Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers a robust 1080p and 1440p experience in Lockdown Protocol, while 4K remains viable at high settings. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 32,279 places it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% faster), Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% faster), AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (0.2% slower), and Intel Core i7-12800H (0.5% faster). The GPU’s average benchmark score of 41,187 also sits at the 83rd percentile, with nearest rivals being the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (0.8% faster), NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB (1.2% slower), NVIDIA Tesla M40 (1.7% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (2% faster). This combination ranks 936th out of 3,714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, meaning it outperforms roughly 75% of configurations in the database.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the data shows the i5-14400F is tightly clustered with several mobile and desktop parts. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U scores almost identically, with a delta of just 0.1%, meaning in CPU-bound scenarios the two would be indistinguishable. The Intel Core i9-11900, a previous-generation desktop flagship, is 0.2% faster on average, while the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS is 0.2% slower. The Intel Core i7-12800H, a mobile high-performance chip, trails by 0.5%. For Lockdown Protocol specifically, any of these CPUs would deliver nearly the same frame pacing when paired with the same GPU, since the game’s engine appears to rely on the graphics card at most settings.

On the GPU side, the RTX 3080 Ti’s nearest rivals are a mixed bag. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300, a workstation card, benchmarks 0.8% higher on average, which is within run-to-run variance. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB and its non-24 GB sibling are 1.2% and 1.7% slower respectively, though these are compute-focused cards without modern game drivers. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, a much newer generation, is 2% faster in aggregate benchmarks. In Lockdown Protocol, the RTX 3080 Ti’s 12 GB GDDR6X memory and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth give it a clear advantage over the older Tesla parts, while the RTX 5070’s newer architecture may show larger gains in ray-traced scenes, though the measured FPS data here only covers rasterized presets.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU dominates performance scaling across resolutions. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings drops the average FPS from 161 to 118, a 27% reduction. Going from 1440p to 3840x2160 at High further drops from 118 to 76, another 36% reduction. This pattern holds across all presets: at Low, 1080p yields 259 FPS, 1440p yields 190, and 4K yields 122; at Medium, the numbers are 184, 135, and 87; at Ultra, 120, 88, and 57. The consistent scaling suggests the RTX 3080 Ti is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the i5-14400F’s 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample headroom for the game’s physics and AI at 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed.

At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS of 120 is exactly double the 4K Ultra result of 57, reinforcing that resolution scaling is nearly linear. The CPU’s role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings: the jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 259 to 120 FPS, a 54% reduction, while the same preset change at 4K is 122 to 57, a 53% reduction. This near-identical percentage drop indicates the GPU handles the extra shading work uniformly, and the CPU does not introduce a disproportionate penalty at higher settings. For players targeting 1440p or 4K, the RTX 3080 Ti is the decisive component; for 1080p competitive play, the i5-14400F’s single-core performance (3,055 in Cinebench R23 single-core) keeps frame times consistent.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 76 FPS. Medium also clears the threshold at 87 FPS, and Low runs at 122 FPS, but Ultra drops to 57 FPS, below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data shows High is the optimal balance for 4K, providing a 19 FPS margin over the minimum.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is fully playable at 88 FPS average. High runs at 118 FPS, Medium at 135, and Low at 190, but since Ultra exceeds 60 FPS, it is the recommended preset for maximum visual fidelity. The 88 FPS average leaves 28 FPS of headroom before hitting the threshold.

At 1920x1080, every preset clears 60 FPS. Ultra delivers 120 FPS average, making it the best choice for players who want the highest settings without sacrificing smoothness. High runs at 161 FPS, Medium at 184, and Low at 259, but with Ultra already well above the threshold, there is no reason to lower settings unless chasing extremely high refresh rates.

The Verdict

This PC can run Lockdown Protocol with clear margins at all tested resolutions, but the optimal experience depends on the target display. At 3840x2160, the verdict is playable at High, Low, and Medium settings, with High being the best choice at 76 FPS average. Ultra at 4K is not playable, as the 57 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable, with Ultra yielding 88 FPS average, which is the recommended setting. At 1920x1080, the same is true: all presets clear 60 FPS, and Ultra runs at 120 FPS average. The combination of the i5-14400F and RTX 3080 Ti is therefore fully capable of delivering a smooth experience up to 1440p Ultra and 4K High, with 1080p leaving substantial performance on the table for high-refresh monitors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 259 at Low to 120 at Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 156 FPS and a maximum of 211, with an average of 184. High averages 161 FPS, and Ultra averages 120 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 139 FPS, indicating the GPU scales well with preset complexity.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 190 FPS, Medium averages 135 with a minimum of 115 and maximum of 155, High averages 118, and Ultra averages 88. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent: 69 FPS at Low (259 to 190), 49 at Medium (184 to 135), 43 at High (161 to 118), and 32 at Ultra (120 to 88). This shows that higher presets suffer less absolute FPS loss from resolution increases, because the GPU is already heavily loaded.

At 3840x2160, Medium is the only preset with recorded minimum and maximum values: 74 and 100, respectively, with an average of 87. Low averages 122, High averages 76, and Ultra averages 57. The jump from 1440p to 4K produces reductions of 68 FPS at Low (190 to 122), 48 at Medium (135 to 87), 42 at High (118 to 76), and 31 at Ultra (88 to 57). Notably, the 4K Ultra result of 57 FPS is just 3 FPS shy of the playable threshold, making it borderline for players sensitive to frame drops.

How This Combo Ranks

The i5-14400F and RTX 3080 Ti combination ranks 936th out of 3,714 tested combos in Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the 75th percentile of all configurations. This rank is driven primarily by the GPU’s strong 4K performance, as the CPU’s 83rd percentile standing is slightly below the GPU’s 83rd percentile, though both are mid-high tier. The data suggests that most combos ranked above this pairing use newer GPUs like the RTX 5070, which benchmarks 2% higher, or higher-end 14th-gen Core i7/i9 parts. However, the measured FPS shows that this combo still delivers playable frame rates at 4K High and 1440p Ultra, which is more than sufficient for the vast majority of players.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, at High settings the average FPS is 76, and at Medium it is 87. Ultra at 4K drops to 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best preset at 1440p?

A: Ultra is playable at 88 FPS average, making it the best choice. High runs at 118 FPS, Medium at 135, and Low at 190, but all are above 60 FPS.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 3080 Ti compared to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti benchmarks 1.2% faster than the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB and 1.7% faster than the NVIDIA Tesla M40, but it is 2% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 120, which is double the 4K Ultra result of 57, indicating the GPU is still the primary limiter. The CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads provide sufficient headroom.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest recorded minimum is 74 FPS at 4K Medium settings. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 115 FPS, and at 1080p Medium, it is 156 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 936th out of 3,714 tested combos, placing it in the 75th percentile of performance for Lockdown Protocol.