Lockdown Protocol

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across the three resolutions tell a clear story about where the performance ceiling lies for Lockdown Protocol with this configuration. At 1080p with the High preset, the system produces 143.9 FPS, which drops to 108.8 FPS at 1440p and further to 72 FPS at 4K. That represents a 24.4% reduction moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a 50% reduction from 1080p to 4K. This scaling pattern is nearly linear with pixel count, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions.

However, the Low preset tells a more nuanced story. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 235.5 FPS, but at 1440p Low it still manages 168.6 FPS, and at 4K Low it holds 111.6 FPS. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 52.6%, which is actually more severe in percentage terms than at High settings. This suggests that even when the visual load is reduced, the rendering pipeline remains heavily dependent on the graphics processor rather than being freed up by CPU headroom.

The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution is revealing. At 1080p, the spread between Low (235.5 FPS) and Ultra (110.5 FPS) is 125 FPS, a 53.1% reduction. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 89.2 FPS (from 168.6 to 79.4), and at 4K it narrows further to 56.4 FPS (from 111.6 to 55.2). This compression of the settings range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor more aggressively as pixel count rises, leaving less headroom for quality settings to matter.

The 4K High result of 72 FPS is particularly notable. It sits comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while 4K Ultra drops to 55.2 FPS, which would introduce noticeable stutter on displays with a 60 Hz refresh rate. The data suggests that 4K High is the practical ceiling for maintaining fluid motion, while 4K Ultra should be reserved for scenarios where frame rate is less critical than visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process node. Its base clock is 2.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The processor features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates solid multi-threaded capability. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 14372, while the single-core score is 2029. In Geekbench, it achieves 7579 multi-core and 1979 single-core. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5619 and max-thread score of 5652 are nearly identical, indicating that the processor's 12 threads are effectively saturated at that workload level. The 2-thread score of 1691 and 4-thread score of 3171 show reasonable scaling in lightly threaded scenarios.

Looking at the measured game data, the CPU's influence is most apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU has excess capacity. At 1080p Low, the system produces 235.5 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that would require the CPU to feed the GPU efficiently. The Cinebench R20 single-core score of 852 and PassMark single-thread score of 2981 indicate that the processor's per-core performance is adequate for high-refresh gaming in this title, though it does not reach the levels of more modern architectures.

The processor's percentile rank against all CPUs is 75, placing it in the upper quartile. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U with an average score of 17189 (0% delta), the Intel Core i7-1260P at 17212 (-0.2% delta), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U at 17215 (-0.2% delta). The i5-11400F's average benchmark score of 17181 is effectively tied with these competitors, which suggests that its performance profile is well within the expected range for its class.

At 4K Ultra, where the frame rate drops to 55.2 FPS, the CPU is unlikely to be the constraining factor. The 6-core/12-thread configuration with a 4.40 GHz boost clock provides sufficient processing power for game logic and draw call submission at these frame rates. The data indicates that the CPU role is more pronounced at 1080p, where the 235.5 FPS Low result approaches the practical limits of what this processor can sustain.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process node, with a chip size of 346 mm² containing 28,100 million transistors. It features 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units, along with 60 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1295 MHz, a game clock of 2124 MHz, and a boost clock of 2430 MHz.

Memory configuration is a key strength for this GPU. It comes equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. The memory clock operates at 2438 MHz with an effective data rate of 19.5 Gbps. This substantial memory capacity and bandwidth are well-suited for high-resolution gaming, where texture data and frame buffers demand significant bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4157 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 143060. Its PassMark G3D score of 24176 and GPU compute score of 13473 reflect strong general-purpose rendering performance. The GPU's percentile rank against all GPUs is 76, placing it in the upper quartile of available graphics cards. Its nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 at 32540 (0.2% delta), the NVIDIA P104-100 at 32747 (-0.4% delta), and the NVIDIA T600 Mobile at 32849 (-0.7% delta).

The measured game data strongly indicates that the GPU is the primary performance driver across all tested settings. At 1080p High, the system achieves 143.9 FPS, while at 4K High it drops to 72 FPS. This 50% reduction aligns closely with the pixel count increase, confirming that the GPU's rendering throughput is the limiting factor. The GPU's FP32 compute capability of 37.32 TFLOPS and texture rate of 583.2 GTexel/s provide ample raw horsepower for this title at 1440p and below.

At 4K Ultra, the frame rate falls to 55.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the Ultra preset's texture requirements, as the data does not show any anomalous frame rate collapses that would indicate memory overflow. The GPU's pixel rate of 233.3 GPixel/s and the 96 ROPs are the likely constraints at this extreme setting.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimizing the gameplay experience. At 1080p, all settings presets deliver playable frame rates, with Low achieving 235.5 FPS, Medium at 164.7 FPS, High at 143.9 FPS, and Ultra at 110.5 FPS. For competitive play where maximum frame rate is desired, the Low preset provides the highest headroom. For visual quality without sacrificing responsiveness, High offers 143.9 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate that many gaming monitors support.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 108.8 FPS, which is ideal for 100 Hz or 120 Hz displays. The Ultra preset drops to 79.4 FPS, which remains playable but sacrifices smoothness. The Medium preset at 123.9 FPS is a strong middle ground for players who want both visual fidelity and high frame rates. The Low preset at 168.6 FPS is suitable for players who prioritize response time above all else.

At 4K, the High preset is the recommended choice, delivering 72 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a good balance of visual quality and fluidity. The Medium preset at 79.7 FPS offers a slight frame rate advantage but with reduced visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 55.2 FPS should be avoided for serious gameplay, as the frame rate dips below 60 FPS. The Low preset at 111.6 FPS is viable for players who want high frame rates at 4K resolution, though it sacrifices significant visual detail.

The data shows that the High preset offers the most consistent experience across all three resolutions, with frame rates of 143.9, 108.8, and 72 FPS at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively. This consistently keeps frame rates above 60 FPS at every resolution, making it the safest recommendation for a varied display setup.

FAQ

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with the Ultra preset is 110.5 FPS. This provides a smooth experience on 100 Hz or 120 Hz displays, though it is lower than the 143.9 FPS achieved on the High preset.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this CPU-GPU combination?

A: Yes, at 4K with the High preset, the system achieves 72 FPS. The Low preset reaches 111.6 FPS, while Medium delivers 79.7 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 55.2 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-11400F compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, placing it at the 75th percentile of all CPUs. It is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (0% delta) and is 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-1260P and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 168.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 79.4 FPS. This represents a 52.9% reduction in frame rate when switching from Low to Ultra settings.

Q: Does the RX 7800 XT have enough VRAM for this game?

A: The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth. The measured data shows no anomalous frame rate drops at 4K Ultra that would indicate VRAM capacity limitations.

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

A: The Low preset at 168.6 FPS is the only setting that exceeds 144 Hz at 1440p. The Medium preset at 123.9 FPS and High preset at 108.8 FPS are also viable options for displays with lower refresh rates.