Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT delivers a robust 1080p experience in Lockdown Protocol, but the data reveals a clear shift in system bottleneck as resolution climbs. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 201.4 FPS, which drops to 149.5 FPS at High settings and further to 115.1 FPS at Ultra. This spread of 86.3 FPS between the lowest and highest settings at 1080p indicates that the GPU is still the primary driver of performance at this resolution, though the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to feed the graphics card. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates compress: Low settings produce 180.1 FPS, High yields 111.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 83.8 FPS. The transition to 3840x2160 shows even tighter scaling, with Low hitting 116.2 FPS, Medium at 78.8 FPS, High at 71.7 FPS, and Ultra falling to 54 FPS. The diminishing returns from 1440p to 4K—where the difference between Low and Ultra narrows to 62.2 FPS—suggest that the RX 6800 XT’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factor, while the CPU’s influence wanes.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data across the three resolutions paints a clear picture of where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p, the performance gap between Low (201.4 FPS) and Ultra (115.1 FPS) is substantial, showing that the GPU is working hard to render extra effects. However, the fact that Low settings still produce over 200 FPS indicates the i5-10400F’s 4.30 GHz boost clock and 12 MB of shared L3 cache are not holding the system back. When resolution jumps to 1440p, the frame rates scale down proportionally: Low drops to 180.1 FPS, and Ultra settles at 83.8 FPS. This 96.3 FPS difference between settings at 1440p is nearly identical in percentage terms to 1080p, suggesting the GPU remains the dominant constraint.

The 4K data tells a different story. At 3840x2160, the performance ceiling drops dramatically—Low settings only reach 116.2 FPS, and Ultra falls below 60 FPS at 54 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 62.2 FPS, which is smaller in absolute terms than at lower resolutions. This compression indicates that the RX 6800 XT’s raw compute power—20.74 TFLOPS FP32 and 288.0 GPixel/s pixel rate—is being saturated, and the CPU’s role diminishes. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting component, as even the lowest settings cannot push frame rates past 120 FPS. For gamers targeting high refresh rates, 1080p and 1440p are the sweet spots, while 4K Ultra demands more graphical headroom than this combo can provide.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F brings a 6-core, 12-thread configuration based on the Comet Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores reveal a processor that excels in multi-threaded workloads but trails in single-thread performance relative to its peers. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10297 and single-core score of 1453 place it in the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, while the PassMark single-thread score of 2541 shows modest single-core capability. In Lockdown Protocol, an FPS title that typically relies on a few fast cores, the CPU’s 4.30 GHz boost clock is adequate but not exceptional. The Geekbench single-core score of 1454 and 3DMark single-thread score of 688 suggest that the i5-10400F can keep up with the RX 6800 XT at lower resolutions, where the GPU is not fully taxed.

However, the data indicates that the CPU’s influence on frame rates is secondary. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 201.4 FPS, which is close to the GPU’s theoretical ceiling for that setting. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 and max-thread score of 4735 show that the CPU’s multi-threading capabilities are consistent, but the PassMark physics score of 696 is relatively low, which could impact games with heavy physics simulation. In this title, the CPU’s 12 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (42.7 GB/s bandwidth) are sufficient to avoid stutters, but the data suggests that the RX 6800 XT is the primary driver of performance. The GPU’s 72 ray accelerators and 4608 shading units are far more critical to Lockdown Protocol’s rendering demands than the CPU’s modest single-core throughput.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Lockdown Protocol?*

A: The data shows 1080p provides the highest frame rates, with Low settings hitting 201.4 FPS and Ultra reaching 115.1 FPS. For competitive play, 1080p Low or Medium (171.3 FPS) offers the smoothest experience.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-10400F’s average benchmark score of 14168 is 0.4% higher than the AMD EPYC 7552 (14115), but 0.8% lower than the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14277) and 1.1% lower than the Intel Core i5-8500 (14332).

Q: Is the RX 6800 XT a bottleneck at 4K?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160, Ultra settings produce only 54 FPS, and even Low settings cap at 116.2 FPS. The GPU’s performance drops significantly as resolution increases, confirming it as the limiting factor at 4K.

Q: What settings offer the best balance at 1440p?

A: Medium settings deliver 127.4 FPS, while High yields 111.1 FPS. Low settings reach 180.1 FPS, but for visual quality, Medium or High provides a good trade-off without dropping below 100 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU rank among all tested graphics cards?

A: The RX 6800 XT sits in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49982. It is 0.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A550M (49737) and 1.7% behind the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (50826).

Q: Does the CPU’s single-thread performance limit frame rates?

A: The PassMark single-thread score of 2541 and 3DMark single-thread score of 688 are modest, but the data shows frame rates scale more with GPU load. At 1080p, the CPU can still push 201.4 FPS on Low, indicating it is not the primary constraint.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT in Lockdown Protocol is as follows:

• 1920x1080 Low: 201.4 FPS average. This is the highest frame rate recorded, showing the GPU’s headroom when graphical load is minimal.
• 1920x1080 Medium: 171.3 FPS average. A 30.1 FPS drop from Low, indicating the cost of additional effects.
• 1920x1080 High: 149.5 FPS average. The gap between Medium and High narrows to 21.8 FPS, showing diminishing returns.
• 1920x1080 Ultra: 115.1 FPS average. The most demanding 1080p setting, still playable but 86.3 FPS below Low.

• 2560x1440 Low: 180.1 FPS average. A 21.3 FPS drop from 1080p Low, demonstrating the GPU’s scaling with pixel count.
• 2560x1440 Medium: 127.4 FPS average. This is 43.9 FPS lower than 1080p Medium, showing the resolution penalty.
• 2560x1440 High: 111.1 FPS average. The gap between Medium and High is 16.3 FPS, smaller than at 1080p.
• 2560x1440 Ultra: 83.8 FPS average. The lowest 1440p result, still above 60 FPS but 96.3 FPS below Low.

• 3840x2160 Low: 116.2 FPS average. A significant 85.2 FPS drop from 1080p Low, highlighting the GPU’s workload at 4K.
• 3840x2160 Medium: 78.8 FPS average. This is 48.6 FPS lower than 1440p Medium, showing the steep scaling curve.
• 3840x2160 High: 71.7 FPS average. A modest 7.1 FPS drop from Medium, indicating the GPU is nearing its limits.
• 3840x2160 Ultra: 54 FPS average. The lowest result overall, falling below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol, the Intel Core i5-10400F plus AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT ranks 592nd out of 1637 combos. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all configurations, meaning it outperforms the majority of systems but is not at the very top. The CPU’s 73rd percentile ranking among all processors is solid, but the GPU’s 87th percentile ranking is stronger, indicating that the graphics card is the more capable component in this pairing. The combo’s rank suggests that while the RX 6800 XT is a high-performing GPU, the i5-10400F’s 6-core, 12-thread design may hold it back in CPU-intensive scenarios, even if the measured FPS data shows the GPU as the primary bottleneck at most settings.

Relative to other tested combos, this pairing’s rank of 592 out of 1637 means it sits comfortably ahead of average systems but trails top-tier configurations that likely pair newer CPUs with similar or better GPUs. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C and Intel Core i5-8500, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, suggesting that the i5-10400F’s performance is in line with its peers. The GPU’s nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, which is 2.6% ahead, show that the RX 6800 XT is competitive but not class-leading. Overall, the data indicates that this combo is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K Ultra being the only scenario where it falls short of a high-refresh-rate experience.