frame pacing.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings produce 175.8 FPS, Medium yields 128 FPS, High achieves 107.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 83.3 FPS. The 1440p results demonstrate that the GPU's 4608 shading units are being fully utilized, with the frame rate reductions from 1080p ranging from 27.6% at Low to 27.6% at Ultra, showing consistent scaling.

At 3840x2160, the 4K results highlight the GPU's limitations. Low settings produce 116.9 FPS, Medium delivers 80.7 FPS, High achieves 70 FPS, and Ultra drops to 55.2 FPS. The 4K Low result is particularly notable, as it maintains a frame rate above 100 FPS, which is exceptional for this resolution. The 4K Ultra result at 55.2 FPS is the only measurement below 60 FPS across all tested configurations, indicating that the GPU's 20.74 TFLOPS of compute performance is the limiting factor at maximum settings and resolution.