Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti delivers a playable experience for Lockdown Protocol at 1080p and 1440p, but not at 4K. Measured frame rates show that the combination handles lower presets well, yet the most demanding settings push the hardware to its limits. This analysis walks through the recorded data across three resolutions, four settings presets, and the resulting performance tiers.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded average frame rates span from 56.2 FPS to 124.3 FPS depending on the preset. The Low setting produces the highest average at 124.3 FPS, followed by Medium at 86.4 FPS, then High at 79.2 FPS, and finally Ultra at 56.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 37.9 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 7.2 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra is 23 FPS, which represents the largest single-step penalty among the 1080p presets. These numbers indicate that the Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold, while the other three presets clear it comfortably.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decline across all settings. Low registers 92 FPS, Medium records 66.2 FPS, High drops to 53.5 FPS, and Ultra reaches 39.4 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 25.8 FPS, while Medium to High is a 12.7 FPS reduction. High to Ultra costs another 14.1 FPS. At this resolution, only Low and Medium stay above 60 FPS. The High preset falls short by 6.5 FPS, and Ultra misses the threshold by 20.6 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low averages 59.9 FPS, which is just under the 60 FPS line. Medium records 40.9 FPS, High drops to 35 FPS, and Ultra falls to 27 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is steep: Low loses 32.1 FPS, Medium loses 25.3 FPS, High loses 18.5 FPS, and Ultra loses 12.4 FPS. None of the 4K presets reach the playable threshold, and even the Low setting misses it by a razor-thin 0.1 FPS.

The data shows a consistent pattern across all resolutions: Ultra is always the most demanding preset, and Low is always the least demanding. The relative ordering never changes, but the absolute gaps widen at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 68.1 FPS. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 52.6 FPS. At 4K, the spread compresses to 32.9 FPS. This compression suggests that the GPU becomes the limiting factor more aggressively as resolution increases.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is High, with a recorded average of 79.2 FPS. This leaves a margin of 19.2 FPS above the threshold, which provides headroom for scene complexity or driver overhead. The Ultra preset at 56.2 FPS cannot be recommended for consistent 60 FPS gameplay at this resolution.

For 2560x1440, the best playable setting is Medium, which averages 66.2 FPS. This clears the 60 FPS threshold by 6.2 FPS, a modest margin. The High preset at 53.5 FPS falls below the line, so users seeking higher visual quality would need to accept sub-60 frame rates. Low is also playable at 92 FPS, but Medium offers better visual fidelity while staying above the threshold.

For 3840x2160, no preset achieves an average of 60 FPS. The closest is Low at 59.9 FPS, which misses the threshold by 0.1 FPS. Medium at 40.9 FPS, High at 35 FPS, and Ultra at 27 FPS are all substantially below the playable line. The database records no playable settings for this resolution, meaning the combo cannot deliver a 60 FPS experience at 4K under any tested preset.

The verdict data confirms these findings. At 1080p, the playable settings list includes High, Low, and Medium, with High as the best option at 79.2 FPS. At 1440p, the playable settings are Low and Medium, with Medium as the best option at 66.2 FPS. At 4K, the playable settings list is empty. These results align with the measured FPS data, showing a clear progression: the best preset shifts downward as resolution increases.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz and a 20 MB shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores place it in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25292. The GPU, a GTX 1660 Ti with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 1536 shading units, sits in the 41st percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 7723. This percentile gap suggests that the CPU has more relative headroom than the GPU, which becomes evident when examining frame rate scaling across resolutions.

The measured FPS scaling between 1080p and 1440p shows a moderate decline across all presets. Low drops from 124.3 to 92 FPS, a 26 percent reduction. Medium drops from 86.4 to 66.2 FPS, a 23.4 percent reduction. High drops from 79.2 to 53.5 FPS, a 32.4 percent reduction. Ultra drops from 56.2 to 39.4 FPS, a 29.9 percent reduction. The High preset experiences the largest relative drop, which indicates that the GPU is being stressed more heavily at this quality level.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more dramatic. Low drops from 92 to 59.9 FPS, a 34.9 percent reduction. Medium drops from 66.2 to 40.9 FPS, a 38.2 percent reduction. High drops from 53.5 to 35 FPS, a 34.6 percent reduction. Ultra drops from 39.4 to 27 FPS, a 31.5 percent reduction. These consistent reductions across all presets point to the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU has enough single-thread and multi-thread capability to feed the GPU at 1080p, but the GTX 1660 Ti cannot maintain frame rates as pixel count rises.

At 1080p, the CPU matters more because the GPU can often keep up with low and medium workloads. The 124.3 FPS Low result and 86.4 FPS Medium result suggest that the CPU has capacity to spare, as these frame rates are well above what the GPU would typically deliver at higher settings. At 1440p, the GPU begins to dominate, as shown by the narrowing of the FPS spread across presets. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, since even Low settings produce sub-60 FPS averages. The data supports a conclusion that this combo is GPU-bound at 1440p and 4K, while being more balanced at 1080p.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals in the database, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS has an average score of 25284, which is nearly identical to the i5-13400F's 25292, a delta of 0 percent. The Intel Core 5 120 scores 25362, which is 0.3 percent higher. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D also scores 25365, 0.3 percent higher. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800H scores 25201, which is 0.4 percent lower. These four chips bracket the i5-13400F within a 0.7 percent range, meaning that swapping to any of them would produce very similar CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol. None of these rivals would meaningfully change the measured FPS results, since the differences are negligible in real-world gaming.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a wider spread. The AMD Radeon 540 scores 7673, which is 0.7 percent lower than the GTX 1660 Ti's 7723. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 scores 7580, 1.9 percent lower. The AMD Radeon R7 250 scores 7557, 2.2 percent lower. The Intel Arc A310 scores 7550, 2.3 percent lower. These deltas are small enough that any of these GPUs would produce roughly similar frame rates, but the GTX 1660 Ti maintains a slight edge over all four. The closest rival is the Radeon 540, which trails by only 0.7 percent, meaning the performance difference would be within measurement noise.

The combination of the i5-13400F with any of these rival CPUs, or the GTX 1660 Ti with any of these rival GPUs, would yield frame rates within a few percent of the recorded data. The i5-13400F's nearest rivals are all within 0.4 percent, so CPU swaps would have almost no impact. The GPU swaps would be slightly more noticeable, but the largest delta is 2.3 percent, which corresponds to roughly 1 to 3 FPS at the measured average values. For a user seeking similar performance, these alternatives would behave nearly identically in Lockdown Protocol.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 1080p that stays above 60 FPS?

A: The High preset at 1920x1080 averages 79.2 FPS, which is the most demanding setting that clears the 60 FPS threshold. Low and Medium are also playable at 124.3 and 86.4 FPS respectively, but High offers better visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin.

Q: Can this combo run Lockdown Protocol at 4K?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 59.9 FPS, which falls just short of the 60 FPS threshold. Medium records 40.9 FPS, High records 35 FPS, and Ultra records 27 FPS. The database lists no playable settings at 4K.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Low compared to 1440p Low?

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 124.3. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 92 FPS. This represents a 32.3 FPS difference, or roughly a 26 percent reduction when moving to the higher resolution.

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

A: At 1080p, the CPU has more influence, as frame rates are high even on Medium and High presets. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, evidenced by the steep FPS drops across all presets when resolution increases. The GTX 1660 Ti's 41st percentile ranking versus the i5-13400F's 77th percentile supports this division of roles.

Q: Which rival GPU is closest in performance to the GTX 1660 Ti?

A: The AMD Radeon 540 has an average score of 7673, which is 0.7 percent lower than the GTX 1660 Ti's 7723. This is the smallest delta among the four nearest rivals, making it the closest performance match.

Q: What average FPS does the Ultra preset produce at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 39.4 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold by 20.6 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F and GTX 1660 Ti combination ranks 3157 out of 3714 tested combos in the database for Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the lower portion of the ranking, specifically around the 15th percentile of all tested systems. The ranking reflects the GPU's modest performance tier, as the CPU is comparatively stronger. The GTX 1660 Ti's 41st percentile among GPUs and the i5-13400F's 77th percentile among CPUs suggest that the combo's overall rank is dragged down by the graphics card.

The rank of 3157 means that roughly 557 combos perform worse, while 3156 combos perform better. Given that the combo achieves playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p on select presets, the ranking indicates that many other systems deliver higher averages, particularly at 4K or on Ultra settings. The combo's strength lies in its ability to handle lower presets at mainstream resolutions, but it cannot compete with higher-end GPU pairings that dominate the top of the ranking.

The rank also contextualizes the measured FPS data. A combo ranked near the bottom quartile would be expected to struggle with demanding settings, which matches the 4K results where no preset reaches 60 FPS. The 1080p and 1440p results are more favorable, but the overall ranking shows that this system is positioned for budget-conscious gaming rather than high-fidelity performance.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol at 1080p and 1440p, but not at 4K. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 79.2 FPS, which is the best playable option and provides a 19.2 FPS margin above the 60 FPS threshold. Low and Medium are also playable, with averages of 124.3 and 86.4 FPS respectively. The Ultra preset at 56.2 FPS falls short and should be avoided for consistent gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 66.2 FPS, making it the best playable setting. Low at 92 FPS is also an option, but Medium offers improved visuals while staying 6.2 FPS above the threshold. High at 53.5 FPS and Ultra at 39.4 FPS are not recommended for 60 FPS gaming.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The closest is Low at 59.9 FPS, which misses by 0.1 FPS. Users targeting 4K would need to reduce resolution or accept sub-60 frame rates. For the majority of players using 1080p or 1440p displays, this combo provides a playable experience on medium to high settings, with the caveat that Ultra is only viable at 1080p and even then only at 56.2 FPS. The data confirms a capable mid-range system for Lockdown Protocol, limited primarily by the GPU at higher resolutions.