Lockdown Protocol

# Lockdown Protocol Performance Analysis: Intel Core i5-10400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti

The pairing of Intel's Core i5-10400F with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3070 Ti produces a capable 1440p and 1080p gaming system for Lockdown Protocol, with the data showing a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution climbs. The CPU, a 6-core/12-thread Comet Lake part with a 2.90 GHz base and 4.30 GHz boost clock, sits at the 73rd percentile among all tested CPUs, while the Ampere-based GPU, with its 6144 shading units and 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, ranks at the 74th percentile among GPUs. Together, they achieve a combo rank of 666 out of 1637 tested combinations in this FPS title, placing them in the upper portion of the field.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how Lockdown Protocol responds to resolution changes, and the pattern is telling. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 199.1 FPS, but dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 165.1 FPS, and 4K Low lands at 106.4 FPS. This scaling from 1080p to 4K represents a 46.6% performance drop at Low settings, which is substantial but not catastrophic. The frame rate remains well above playable thresholds even at 4K Low, indicating that both components are pulling their weight at lower graphical loads.

The picture changes dramatically at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 103 FPS, which falls to 78.9 FPS at 1440p Ultra and 51.6 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p Low figure, and the drop from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings is particularly steep at 27.3 FPS, representing a 34.6% reduction. This suggests that at higher settings and resolutions, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth of 608.3 GB/s become limiting factors, as the game's visual demands scale aggressively.

The intermediate settings tell a more nuanced story. At Medium, the system hits 160 FPS at 1080p, 115.9 FPS at 1440p, and 76.8 FPS at 4K. High settings yield 143.1 FPS at 1080p, 104.2 FPS at 1440p, and 67.9 FPS at 4K. The scaling between Medium and High is relatively modest, with about a 10-12% difference at each resolution, while the jump from High to Ultra costs significantly more performance. This indicates that Ultra settings introduce rendering features that disproportionately tax the GPU. The data points to a system where the RTX 3070 Ti is the primary constraint at 4K and at Ultra settings, while the i5-10400F's single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 688, becomes more relevant at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 140 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 666 out of 1637 tested combinations, this pairing sits in the 59th percentile of all CPU-GPU combos tested in Lockdown Protocol. That places it firmly in the upper-middle tier, which is consistent with the component-level percentiles: the CPU at 73rd and the GPU at 74th. The system is not at the bleeding edge, but it outperforms a majority of tested configurations.

The GPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark scores help contextualize its position. The RTX 3070 Ti's average benchmark score of 30849 places it 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME (30755), 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6700 (31112), and 0.9% behind the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 (31142). These are extremely tight margins, with deltas under 1.2% across all four nearest rivals. In practical terms, the RTX 3070 Ti and these competitors are essentially interchangeable in synthetic workloads, which means the i5-10400F's contribution to the combo ranking becomes more significant.

On the CPU side, the i5-10400F's average benchmark score of 14168 places it 0.4% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7552 (14115), 0.8% behind the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14277), 1.1% behind the Intel Core i5-8500 (14332), and 1.2% behind the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 (14336). The deltaPct values here are similarly small, indicating that this CPU is competitive with its immediate peers. The combo rank of 666 suggests that Lockdown Protocol is sensitive to both components, and this pairing lands in a sweet spot where neither part is dramatically underpowered relative to the other.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Lockdown Protocol at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, at 4K High settings it averages 67.9 FPS, and at 4K Medium it reaches 76.8 FPS. However, 4K Ultra drops to 51.6 FPS, which may feel less smooth for competitive play.

Q: What is the best settings configuration for high refresh rate 1080p play?

A: The data shows that 1080p Low hits 199.1 FPS, while 1080p Medium reaches 160 FPS and 1080p High achieves 143.1 FPS. For 144Hz displays, Medium or High at 1080p are viable, while Low allows for near-200 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in this context?

A: Its average benchmark score of 30849 is within 1.2% of the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME, AMD Radeon RX 6700, NVIDIA Quadro M5000, and NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q. The margins are small enough that game-specific optimization matters more than raw aggregate performance.

Q: Is the i5-10400F a bottleneck for the RTX 3070 Ti in this game?

A: At lower resolutions and settings where FPS exceeds 160, the CPU's single-thread performance likely becomes a factor. At 4K and Ultra settings, the GPU's VRAM and bandwidth constraints dominate, as evidenced by the steep scaling curves.

Q: What memory configuration does this system use?

A: The CPU supports DDR4 memory with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. The GPU uses 8 GB of GDDR6X memory with a 256-bit bus and 608.3 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the combo rank suggest this is a balanced pairing?

A: At rank 666 of 1637, it outperforms roughly 59% of tested combos. The CPU and GPU percentiles are nearly identical (73rd and 74th), indicating a well-matched pairing where neither component drastically undermines the other.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 199.1 FPS average, making this the only configuration in the dataset to approach the 200 FPS mark. Medium settings reduce performance to 160 FPS, a 19.6% drop from Low. High settings yield 143.1 FPS, and Ultra drops further to 103 FPS. The step from High to Ultra costs 40.1 FPS, which is the largest single-settings penalty at this resolution, representing a 28% reduction.

Moving to 1440p, the performance curve shifts downward but retains its shape. Low settings average 165.1 FPS, which is still very high and suitable for fast-paced FPS play. Medium settings reach 115.9 FPS, while High settings hit 104.2 FPS. Ultra settings fall to 78.9 FPS. The relative penalty for Ultra versus High at 1440p is 25.3 FPS, or 24.3%, which is slightly less severe than at 1080p. This suggests the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor, smoothing out the relative differences between settings.

At 4K, the system remains playable but the margins tighten. Low settings average 106.4 FPS, which is still above the 100 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium settings produce 76.8 FPS, and High settings reach 67.9 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 51.6 FPS, which is the lowest figure in the entire dataset. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K results in a 54.8 FPS drop, or 51.5%, demonstrating that Ultra settings at 4K more than halve the performance available at Low settings. Across all resolutions, the data shows consistent behavior: Low settings provide the headroom needed for high refresh rates, while Ultra settings at 4K push the system to its limits.

GPU Role

The RTX 3070 Ti's specifications directly explain its performance characteristics in Lockdown Protocol. With 8 GB of GDDR6X memory running at 19 Gbps effective and a 256-bit bus delivering 608.3 GB/s of bandwidth, the card has substantial memory throughput. Its base clock of 1575 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz, combined with 6144 shading units, yield a pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute rating of 21.75 TFLOPS indicates strong raw processing power.

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB appears to be a defining factor at 4K Ultra settings. The steep drop from 4K High (67.9 FPS) to 4K Ultra (51.6 FPS) suggests that Ultra settings may exceed comfortable VRAM usage, forcing the GPU to manage memory more carefully. The GDDR6X memory type provides high bandwidth, but capacity constraints can still emerge at higher resolutions. The card's 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores support DirectX 12 Ultimate, though the measured FPS data does not isolate ray tracing effects.

The GPU's aggregate benchmark profile places it at the 74th percentile, with a PassMark G3D score of 23356 and a PassMark GPU compute score of 11601. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3478 reflects modern API performance. The card's predecessor is the GeForce 20 series, and its successor is the GeForce 40 series, positioning it as a mid-generation Ampere part. With a TDP of 290 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W, it requires substantial power delivery, and its dual-slot design with a single 12-pin connector accommodates standard case layouts. The 267 mm length and 112 mm height make it compatible with most mid-tower cases, while the display outputs of 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a support multi-monitor setups. The GPU's launch MSRP is 599 USD, and its production status is end-of-life, meaning availability is limited to existing stock and secondhand markets. In Lockdown Protocol, the GPU's role is clear: it provides the muscle for higher resolutions and settings, but the 8 GB VRAM cap becomes a consideration at 4K Ultra, where the 51.6 FPS result indicates the card is working at its limits.