Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers a performance profile in Lockdown Protocol that is heavily dictated by graphics settings and resolution. The data indicates a system capable of high refresh rate play at 1080p, but one that quickly becomes GPU-bound as resolution scales upward. This combination ranks near the bottom quartile of tested configurations, a position that reflects the aging nature of both components in a modern FPS title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable pattern: performance degrades consistently as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 98.2 FPS at 1080p to 71.0 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 49.5 FPS at 4K. This represents a 28% reduction when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 30% drop when stepping up to 4K. The scaling is not linear, but the trend is unmistakable — each resolution tier exacts a significant toll on frame rates.

The behavior at Low settings is more revealing. At 1080p Low, the system produces 159.4 FPS, which falls to 116.4 FPS at 1440p and 76.8 FPS at 4K. The fact that Low settings at 4K still yields 76.8 FPS — nearly identical to the 71.0 FPS seen at High 1440p — suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. When the CPU is given less work to do (via lower settings), the GPU still cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K, indicating that pixel throughput is the bottleneck.

However, the CPU's influence becomes apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 159.4 FPS result is substantially higher than the 116.4 FPS at 1440p Low, but the gap between 1080p High (98.2 FPS) and 1080p Medium (111.8 FPS) shows that settings changes have a larger relative impact at lower resolutions. This suggests that at 1080p, the Core i5-10400F can feed the GPU sufficiently, but the RTX 2060 SUPER's raw compute limits the ceiling. The 6-core, 12-thread processor with a 4.30 GHz boost clock appears adequate for this title at 1080p, but the GPU's 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance becomes the constraining factor as pixel count rises.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where this combo consistently exceeds 60 FPS across all settings. At 2560x1440, Ultra settings drop to 52.2 FPS, and at 3840x2160, only Low settings (76.8 FPS) remain playable above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 19774 places it 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 and 0.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN. It also leads the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 by 0.8% and the NVIDIA Tesla K40m by 1.3%.

Q: Is the Core i5-10400F a bottleneck in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 4K Low, the system produces 76.8 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 33.1 FPS — a 57% reduction. This scaling pattern indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the 159.4 FPS result shows the CPU can push high frame rates when the GPU is not overloaded.

Q: What is this combo's ranking among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1245th out of 1637 tested combinations in Lockdown Protocol. This places it in the bottom 24% of all systems tested, which is consistent with the hardware's age — the CPU launched in 2020 and the GPU in 2019.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance affect gameplay?

A: The Core i5-10400F scores 10297 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 12115 in PassMark multi-thread. These results, combined with the 6-core/12-thread configuration, show sufficient parallel processing capability for modern FPS titles. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache helps maintain consistent frame pacing.

Q: What settings provide the best balance of quality and performance at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings deliver 71.0 FPS, while Medium produces 80.9 FPS. Low settings reach 116.4 FPS, but Ultra falls to 52.2 FPS. For smooth gameplay above 60 FPS, High settings are the maximum viable option at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on Intel's 14 nm Comet Lake architecture. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz boosts to 4.30 GHz, providing solid single-thread performance for gaming workloads. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 1453 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 688 in 3DMark single-thread, indicating capable per-core performance for an older processor.

In Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p. The jump from Low (159.4 FPS) to Medium (111.8 FPS) to High (98.2 FPS) at 1080p shows that the CPU can handle the frame generation demands at this resolution. The 4.30 GHz boost clock and 12 MB of shared L3 cache provide enough headroom to keep frame rates high when the GPU is not the limiting factor. The processor's PassMark single-thread score of 2541 and 3DMark 2-thread score of 1350 corroborate its ability to handle lightly-threaded game workloads.

However, the CPU's age shows in multi-threaded scenarios. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10297 and 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 are modest by modern standards, but they do not appear to hinder this particular title. The percentile ranking of 73% against all CPUs indicates it outperforms nearly three-quarters of processors in general benchmarks. In practice, the data from Lockdown Protocol shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck at 1440p or 4K — the RTX 2060 SUPER's limitations surface first.

The processor's 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this workload. The PCIe Gen 3, 16-lane connection to the GPU is sufficient, as the RTX 2060 SUPER also uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The CPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, combined with its performance in this game, suggests it remains a viable budget option for 1080p gaming but struggles to push higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings tiers.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 159.4 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium settings yield 111.8 FPS, and High settings achieve 98.2 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 72.7 FPS but remain above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This resolution is clearly the sweet spot for this hardware configuration.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance degrades noticeably. Low settings still deliver a strong 116.4 FPS, but Medium falls to 80.9 FPS and High to 71.0 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 52.2 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS mark but still playable for most users. The transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by 27-29% across all settings, indicating a consistent GPU-bound scaling pattern.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 SUPER's limitations become pronounced. Low settings produce 76.8 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration that stays above 60 FPS. Medium settings drop to 52.0 FPS, High falls to 49.5 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 33.1 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 43.7 FPS, a 57% reduction, demonstrating that the GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high-fidelity 4K rendering in this title.

The overall pattern shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming. The 4K results, while measurable, indicate that users should stick to Low settings if they insist on 4K resolution with this hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1245th out of 1637 total configurations in Lockdown Protocol. This places it within the bottom 24% of all tested systems, a position that aligns with the hardware's age — the CPU launched in April 2020 and the GPU in July 2019.

The ranking reflects the GPU's position in the broader market. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 63rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19774, shows it is an average performer by modern standards. Its nearest rivals include the RTX 2070, which is only 0.5% faster in synthetic benchmarks, and the GTX TITAN, which is 0.3% faster. This grouping indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER sits at a performance tier that is competitive with older flagship cards but far behind modern mid-range offerings.

The CPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs is comparatively stronger. Its average benchmark score of 14168 places it between the AMD EPYC 7552 (0.4% faster) and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (0.8% slower). This suggests the processor is relatively more capable than the GPU when compared to their respective peers.

The combination's overall rank of 1245 out of 1637 suggests that in Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's limitations dominate the system's overall performance. The 4K Ultra result of 33.1 FPS and the 1440p Ultra result of 52.2 FPS are the primary contributors to this low ranking. Users with this combo should expect competitive performance at 1080p, moderate capability at 1440p, and only basic playability at 4K with reduced settings.