Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a strong 1080p and 1440p experience in Lockdown Protocol, but 4K gaming requires compromises. At 1920x1080, this combo averages 93 FPS at Ultra settings, making it fully capable of high-refresh-rate play. Moving to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset still clears 60 FPS with an average of 68 FPS, while 4K Ultra falls below the playable threshold at 44 FPS. The data confirms that this pairing is best suited for 1440p and below, where it offers smooth performance across all tested settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

Benchmark results for Lockdown Protocol show a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates, starting with 200 FPS on Low settings. The Medium preset averages 142 FPS, with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 163 FPS. High settings produce 124 FPS on average, while Ultra still maintains a solid 93 FPS. All 1080p presets stay far above the 60 FPS playable threshold, with even the most demanding setting offering nearly 50% headroom over that mark.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down predictably but remains impressive. Low settings hit 147 FPS, while Medium averages 104 FPS with a range of 88 to 120 FPS. High settings deliver 91 FPS, and Ultra drops to 68 FPS. The jump from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 25-27% of the frame rate across comparable presets, which is a moderate penalty for the resolution increase. The Ultra preset at 1440p still clears 60 FPS, though with less margin than at 1080p.

The 3840x2160 results reveal a steeper performance cliff. Low settings average 95 FPS, and Medium follows at 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS. High settings drop to 59 FPS, just one frame below the playable threshold, while Ultra falls to 44 FPS. The transition from 1440p to 4K costs roughly 35-38% of the frame rate at each preset level. Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 51 FPS, compared to 107 FPS at 1080p, indicating that resolution scaling becomes the dominant factor at higher pixel counts.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. At 1080p, the i5-13400F's 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample headroom, allowing the RX 7700 to push frame rates to 200 FPS on Low settings. The 3DMark multi-threaded score of 7314 and single-thread score of 960 suggest the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at lower resolutions where draw calls and game logic are more demanding relative to pixel work.

At 1440p, the balance shifts slightly toward the GPU, but the CPU still keeps pace. The fact that Ultra settings at 1440p achieve 68 FPS, while the same preset at 1080p reaches 93 FPS, indicates a 27% performance drop driven primarily by the 78% increase in pixel count. The CPU's role remains significant at this resolution, as evidenced by the modest frame-time stability shown in the Medium preset's 88-120 FPS range.

The 4K results demonstrate a clear GPU-bound scenario. The RX 7700's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the higher resolution, but the raw compute throughput of 25.18 TFLOPS limits performance. The drop from 67 FPS at 4K Medium to 59 FPS at 4K High, a mere 12% penalty, shows that the GPU is already near its limits. At this resolution, the CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 4.60 GHz boost clock become secondary considerations, as the GPU's pixel-rate of 236.1 GPixel/s becomes the constraining factor.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the clear choice, delivering 93 FPS on average. This is the most demanding setting that stays well above 60 FPS, and it leaves enough headroom for competitive play on high-refresh-rate monitors. The gap between High at 124 FPS and Ultra at 93 FPS is substantial, but the visual quality increase justifies the 31 FPS cost for most users.

At 2560x1440, Ultra remains the best option with an average of 68 FPS. While this is only 8 FPS above the playable threshold, it still qualifies as a smooth experience for a fast-paced FPS. The Medium preset at 104 FPS offers a more comfortable margin, but the data shows that Ultra is playable and provides the highest fidelity available. Players prioritizing frame consistency over visuals might prefer High at 91 FPS, but Ultra's 68 FPS average meets the 60 FPS requirement.

For 3840x2160, Medium is the highest playable preset, averaging 67 FPS. The minimum of 57 FPS does dip below the 60 FPS threshold, which could cause occasional stutter in intense scenes, but the average remains acceptable. Low settings at 95 FPS are the safer choice for competitive play, offering a 28 FPS improvement over Medium. High settings at 59 FPS are technically unplayable by the 60 FPS standard, despite being just one frame short.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol at 1080p and 1440p without restrictions. At 1920x1080, all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — clear the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra averaging 93 FPS. The 2560x1440 results are equally positive, as every preset including Ultra at 68 FPS stays above the playable mark. These resolutions offer a fully playable experience regardless of visual quality settings.

The 4K verdict is mixed. The verdict data lists Low and Medium as playable at 3840x2160, with Medium being the best settings option at 67 FPS average. However, the minimum frame rate of 57 FPS for Medium means the experience is not consistently smooth. High settings at 59 FPS fall just short of the threshold, and Ultra at 44 FPS is not viable. Users with 4K displays should stick to Medium or Low settings, accepting that the GPU cannot handle higher presets at this resolution.

Overall, this combo is a capable 1080p and 1440p machine for Lockdown Protocol, but 4K gaming is limited to lower presets. The i5-13400F provides sufficient CPU performance across all resolutions, while the RX 7700's GPU power becomes the limiting factor at 4K Ultra.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals show that the i5-13400F's performance tier is well-populated. The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS matches the i5-13400F's average benchmark score with a delta of 0%, while the Intel Core 5 120 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D are both 0.3% slower. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800H is 0.4% faster. These chips would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol, meaning the frame rates at 1080p would be virtually indistinguishable between them.

On the GPU side, the RX 7700 sits in a tight performance cluster. The AMD Radeon R9 370X is 0.1% slower, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 is 1.1% faster. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is 1% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti leads the group at 1.7% faster. In practical terms, swapping the RX 7700 for any of these cards would produce frame rate differences of only a few FPS across all resolutions and presets. The RTX 3060 Ti's slight edge would be most noticeable at 4K, where the GPU is the primary bottleneck, potentially pushing the High preset from 59 FPS to around 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the full database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing ranks 1709 out of 3714 combos, placing it in the upper half of the distribution. The percentile data reinforces this positioning, with the CPU at the 77th percentile among all processors and the GPU at the 58th percentile among all graphics cards. The rank of 1709 out of 3714 indicates that while this combo is not a top-tier performer, it sits comfortably above the median system.

The rank relative to other combos reflects the balanced nature of this pairing. The CPU's strong multi-threaded performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22604, pairs well with the GPU's 20974 Passmark G3D score. Neither component drastically outclasses the other, resulting in a well-matched system that delivers consistent performance across the tested resolutions. The 4K limitations are the primary factor holding back a higher rank, as the GPU's 58th percentile standing becomes the ceiling for high-resolution performance.