Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i9-14900K + AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers a compelling Lockdown Protocol experience, but the data reveals a system that transitions from CPU-bound at 1080p to GPU-bound at 4K. Across all measured settings, the combination ranks 874th out of 3,714 tested configurations, placing it in the top 24% of all hardware pairings for this FPS title. The most striking result is the Low preset at 1080p hitting 260 FPS average, while the demanding Ultra preset at 4K drops to just 57 FPS — a clear indication that resolution scaling and preset selection dramatically alter the performance profile. The i9-14900K, with its 24 cores and 32 threads, provides ample headroom for the game's CPU demands, while the RX 9070 XT's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory proves sufficient even at Ultra settings in 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable yet steep decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline varies significantly by preset. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 1440p sees a drop from 260 FPS to 191 FPS, a reduction of 69 FPS or roughly 27%. Moving further to 4K at Low settings yields 123 FPS, which is 47% below the 1080p figure. This pattern indicates that at Low settings, the RX 9070 XT is still capable of pushing substantial frame rates even at 4K, suggesting the GPU is not the primary bottleneck until higher resolutions.

The Medium preset tells a similar story with slightly lower absolute numbers: 185 FPS at 1080p, 135 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are consistent — 27% from 1080p to 1440p, and an additional 36% from 1440p to 4K. This consistency across Low and Medium presets suggests that the rendering workload scales in a predictable manner with pixel count.

High settings reveal a more pronounced scaling penalty. At 1080p, the system achieves 161 FPS, dropping to 118 FPS at 1440p (27% reduction) and then to 76 FPS at 4K (36% reduction from 1440p). The gap between 1080p and 4K at High settings is 85 FPS, or 53% of the 1080p score. This steeper curve indicates that High settings introduce additional GPU workload that becomes more significant at higher pixel densities.

Ultra settings exhibit the most dramatic scaling behavior. The 1080p result of 121 FPS falls to 89 FPS at 1440p (a 26% drop), then plummets to 57 FPS at 4K — a 36% reduction from 1440p and 53% below the 1080p figure. The 4K Ultra result of 57 FPS is barely above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the data shows this is where the RX 9070 XT's rendering capabilities become the limiting factor.

The scaling patterns across all presets indicate that Lockdown Protocol's engine scales resolution demands almost linearly with pixel count. The transition from 1080p to 1440p (2.25x pixels) yields roughly 27-28% FPS reductions, while the jump to 4K (4x pixels from 1080p) produces 47-53% reductions. This suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU — with its 24 cores and 6.00 GHz boost clock — remains a significant contributor to overall performance, particularly at Low and Medium settings where the GPU has less work to do.

FAQ

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Yes, but barely. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 57 FPS, which falls just short of the 60 FPS target. Players seeking 60+ FPS at 4K would need to drop to High settings, where the system achieves 76 FPS average.

Q: What is the best performance gain from lowering settings at 1080p?

A: The gap between Low and Ultra at 1920x1080 is substantial. Low settings deliver 260 FPS average, while Ultra produces 121 FPS — a difference of 139 FPS, meaning Low settings are more than double the frame rate of Ultra. Medium settings at 185 FPS and High at 161 FPS sit between these extremes.

Q: How does the RX 9070 XT's 16 GB VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: The 16 GB GDDR6 memory on the RX 9070 XT is sufficient for 4K Ultra in this game, as evidenced by the measurable 57 FPS result. The memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s and 256-bit bus width allow the GPU to handle 4K textures without VRAM-related stuttering, although the overall GPU compute capability becomes the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: Is the i9-14900K bottlenecking the GPU at 1080p?

A: The data suggests CPU limitation at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080 Low settings, the system achieves 260 FPS, and the scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings (260 to 191 FPS) shows a 27% reduction that aligns with pixel count increases. At 1440p to 4K at Low settings, the reduction is 36%, indicating the GPU begins to take over as the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the most balanced preset for competitive play?

A: Medium settings at 1440p provides 135 FPS average with a minimum of 115 FPS and maximum of 156 FPS, offering a competitive frame rate while maintaining visual quality. For 1080p, High settings at 161 FPS average provide a similar balance, staying well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common in competitive monitors.

Q: How does this combination rank among all tested systems?

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K with AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 874th out of 3,714 tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 76th percentile. This indicates the pairing performs better than roughly three-quarters of all tested configurations for this game.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the central component in determining Lockdown Protocol's visual performance, particularly at higher resolutions and presets. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves adequate for 4K Ultra settings as demonstrated by the 57 FPS result. The 4096 shading units and 128 ROPs handle the game's rendering workload across all tested configurations, with the boost clock of 2970 MHz and game clock of 2400 MHz offering substantial processing headroom.

The GPU's performance characteristics become most evident when examining the scaling from 1440p to 4K. At Medium settings, this transition costs 48 FPS (135 to 87), while at Ultra settings it costs 32 FPS (89 to 57). These reductions are proportionally larger than the 1080p-to-1440p transitions, signaling that the RX 9070 XT's fill rate and compute capacity are being fully utilized at 4K. The pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s are the specifications that govern how quickly the GPU can process the increased pixel count at 4K resolution.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS provides substantial compute capability for the game's rendering effects, particularly at High and Ultra presets where more complex shading and post-processing are active. The DirectX 12 Ultimate API support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility ensure the GPU can leverage modern rendering techniques that Lockdown Protocol utilizes. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260 and Passmark G3D score of 26795 offer additional context for the GPU's overall capability, though the measured in-game results provide more relevant data.

At 4K Ultra, the 57 FPS result indicates the GPU is the bottleneck, as the i9-14900K's 24 cores and 6.00 GHz boost clock are more than capable of feeding frames at this resolution. The GPU's 304 W TDP and 700 W suggested PSU requirement reflect its power appetite, but the performance delivered at 1440p and below justifies this consumption for gamers targeting high refresh rates.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the measured data shows that High settings at 161 FPS average provides the best balance between visual quality and performance. Ultra settings at 121 FPS are still playable and offer maximum visual fidelity, but the 40 FPS penalty compared to High may not justify the graphical improvements for most players. Low settings at 260 FPS cater to competitive players seeking maximum frame rates, though the visual quality reduction is substantial.

At 1440p, Medium settings at 135 FPS average with a 115 FPS minimum stands out as the optimal choice. This preset maintains frame rates well above the 120 FPS threshold for high-refresh-rate displays while delivering better visual quality than Low. High settings at 118 FPS are also viable, though the minimum frame data is not available, making the Medium preset's documented 115 FPS minimum more reassuring for consistency. Ultra at 89 FPS remains playable for gamers prioritizing visuals over frame rate.

For 4K gaming, High settings at 76 FPS is the recommended preset. This provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target while delivering solid visual quality. Medium at 87 FPS offers additional headroom for smoother gameplay, and the documented minimum of 74 FPS at 4K Medium suggests good frame pacing. Ultra at 57 FPS is borderline, and players sensitive to frame rate drops should avoid this setting. Low at 123 FPS demonstrates that even at 4K, the GPU can deliver high frame rates if visual quality is sacrificed.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system produces its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings deliver an average of 260 FPS, making it the only configuration to exceed 250 FPS. Medium settings produce 185 FPS average with a minimum of 157 FPS and maximum of 212 FPS, offering both high averages and solid frame consistency. High settings achieve 161 FPS average, while Ultra settings drop to 121 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 139 FPS, demonstrating that preset selection has the largest impact at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings maintain 191 FPS average, still exceptionally high for 1440p gaming. Medium settings deliver 135 FPS average with a 115 FPS minimum and 156 FPS maximum, providing excellent frame pacing for competitive play. High settings reach 118 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 89 FPS average. The Low-to-Ultra spread at 1440p is 102 FPS, showing that preset choice matters slightly less than at 1080p but remains significant.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop substantially across all presets. Low settings still achieve 123 FPS average, demonstrating the GPU's capability at 4K when visual effects are minimized. Medium settings deliver 87 FPS average with a 74 FPS minimum and 100 FPS maximum, keeping gameplay above 60 FPS with acceptable consistency. High settings produce 76 FPS average, while Ultra settings fall to 57 FPS average. The Low-to-Ultra spread at 4K is 66 FPS, indicating that at this resolution, the GPU's rendering workload dominates and preset selection has a smaller relative impact.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions, providing insight into frame consistency. At 1080p Medium, the 157 FPS minimum represents 85% of the 185 FPS average, indicating good frame pacing. At 1440p Medium, the 115 FPS minimum is 85% of the 135 FPS average, maintaining similar consistency. At 4K Medium, the 74 FPS minimum drops to 85% of the 87 FPS average, showing that frame consistency scales proportionally with resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K serves as the foundational component in this system, providing the processing power necessary to feed the RX 9070 XT at high frame rates. With 24 cores (8 performance and 16 efficiency cores) and 32 threads, the CPU offers substantial multi-threaded capability, though Lockdown Protocol's FPS performance depends more heavily on single-thread performance. The 6.00 GHz boost clock is critical for maintaining high frame rates at 1080p, where the CPU's per-core performance becomes the limiting factor.

The CPU's benchmark scores contextualize its capability. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and single-core score of 2262.5 demonstrate excellent performance in both threaded and single-threaded workloads. The Geekbench scores of 21697 multi-core and 2655 single-core reinforce this picture, while the Passmark single-thread score of 4697 and multi-thread score of 58674 provide additional validation. The CPU's 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it outperforms 95% of processors on the market.

The 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 cache per core provide the memory hierarchy necessary for the game's data access patterns. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration, offering flexibility in system building. The 125 W TDP with Intel Socket 1700 compatibility means the CPU fits into mainstream motherboards, and the unlocked multiplier allows for overclocking potential, though the measured results reflect stock operation.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role becomes most apparent at 1080p Low settings, where 260 FPS average is achieved. This high frame rate indicates the CPU can process game logic and physics calculations fast enough to support such elevated frame rates. At 1440p and 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes as the GPU becomes the bottleneck, but the i9-14900K's strong single-thread performance ensures it never falls behind, even at 4K Ultra where the 57 FPS result is clearly GPU-limited.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14900KF with an average score of 79371 (0.3% lower), the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus at 79574 (0.6% lower), and the AMD EPYC 7413 at 80041 (1.2% higher). These close margins indicate the i9-14900K sits at the top of consumer CPU performance, though the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 shows a 1.7% advantage at 77740. For Lockdown Protocol specifically, these CPU differences are unlikely to produce meaningful FPS variations given the GPU-bound nature of higher resolutions.