Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol is a fast-paced FPS that rewards high frame rates, and this pairing of an Intel Core i5-10400F with an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX delivers exactly that across the board. The measured data shows a system capable of crushing 1080p and 1440p, while still remaining very playable at 4K with the right settings. The bottleneck here is almost never the GPU until you push past 1440p, making this a strong combo for high-refresh-rate monitors. The key is knowing where to set your quality dials, and the benchmark rows provide a clear map for doing so.

Settings Recommendations

Based strictly on the measured FPS rows, the High preset offers the most balanced experience for this specific combo, particularly at 1440p and 4K. At 2560x1440, High yields an average of 136.9 FPS, which is a massive jump from the 103.3 FPS seen on Ultra. The visual difference between High and Ultra is often marginal in fast-paced shooters, but the performance cost here is steep—a 24.5% drop in average frame rate. At 3840x2160, High maintains an average of 87.9 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while Ultra dips to 65.3 FPS, leaving almost no headroom for demanding scenes.

For competitive play, the Low preset is the obvious choice if you have a 144Hz or higher refresh-rate monitor. At 1920x1080, Low hits an average of 198 FPS, and at 2560x1440 it still delivers 180.6 FPS. This ensures maximum responsiveness and minimal input lag. The Medium preset is a middle ground that makes sense only if you are targeting 1440p on a 165Hz display; it provides 158.3 FPS at that resolution, which is still highly fluid. However, the jump from Medium to High at 1440p only costs about 21.5 FPS, so High is generally the better visual investment unless you are chasing every last frame. At 4K, avoid Ultra entirely; the 65.3 FPS average is too close to the edge, and the 22.6 FPS gain from dropping to High is well worth the minor graphical compromise.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the dominant component in this system, equipped with 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a substantial 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is critical for Lockdown Protocol at higher resolutions, as the data shows the GPU scaling almost linearly with resolution until the CPU becomes a factor. The card’s boost clock of 2498 MHz and game clock of 2365 MHz, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with 6144 shading units, allow it to push the 1920x1080 Low preset to an average of 198 FPS without breaking a sweat.

The GPU’s raw compute power, rated at 61.39 TFLOPS FP32, is what enables the massive frame rates at 1080p and 1440p. However, the benchmark results reveal that at 1080p, the CPU starts to limit the GPU’s potential. The frame rate difference between Low (198 FPS) and High (167.5 FPS) at 1080p is 30.5 FPS, which is a smaller gap than the resolution scaling would suggest if the GPU were the sole bottleneck. This indicates that the i5-10400F’s six cores and twelve threads are the constraining factor in lower-resolution, high-FPS scenarios. The 24 GB VRAM is never a concern here, as even the most demanding Ultra settings at 4K do not come close to exhausting the frame buffer, leaving headroom for future titles or texture packs.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database for Lockdown Protocol, this combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX holds a combo rank of 368 out of 1637 tested combos. This places it in the top 22.5% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing given that the CPU is a mainstream 10th-generation part paired with a high-end enthusiast GPU. The ranking suggests that while the GPU is pulling its weight, the older CPU prevents this combo from reaching the very top tiers where newer, higher-clocked processors would allow the RX 7900 XTX to stretch its legs further, especially in CPU-bound scenarios at 1080p.

The GPU itself sits in the 85th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44019. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, which scores 44900 (a 2% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile, which scores 43667 (a 0.8% delta). This confirms the RX 7900 XTX is a top-tier graphics solution. The CPU, however, only ranks in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14168. It sits just 0.4% above the AMD EPYC 7552 and 1.1% below the Intel Core i5-8500. This pairing of a high-percentile GPU with a mid-range CPU explains the combo’s overall rank—the GPU is doing the heavy lifting, but the CPU’s single-thread performance (a Geekbench single-core score of 1454) limits the ceiling in this FPS title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four quality presets. Starting at 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 198 FPS on Low, 174.7 FPS on Medium, 167.5 FPS on High, and 138.4 FPS on Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is 59.6 FPS, showing a clear performance scaling with quality. At this resolution, the CPU is the primary limiter, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames faster than the CPU can feed it.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 180.6 FPS on Low, 158.3 FPS on Medium, 136.9 FPS on High, and 103.3 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 77.3 FPS, which is a more significant percentage decrease than at 1080p. This indicates the GPU is becoming more involved, though the CPU still manages to keep up with the lower presets. High at 1440p is a sweet spot, offering 136.9 FPS which is still well above the 120 FPS mark for high-refresh displays.

At 3840x2160, the GPU takes over as the definitive bottleneck. The averages are 145.5 FPS on Low, 100.4 FPS on Medium, 87.9 FPS on High, and 65.3 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 80.2 FPS, and the difference between Medium and High is only 12.5 FPS, while High to Ultra costs 22.6 FPS. This demonstrates that the GPU’s compute and bandwidth are being fully utilized at this resolution, and the CPU’s role is minimized. The 145.5 FPS on Low at 4K is particularly impressive, showing the RX 7900 XTX’s raw power.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the system’s shifting bottleneck. At High settings, the FPS drops from 167.5 at 1080p to 136.9 at 1440p (a 18.3% decrease) and then to 87.9 at 4K (a 35.8% decrease from 1440p). This is a clear sign that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU cannot compensate for the increased pixel workload. The fact that the 1080p to 1440p drop is smaller than the 1440p to 4K drop suggests that the CPU is still holding back performance at 1080p, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more telling. The FPS drops from 198 at 1080p to 180.6 at 1440p (an 8.8% decrease) and then to 145.5 at 4K (a 19.4% decrease from 1440p). The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p on Low confirms that the CPU is the primary constraint at these lower resolutions and settings. The GPU is not being fully utilized until the resolution hits 4K, where the pixel count overwhelms the CPU’s ability to issue draw calls. This behavior indicates that for optimal performance, users should prioritize higher resolutions or graphics settings to shift the load onto the GPU, which has far more headroom than the i5-10400F.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p 144Hz monitor?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 136.9 FPS, which is ideal for a 144Hz display. Ultra drops to 103.3 FPS, which may cause noticeable tearing or require V-Sync, while Medium at 158.3 FPS offers a higher frame rate but less visual fidelity.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with caveats. The High preset at 3840x2160 averages 87.9 FPS, which is smooth for most players. Ultra is playable at 65.3 FPS, but it leaves little room for dips. Low at 4K hits 145.5 FPS, showing the GPU’s capability, but the CPU may cause stutters in CPU-intensive scenes.

Q: Why is there a smaller FPS gap between Low and High at 1080p compared to 4K?

A: At 1920x1080, the gap between Low (198 FPS) and High (167.5 FPS) is 30.5 FPS, while at 4K the gap is 57.6 FPS (145.5 vs 87.9). This indicates the CPU (i5-10400F) becomes the limiting factor at 1080p, preventing the GPU from fully stretching, whereas at 4K the GPU is the definitive bottleneck.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XTX compare to its nearest rivals in this system?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has an average benchmark score of 44019, which is 2% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti (44900) and 0.8% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (43667). This places it in the 85th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F holding back the RX 7900 XTX?

A: Yes, particularly at lower resolutions. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 14168 places it in the 73rd percentile, and its single-thread score of 1454 in Geekbench limits the frame rate ceiling. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system cannot exceed 198 FPS, which is likely a CPU constraint rather than a GPU one.

Q: What is the combo’s overall standing in the database?

A: This pairing ranks 368th out of 1637 tested combos for Lockdown Protocol, placing it in the top 22.5%. This is a strong result, driven primarily by the GPU’s high percentile, but the CPU prevents it from breaking into the top 10% where newer processors would pair better with the RX 7900 XTX.