Lockdown Protocol

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 sits at rank 1578 out of 3714 tested combinations in the database for Lockdown Protocol. That places this combo in the upper 42% of all tested systems, which is a solid mid-to-high tier position for a first-person shooter. The ranking reflects the combined headroom of the CPU and GPU working together, and the data shows this pairing is not a top-tier contender but is comfortably above the median.

Breaking down the components individually, the i5-11400F holds a 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 17177. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the AMD EPYC 7H12 scores 17120 (0.3% higher), the Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17239 (0.4% lower), the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17278 (0.6% lower), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U scores 17074 (0.6% higher). This cluster indicates that the i5-11400F's processing power is essentially interchangeable with several other chips within a 1% margin, so any performance differences in Lockdown Protocol will likely come from the GPU rather than the CPU.

The RTX 3070 holds a 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17208. Its nearest rivals are also close: the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT scores 17083 (0.7% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 17037 (1% higher), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019 (1.1% higher), and the NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 17468 (1.5% lower). The GPU's percentile is notably lower than the CPU's, which suggests that for this particular game, the RTX 3070 may be the limiting factor in pushing higher frame rates at demanding settings.

What the ranking data implies is that this combo is well balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the GPU's mid-tier percentile relative to the CPU's higher percentile hints that at 4K Ultra settings, the RTX 3070's 8 GB memory and compute throughput will struggle to keep pace with the CPU's ability to feed frames. The measured FPS data confirms this suspicion, as we will explore in the following sections.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database's playable threshold is 60 FPS, and the verdict by resolution provides clear guidance on the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS on average.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the best playable setting is High, which delivers an average of 65.1 FPS. The data shows that Medium runs at 71 FPS and Low at 102.8 FPS, both also above the threshold, but High is the most demanding preset that still clears 60 FPS. Ultra drops to 44.6 FPS, which falls below the playable threshold and is therefore not recommended.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the best playable setting is Ultra, delivering an average of 72.3 FPS. All four presets are playable: High at 98.6 FPS, Medium at 111.4 FPS, and Low at 159.2 FPS. Ultra is the highest quality option that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, making it the clear choice for users who want maximum visual fidelity.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the best playable setting is also Ultra, with an average of 102.2 FPS. The full range of presets is playable: High at 132.5 FPS, Medium at 151.4 FPS, and Low at 215.2 FPS. The gap between Ultra and the next step down is significant, but Ultra still provides over 100 FPS on average, which is excellent for competitive play.

The pattern across resolutions is telling: as resolution drops, the headroom for higher settings grows substantially. At 4K, the combo is limited to High; at 1440p and 1080p, it can handle Ultra with room to spare. This suggests that for users who prioritize frame rate over visual quality, the RTX 3070 has plenty of headroom at lower resolutions, but at 4K the GPU's memory bandwidth and capacity become the bottleneck.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals how the CPU and GPU divide their responsibilities at each resolution. The key observation is that scaling from 4K to 1440p to 1080p produces frame rate increases that are not linear, which indicates different bottlenecks at different settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint. The gap between Low (102.8 FPS) and Ultra (44.6 FPS) is a 58.2 FPS spread, which translates to a 130% performance difference. This wide scaling with settings is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario: the RTX 3070's rendering throughput is the limiting factor, and lowering settings directly reduces the pixel and shading workload. The CPU's role is minimal here, as even at Low settings the frame rate does not approach the CPU's theoretical maximum.

At 2560x1440, the GPU remains the primary bottleneck, but the CPU begins to matter more. The spread between Low (159.2 FPS) and Ultra (72.3 FPS) is 86.9 FPS, a 120% difference. The fact that Low settings push past 159 FPS indicates that the CPU can feed frames at a high rate, but the GPU still cannot keep up with higher settings. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to avoid becoming the limiting factor at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the CPU starts to assert more influence. The spread between Low (215.2 FPS) and Ultra (102.2 FPS) is 113 FPS, a 110% difference. The 215.2 FPS figure at Low is telling: it suggests that the CPU's single-thread performance, reflected in its 3dmark single-thread score of 868 and passmark single-thread score of 2981, is capable of driving very high frame rates when the GPU workload is light. However, the CPU's multithreaded performance, with a cinebench R23 multicore score of 14340, is not exceptional, so at Ultra settings the GPU still dominates.

Comparing resolutions directly: moving from 4K High (65.1 FPS) to 1440p High (98.6 FPS) yields a 51.5% improvement, while moving from 1440p High to 1080p High (132.5 FPS) yields a 34.4% improvement. This diminishing return as resolution drops indicates that the CPU is gradually becoming a larger factor, but it never fully overtakes the GPU as the primary bottleneck in this combo.

For a game like Lockdown Protocol, an FPS title, the practical implication is that users should prioritize GPU settings at 4K, but at 1080p they can afford to max out settings without worrying about CPU limitations. The data does not show any scenario where the CPU becomes the sole bottleneck, which is a positive sign for overall system balance.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals in the database provide a useful frame of reference for what this combo's performance feels like in practice. Since the CPU and GPU each have close competitors, users can expect similar behavior from systems using those alternative parts.

For the CPU, the i5-11400F's closest alternatives are all within a 1% performance delta. The AMD EPYC 7H12 (0.3% higher average score) is a server-class chip that would behave nearly identically in gaming workloads, though its power characteristics differ. The Intel Core i5-12450H (0.4% lower) is a mobile chip that would deliver similar frame rates in this game. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (0.6% lower) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (0.6% higher) are also within the same performance envelope. None of these differences would be perceptible in Lockdown Protocol's frame rates.

For the GPU, the RTX 3070's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (0.7% higher), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (1% higher), AMD Radeon HD 7970M (1.1% higher), and NVIDIA Tesla K40c (1.5% lower). The RX 7600 XT is the most modern comparison and would produce nearly identical FPS numbers. The GTX 690 and HD 7970M are older architectures but score similarly in synthetic benchmarks, which means their real-world gaming performance may vary due to driver support and feature differences, though the database suggests they would be close. The Tesla K40c, a compute-oriented card, would be slightly slower but within a negligible margin.

What this means for users is that swapping the i5-11400F for any of its rivals would not meaningfully change the measured FPS. Similarly, swapping the RTX 3070 for an RX 7600 XT would keep frame rates within a rounding error. The combo's ranking is therefore representative of a broad family of similar-performing hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table summarizes all measured average FPS values from the database, organized by resolution and settings. Note that minimum and maximum FPS values were not recorded, so only averages are available.

3840x2160 (4K):

| Settings | Avg FPS |

|----------|---------|

| Low | 102.8 |

| Medium | 71.0 |

| High | 65.1 |

| Ultra | 44.6 |

At 4K, the drop from Medium to High is only 5.9 FPS, while the drop from High to Ultra is 20.5 FPS. This suggests that Ultra settings introduce a disproportionately heavy workload, likely due to shadow quality, reflections, or post-processing effects. The jump from Ultra to Low is a 58.2 FPS improvement, which indicates that the RTX 3070's 8 GB memory is likely a factor at 4K Ultra, as higher settings typically increase texture memory usage.

2560x1440 (1440p):

| Settings | Avg FPS |

|----------|---------|

| Low | 159.2 |

| Medium | 111.4 |

| High | 98.6 |

| Ultra | 72.3 |

The 1440p data shows a more gradual scaling: Low to Medium is a 47.8 FPS drop, Medium to High is a 12.8 FPS drop, and High to Ultra is a 26.3 FPS drop. The gap between High and Ultra is larger than between Medium and High, again pointing to Ultra settings as a distinct workload tier. At this resolution, the CPU's ability to push 159 FPS at Low suggests it is not a limiting factor.

1920x1080 (1080p):

| Settings | Avg FPS |

|----------|---------|

| Low | 215.2 |

| Medium | 151.4 |

| High | 132.5 |

| Ultra | 102.2 |

At 1080p, the scaling is steepest: Low to Medium is a 63.8 FPS drop, Medium to High is an 18.9 FPS drop, and High to Ultra is a 30.3 FPS drop. The 215.2 FPS at Low is the highest recorded value for this combo, indicating that the CPU can drive very high frame rates when the GPU is not stressed. However, Ultra still maintains over 100 FPS, which is more than sufficient for a smooth experience.

A notable observation is that the gap between High and Ultra widens as resolution decreases: 20.5 FPS at 4K, 26.3 FPS at 1440p, and 30.3 FPS at 1080p. This suggests that Ultra settings have a fixed computational cost that becomes relatively more expensive at lower resolutions where the GPU is less pixel-bound and more shader-bound.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only up to High settings. The measured average FPS is 65.1 at 4K High, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. Medium runs at 71 FPS and Low at 102.8 FPS. Ultra drops to 44.6 FPS, which is not playable.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p gaming?

A: Ultra is the best playable setting at 1440p, with an average of 72.3 FPS. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) pass the 60 FPS threshold, but Ultra provides the highest visual quality while still maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from 1080p to 4K at the same settings?

A: At High settings, the drop is from 132.5 FPS at 1080p to 65.1 FPS at 4K, a 50.9% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 215.2 FPS to 102.8 FPS, a 52.2% reduction. The relative loss is consistent across settings, indicating a resolution-bound scaling.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: The GPU is the dominant factor at all resolutions. The CPU's performance ceiling is only approached at 1080p Low settings (215.2 FPS), but at higher settings the GPU workload takes over. The i5-11400F's 6-core, 12-thread configuration is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 3070 in this game.

Q: How does this combo compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU's average score of 17177 is within 0.6% of its four nearest rivals, and the GPU's average score of 17208 is within 1.5% of its four nearest rivals. In practice, any of these alternative components would produce nearly identical frame rates in Lockdown Protocol.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 215.2, achieved at 1080p Low settings. The lowest is 44.6 FPS at 4K Ultra. No minimum or maximum FPS values were recorded in the database, only averages.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination is fully capable of running Lockdown Protocol at playable frame rates across all tested resolutions, with the exception of 4K Ultra. The verdict by resolution is clear:

At 3840x2160, the combo is playable at High (65.1 FPS), Low (102.8 FPS), and Medium (71 FPS). Ultra is not playable at 44.6 FPS. Users with a 4K display should stick to High settings for the best balance of quality and performance.

At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, with Ultra delivering 72.3 FPS. This is the sweet spot for this combo: it offers maximum visual quality while maintaining a frame rate that is smooth and responsive.

At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, with Ultra delivering 102.2 FPS. Even at the highest settings, the combo provides over 100 FPS on average, which is ideal for a competitive FPS game like Lockdown Protocol.

The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can handle Ultra settings with ease. At 4K, it is limited to High settings, and the GPU's 8 GB memory capacity and mid-tier percentile ranking suggest that pushing beyond High will yield diminishing returns. For users who prioritize frame rate, the 1440p Ultra setting is the recommended configuration. For users who own a 4K monitor, High settings at 65.1 FPS is the practical ceiling. Overall, this is a well-balanced mid-range system that delivers playable performance across the board, with clear headroom at lower resolutions.