Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol with Intel Core i5-10400F + AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT delivers a broadly capable Lockdown Protocol experience across all tested resolutions, with the data indicating a system that is firmly GPU-bound at higher settings. The RX 7800 XT, a Navi 32-based RDNA 3.0 part with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, provides the dominant performance headroom, while the Comet Lake i5-10400F with its 6 cores and 12 threads proves sufficient to feed the GPU without becoming a bottleneck at 1080p. The measured frame rates show a clear and consistent scaling pattern as settings and resolution change, making this combo a predictable performer for competitive FPS play.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gameplay, the data suggests that the Ultra preset is the most balanced choice for competitive play, delivering an average of 111 FPS. This is comfortably above the 100 FPS threshold that most FPS players consider smooth, and the visual fidelity gains from Ultra over High are substantial. The jump from High to Ultra costs 34 FPS (from 145 to 111), but the resulting image quality improvement is typically worth it for a title like Lockdown Protocol where target acquisition matters. If maximum responsiveness is the priority, the Low preset at 200.4 FPS offers the highest headroom, but the drop in visual clarity can hinder spotting distant enemies, making it a trade-off rather than a clear win.

At 1440p, the High preset is the standout recommendation, averaging 109 FPS. This is nearly identical to the 1080p Ultra score, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution to maintain high settings. The Medium preset at 124.8 FPS is also viable, but High provides better visual quality for only a 15.8 FPS penalty. The Ultra preset at 81.5 FPS dips below the 90 FPS comfort zone for some players, so it is only recommended for those who prioritize image quality over frame smoothness.

For 4K, the Medium preset at 79.5 FPS is the best compromise between visual fidelity and playability. High at 67.6 FPS is still playable but begins to feel less responsive in fast-paced firefights, while Ultra at 55 FPS is borderline for competitive play. The Low preset at 108.4 FPS is technically the fastest option, but at 4K the visual degradation is more noticeable, making Medium the sweet spot. Overall, the data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p Ultra or 1440p High, with 4K Medium as a viable but less optimal option.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F a bottleneck for the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Based on the measured FPS scaling, the i5-10400F is not a significant bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 200.4 FPS, and at 1440p Low it reaches 172.7 FPS, showing that the CPU can sustain high frame rates. The GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher settings, as evidenced by the larger FPS drops when increasing graphical load.

Q: How does the RX 7800 XT's benchmark performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 7800 XT has an average benchmark score of 32619, placing it 0.2% ahead of the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 (32540) and 0.7% ahead of the AMD FirePro S10000 (32388). It trails the NVIDIA P104-100 by 0.4% (32747) and the NVIDIA T600 Mobile by 0.7% (32849), indicating a tightly clustered competitive field.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60+ FPS on Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 111 FPS, and at 1440p Ultra it averages 81.5 FPS. Both exceed the 60 FPS threshold. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 55 FPS, which falls below 60 FPS, so 1440p is the highest resolution that maintains 60+ FPS on Ultra.

Q: How much performance is gained by dropping from High to Low settings at 1440p?

A: The data shows a gain of 63.7 FPS. At High, the average is 109 FPS, while at Low it is 172.7 FPS. This represents a 58.4% improvement in average frame rate, which is substantial for players seeking maximum responsiveness.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM of the RX 7800 XT provide an advantage in Lockdown Protocol?

A: The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for Lockdown Protocol at any tested setting. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (55 FPS) and 4K High (67.6 FPS) suggests the GPU's compute capability, not VRAM capacity, is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations for Lockdown Protocol?

A: This combo ranks 632nd out of 1637 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all tested systems. Given the CPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 76th percentile among all GPUs, this ranking is consistent with the individual component performance levels.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, with the CPU showing its strength at lower settings. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 200.4 at 1080p to 172.7 at 1440p (a 13.8% decrease) and then to 108.4 at 4K (a 37.2% decrease from 1440p). This pattern indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU begins to struggle as pixel count increases, while the i5-10400F maintains sufficient frame delivery.

At High settings, the scaling is more pronounced: 145 FPS at 1080p drops to 109 FPS at 1440p (a 24.8% decrease) and then to 67.6 FPS at 4K (a 38.0% decrease from 1440p). The steeper drop from 1080p to 1440p compared to Low settings suggests that the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are being taxed more heavily as the render load increases. The RX 7800 XT's 3840 shading units and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth are clearly the limiting factors here.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 111 FPS at 1080p, 81.5 FPS at 1440p (a 26.6% decrease), and 55 FPS at 4K (a 32.5% decrease from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this combo is not designed for maximum settings at 4K. The CPU's 3DMark scores (4748 for 16 threads, 4735 for max threads) suggest it can handle the game's logic and physics, but the GPU's raw throughput is the bottleneck at 4K.

Overall, the resolution scaling data shows that the i5-10400F + RX 7800 XT combo is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p, where the GPU can deliver high frame rates. At 4K, the system requires settings reductions to maintain playable performance, with Low settings (108.4 FPS) being the only preset that exceeds 100 FPS at this resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p): The combo delivers its highest frame rates at this resolution. At Low settings, the average FPS is 200.4, providing exceptional headroom for competitive play. Medium settings reduce this to 165.5 FPS, a 17.4% drop. High settings further reduce the average to 145 FPS, which is still excellent for most displays. Ultra settings yield 111 FPS, which remains highly playable and offers the best visual quality. The spread from Low to Ultra is 89.4 FPS, indicating a significant performance cost for maximum settings.

2560x1440 (1440p): At this resolution, the Low preset averages 172.7 FPS, still sufficient for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium drops to 124.8 FPS, a 27.7% decrease. High achieves 109 FPS, which is nearly identical to the 1080p Ultra result, showing that the GPU handles the resolution increase well at this setting. Ultra averages 81.5 FPS, which is playable but below the 100 FPS mark. The performance gap between Low and Ultra is 91.2 FPS, slightly larger than at 1080p.

3840x2160 (4K): The Low preset averages 108.4 FPS, making it the only 4K setting that exceeds 100 FPS. Medium drops to 79.5 FPS, a 26.7% decrease from Low. High yields 67.6 FPS, which is still playable for most users. Ultra averages 55 FPS, falling below the 60 FPS threshold and making it the only tested configuration that is not consistently smooth. The total spread from Low to Ultra is 53.4 FPS, notably smaller than at lower resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested Lockdown Protocol configurations, this combo ranks 632nd out of 1637 combinations, placing it in the 61st percentile of all tested systems. This ranking is slightly lower than what the individual component percentiles might suggest — the CPU sits in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs and the GPU in the 76th percentile of all GPUs — indicating that the game's engine may not fully utilize the available hardware resources.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD EPYC 7552 (0.4% higher average score), the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (0.8% lower), and the Intel Core i5-8500 (1.1% lower). These margins are small, suggesting that the i5-10400F's performance is closely matched by a range of other processors, and that CPU choice is not the primary differentiator in this combo's ranking.

Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals — the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 (0.2% higher), NVIDIA P104-100 (0.4% lower), and NVIDIA T600 Mobile (0.7% lower) — are all within 1% of the RX 7800 XT's average benchmark score of 32619. This tight clustering explains why the combo's overall rank is not higher; the RX 7800 XT is competitive but not dominant among its peers.

The measured FPS data shows that this combo performs best at 1080p and 1440p, where it achieves frame rates that are competitive with systems ranked higher. The 4K performance, while playable at Medium and below, is a clear weakness that prevents a higher ranking. For players targeting 1080p or 1440p with high refresh rates, this combo delivers a strong experience, but those seeking 4K Ultra performance would need to look at higher-tier GPU configurations.