Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol pairs the Intel Core i5-10400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, a combination that ranks 323rd out of 1637 tested combos in this title. The data shows a system capable of high-refresh 1440p gaming, with 4K playable only when settings are dialed back. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS rows to show where this pairing excels and where it hits its limits.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS reveals how this combo scales from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p Low, the system hits 196.7 FPS, which drops to 155.2 FPS at 4K Low — a 21% reduction. The gap narrows at higher settings: 1080p Ultra delivers 152.5 FPS, while 4K Ultra manages only 71.7 FPS, a 53% drop. This steep decline at Ultra settings indicates the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary driver at 4K, but the i5-10400F starts to influence results at lower resolutions.

At 1440p High, the combo produces 151 FPS, which is only 9% less than the 1080p High result of 165.2 FPS. This small delta suggests the GPU remains the bottleneck at 1440p High, with the CPU having enough headroom. However, the 1080p Low to 1440p Low gap (196.7 to 178.1 FPS) shows a 9.5% drop, indicating that even at Low settings, resolution scaling is modest — a sign that the CPU's six cores and twelve threads are sufficient to feed the GPU at these frame rates.

The most telling row is 1080p Ultra at 152.5 FPS versus 1440p Ultra at 113.2 FPS — a 26% decline. Moving to 4K Ultra drops another 37% to 71.7 FPS. This progressive scaling shows the GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly taxed as pixel count rises, while the CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache remains adequate. The data suggests that at 4K, the RTX 4080 SUPER's raw compute (52.22 TFLOPS FP32) is the limiting factor, not the i5-10400F's 4.30 GHz boost clock.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 SUPER's specifications directly explain the measured results. With 10240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs, the card delivers 816.0 GTexel/s and 285.6 GPixel/s. These figures translate to the high frame rates seen at 1440p, where the GPU can push 151 FPS on High settings. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is not a constraint in any measured row — even 4K Ultra at 71.7 FPS shows no signs of memory pressure, as the bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s keeps the pipeline fed.

The GPU's boost clock of 2550 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz are consistent across all resolutions, so the performance differences come from workload scaling. At 1080p Low, the card achieves 196.7 FPS, which is 27% higher than 4K Low at 155.2 FPS. This indicates the GPU has headroom at lower resolutions, but the i5-10400F's 2.90 GHz base clock and 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR4 dual-channel) may start to hold back the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1350 and single-thread score of 688 suggest single-core performance is adequate but not exceptional for this FPS title.

Against its nearest rivals, the RTX 4080 SUPER's average benchmark score of 53610 places it 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT and 2.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti. In Lockdown Protocol, this translates to playable 4K at Medium (114.3 FPS) and excellent 1440p performance, but the GPU's 88th percentile ranking (vs all GPUs) means it is not the absolute top tier — hence the 71.7 FPS floor at 4K Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows point to 1440p High as the sweet spot for this combo. At 151 FPS, it clears the 144 Hz refresh threshold many monitors target, while 1440p Medium (159.1 FPS) offers a small 5% boost without a visible quality drop. For competitive play, 1440p Low at 178.1 FPS provides the highest frame rate below 1080p, giving a 14% advantage over Medium.

At 4K, the data suggests Medium is the best compromise. The 114.3 FPS average is playable and only 26% below the 1440p Medium result, while 4K High drops to 99.3 FPS and 4K Ultra falls to 71.7 FPS — the latter being borderline for fast-paced FPS action. The 1080p Ultra result of 152.5 FPS is notable: it is lower than 1440p High (151 FPS) by only 1%, which means there is no reason to drop to 1080p for visual quality, as the GPU handles 1440p equally well.

For players prioritizing frame rate over visuals, 1080p Low at 196.7 FPS is the maximum this combo can deliver, but the 1440p Low result of 178.1 FPS is only 9% lower and offers significantly better image clarity. The data indicates that this system is best used at 1440p, where it never drops below 113.2 FPS even on Ultra settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 323 out of 1637 placed combos puts this system in the top 20% of all tested configurations. This ranking reflects the balance between the i5-10400F, which sits at the 73rd percentile among CPUs, and the RTX 4080 SUPER, which sits at the 88th percentile among GPUs. The CPU's nearest rivals show close scores: the AMD EPYC 7552 is only 0.4% behind, while the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C is 0.8% ahead.

In Lockdown Protocol specifically, the combo's rank suggests the i5-10400F is not a major bottleneck. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10297 and single-core score of 1453 are moderate, but the game's FPS results at 1080p (up to 196.7 FPS) indicate the six-core, twelve-thread config handles the workload. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 and 8-thread score of 3929 show scaling is good, but the 2-thread score of 1350 reveals that single-thread performance is the weakest link — this is why 1080p Low cannot break 200 FPS.

Compared to the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 4080 SUPER's 0.2% lead over the RX 6900 XT in average score suggests similar performance in this title, but the 2.9% gap over the RTX 5070 Ti means the 4080 SUPER has a slight edge. The 4K Ultra result of 71.7 FPS places this combo in the playable range, but the rank of 323 indicates many other pairings achieve higher frame rates — likely those with newer CPUs that can push higher 1080p numbers.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Lockdown Protocol?

A: Yes, but with settings limits. The data shows 4K Medium at 114.3 FPS and 4K High at 99.3 FPS are playable, while 4K Ultra drops to 71.7 FPS, which is below the 90 FPS threshold many FPS players prefer.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU pairing?

A: 1440p is the sweet spot. At 1440p High, the combo delivers 151 FPS, and even at Ultra it holds 113.2 FPS. This is only slightly below the 1080p High result of 165.2 FPS, making 1440p the optimal balance.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F holding back the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The data suggests minimal bottleneck at 1440p and 4K. The 1080p Low result of 196.7 FPS shows the CPU can feed the GPU well, but the single-thread score of 688 (3DMark) likely prevents higher 1080p frame rates beyond 200 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: In average benchmark score, the RTX 4080 SUPER (53610) is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT and 2.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti. This translates to similar in-game performance, with the 4080 SUPER having a slight edge.

Q: What settings should I use for competitive play?

A: For maximum frame rate, 1080p Low at 196.7 FPS is the top option. However, 1440p Low at 178.1 FPS offers 90% of the frame rate with better resolution, which is the better trade-off for most players.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM cause any issues at 4K?

A: No. The measured 4K Ultra result of 71.7 FPS shows no VRAM-related stutter or frame drops, and the 736.3 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for all tested settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full measured FPS table for this combo in Lockdown Protocol is as follows:

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 196.7 FPS
• Medium: 174.8 FPS
• High: 165.2 FPS
• Ultra: 152.5 FPS

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 178.1 FPS
• Medium: 159.1 FPS
• High: 151 FPS
• Ultra: 113.2 FPS

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 155.2 FPS
• Medium: 114.3 FPS
• High: 99.3 FPS
• Ultra: 71.7 FPS

The spread between Low and Ultra at each resolution is telling: at 1080p, the gap is 44.2 FPS (196.7 to 152.5), at 1440p it is 64.9 FPS (178.1 to 113.2), and at 4K it is 83.5 FPS (155.2 to 71.7). This widening gap shows the GPU becomes the dominant factor as resolution increases, with the i5-10400F's role diminishing. The 4K Medium result of 114.3 FPS is nearly identical to the 1440p Ultra result of 113.2 FPS, suggesting that turning down settings one notch at a higher resolution yields equivalent performance — a practical tip for players who want 4K without sacrificing frame rate.