Lockdown Protocol

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of 64 FPS. High falls short at 56 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 42 FPS. Low runs at 90 FPS average, but Medium is the highest visual quality tier that maintains the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is the highest preset that clears 60 FPS, delivering 65 FPS average. This is notable because the same preset at 4K drops below the threshold, while at 1440p the GPU has enough headroom to run the maximum settings. High runs at 87 FPS, Medium at 99 FPS, and Low at 140 FPS, all comfortably above the playable mark.

At 1920x1080, Ultra again is the maximum preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, with 89 FPS average. High reaches 118 FPS, Medium 135 FPS, and Low 191 FPS. The pattern across resolutions is consistent: the RX 6700 XT paired with the i5-10400F can handle Ultra settings at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the user must step down to Medium for a smooth experience.

The data shows that the playable threshold of 60 FPS is crossed at every resolution, but the preset ceiling varies. At 4K, only Low and Medium are viable. At 1440p and 1080p, all four presets are playable, with Ultra being the recommended maximum.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS scaling across resolutions reveals how the workload shifts between the CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080, the GPU is the primary limiter, but the CPU still has headroom. Moving from Low to Ultra at 1080p reduces average FPS from 191 to 89, a drop of 102 FPS, which indicates the GPU is doing progressively more work. The CPU, a 6-core 12-thread Comet Lake part, does not become the bottleneck at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the GPU load increases further. Low runs at 140 FPS, Ultra at 65 FPS, and the gap between Low and Ultra is 75 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at the same preset shows the GPU's role: Low drops from 191 to 140 FPS, a 27% reduction, while Ultra drops from 89 to 65 FPS, a 27% reduction as well. This uniform scaling indicates the GPU is the dominant factor at both resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low runs at 90 FPS, Medium at 64 FPS, High at 56 FPS, and Ultra at 42 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 48 FPS. Compared to 1440p, the same preset at 4K shows a large reduction: Low goes from 140 to 90 FPS, Medium from 99 to 64 FPS, High from 87 to 56 FPS, and Ultra from 65 to 42 FPS. These reductions are roughly 35-40%, which is consistent with the 4K pixel count increase.

The CPU's role is most visible at low settings and high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 191 FPS, which is high enough that the CPU's single-thread performance, measured at 2541 in PassMark, becomes relevant. However, the fact that FPS scales smoothly across all presets and resolutions suggests the CPU does not hard-cap performance. The i5-10400F's multi-thread score of 12115 in PassMark and its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10283 indicate it can feed the GPU adequately at these settings.

In summary, the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K and at higher presets, while the CPU becomes more relevant at 1080p with lower presets where frame rates exceed 140 FPS. For most playable configurations, the RX 6700 XT determines the outcome.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded data shows the following averages: Low runs at 191 FPS, Medium at 135 FPS with a minimum of 115 and maximum of 156, High at 118 FPS, and Ultra at 89 FPS. The Medium preset has the only complete min/max data at this resolution, with a 41 FPS range.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 140 FPS, Medium averages 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 and maximum of 114, High averages 87 FPS, and Ultra averages 65 FPS. The Medium preset again shows the full range, with a 30 FPS spread between min and max.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 90 FPS, Medium averages 64 FPS with a minimum of 54 and maximum of 74, High averages 56 FPS, and Ultra averages 42 FPS. The Medium preset has a 20 FPS range, which is the narrowest of all recorded Medium presets.

The min/max data for Medium presets shows that at 1080p, the minimum of 115 FPS is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the maximum of 156 FPS indicates headroom for high-refresh monitors. At 1440p, the minimum of 84 FPS is still comfortable, while the maximum of 114 FPS is lower than 1080p. At 4K, the minimum of 54 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold, even though the average is 64 FPS, meaning that some scenes will experience stutter.

For presets without min/max data, the averages still tell the story. The 4K High preset at 56 FPS average is below the threshold, and 4K Ultra at 42 FPS is clearly unplayable. The 1080p and 1440p presets all average well above 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K with High settings?

A: No. The average FPS at 3840x2160 High is 56, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest playable preset at 4K is Medium, with an average of 64 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 2560x1440?

A: Ultra is playable at 1440p, with an average of 65 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for this resolution.

Q: How does the Medium preset perform at different resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium averages 135 FPS with a minimum of 115. At 2560x1440, Medium averages 99 FPS with a minimum of 84. At 3840x2160, Medium averages 64 FPS with a minimum of 54, which dips below the threshold.

Q: Is the 1080p Ultra preset playable?

A: Yes, 1920x1080 Ultra averages 89 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. All four presets at 1080p are playable.

Q: Which resolution has the highest average FPS for Low settings?

A: 1920x1080 Low averages 191 FPS, which is the highest recorded value across all resolutions and presets. 2560x1440 Low averages 140 FPS, and 3840x2160 Low averages 90 FPS.

Q: Does the 4K Medium preset have any frame drops below 60 FPS?

A: Yes, the minimum FPS at 3840x2160 Medium is 54, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. While the average is 64 FPS, some scenes will fall below the playable mark.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 1950 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 53rd percentile overall. This means the combo sits just above the middle of the tested hardware pool.

The CPU alone, the i5-10400F, has a percentile rank of 68 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14185. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6756E at 14163 (0.2% slower), the Intel Core 7 160UL at 14232 (0.3% faster), the AMD EPYC 7552 at 14115 (0.5% slower), and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C at 14277 (0.6% faster). These deltas are all within 1%, meaning the CPU performance is tightly clustered with these alternatives.

The GPU, the RX 6700 XT, has a percentile rank of 72 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27425. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile at 27435 (0% difference), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 at 27565 (0.5% faster), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell at 27135 (1.1% slower), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 at 27839 (1.5% faster). Again, the deltas are small, indicating the GPU performs nearly identically to these alternatives.

The combo rank of 1950 out of 3714 reflects that while each component is individually above average, the pairing does not place in the top tier. This is consistent with the measured FPS, which shows playable performance at all resolutions but with limitations at 4K Ultra. The rank suggests that many other combos achieve higher frame rates, but the i5-10400F and RX 6700 XT together deliver a solid, mid-pack experience.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Lockdown Protocol, but the playable settings depend on resolution. At 3840x2160, the playable presets are Low and Medium, with the best being Medium at 64 FPS average. High and Ultra are not playable, as they average 56 and 42 FPS respectively.

At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable. The best is Ultra at 65 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with a small margin. High runs at 87 FPS, Medium at 99 FPS, and Low at 140 FPS, all comfortably above the threshold.

At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable as well. The best is Ultra at 89 FPS average, which provides a substantial margin above the threshold. High runs at 118 FPS, Medium at 135 FPS, and Low at 191 FPS.

The verdict is clear: for 1080p and 1440p gaming, this combo can run the game at maximum settings with average FPS above 60. For 4K, the user must accept Medium settings, and even then, the minimum FPS of 54 indicates occasional dips below the threshold. The data shows a playable experience at 4K Medium, but not a consistently smooth one.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-10400F performs nearly identically to several other processors. The Intel Xeon 6756E is 0.2% slower, the Intel Core 7 160UL is 0.3% faster, the AMD EPYC 7552 is 0.5% slower, and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C is 0.6% faster. These deltas are within a single percentage point, meaning a system with any of these CPUs would show very similar frame rates in Lockdown Protocol.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is matched by several NVIDIA and AMD alternatives. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile shows a 0% difference, meaning it performs identically in benchmarks. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is 0.5% faster, the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell is 1.1% slower, and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 is 1.5% faster. These small deltas indicate that swapping the GPU for any of these would yield nearly the same FPS in the game.

A user with a combo involving the i5-10400F and any of these GPUs, or the RX 6700 XT with any of these CPUs, would see comparable performance. The differences are so small that they would not change which presets are playable at each resolution. The ranking of 1950 out of 3714 would also remain similar, as the overall performance profile is nearly identical.