Lockdown Protocol

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the Intel Arc B370 is a combination that lands near the very bottom of the tested hierarchy in Lockdown Protocol, holding the 2611th spot out of 2828 total combos. This places it in the 8th percentile of all systems tested, which is a direct reflection of the severe performance bottleneck created by the integrated graphics solution. The data shows a system that is fundamentally constrained by its GPU, making it unsuitable for the fast-paced demands of this FPS title at modern display resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic case of GPU-bound performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 80 FPS, which is the only playable frame rate in the entire dataset. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low settings drops the average to 58 FPS, a 27.5% reduction from the 1080p figure. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average falls further to 38 FPS, representing a 52.5% loss compared to the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern—where performance nearly halves when pixel count quadruples—indicates that the rendering pipeline is saturated at even the lowest quality preset.

The trend becomes more pronounced when examining the High preset across resolutions. At 1080p High, the system produces 49 FPS average, which drops to 36 FPS at 1440p and plummets to 23 FPS at 4K. The delta between Low and High settings at the same resolution is substantial: a 31 FPS difference at 1080p, 22 FPS at 1440p, and 15 FPS at 4K. This narrowing gap at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor—when the render target grows, the additional pixel workload overwhelms the graphics processor regardless of how much the visual quality settings are reduced.

The Ultra preset tells an even more restrictive story. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 37, which is already below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a competitive FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 27 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it bottoms out at 18 FPS. The Medium preset offers a middle ground, with 57 FPS at 1080p, 42 FPS at 1440p, and 27 FPS at 4K. The measured minimum FPS values for Medium settings show 48 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K, indicating that even the average figures don't tell the full story of frame time consistency.

The implication is clear: this combination is only viable at 1080p with Low settings, and even then, the 80 FPS average leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The 4K results are uniformly below 40 FPS across all presets, rendering that resolution effectively unplayable for a competitive shooter. The scaling behavior points entirely to the GPU as the constraining component, as the CPU's performance characteristics are not the bottleneck at these frame rates.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Panther Lake chip with the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, featuring 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. The memory configuration is system shared, meaning the GPU draws from the same DDR4 pool as the CPU, with bandwidth described as "system dependent." This shared memory architecture is a fundamental limitation, as the GPU cannot access dedicated high-bandwidth VRAM.

The GPU's compute capabilities are modest, with a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s, a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s, and a FP32 throughput of 6.144 TFLOPS. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, it scores 1184, which places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals in benchmark scores are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 at 1186, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 at 1190, the AMD Radeon HD 7650M at 1192, and the AMD FirePro M2000 at 1168. The delta percentages are minimal—ranging from -0.7% to +1.4%—showing that this GPU performs in the same class as decade-old discrete graphics solutions.

The thermal design power of 25 W and the IGP slot width indicate that this is not designed for high-performance gaming. The API support includes DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which means it technically supports modern rendering features, but the raw throughput is insufficient to leverage them at acceptable frame rates. The boost clock of 2400 MHz is respectable for an integrated solution, but the limited shading units and shared memory bandwidth create an insurmountable bottleneck in a game like Lockdown Protocol.

When interpreting the measured FPS, the GPU's role is decisive. The fact that reducing from High to Low settings at 1080p yields a 31 FPS improvement (from 49 to 80) demonstrates that the GPU is the primary constraint. A more balanced system would show a smaller delta between quality presets at the same resolution, as the CPU would become the limiting factor at lower settings. Here, the GPU remains saturated even at Low settings, confirming its position as the weakest link in the chain.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2611 out of 2828 tested combinations places this system firmly in the bottom 8% of all configurations evaluated in Lockdown Protocol. This is a remarkably low standing, especially considering the CPU component. The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores are respectable: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14340, a single-core score of 2024, and a Geekbench multi-core score of 7737 with a single-core score of 1777. The CPU holds the 71st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17177.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark performance are the AMD EPYC 7H12 with an average score of 17120 (0.3% delta), the Intel Core i5-12450H at 17239 (-0.4% delta), the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G at 17278 (-0.6% delta), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U at 17074 (0.6% delta). This places the i5-11400F in a competitive position for a mid-range desktop processor, showing that the CPU is not the reason for the poor gaming performance.

The stark contrast between the CPU's 71st percentile ranking and the combo's 8th percentile ranking in-game highlights the severity of the GPU bottleneck. The data indicates that the Arc B370 is dragging down an otherwise capable processor. The CPU has enough single-thread performance to feed a much faster GPU, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 868 and PassMark single-thread score of 2981. The combo's rank is entirely a function of the GPU's limitations, not the CPU's capabilities.

Benchmark results from the CPU show strong multi-threaded performance with a 3DMark max-threads score of 5652 and a PassMark multithread score of 16908. These figures suggest that the CPU could handle higher frame rates if paired with a more powerful GPU. The fact that the system still achieves 80 FPS at 1080p Low reflects the CPU's ability to push frames through, but the GPU simply cannot keep up at higher resolutions or quality settings. This ranking should be interpreted as a warning: the combination is fundamentally unbalanced for gaming, and the GPU is the clear limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: The only configuration that achieves a consistently playable frame rate is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which produces an average of 80 FPS. The next best option is 1440p Low at 58 FPS, but this is borderline for competitive play. All other combinations fall below 57 FPS at 1080p or below 42 FPS at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its closest benchmark rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is nearly identical to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 at 1186 (-0.2% delta) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 at 1190 (-0.5% delta). The AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (-0.7% delta), and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (+1.4% delta). The GPU sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F the bottleneck in this setup?

A: No. The CPU holds the 71st percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 17177, and its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7H12 and Intel Core i5-12450H with deltas under 1%. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14340 indicates it has ample processing power; the GPU is the definitive bottleneck.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 80 FPS average, while the Ultra preset achieves only 37 FPS average. This represents a 43 FPS difference, or a 53.75% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

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

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 38 with Low settings, which drops to 27 FPS at Medium, 23 FPS at High, and 18 FPS at Ultra. These frame rates are far below what is required for a smooth experience in an FPS title.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 2611th out of 2828 total tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. This low ranking is primarily due to the GPU's performance in the 5th percentile, despite the CPU's solid 71st percentile standing.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only viable configuration for Lockdown Protocol is the 1920x1080 Low preset, which delivers an average of 80 FPS. This is the sole preset and resolution combination that achieves a frame rate high enough for responsive gameplay in a fast-paced FPS. The next closest option is 1440p Low at 58 FPS, but the lower resolution provides a significant advantage in visibility and reaction time for competitive play.

The Medium preset at 1080p produces 57 FPS average with a minimum of 48 FPS, which is playable but leaves no margin for frame drops during intense firefights. The High preset at 1080p drops to 49 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for a shooter. The Ultra preset at any resolution is not recommended, as even at 1080p it only achieves 37 FPS average, making the game feel sluggish and unresponsive.

For players who cannot tolerate the visual downgrade of Low settings, the Medium preset at 1080p is the best compromise, offering 57 FPS average and 48 FPS minimum. However, the data strongly suggests that prioritizing frame rate over visual quality is the correct approach with this hardware. The 80 FPS at Low settings provides a 23 FPS advantage over Medium, which translates to a more consistent and competitive experience.

At higher resolutions, the system struggles regardless of settings. The 1440p Medium preset achieves 42 FPS average with a 35 FPS minimum, and the 4K Medium preset falls to 27 FPS average with a 23 FPS minimum. These figures are unsuitable for an FPS title where split-second reactions are critical. The recommendation is to stay at 1080p and use the Low preset for the best measured experience, with Medium as a fallback if visual fidelity is prioritized over maximum frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F plays a supporting role in this combination, providing more than enough computational power for the frame rates achieved. With 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Rocket Lake architecture, the CPU operates at a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark results are strong for a desktop processor: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14340 and a single-core score of 2024, along with a Geekbench multi-core score of 7737 and a single-core score of 1777.

The CPU's cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR4 with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. The processor is manufactured on a 14 nm process with a die size of 276 mm² and a TDP of 65 W. The launch MSRP was $157, and it supports PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes.

In the context of Lockdown Protocol, the CPU's performance is more than adequate. The 3DMark benchmarks show a single-thread score of 868 and a 16-thread score of 5619, indicating solid IPC and multi-threading capabilities. The PassMark single-thread score of 2981 and multithread score of 16908 further demonstrate that the CPU is not the limiting factor. The nearest rival comparisons show the i5-11400F performing within 0.6% of the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U and within 0.4% of the Intel Core i5-12450H, confirming its mid-range standing.

The data reveals that the CPU is bottlenecked by the GPU in every measured scenario. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 80 FPS, but the CPU could likely push much higher frame rates if paired with a discrete GPU. The CPU's 71st percentile ranking versus the combo's 8th percentile in-game ranking underscores this imbalance. The i5-11400F is a capable processor for gaming, but its potential is entirely unrealized when paired with the Arc B370 integrated graphics. The measured FPS values are constrained by the GPU's 5th percentile performance, not by any CPU limitation.