Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title, exhibits a pronounced sensitivity to both resolution and graphics presets when paired with the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER. The measured frame rates reveal a system where the GPU is the primary scaling factor, while the CPU provides a robust foundation that rarely becomes the limiting component. This analysis breaks down the benchmark data to interpret the performance characteristics of this specific combination.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a classic GPU-bound scaling curve. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 181.2 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same preset drops this to 132.4 FPS, a reduction of 48.8 FPS. The jump to 4K High yields 84.7 FPS, which is 96.5 FPS lower than the 1080p result. This significant drop indicates that the rendering load is scaling heavily with pixel count, which is expected for a modern FPS with detailed environments.

The pattern holds across all quality presets. With Low settings, the system achieves 290.6 FPS at 1080p, 212.6 FPS at 1440p, and 135.8 FPS at 4K. The fact that even at Low settings the frame rate falls by over half from 1080p to 4K confirms that the GPU is the dominant factor in this resolution range. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, are adequate for 4K, but the sheer pixel throughput required at 3840x2160 is the clear bottleneck.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly telling. At High settings, the drop is 47.7 FPS (from 132.4 to 84.7), which is proportionally similar to the 1080p to 1440p drop. This linearity suggests that the game is not hitting any memory or cache walls at these resolutions; it is purely a fill-rate and shader compute limitation. The data indicates that for a locked 60 FPS experience, 4K is feasible only at Medium or High presets, while 1440p is the sweet spot for high refresh rate monitors.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the workhorse in this pairing. Its benchmark scores place it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 42576. The chip, based on the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm process, operates with a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz. These clocks, combined with 7168 shading units and 56 RT cores, provide the compute power necessary for the observed frame rates.

The GPU’s role becomes clearer when examining the Ultra preset results. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 61.8 FPS, a 22.9 FPS fall from High settings at the same resolution. This is a substantial penalty for the highest quality settings, suggesting that the Ultra preset includes effects that heavily tax the GPU’s resources. The memory configuration—12 GB of GDDR6X at 21 Gbps effective—is sufficient, but the 192-bit bus width limits the bandwidth compared to wider implementations, which may contribute to the steep drop at 4K Ultra.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4070 SUPER sits within a narrow performance band. It is 0.2% behind the NVIDIA RTX A6000 and 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE in average benchmark score. It is 1.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580X and 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M40. These small deltas indicate that the card is positioned in a competitive mid-to-high tier, and the measured FPS in Lockdown Protocol reflects this positioning—capable of high refresh rates at 1440p but not a 4K Ultra powerhouse.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K provides overwhelming compute headroom for this game. With 24 cores and 32 threads, configured as a mix of performance and efficiency cores, it boosts up to 6.00 GHz. This is a top-tier desktop processor, ranking in the 97th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79824. In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU rarely becomes the bottleneck, as evidenced by the consistent scaling of frame rates with resolution and preset changes.

The CPU’s single-thread performance is strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7040, which is critical for an FPS game’s game logic and draw call processing. However, the data shows that as resolution increases, the frame rate drops in lockstep, which indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates across resolutions at a given preset, particularly at 1080p where the GPU load is lower.

The processor’s nearest rivals show how tight the competition is at the top. It is 0.3% behind the AMD EPYC 7413, 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i9-14900KF and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF, and 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K. These sub-1% deltas mean that in practice, the choice between these CPUs would not noticeably change the frame rates in Lockdown Protocol. The i9-14900K’s role here is to avoid any CPU-induced frame drops, which it does effortlessly.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing of the i9-14900K and RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 254th out of 1637 tested combos. This places it in the top 15.5% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing given the GPU’s 84th percentile rank. The high CPU percentile (97th) helps boost the combo’s overall position, even though the GPU is the primary driver of the FPS numbers.

The rank reflects a balanced system where the CPU does not hinder the GPU. In combos with weaker processors, the same GPU might score lower due to CPU bottlenecks at lower resolutions. Here, the 1080p Low result of 290.6 FPS demonstrates that the i9-14900K can feed the RTX 4070 SUPER with enough data to reach very high frame rates. The gap between the combo’s rank and the GPU’s individual rank suggests that the CPU contributes to the overall performance consistency, ensuring that the GPU is always the limiting factor.

The data indicates that this combo is positioned for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming. At 1440p High, it delivers 132.4 FPS, which is well above the 100 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The 4K results, while playable, are not competitive with higher-tier GPUs, as the 84.7 FPS at 4K High shows. The 254th rank out of 1637 means there are 253 combos that perform better, mostly those with more powerful GPUs, but this setup offers a strong balance of CPU and GPU capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience depends on the target display refresh rate and resolution. For 4K displays, the High preset at 84.7 FPS is the best choice for a balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 61.8 FPS is playable but close to the edge of 60 FPS, leaving little headroom for demanding scenes. The Medium preset at 100.2 FPS is a safer option if a higher frame rate is preferred over maximum visual fidelity.

For 1440p monitors, the High preset at 132.4 FPS is recommended for most users, as it provides a smooth experience on 120 Hz or 144 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 101.5 FPS is also viable for those with 100 Hz or 120 Hz screens, offering the best visual quality without sacrificing too much smoothness. The Medium preset at 152.3 FPS is ideal for 165 Hz displays, while the Low preset at 212.6 FPS is only necessary for 240 Hz panels.

At 1080p, the system is capable of very high frame rates across all presets. The Ultra preset at 136.4 FPS is a solid choice for 144 Hz displays, while the High preset at 181.2 FPS suits 165 Hz or 180 Hz monitors. The Medium preset at 206.1 FPS and Low preset at 290.6 FPS are reserved for competitive players with 240 Hz or higher refresh rate displays. The data clearly shows that the High preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance across all resolutions, making it the default recommendation for this hardware combination.