Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a fast-paced FPS that stresses both processor and graphics pipeline, and the combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a top-tier experience. This pairing ranks 48th out of 3,714 tested combinations in the database, placing it in the top 1.3% of all measured configurations for this title. The results reflect a system with no obvious bottleneck; the RTX 5090’s massive frame output is consistently fed by the i9-14900K’s 24 cores and 32 threads.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 48 out of 3,714 tested configurations establishes it as an elite-tier setup for Lockdown Protocol. This placement is not merely a product of the GPU’s raw power; the CPU selection plays a decisive role in maintaining high frame rates, especially at lower resolutions where processor speed becomes the limiting factor. The Intel Core i9-14900K’s average benchmark score is 79,097, which places it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs tested, showing strong headroom for gaming workloads. In the database’s nearest rival comparisons, the i9-14900K trails the Intel Core i9-14900KF by a negligible 0.3%, and the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus by 0.6%, while it is 1.2% behind the AMD EPYC 7413. Conversely, it leads the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 by 1.7%. These marginal differences in aggregate CPU benchmarks translate into very little observable variation in game frame rates, meaning the i9-14900K is effectively on par with other high-end processors when paired with the RTX 5090. The GPU likewise sits in the 92nd percentile, and while its average benchmark score of 79,842 is close to the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (0.3% higher), the gaming-specific metrics differ much more substantially. The RTX 5090’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth are far more relevant to Lockdown Protocol’s real-time rendering demands than the raw averages suggest. As a result, this combo’s rank in the game reflects balanced, high-end component selection.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant contributor to frame rate in Lockdown Protocol. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for the game’s textures and geometry at any resolution tested. The memory clock is 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective), and the base clock of 2017 MHz with a boost of 2407 MHz ensures high sustained throughput. The 21,760 shading units and 680 texture mapping units process a massive amount of pixel data, as evidenced by a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. In practice, these specifications allow the RTX 5090 to handle the most demanding scenes without dropping frames, particularly at the Ultra settings where the average frame rate is still above 83 fps at 4K. The GPU's 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores are also accelerated, though Lockdown Protocol does not heavily rely on ray tracing in the measured configurations. The GPU's 575 W TDP and 16-pin power connector are indicative of its high power draw, but the performance it delivers in this game justifies that requirement. The percentile ranking of 92nd for the GPU, compared to 95th for the CPU, shows that the GPU is the more likely to be the limiting factor at 4K, but at 1080p, the balance shifts.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions highlights the relationship between the CPU and GPU. At 1080p, the RTX 5090 is not fully taxed; the average frame rates reach 369 fps on Low, which shows that the CPU is the primary driver of performance at this resolution. This is typical for high-end GPUs, as the rendering workload is light enough that the CPU’s instruction throughput, which is a strength of the 24-core i9-14900K, becomes the limiting factor. Moving to 1440p, the frame rates scale down as the GPU takes on a heavier load. The performance at 1440p High is 171 fps, which is 37% lower than the 1080p High score of 234 fps. At 4K, the shift becomes more pronounced. The 4K High score is 111 fps, which is 53% lower than the 1080p High score. This scaling suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, with the RTX 5090’s 32 GB of VRAM and high bandwidth being fully utilized, while the CPU’s role recedes. The Low settings at 4K yield 178 fps, which is still very high, but the gap between Low and Ultra settings grows as the resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 194 fps (369 vs 175), but at 4K, the difference is 95 fps (178 vs 83). This data indicates that the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, the GPU becomes more load-bearing as resolution climbs, and the 4K Ultra frame rate of 83 fps is a result of the GPU’s rendering work, not the CPU.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS records provide a clear picture of the optimal settings for this combo. At 4K, the Medium preset delivers an average of 127 fps with a minimum of 108 fps and a maximum of 146 fps, which is a balanced experience that keeps frame rates above 100 fps for most of the time. The High preset at 4K is 111 fps, which is also playable, but the Medium preset offers a higher average and a narrower range. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 83 fps, which is still fluid for most players, but the substantial drop from Medium to Ultra (35% reduction) is not justified by the visual gains in a fast-paced FPS. Therefore, the Medium preset is the recommended sweet spot at 4K, as it maintains a competitive frame rate while preserving visual quality. At 1440p, the High preset runs at 171 fps, which is excellent for high refresh rate monitors, and the Ultra preset at 128 fps is also acceptable. The Medium preset at 1440p, with an average of 196 fps, is the best choice for competitive play, as it provides a 19% higher frame rate than High and a 53% higher frame rate than Ultra. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high that any preset is viable; the Low preset reaches 369 fps, which exceeds most 360 Hz monitors, while the High preset at 234 fps is more than enough for a 240 Hz display. The Medium preset at 1080p, with an average of 268 fps, is recommended for a good mix of visual quality and performance, especially considering the minimum frame rate of 227 fps is still above 140 fps. In summary, the best experience per the measured data is Medium at 4K, Medium at 1440p, and Low at 1080p, though the High and Ultra presets at 1080p are also strong options for users with the display capability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the RTX 5090 delivers an average of 111 fps on High, 178 fps on Low, and 127 fps on Medium, with the Medium preset having a minimum of 108 and a maximum of 146. The Ultra preset drops to 83 fps. These numbers show that the RTX 5090 has a 32% performance improvement from Ultra to Medium at 4K, which is a significant jump. At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 171 fps, the Low preset 276 fps, the Medium preset 196 fps (minimum 167, maximum 226), and the Ultra preset 128 fps. The 1080p resolution offers the highest frame rates: High at 234 fps, Low at 369 fps, Medium at 268 fps (minimum 227, maximum 308), and Ultra at 175 fps. The data shows a consistent trend across resolutions: the Medium preset provides a better balance of frame rate and visual quality, while the Ultra preset offers a 20-25% reduction in frame rate compared to High. The minimum frame rate data, available for the Medium preset at all resolutions, is particularly useful. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 108 fps, which is above the 90 fps threshold that many players consider for a smooth experience. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 167 fps, and at 1080p Medium, the minimum is 227 fps. This shows that the RTX 5090 has enough headroom to maintain fluid performance even in complex scenes, with the 32 GB VRAM preventing any texture load issues.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, fabricated on a 10 nm process. Its 24 cores are split into performance and efficiency cores, and the 36 MB of L3 cache is shared. The base clock of 3.20 GHz can boost to 6.00 GHz, and the 2 MB per core L2 cache helps with latency. The CPU’s 95th percentile ranking among all processors is supported by its strong multi-core and single-core benchmarks. In Cinebench R23, it scores 39,399.5 in multi-core and 2,262.5 in single-core, and in Geekbench, it scores 21,697 in multi-core and 2,655 in single-core. For a gaming-centric analysis, these numbers translate to the ability to feed the RTX 5090 with enough instructions to avoid a CPU limitation, especially at 1080p where the CPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the 369 fps average is a direct reflection of the CPU’s 32 threads and high clock speed. The CPU's memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5, with a dual-channel bus, is also a factor in performance, as the game’s engine can take advantage of the memory bandwidth. The CPU’s TDP of 125 W is modest for a 24-core part, but the boost clock of 6.00 GHz shows the high single-thread performance that is critical for FPS games. In comparison to its nearest rivals, the i9-14900K’s 0.3% deficit to the i9-14900KF is within the margin of error, and its 1.7% lead over the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 shows that Intel’s top-end desktop chip remains competitive. The CPU’s role in this combo is to avoid being the bottleneck, and the data confirms that at resolutions, the frame rates are not limited by the CPU, except at 1080p where the high FPS confirms the CPU’s strength.