Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination delivers a robust 1080p and 1440p experience in Lockdown Protocol, with 4K playability contingent on settings. The CPU, a 10-core Raptor Lake part with a 4.70 GHz boost clock, sits at the 83rd percentile among all tested processors, while the GPU, based on the RDNA 4.0 architecture, ranks at the 69th percentile among all tested graphics cards. The measured frame rates across twelve resolution and preset combinations confirm that this pairing is capable of high-refresh-rate gaming at mainstream resolutions, though the most demanding 4K preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Benchmark data places the Intel Core i5-14400F in a tight cluster of comparable processors, with its nearest rivals all scoring within a fraction of a percent of its average. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U trails by only 0.1% in average score, making it a near-identical performer in synthetic tests. The Intel Core i9-11900 sits 0.2% behind, while the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS is 0.2% ahead of the i5-14400F in aggregate. The Intel Core i7-12800H rounds out the group, scoring 0.5% lower. For Lockdown Protocol, any of these CPUs would deliver very similar frame pacing and CPU-bound performance, though the i5-14400F’s higher single-thread capabilities may give it a slight edge in scenarios where the game engine does not fully utilize all 16 threads.

On the graphics side, the AMD Radeon RX 9070’s nearest rivals are a mixed bag of older and mobile parts. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z is 0.6% behind, while the AMD Radeon RX 6800S is 0.8% ahead. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile is 1.1% behind, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER leads by 1.2%. These deltas are small enough that in actual Lockdown gameplay, the differences would be within run-to-run variance. The RX 9070’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth provide a substantial buffer for texture-heavy scenes, so users transitioning from one of these rivals would see minimal changes in average FPS, especially at lower resolutions where the CPU becomes more influential.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the i5-14400F and the RX 9070 becomes clear when examining the scaling across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are extraordinarily high, with Low presets reaching 248.4 FPS, indicating that the CPU is not the limiting factor and the GPU is being fed sufficient data. However, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a noticeable drop: at High settings, the average FPS falls from 151.1 to 109.5, a reduction of roughly 27%. This indicates the GPU is beginning to take over as the primary constraint at 1440p. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the drop becomes even more pronounced. At High settings, 4K averages 72.8 FPS, a 33% decline from the 1440p result.

The setting sliders also reveal the GPU’s role. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is dramatic: Low achieves 113.5 FPS, while Ultra drops to 52.8 FPS, showing the RX 9070's render output units and texture units are heavily taxed by higher quality assets and effects at this resolution. At 1080p, the spread from Low to Ultra is narrower on a percentage basis (248.4 down to 118.2), but still substantial in absolute terms. The CPU’s role is relatively constant, and the data suggests that at 1080p, the i5-14400F is capable of pushing over 240 FPS in low-demand scenarios, meaning the GPU is the scaling limit even at the lowest resolution. In summary, the GPU dictates performance at all resolutions, but its dominance grows as resolution increases; the CPU is never the bottleneck here, as evidenced by the huge frame counts even when graphical load is minimal.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the RX 9070 with the i5-14400F delivers an average of 113.5 FPS on Low, 84.1 FPS on Medium, 72.8 FPS on High, and drops to 52.8 FPS on Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is over 60 FPS, confirming that the highest quality settings are a significant burden at 4K. No minimum or maximum FPS values were recorded in the data, so all analysis relies on the listed averages.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance improves substantially. The Low preset produces 180.6 FPS, which is a 59% increase over the 4K Low result. Medium reaches 127.6 FPS, High averages 109.5 FPS, and Ultra stays above the playable threshold at 85.2 FPS. The jump from 4K to 1440p is significant across the board, with the Ultra preset gaining over 32 FPS, indicating that the GPU has enough headroom to handle the reduced pixel count even at the highest quality.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high at every setting. Low hits 248.4 FPS, Medium 174 FPS, High 151.1 FPS, and Ultra 118.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to just over 130 FPS, and even the most demanding preset stays well above the 60 FPS playability threshold. These numbers suggest that the system is highly responsive at 1080p, and the i5-14400F’s 20 MB of L3 cache and the RX 9070’s 36.13 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are adequate for the game’s demands.

The Verdict

Based on the measured data, this system is fully capable of running Lockdown Protocol at all three tested resolutions, but the quality ceiling varies. At 1920x1080, every preset—Low, Medium, High, Ultra—averages above 60 FPS, with the Ultra preset still producing 118.2 FPS. This is a decisive pass. At 2560x1440, the verdict is equally positive: all four presets clear the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra averaging 85.2 FPS, so gamers can push the settings to maximum and still benefit from a smooth experience. At 3840x2160, the system is playable but more constrained. The High, Medium, and Low presets all maintain averages above 60 FPS—72.8, 84.1, and 113.5 FPS respectively—but the Ultra preset falls below the line at 52.8 FPS. Therefore, at 4K, the system can run the game well, but the user must avoid the Ultra preset to stay at or above 60 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

The most demanding preset that remains at or above 60 FPS at each resolution is the definitive answer for the best visual experience without frame drops.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the highest quality option available, and it comfortably exceeds the threshold with an average of 118.2 FPS. This provides the maximum graphical fidelity with more than enough headroom for any dips that might occur in intense combat.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset also qualifies as the best setting, achieving 85.2 FPS. This is the right choice for users prioritizing image quality over raw frame rate, as it is still well above the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset falls short, so the High preset is the best option that stays playable, averaging 72.8 FPS. This gives a 12.8 FPS margin above the threshold, which is comfortable for most gameplay, but users with high refresh rate 4K displays will need to adjust to the lower quality setting to maintain smoothness.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run the game at Ultra settings in 1080p?

A: Yes, the measured data shows the 1920x1080 Ultra preset averages 118.2 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU more important for Lockdown Protocol at 1440p?

A: The GPU is the primary factor at 1440p. The frame rate drops significantly from Low to Ultra at 1440p (180.6 to 85.2 FPS), indicating that the RX 9070’s rendering load is the main constraint, while the CPU maintains enough headroom to feed frames.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 4K with Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160, the Medium preset produces an average of 84.1 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS target.

Q: Which is better for this game, the CPU or the GPU?

A: The GPU has a more pronounced impact on performance in Lockdown Protocol. The benchmark results show a wide variance between the Low and Ultra presets at each resolution, whereas the CPU is consistently able to keep up, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low.

Q: Is the RX 9070 more powerful than the RTX 2080 SUPER?

A: In the benchmark data, the RX 9070’s average score is 23877, while the RTX 2080 SUPER’s is 24170, making the RTX 2080 SUPER about 1.2% faster in general compute, which is a negligible difference in real game performance.

Q: How many cores does the Intel Core i5-14400F have?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 3,714 tested CPU and GPU combinations for Lockdown Protocol, the i5-14400F with RX 9070 ranks 1088th. This places it in the top 29% of all tested combos. The rank indicates that the system is above-average, but not top-tier; it is more than adequate for the game but does not compete with the very highest-end components. Given that the CPU is in the 83rd percentile and the GPU is in the 69th percentile, the combo ranking is lower than the CPU’s percentile, suggesting that the GPU is the limiting factor for the overall rank. The data suggests that users with this combo can expect a solid, high-refresh-rate experience at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K being a viable but less consistent option.