Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT delivers a strong 1080p and 1440p experience in Lockdown Protocol, with the data showing all four tested presets clearing the 60 FPS threshold at those resolutions. The combination ranks in the 62nd percentile of tested combos, placing it ahead of the majority of systems while still leaving headroom above the bottom tier. At 4K, the pairing becomes more selective, with Ultra settings falling below the playability threshold, but High settings still manage to hold above 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination in Lockdown Protocol covers three resolutions and four quality presets, with all readings expressed as average frame rates. The dataset does not include minimum or maximum frame time values, so the analysis relies strictly on average performance.

At 3840x2160, the combo starts at 103.6 FPS on Low settings, which is the strongest 4K result in the measured set. Medium settings drop the average to 75.3 FPS, while High settings land at 62.4 FPS. The Ultra preset sits at 47.7 FPS, which is the only measured configuration across all resolutions that falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 55.9 FPS, indicating that quality presets have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with more headroom. Low settings produce 160.9 FPS, Medium delivers 112.3 FPS, High reaches 97.9 FPS, and Ultra still holds at 74.8 FPS. Every preset at 1440p clears the playable threshold with a comfortable margin; even the most demanding setting stays nearly 15 FPS above the 60 FPS line. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 86.1 FPS, showing that the scaling from quality settings remains significant but does not push any configuration into unplayable territory.

At 1920x1080, the combo shows its strongest performance. Low settings hit 220.3 FPS, Medium delivers 157.3 FPS, High reaches 136.5 FPS, and Ultra sits at 104 FPS. All four presets exceed 100 FPS, which means the system has substantial headroom for high-refresh-rate displays at 1080p. The spread between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 116.3 FPS, the largest absolute gap across all resolutions, but it is also the resolution where even the lowest result remains far above the playability threshold.

The resolution scaling pattern is consistent: dropping from 1080p to 1440p reduces average FPS by roughly 25-30% across presets, and moving from 1440p to 4K reduces it by another 35-40%. For example, High settings go from 136.5 FPS at 1080p to 97.9 FPS at 1440p, then to 62.4 FPS at 4K. This indicates that the GPU is the primary scaling factor as resolution increases, with the CPU maintaining enough throughput to avoid becoming the bottleneck at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT combination ranks 1397 out of 3714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol. This places the pairing in the 62nd percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 62% of the combinations in the database. The rank reflects the aggregate performance across all measured scenarios, weighting the resolution and preset combinations equally.

The percentile position is notable because it places this combo in the upper-middle tier of the tested field. It is not a top-tier enthusiast configuration, but it sits comfortably above the median. The data shows that this pairing is more than capable of handling the game's demands at mainstream resolutions, which aligns with the measured FPS results. The combo rank of 1397 out of 3714 suggests that users with this hardware will rarely encounter performance limitations in Lockdown Protocol, except at the most demanding 4K Ultra settings.

The rank also implies that the combination is balanced: the CPU's 83rd percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 67th percentile among all GPUs combine to produce a system that performs slightly above the GPU's individual standing. This indicates that the i5-14400F does not hold back the RX 7700 XT in this game, and the overall ranking is largely driven by the GPU's capability at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS on Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra settings deliver 104 FPS on average, and at 2560x1440, Ultra produces 74.8 FPS. Both resolutions clear the 60 FPS threshold. At 3840x2160, Ultra drops to 47.7 FPS, which falls below the playable threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: The verdict data lists High as the best playable setting at 3840x2160, with an average FPS of 62.4. Low and Medium also clear 60 FPS at 103.6 and 75.3 FPS respectively, but High offers the highest quality that stays above the threshold.

Q: How does the RX 7700 XT compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 2080?

A: The RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 22549, while the RTX 2080 scores 22895. The delta is -1.5%, meaning the RTX 2080 is slightly ahead by 1.5% in average synthetic benchmark performance.

Q: Is the i5-14400F a bottleneck for the RX 7700 XT in this game?

A: The CPU ranks in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32279. The nearest rival, the Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, scores 32233, a delta of 0.1%. The measured FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, not the CPU.

Q: What is the playable settings list at 1440p?

A: All four presets are playable at 2560x1440: Low at 160.9 FPS, Medium at 112.3 FPS, High at 97.9 FPS, and Ultra at 74.8 FPS. The best settings option is Ultra, which still maintains an average above 60 FPS.

Q: How far above the playable threshold is the 1080p High preset?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 136.5, which is 76.5 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This provides substantial headroom for frame rate fluctuations without dropping below playability.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32279. The nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U with a score of 32233 (0.1% slower), the Intel Core i9-11900 with 32226 (0.2% slower), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS with 32354 (0.2% faster), and the Intel Core i7-12800H with 32121 (0.5% slower). These processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Lockdown Protocol, meaning the choice between them would have a negligible impact on frame rates. The deltaPct values are all within half a percent, so any of these CPUs paired with the RX 7700 XT would produce statistically indistinguishable results.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 22549. The closest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile with 22435 (0.5% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile with 22729 (0.8% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 with 22895 (1.5% faster), and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 with 22170 (1.7% slower). A system using one of these GPUs with the i5-14400F would produce similar FPS figures in Lockdown Protocol, with the RTX 2080 offering the closest match in synthetic performance. The differences are small enough that the measured FPS results would fall within a few frames per second of each other across all resolutions and presets.

The practical implication is that users considering this CPU-GPU pairing have several near-identical alternatives. Swapping the i5-14400F for a Ryzen 7 6800HS would yield a 0.2% improvement in CPU benchmark scores, while swapping the RX 7700 XT for an RTX 2080 would yield a 1.5% improvement in GPU scores. These changes would not materially alter the playability verdicts at any resolution.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals how the CPU and GPU divide responsibilities in Lockdown Protocol. At 1920x1080, the system produces 220.3 FPS on Low settings and 104 FPS on Ultra. The gap of 116.3 FPS between presets is driven primarily by GPU load, as higher quality settings increase shading, texture, and post-processing demands. The fact that even Ultra at 1080p clears 100 FPS suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution; the i5-14400F has sufficient single-thread and multi-thread performance to feed the GPU at high frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues with Low at 160.9 FPS and Ultra at 74.8 FPS. The absolute performance drops from 1080p, but the relative scaling between presets remains similar. This indicates that the GPU is handling the increased pixel count, while the CPU continues to provide adequate frame pacing. The i5-14400F's 10 cores and 16 threads, along with its 20 MB of shared L3 cache, are sufficient to maintain high draw-call throughput even as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's role becomes dominant. Low settings produce 103.6 FPS, but Ultra drops to 47.7 FPS, a gap of 55.9 FPS. The steep decline at Ultra suggests that the RX 7700 XT's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are pushed to their limits at 4K with maximum quality settings. The GPU's 54 ray accelerators and 3456 shading units are taxed heavily at this resolution, while the CPU has ample headroom. The verdict data confirms this: at 4K, only High, Low, and Medium are playable, with Ultra falling below the 60 FPS threshold.

The scaling between resolutions and presets shows that the CPU matters most at lower resolutions and lower settings, where the GPU is not saturated. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 220.3 FPS, a frame rate that requires strong CPU single-thread performance to avoid bottlenecking. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as the CPU's role diminishes when the GPU is rendering over eight million pixels per frame. Users seeking higher 4K performance would need a more powerful GPU, while those targeting maximum 1080p frame rates would benefit from a faster CPU only marginally, since the current pairing already exceeds 200 FPS at Low settings.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol at 60 FPS across the majority of tested configurations. The verdict by resolution is clear: at 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, with Ultra settings delivering 104 FPS on average. This makes 1080p the safest resolution for this combo, offering full quality flexibility without approaching the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, all four presets also clear 60 FPS, with Ultra at 74.8 FPS and High at 97.9 FPS. This resolution provides a good balance between visual quality and performance, making it the recommended choice for users with 1440p displays. The best settings option at this resolution is Ultra, which still maintains a comfortable margin above the playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, the verdict is more constrained. High settings are the best playable option at 62.4 FPS, while Low at 103.6 FPS and Medium at 75.3 FPS also qualify. Ultra settings at 47.7 FPS are not playable according to the 60 FPS threshold. Users with 4K displays should select High or Medium settings to maintain smooth gameplay, with the understanding that Ultra is out of reach for this hardware combination.

In summary, the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT deliver a playable experience at 1080p and 1440p with all quality presets, and at 4K with up to High settings. The system's 62nd percentile ranking among 3714 tested combos confirms it as a solid mid-to-upper tier configuration for Lockdown Protocol, with the primary limitation being 4K Ultra performance.