Lockdown Protocol

Lockdown Protocol, a 2024 FPS title, presents an interesting profile for the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combination. The measured data reveals a system that is decisively GPU-bound at higher resolutions but shows signs of CPU limitation at the lowest settings. The following analysis breaks down the performance characteristics of this pairing across the tested presets and resolutions, providing a clear picture of its capabilities in this specific title.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target display resolution and frame rate preference. The measured data shows a clear hierarchy of performance across the four presets, with the most balanced experience found at the Medium preset. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers a 185 FPS average with a minimum of 157 FPS and a maximum of 212 FPS, offering a high-refresh-rate experience while maintaining a reasonable visual baseline. The jump from Medium to High at this resolution costs 24 FPS (from 185 to 161), which is a significant 13% performance hit for the visual uplift. For competitive play, the Low preset at 234 FPS is the clear choice, but the Medium preset provides a far better balance of fidelity and speed.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again emerges as the sweet spot. It delivers an average of 135 FPS with a minimum of 115 FPS and a maximum of 156 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors. The High preset at 118 FPS is still playable, but the 17 FPS difference between High and Medium is more pronounced at this resolution. The Ultra preset at 89 FPS is the first to dip below the 90 FPS threshold, indicating a heavier load that begins to strain the GPU.

For 4K (3840x2160), the analysis changes. The High preset, at 76 FPS average, provides the best balance of visual quality and playability for a smooth experience. While the Medium preset offers a slightly higher average of 87 FPS, the High preset is likely the preferred choice for visual fidelity at this resolution. The Low preset (123 FPS) is the only way to achieve a 120+ FPS experience at 4K, but it sacrifices the visual richness of the game. The Ultra preset at 57 FPS is the only tested configuration that dips below 60 FPS, making it the least recommended for a consistent frame rate.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the clear performance driver in this configuration for most of the tested scenarios. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial for handling the texture and geometry data at high resolutions. The data supports this, showing a consistent scaling of performance as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound workload. The average FPS at Low settings drops from 234 at 1080p to 191 at 1440p and 123 at 4K, demonstrating the increasing load on the graphics processor.

The GPU's clock behavior, with a base clock of 1660 MHz and a boost clock of 2970 MHz, allows it to scale its performance dynamically. The measured frame rates suggest the card is running at its expected performance envelope. The 48.66 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is a strong indicator of its raw rasterization capability. However, the benchmark data shows that in this specific game, the card's performance is not without limits. The transition from High to Ultra settings at 4K causes a 25% drop in average FPS (from 76 to 57), indicating that the Ultra preset's effects are particularly demanding on the GPU's compute and memory subsystems. The card's 55th percentile rank among all GPUs, based on average benchmark scores, contextualizes its performance, though its in-game results in Lockdown Protocol are more nuanced than this general metric suggests.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F provides the processing foundation for this system. With 6 cores and 12 threads, clocked at a base of 2.60 GHz and a boost of 4.40 GHz, it offers a solid multi-threaded foundation for modern game engines. However, the data suggests that its role in Lockdown Protocol is secondary to the GPU, except at the lowest settings and resolutions. The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for feeding the GPU with draw calls and game logic.

The evidence for a potential CPU bottleneck emerges when we observe the scaling at 1080p. At the Low preset, the average FPS is 234. This is exceptionally high, but the performance difference between the Low and Medium presets is 49 FPS (from 234 to 185). This large gap suggests that as the GPU load decreases, the CPU's ability to process and submit frames becomes a more significant factor. The CPU's multi-threaded performance, as measured by its Cinebench R23 score of 14340, is competent for a 6-core part. Its single-thread score of 2024 is also respectable. Yet, in this game, the data implies that the i5-11400F will cap the maximum achievable frame rate, preventing the RX 9070 XT from reaching its full potential at very low settings. The CPU's 71st percentile rank among all CPUs indicates it is a better-than-average processor, but it is still the limiting factor in the most extreme frame-rate scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations for Lockdown Protocol, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 988th out of a total of 3714 tested combos. This places it in the 73.4th percentile (calculated as 1 - 988/3714), meaning it performs better than nearly three-quarters of all tested systems in this game. This is a strong result, indicating that the combination of a mid-range CPU from 2021 with a high-end GPU from 2025 yields a system that is well-suited for this title.

The rank demonstrates the RX 9070 XT's ability to drive high frame rates, even when paired with a less powerful CPU. While the i5-11400F may hold back the absolute maximum FPS at low settings, it provides enough performance to keep the GPU well-fed at higher settings and resolutions where the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The rank suggests that for a 1440p or 4K gaming experience in Lockdown Protocol, this combo is a capable and well-rounded performer. The fact that it sits in the top quarter of all tested combos highlights that while there are faster systems, this pairing is far from a weak link and should provide a very satisfying experience for the majority of players.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p?

A: Yes. The data shows a 135 FPS average at the Medium preset and a 118 FPS average at the High preset for 2560x1440, both of which are well-suited for 144Hz monitors.

Q: What is the best preset for a stable 60+ FPS experience at 4K?

A: The High preset is the recommended choice for 4K, delivering a 76 FPS average. The Medium preset offers a slightly higher 87 FPS average, while the Ultra preset drops below 60 FPS to an average of 57.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings. The CPU becomes more of a limiting factor at 1080p with the Low preset, where the frame rate reaches 234 FPS, suggesting a potential ceiling imposed by the processor.

Q: How does the Low preset compare to the Ultra preset in terms of performance?

A: The performance difference is significant. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves a 234 FPS average, while the Ultra preset achieves a 121 FPS average, a difference of 113 FPS. This gap narrows at higher resolutions, but Low remains substantially faster.

Q: Is the 16 GB of VRAM on the RX 9070 XT sufficient for this game?

A: Yes. The measured results show playable frame rates at all settings and resolutions, including 4K Ultra (57 FPS average). There is no indication from the data that VRAM capacity is a limiting factor.

Q: Are the minimum FPS figures smooth, or are there stutters?

A: The data includes min FPS figures only for the Medium preset. At 1920x1080, the minimum is 157 FPS, and at 2560x1440, it is 115 FPS. These are high minimums, suggesting a generally smooth experience without major frame-time spikes at this preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table provides the exact measured average frame rates for all tested resolution and settings combinations.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|---|---|---|---|---|

| 1920x1080 | Low | 234 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 185 | 157 | 212 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 161 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 121 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 191 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 135 | 115 | 156 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 118 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 89 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 123 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 87 | 74 | 100 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 76 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 57 | - | - |

The data shows a clear and consistent hierarchy. At every resolution, the Low preset is the fastest, followed by Medium, High, and finally Ultra. The performance gap between presets is not uniform. For instance, the difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is 49 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra is 40 FPS. This indicates that the Medium and High presets have a more complex interplay of settings that impact the GPU and CPU in varying amounts.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the system's bottleneck. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 234 at 1080p to 191 at 1440p, a 18.4% decrease, and then to 123 at 4K, a further 35.6% decrease from 1440p. This significant drop, especially at 4K, confirms that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at this setting, as the workload on the graphics card scales exponentially with resolution.

The scaling pattern holds for the Medium and High presets, though the relative drops are slightly different. At Medium, the average FPS goes from 185 at 1080p to 135 at 1440p (a 27% drop) and then to 87 at 4K (a 35.6% drop from 1440p). This shows a similar trend of increasing GPU load. At the Ultra preset, the progression is from 121 at 1080p to 89 at 1440p (a 26.4% drop) and then to 57 at 4K (a 36% drop from 1440p). The consistent drop pattern across all settings points to a system where the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rate. If the CPU were the main bottleneck, we would expect to see a much smaller performance difference between 1080p and 1440p, as the CPU load would not increase as dramatically. The data clearly shows that this is not the case, reinforcing that the RX 9070 XT is the performance driver in this configuration, with the i5-11400F providing adequate support without becoming a major constraint until very high frame rates.