Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol’s performance with the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti reveals a configuration where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strength ensures high frame rates at 1080p. The measured data across four settings presets and three resolutions provides a clear picture of how this pairing scales under load.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating that the RTX 3060 Ti is the limiting component as pixel count increases. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 196 at 1080p to 93 at 4K—a reduction of 103 FPS, or roughly 53%. This heavy scaling is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are increasingly strained by the 4K pixel workload.

At Medium settings, the pattern holds: 139 FPS at 1080p drops to 102 FPS at 1440p, then to 66 FPS at 4K. The step from 1440p to 4K alone costs 36 FPS, a 35% decline. This suggests that while the GPU handles 1440p comfortably, 4K pushes it near its limits, especially when minimum FPS figures are considered—the 4K Medium run reports a minimum of 56 FPS, which is close to the average of 57 FPS seen at High 4K.

High settings show a similar trajectory: 121 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and only 57 FPS at 4K. The 4K result barely clears the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this resolution is not viable for smooth gameplay on this combo unless settings are reduced. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 91 FPS at 1080p falling to 67 FPS at 1440p and 43 FPS at 4K—the latter being the lowest measured average in the entire dataset.

The scaling behavior confirms that the i9-14900K has ample headroom; the frame rate differences between resolutions are almost entirely attributable to the GPU’s rendering capacity. The CPU’s 24 cores and 32 threads are not the constraint here, as even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would typically be most stressed, the 196 FPS average shows no sign of a processor ceiling. The data points to a classic GPU-limited configuration for Lockdown Protocol, with the RTX 3060 Ti dictating performance across all tested settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the configuration reaches an average of 196 FPS. This is the fastest measured result in the entire dataset, showing that the CPU and GPU can deliver very high frame rates when graphical load is minimized.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average is 93 FPS. At Medium, the average drops to 66 FPS, and at High it falls to 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS mark. Ultra settings at 4K produce an average of 43 FPS, making them unsuitable for smooth play.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 16129. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 16014, which is 0.7% higher, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M scores 16351, putting it 1.4% ahead. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT also scores 16361, a 1.4% advantage, and the AMD Radeon R9 370X trails at 15862, which is 1.7% lower.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings yield an average of 144 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 67 FPS. This is a difference of 77 FPS, representing a 53% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Q: Is the Intel Core i9-14900K a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. The data shows 196 FPS at 1080p Low, which is the highest average across all tests. The CPU’s single-thread score of 2262.5 in Cinebench R23 and its 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicate it has substantial processing power, and the measured frame rates suggest it is not limiting performance in this game.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the entire dataset?

A: The lowest minimum FPS figure is 56, recorded at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is the only recorded minimum below 60 FPS, highlighting the strain 4K places on the GPU. All other minimums are 87 or higher, with the 1080p Medium run showing a minimum of 118 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the defining component in this analysis. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes a limiting factor at 4K. The GPU’s boost clock of 1665 MHz and base clock of 1410 MHz, combined with 4864 shading units, deliver a FP32 performance of 16.20 TFLOPS. These specifications place the GPU in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 16129 is closely matched by its nearest rivals, with deltas ranging from -1.4% to +1.7%.

In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU’s role is evident in the scaling pattern. At 1080p, the GPU is able to push frame rates well above 120 FPS even at High settings, and reaches 196 FPS at Low. However, as resolution increases, the pixel fill rate demand grows, and the GPU’s 80 ROPs and 253.1 GTexel/s texture rate become the constraining factors. The 4K results—57 FPS at High and 43 FPS at Ultra—show that the GPU is saturated, with no headroom for additional graphical fidelity.

The VRAM capacity is also a consideration. While the game’s VRAM usage is not directly measured in the FPS data, the significant performance drop at 4K suggests that the 8 GB buffer may be insufficient for Ultra settings at that resolution. The fact that Low settings at 4K nearly double the frame rate to 93 FPS indicates that reducing texture and shading loads alleviates memory pressure, allowing the GPU to operate more efficiently. This behavior is consistent with a GPU that has enough compute power for 1440p but is held back by memory bandwidth and capacity at 4K.

The RTX 3060 Ti’s end-of-life production status and its position relative to rivals—such as the AMD Radeon RX 9060, which is 0.7% faster in average score—suggest it is a mid-range part that can handle competitive FPS titles at mainstream resolutions. In this game, the GPU’s performance ceiling is clearly defined by the 4K results, where it falls below the 60 FPS target on all presets except Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data is comprehensive, covering three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the configuration delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 196 FPS, Medium yields 139 FPS (with a minimum of 118 and maximum of 160), High achieves 121 FPS, and Ultra drops to 91 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 105 FPS, showing a wide range of performance that gives users flexibility.

At 2560x1440, frame rates remain strong but begin to show GPU strain. Low settings average 144 FPS, which is a 52 FPS drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 102 FPS, with a minimum of 87 and maximum of 117. High settings produce 89 FPS, and Ultra falls to 67 FPS. The most notable observation at 1440p is that the gap between Medium and High is only 13 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 22 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset introduces a disproportionate load.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overextended. Low settings still manage an average of 93 FPS, but Medium drops to 66 FPS (minimum 56, maximum 76), High falls to 57 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 43 FPS. The 4K results show a stark contrast: Low is the only preset that clears 60 FPS, and the step from Low to Medium costs 27 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs 14 FPS. The minimum FPS of 56 at 4K Medium is the lowest recorded in the entire dataset, indicating that even at this preset, there are moments of significant stutter.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers a balanced profile with recorded minimum and maximum values, providing the most complete data. The High and Ultra presets lack minimum and maximum figures, which limits the analysis of frame time consistency for those settings. Overall, the breakdown shows that 1080p and 1440p are viable for high-refresh-rate play, while 4K requires Low settings for a playable experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a high-end desktop processor with 24 cores and 32 threads, based on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its boost clock of 6.00 GHz and base clock of 3.20 GHz, combined with a 36 MB shared L3 cache, give it exceptional single-thread and multi-thread performance. The CPU’s benchmark scores are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and a single-core score of 2262.5, which place it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 79097 is within 1% of its nearest rivals, with the Intel Core i9-14900KF scoring 79371 (-0.3%) and the AMD EPYC 7413 scoring 80041 (-1.2%).

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The data shows that the i9-14900K is more than capable of this task. At 1080p Low, the 196 FPS average indicates that the CPU is not limiting performance, as this is a frame rate that would typically expose a processor bottleneck if one existed. The 24 cores and 32 threads are overkill for a game like Lockdown Protocol, which is an FPS title that likely does not scale beyond a handful of cores, but the high single-thread performance from the 6.00 GHz boost clock ensures that the primary game thread runs without constraint.

The CPU’s memory support for DDR4 and DDR5, along with its dual-channel memory bus, provides sufficient bandwidth for the game’s data streams. While the memory bandwidth is not specified in the data, the CPU’s strong passmark scores—such as a multi-thread score of 58674 and a single-thread score of 4697—reinforce its ability to handle complex simulation tasks. The fact that frame rates at 1080p are 196 FPS at Low and 121 FPS at High, with only a 75 FPS difference, suggests that the CPU is not the differentiating factor between these settings; the GPU is.

The CPU’s position relative to its rivals—with the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 being 1.7% slower and the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus being 0.6% slower—shows that the i9-14900K is near the top of the performance stack. There is no evidence in the measured FPS data that the CPU holds back the RTX 3060 Ti at any resolution or setting. Even at 4K, where frame rates are low, the CPU has ample headroom, and the bottleneck is squarely on the GPU’s rendering pipeline.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user’s resolution and frame rate target. For 1920x1080, all presets are playable, but the High preset at 121 FPS offers the best balance between visual quality and performance for a 120 Hz display. The Medium preset at 139 FPS is ideal for a 144 Hz display, as it provides a 39 FPS margin over the refresh rate, while the Low preset at 196 FPS is best for competitive play on a 240 Hz monitor, though it sacrifices graphical fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. It averages 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS, which is sufficient for a 100 Hz or 120 Hz display. The High preset at 89 FPS is acceptable for a 90 Hz display, but the Medium preset’s higher minimum FPS suggests better frame pacing. The Ultra preset at 67 FPS is marginal for 60 Hz displays, but the 22 FPS drop from High to Ultra indicates that the visual gains may not justify the performance cost.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only viable option for smooth gameplay, with an average of 93 FPS. The Medium preset at 66 FPS is borderline, and its minimum of 56 FPS means it will drop below 60 FPS during intense scenes. The High and Ultra presets, at 57 FPS and 43 FPS respectively, are not recommended for 4K play, as they fail to maintain a consistent 60 FPS. For users who prioritize frame rate over resolution, dropping to 1440p Medium is a better choice than 4K High, as it offers 102 FPS versus 57 FPS—a 45 FPS advantage.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this combo across most resolutions. It provides the only recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, indicating that it was the primary test setting, and its performance is consistently higher than High while being visually close. For the best experience, users should target 1440p Medium for a high-refresh-rate experience or 1080p High for a balance of quality and speed. 4K should be reserved for Low settings only, as any higher preset results in sub-60 FPS averages.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combination ranks 1854 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the 50th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it performs better than half of the systems tested but worse than the other half. This ranking is a reflection of the GPU’s mid-range status; the CPU is a top-tier part, but the RTX 3060 Ti’s 59th percentile ranking among all GPUs drags the combo down in a game that is heavily GPU-bound.

The combo’s rank of 1854 indicates that it is not a top-tier performer for Lockdown Protocol. Systems with higher-end GPUs, such as those in the 90th percentile or above, would likely achieve significantly higher frame rates at 4K and Ultra settings, where the RTX 3060 Ti struggles. However, the combo still outperforms lower-end configurations, particularly at 1080p, where the CPU’s strength ensures high frame rates even with a mid-range GPU.

The rank is consistent with the measured FPS data. At 1080p, the combo delivers frame rates that would satisfy most gamers, with 121 FPS at High and 196 FPS at Low. At 1440p, it remains competitive, with 89 FPS at High and 144 FPS at Low. The weakness is at 4K, where the combo falls below 60 FPS on all presets except Low. This suggests that the combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, and its rank of 1854 reflects its performance ceiling at higher resolutions.

Given that the GPU has an average benchmark score of 16129 and the CPU has an average score of 79097, the combo’s overall performance is skewed by the GPU’s limitations. The CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14900KF, is only 0.3% faster, meaning the CPU choice is not a significant factor in the combo’s rank. Instead, the GPU’s position relative to its rivals—such as the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, which is 1.4% faster—defines the combo’s standing. For users seeking a higher rank in Lockdown Protocol, upgrading the GPU would yield far greater returns than upgrading the CPU, as the data clearly shows the GPU is the limiting component.